Labour Day Weekend

Waking up on a Saturday with no firm plans is the best feeling. In the words of JB ... the world, or at least the city, is my oyster! And this morning I really felt it. I did all the things I wanted to ... exercise, my nails and eyebrows look positive better, picked up a fruit loaf at Balthazar Bakery, french butter at the local deli and enjoyed a great latte.

Waiting for a good coffee is never a bother. Or so I told the cute overworked barista at Cafe Gitane. This was the refuge I had been seeking for the last two weeks. Recommended by a colleague, who by the sounds of it is an equal coffee snob, Cafe Gitane is nestled in the relative peacefulness of narrow Nolita streets. It is two blocks away from the mayhem that is Soho. Gitane serves superb classic coffee and delicious looking food (I shall sample next visit), with the usual crisp and uptight NY style service (except the easy going barista). Having just consumed my first delicious coffee since landing in NYC the mood was positively on an even steeper upswing. Walking back toward Spring St, I took in a stretch of Mulberry St which I had never seen in daylight. I chuckled to myself remembering that eventful evening at Eight Mile Creek last July. In my walk I wondered when I'll cease to wonder at this place. The city where the American Apparel and Armani Exchange stores have resident DJs. There is always something new to surprise, or raise a newly coiffed eyebrow at.

On my way home I picked up The New York Observer and The New York Times, to compliment my new addiction to http://www.nymag.com/ ... If I am going to be serious about being a local I should work on my dependacy on the British press.

Tomorrow I go out to Long Island, for two days of beach and banter with the family. Only fitting as this weekend unofficially marks the end of summer. I just hope this mild, mid-20s weather will stick around for a little longer.