Chicago Bound...

For my Wednesday walk today I'll be walking onto a plane headed to Chicago to see Mops & Pops!!!

I can't wait.

Stars & Stripes...

Looking Up...

Sign of the Times...

On Saturday afternoon we went along to the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, over on 11th Avenue and 21st  (a not so inviting street full of galleries) to catch the last day of the 'Détournement: Sign of the Times' exhibition.

The exhibition was full of work from different artists, mainly street artists, many of which we've seen their stuff up on the walls around New York - Shepard Fairey, Lady Aiko, Steve 'ESPO' Powers... 

 One of the nice things was seeing the Shepard Fairey pieces in the flesh. When we saw him talk at Offset he was talking about the new project he was working one, and showed some pictures... then a few months later were able to see them in a gallery in New York!

 The fire extinguisher wasn't part of the exhibition, but it looked like it should be!

I'm really looking forward to going back to the gallery in a couple of weeks when the Audrey Kawasaki exhibition starts... so I stay tuned for some pictures from that soon...

Mural Men...

Just outside the hotel, and just round the corner from their HQ - Sky High Murals were working on another amazing hand painted billboard ad in Brooklyn...

 Usually their 5 stories up, hanging on a dolly platform, so I bet they were enjoying being able to lie down on the job for once!

Friday Night Drinks...

Friday evening was lovely and sunny and warm, perfect for some roof top drinks - so Abi and I went to the Wythe Hotel to enjoy the evening sunlight and the amazing views...

We had some mighty fine pizza at Fornino's on Bedford Avenue to finish the evening off... it really was a perfect end to a pretty boring week. 

Hell's Angels HQ...

Whilst on my travels yesterday I stumbled across the New York Hell's Angels HQ!

I must say despite their bad boy reputation the Hell's Angels take good care of their potted plants!

Sunny Steps...

Out & About...

Work's been veeeery quiet this week, so I've been making the most of being able to get out a 5pm – I went for a really nice little stroll yesterday...

More Mint & Serf...

I went for a shorter Wednesday walk this lunch time, just over to 21st and 11th Avenue and back. I wanted to go over there because when we were on our cycle ride I noticed there was some interesting looking grafitti around there, so I thought I'd go and investigate.

It turned out to all be a bit rubbish, but above it all, high on a wall I spotted another Mint & Serf tag...

New York Cliché...

In three and a bit years I don't think I'd even seen an actual red fire hydrant until this lunch time...

Another New York cliché to tick off the list.

(This is one of the most exciting things that's happened so far today, which gives you some idea how the first day back at work after our holiday is going...)

Bogla Boll...

People will steal ANYTHING!

We returned from holiday on Friday night only to find that someone had pinched our beautiful tape cassette door mat!!!

We can only assume that a postman, or cleaner thought 'that's nice, I'll 'av that' and pinched it. We're going to make some MISSING posters and stick them up in the hall, see if anyone has any information leading to the safe return of our beloved doormat.

Opening our front door just doesn't feel the same anymore.

UPDATE: Abi and I sent an email round to our neighbours asking if anyone knew anything about it...

Unfortunately no-one had, but we did get some very lovely emails back saying how much everyone loved the doormat and loved looking at it as they walked up the stairs each day.

It's a small consolation, but it's nice to know we've got such nice neighbours!

Heavenly Hot Rod...

We saw this Biblical Beast of a car up by Bryant Park this afternoon, adorned with chrome and threatening quotes...

 Even the car is 'reborn' - it says "I used to be an old Ford, but I was converted!"

 I'm not sure if all the people taking photos were paying too much attention to the message, but it was certainly turning heads... 

I wonder if the engine can turn water into petrol?!

Sunday Cycling...

This morning we headed into Manhattan for the last day of this years Summer Streets. The only problem was, when we got there, we realised the last day of this years Summer Streets was yesterday...

The best laid plans etc... when we realised (having already got our bikes) we thought 'bugger it' and just went for a nice bike ride instead, a 15.5 mile adventure around Manhattan...

We went up through the park to Harlem, then took a detour towards the Hudson River and went along the cycle path leading down the side of Manhattan.

We hadn't gone too far down the river when we stumbled across an amazing looking restaurant/bar, with a big circular courtyard and loads of tables all under the stone arches...


As luck would have it, it was lunch time when we found the restaurant, so we sat outside looking over the river and all the little boats and had a little smackral...

Then we carried on cycling down the path along the Hudson River, all the way down towards the Intrepid and the HUGE cruise liners that were docked at the Piers...

 Then we carried on a bit longer before it was time to cycle back up towards the park. So we cut across and followed the East Side cycle path, cutting through the village, around Bleeker Street and near Washington Square Park.

We decided to take the most direct route back to the bike shop, which meant cycling straight up 6th Avenue.

6th Avenue is a BIG avenue with a LOT of taxis and buses weaving in and out - so it was a wee bit hairy at times, but we made it back alive. It was great cycling up towards Macy's and then towards Times Square and then taking a detour towards Bryant Park and then straight up towards the park.

Who needs Summer Streets?! You just need to be good at dodging car doors and taxis cutting you up, and you're fine!

It was a bit of a swizz that we got the day wrong, but we had a great time anyway, and we went on a completely new route around Manhattan and went to some areas that we've never been to before and found places we'd never seen. So in the end, it was a very happy mistake.

It was all meant to be (our bums are a bit sore now though!)

Holiday Blues...

We're back from the most amazing time in Mexico – now we have a baaaad case of the holiday blues. Instead of waking up to palm trees and the ocean, we woke up to grey skies and rain this morning.

We'll have to adjust back into the New York pace after a very relaxing few days on the beach!

I'm sure we'll get into the swing of things soon.

JR...

A wee while ago I think I posted something about JR - a French street artist who's doing a huge global project. He won the TED Prize last year (or the year before?) for all his work...

 Every now and then there seems to be some new pieces of his popping up around New York. He seems to have been busy recently, with a HUGE piece overlooking the Highline, and another couple of pieces down in SoHo, and I just found out that he's done another piece over looking the Williamsburg Bridge.

I always love seeing his stuff around New York. Those big black and white faces, full of character, peering over building sites, or towering over walkways, they're fantastic. 

Here's the one over looking the top end of the Highline...

... and here's one from down on Prince Street in SoHo...

I'm sure there'll be plenty more to come too.

Out & About...

I went for a Wednesday walk after work this evening. I had a mooch around the Highline and then a bit of a wander around SoHo, taking a few photos on the way...

 I'm liking my new Wednesday tradition of a midweek meander to a new part of town. I absolutely love that you can be continually discovering new areas, new streets and new views of New York - I've been here for over 3 years now and it all still feels new and exciting!