A few last days in NY

Baltimore to New York

We ended our trip with a few last days in NY.

We hit the shops and crammed our backpack full of new camping gear from REI, Paragon Sports and Eastern Mountain Sports - pack liners, head torches, fold out day packs - extras we thought we'd need on our next big trip to Europe in a couple of months time.

New shoes anyone?

Billy scoured the second hand bookshops for some classics to add to our Hemmingway shelf. We picked up Tarzan and the Apes and the Sexual Life of Savages (I bet it's the first one people select to browse!) from Housingworks, a collection of Montaigne essays from the incredible Strand bookstore (could spend hours and hours in here), and our greatest find, a 1913 edition of Baedecker's Spain and Portugal from the Complete Traveller Antiquarian Bookstore. We're planning on seeing how much has changed in the past 100 years!

The largest collection of Baedeckers in the world!

We visited the International Centre for Photography, where they were showing a collection of contemporary works on the theme A Different Kind of Order from around 25 different artists. The exhibits that stood out to us were two lightboxes showing images of every window and door from Ponte City, an apartment/office block in South Africa (Mikhael Subotzky / Patrick Waterhouse); and photographic maps of cities (Sohei Nishino).

We took a very intriguing trip to Tannen's Magic Shop that was described as one of NY's best (and oldest) magic shops. We entered an unassuming building in Midtown with a lone security guard manning a shabby looking front desk. We tentatively enquired about a magic store, to which the security guard simply responded that we needed to "sign here". Not quite sure whether we had just signed a secrecy act, or a visitors book, we took the lift up to the 6th floor and wound our way along a corridor of peeling white paint. A large sign gave us hope that we were headed in the right direction.

An interesting place for a retail store!

Sure enough, we open a door into a world of magic – packed behind a counter of course. Magicians are renowned for their ability to make things disappear. The staff showed us a few tricks including turning bubbles into solid balls, and making coins appear in a tin. We couldn't quite be convinced to buy a trick, but we bought one of Tarbell's books in the hope to teach ourselves a few more skills. It was an interesting experience to add to our collection of magic experiences!

The other standout activity was a night at Fuerza Bruta that Taylor recommended as a true New York experience. We entered a large warehouse-type building that felt a little bit like a big nightclub with about 150 other people. A Spanish, latino looking man came out on a conveyor belt in a white suit. Running. Away from something. Doors came hurtling across the room, and he burst through them. We were covered in confetti. Chairs appeared on the conveyor and travelled past him as he continued on his unknown journey. We moved about the space as the conveyor moved. A silver curtain surrounded us and 2 women suspended above us bounced and tumbled across the moving wall. A dance party started. We were the dance party. Another stage appeared. Brazillian style dance. Boxes crashed around. A cloth covered the audience and bounced as we bounced. It disappeared then was replaced by a clear plastic sheet. Filled with water. Then people. Sliding and gliding across in the water in the sky above. This was miles above slip and slide fun. Lights cast interesting glow and you could see the ripples as the dancers interacted. The sheet was lowered and you could reach up and touch, but not touch, the performers on the other side.

Unreal experience!

There are countless other small moments that made New York - spotting street fashion (although not everywhere as I originally expected), doughnuts from Doughnut Planet, burgers and shakes and the Shake Shack and singers on the subway. New York was all that I expected...and then wasn't. I couldn't help but wonder if New York's time has past. The energy, opportunity and cultural mix that had made the city was more gentrified and stable, rather than growing and changing. Then again...it's still a fun place to be!

So, goodbye NY, Vermont and Baltimore. Thank you all our wonderful Airbnb hosts (separate posting on this to come). Congratulations Tuugi & Puje, and thank you for including us in your celebrations. And most importantly, thank you Billy for joining me on this fantastic trip!