Day 9, NYC: unexpected markets and chess tips.

Saturday, 12 April. The weather app says it’s 3 degrees outside; feels like -3. And with the windchill, it really does. 

Our accommodation is comfortable enough to use as a base but I don’t want to stay in. What I want out of New York is to experience the place.

“We can go anywhere today,” I say, “but we’re starting with a Stumptown coffee.”

Today we walk in a new direction — south, down 5th Ave.

We stumble upon the Union Square Greenmarket where India finds a penny and passes it onto me.

Our wanderings lead us to Greenwich Village. 

In Maman, we thaw our fingers and faces. There are several Mamans in NYC, as we discover. Xander has another of his pear danish here; I order the tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwich. It’s delicious, nourishing, warming, and not unlike something I would make myself. A good reminder that many of the things I love best will be waiting for me when we get home.

“Where do you want to go next?” I ask over lunch. “We’re close enough to do the bridges.”
“Not today,” says India. I have to admit, with the weather as it is, our view would be limited.
“Then where?”
My question is met with shrugs. So we keep walking.

We enter Washington Square Park to honky tonk piano sounds. This park holds the famous Chess Table Alley which has hosted chess masters including Bobby Fischer. I don’t know what the story is with the heart-laden finale tree, except perhaps in deference to a certain elm.

It is in Chess Table Alley that we meet David. He gives India and Xander chess lessons and advice on problem-solving in the real world. 

It’s raining harder and we’re getting saturated. Suddenly we are alarmingly cold. This is stick-your-gloved-hands-under-your-armpits-and-shuffle-to-make-your-inner-thighs-rub-so-you-can-warm-from-the-friction cold. We decide this is the right time to walk the 28 blocks to our comfortable AirBnB and put on a load of washing at the downstairs laundromat.

Xander and I play Skip-Bo and chess while India catches up on her new favourite show (The Simple Life, much to my chagrin!).

We choose The Harold for dinner, because it’s close by and we need the warmth from within. It is comfort food, and it is good.

This is the first time I am have sought out a potential dinner venue online since arriving in NYC, and my search reveals that we are in Koreatown within Midtown. This could explain why I have seen so many Korean restaurants around us…