Winter Wonderland ... this time for real

Friday morning ...



It only lasted a day, but still pretty amazing

Ta - da!

It only took 2 hours (and a sushi break) to put together ...

The state of affairs

Twenty four hours after completing the Chelsea - West Village migration I woke up to this site for sore eyes. I was relieved after the eventful move, which I will come back to in future posts. Just seeing all the boxes, suitcases and shoes in one place was enough to make me smile




For now while there is no furniture, I am treating the living room as a yoga room ...

The only space I had managed to restore peace in by the end of Day 1 ...

The shoe room ... What ?!? Oh, yes The Shoe Room ...

28C to -15C in the space of 3 hours

From this

To this ... after the -15C evening, it warmed up to -5C and snowed

Always looking your best - Part 2

Miami airport. I enquire if I will make my flight, departing in 45 minutes, gesturing at the enormous crowd at Security. The (female) guard takes an eyeful of my (push up less) cleavage and directs me to express security, otherwise empty bar for the rare air crew member.

Security man at baggage screening comments how nice I look and does not even look at my (numerous) carryon bags.

Skimpy summer dress, impractical to fly in but great for speeding through security.

Me ... speak no English !?!

In Miami I began to doubt my command of the English language...

In French coffee shop, served by a Latin girl, I order a small latte to stay ... slightly perplexed she asks me: Large? I, in what I think is quite clear English: No, small ... A few minutes later it is my turn to be confused ... I am staring at a gigantic steaming latte, in a take away cup...

Brunch the next day I order a fruit salad followed by an omelet. Waiter clarifies fruit salad, then later omelet ... Omelet arrives, followed by waiter proudly declaring he hasn't ordered the fruit salad and he will when I'm ready for it ... Hmmm, is this what happens when you don't order with obnoxious demands and aren't too picky about what fruit goes in your salad?

Decide to cut my losses and abandon fruit salad altogether, taking refuge in an Italian coffee bar deli called Pinocchio. My first decent coffee in days and homemade profiteroles. Who needs fruit salad! I couldn't resist those waves of delicious chocolate and perfect puff pastry. The filling creamer than I would have liked, but hey, when in Florida one must do as the locals do... The place itself small and filled with that familiar Italian slang. Everyone who comes in seems to be a friend or is greeted like one. There is a white fluffy puppy sitting on one of the bar stools barking at anyone who tries to pass the threshold. Can't be too good for business...

Wonder down the beach and get talking to a caricaturist, who turns out to be from the Ukraine, but having spent 12 years in a place where I took my childhood beach vacations. Twenty minutes later while we are chatting and laughing about how Europe rocks while the states suck I have an A4 caricature of myself. All teeth and curls - did say it was humid in Miami?!? Now that we have the caricature for the entrance hall, Just need to organize that glamour shot. I did say I wanted one of each hanging in my entrance hall by my 30th...

Weird, but cute*

The only way to describe my experiences with Miami. It is a mixture of flash and tacky, high end and less so. You can buy a $300 caftan in a boutique off Ocean Drive or a $2 bracelet from a street stall. On the first visit the modern deco style took me by surprise. It fell short of expectations. Not quite sure what those expectations were, but they were not met. This time I am appreciating it for what it is. Homage to art deco, beautiful people and Spanish culture.

Wandering along Ocean Drive you are accosted by maitre d's left, right and centre, but I chose the only place with a line. The News Cafe, having brought out the 'chilled' to South Beach boasts a 24 breakfast menu. Its leafy court yard setting offers an escape from the burning sun and the busy sidewalk. I did say burning sun. Yes, it is February and Miami is sweltering with record temperatures in the high twenties and humid. Probably exaggerating a bit but this is heaven. I'm just going to polish off this soft shell crab sandwich, a peach sangria and head for the beach.

* I am borrowing this phrase from Z. He has a few of these rolling off his tongue, but this one too delightful not to steal