In which Roz and Layla cycled clockwise round Manhattan, had an untimely brunch, attended a clever event and dined in a brand new restaurant

by Roz

We awoke very early, after our beetroot extravaganza the night before. I made a quick decision to make Layla's key chore for the holiday getting up to go and get me coffee in bed. Having informed Layla of this, I remained cosily in bed whilst she nipped to the corner deli. That she returned with coffee and bagels obviously didn't cause me any sorrow (and is the reason why she is currently out performing this chore again, as I type) and we planned our only Sunday in NY.

We began the very sunny day by wandering down along the Hudson river to the bike shop where we'd hired bikes last year (which fortunately opens early, even on a Sunday). We rejected all suggestions that we should go for cruiser bikes for women and butchly opted for men's bikes (because of their familiar handlebars). We then cycled off clockwise round Manhattan - the opposite way to last year (which we had convinced ourselves would mean it would be a very different experience). And indeed, it did turn out to be so. Partly, I suspect, because towards the end of the cycle last time we were so tired that we didn't notice anything - but also because Manhattan is infinitely varied, as are its people. Pleasingly there was some kind of organised cycle ride going on which we got caught up on the edges of - roads were closed (not that this affected us, since we were cycling along the riverside) and there was generally much excitement and we continued to pass riders all the way up the West Side. (A quick google search has revealed that this was in fact the Bike MS NYC ride, which is the largest organised cycling event in the US - which seems most strange, given that one of the nicest things about seeing it was that it seemed comparatively small and given the thin trickle of riders we were surprised that roads were closed - in the UK they'd have had to put put up with a narrow corridor on the edge of the road.)

We'd decided to go less far than last time - the top of Manhattan doesn't have the same pleasant bike route and we didn't feel the need to see Harlem again. Which made it all the more odd that we ended up stopping off for water in the same dodgy looking corner store as last year. Either there aren't many stores up there, or we have a peculiar homing device... Going down the East Side, we went through quiet parks and felt very jolly in the sunshine. But hunger always starts to get the better of me (after all did you notice we'd only had one breakfast?!) and so we slowed as we passed the only stall we'd seen on the route. Delightfully, as we did so, the music which we'd not noticed before suddenly changed, and was a very slow version of "Too Marvellous" - our wedding dance song. We didn't quite manage to Charleston to it but we did do a jig of joy at being in NYC, city of romance.

Still, romance doesn't mean you can't be hungry - and since the music-playing stall turned out to have a combination of fruit and CDs (a curious business model) - we pressed on. Skirting the UN, I wondered why the civil servants housed there weren't more interested in having delightful lunch options (since I could only see dodgy looking cafes): presumably there's a wonderful cafe or two inside. Back by the river, just before South Street Seaport, we came across a lovely farmers' market. We abandoned our bikes with glee, and sampled pretty much everything that was going, from pesto goat's cheese to NY wine, before opting for a bowl or two of a really delicious butternut squash soup and some tomato focaccia, which we ate on a bench overlooking the river. We then pressed on towards Battery Park, feeling smug at our progress and lack of tiredness. Until we realised that we'd actually been going at a snail's pace and our 4 hours of bike hire were nearly up (either that, or we spent a reeeeally long time eating food at the farmers' market!). But I'm afraid we nevertheless did dally to wave at the Statue of Liberty and grin at the sunshine and the jollyness of the day.

We got back to the bike hire shop with 10 minutes to spare and half an hour to kill before we were due at the SVT Theatre, in hopes of getting tickets for another talk at the New Yorker Festival (a few additional tickets go on sale an hour before an event). We wandered towards Greenwich Village to go a shop that I'd seen on our first night in NY which had a pretty bag in it. Alas the pretty bag turned out to be not so good in daylight but Layla decided to invest in a cute black hat - obviously an essential component in anyone's wardrobe. Having tarried there longer than we intended, we then jumped into the nearest metro station - only to find some drama with the metro. We hopped out again, far from the theatre, and I made Layla walk at such a pace that her face turned bright red. In retrospect, I was cruel. We joined the queue for tickets and crossed our fingers tightly that there would be tickets still left for the panel discussion we wanted to go to: Your Brain on the Internet". Delightfully there were. Having secured the tickets, I expressed an enthusiasm for a drink. In fact, I meant (true English girl that I am) a cup of tea. However, Layla suggested we head to East of Eighth, a gay restaurant which we'd been to last year and which was very close indeed. We headed over there, and asked for mimosas. The nice waiter brought mimosas and the brunch menu "just in case". I'm afraid to say that we decided our enjoyment of the New Yorker Festival would be much enhanced by a hasty pancake and so we indulged. Brunch at 3.30: it seemed wrong, but it tasted very good! Back at the theatre, the discussion was interesting (though not as good as the first discussion we'd been to). It nevertheless sparked discussion, on and off, for much of the rest of the day. And a large number of tweets from Layla.

We walked back to our flat and had a rest (having failed to make the TV work due to our incompetence and non-familiarity with such devices) and got ready for our night out. We were both immensely excited about our evening plans: dinner at a newly opened and very fancy restaurant over on the Lower East Side. (In fact, it turned out to be so newly opened that at the end of the evening we got 20% off our bill, for being in preview week: pleasing.) We got a cab over (my heels were too high to walk for 40 mins!) and found ourselves deposited in a deserted road by the river. We looked at each other uncertainly: could this really be where one of NY hottest tables of the moment was to be found?! We decided to press on, and headed towards a very corporate looking building - oddly walking past tons of signs congratulating those who had made to contributions to science. Inside the corporate building, there was a reception desk (none of the staff looked interested in us). We walked with some trepidation round the corner - only to find a beautiful dimly-lit restaurant. We began by a glass of prosecco (for Layla) and a prosecco based pink cocktail for me. We then inspected the other diners. They turned out to be a curious bunch: not quite as glamorous as we would have expected. We asked the waitress to "talk us through our vegetarian options". She looked slightly appalled. Having rejected the chef's offer to make us a "veggie plate" (which another diner had had, and which would have been "special" and a "surprise" but which seemed to simply consist of a vast number of vegetables, including brussel sprouts), Layla opted for a slightly spicy cheese option to start with, whilst I had an artichoke salad. We then both went for pumpkin seed tortellini in a roasted squash soup. All were delicious (though we both thought the butternut squash soup we'd had earlier in the day had, in fact, had the edge), as was the Sancerre we had. For dessert, Layla went for the slimming option of chocolate tart and chocolate sorbet, whilst I had vanilla ice cream. Only after the desserts had been brought, did the waitress tell us that the desserts had been bought for us by the manager, to make up for the lack of vegetarian options - if I'd known that I'd have upgraded my dessert options! Or indeed gone for the option taken by a table of fellow diners - to have one of each of the desserts (we decided that they were probably restaurant critics- albeit distinctly unglamorous-looking ones- which would also explain the amount of attention they received)! After that very lovely meal, we were both yawning with a touch of jet lag and the soporific effect of the dim lighting, and so we got a cab home.