In which Layla and Roz explore an island and see lots of scientists

By Layla 

Glowing with pride at my Moth success the previous night, Roz and I were up bright and early, and branching in Bubby's, a child-tactic but very cool local Tribeca brunch stalwart. Fully topped up on my pancake quota (Roz smugly had granola and fruit), we dashed onto the subway, leapt off at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, and zoomed with all the speed a pair of pancake-full girls in sandals can muster - and made the boat to Governors Island with moments to spare. This funny little island, a 10 minute free ferry ride from Battery Park (with views of the Statue of Liberty) is car-free, open only on weekends, and is essentially a pleasure island, a pretty, grassy picnic place with various activities and amazing views of the New York skyline. We started by strolling, then came upon these crazy family-sized quad bicycles with a roof, and couldn't resist! Off we pedaled, all the way around the perimeter of the island, and giggled extravagantly as we demonstrated our steering finesse. Afterwards, ice creams in hand, we strolled through the grassy grounds back to the ferry, having had a most satisfactory morning.

We subway-ed up to Greenwich Village and installed ourselves for lunch in the charming La Lanterna di Vittorio, before the next event in our World Science Festival extravaganza: a meet the author event. After an okay interview with the author of a book about IVF, we got the very cool Mario Livio who was charming on astrophysics and 'Brilliant Blunders' - errors made my esteemed scientists like Darwin and Kelvin, which resulted in new discoveries. Roz was so taken with him that she bought the book. We then stopped for a quick cake (ahem) before a stroll to our next science event - only to find it had moved venue. Cue a very hot dash across Washington Square Park and some angry tweeting... But the Science and Story event we got to in the end was probably our favourite event - three science writers talking about the state of science writing, and general science stuff. Really interesting and entertaining. 

Our tweeting zeal had sucked away our iPhone batteries and thus our map lifeline, so we diverted to an Apple Store before proceeding by subway to Cafe Mono near Union Square for a delicious tapas meal and then one of our most-anticipated events: The Moth, a storytelling event that featured scientists. This promised well, but the air con was a bit pathetic and we were too hot to really enjoy it. I was gratified to encounter a few people who remembered me from the previous night and congratulated me on my story. Ah, minor celebrity! After the show, Roz and I popped into a cute little wine bar (where I ordered a wine flight and got an extravagant four glasses whilst Roz sipped her one glass and looked perplexed by this turn of events!) before subway-ing home to bed, in denial that the end of our holiday could possibly be approaching...

And yet it was true. We got up today determined to make our last day cheery. First the chores - luggage into storage at Penn Station, horrendous queue at TKTS in Times Square for discounted tickets to Newsies, a popular newish Broadway musical, and then a subway down to Greenwich Village. Phew. Let the fun commence!

The first stop for fun was the science festival street fair in Washington Square Park. But while all the experiments and stilt walkers dressed as a praying mantis looked fun, it was about a million degrees. So hard to remember the chill of Seattle only a few days ago! We took refuge in a jazz brunch at North Square, where I would particularly recommend the pecan pumpkin pancakes, though the ambience was a tad staid. Afterwards, we went to Three Lives, a lovely independent bookstore, where we browsed vigorously and Roz bought yet more books, before retiring to a nearby cafe for drinks, reading (me) and blogging (Roz). Before long it was time to head back uptown to Newsies. Really fun to see a Broadway musical, though I disapprove of them not selling ice cream at the interval like in London. 

We dashed out as the curtain fell in a race against time to grab our bags and make our train (though catching a train in the US is never that dramatic as you can change ticket time at the last minute with a handy app), and then, as we stood in the hot, stressful crowds of Penn Station, we decided to end our holiday on an extravagance. Well, an extravagance of $15, for which princely tip we partook for the first time in Amtrak's 'red cap' service. For the price of a tip, this red cap-sporting chap took our two suitcases, carried them down to the train before anyone else was allowed to board, and in the most serene and delightful way, we found ourselves relaxing into our seats while the rest of the station was fighting to get her the platform. A fitting end to what has been quite an excellent holiday. Next stop: home!

As for our holiday reading, I devoured Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple, The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, I'm Not From Here Myself by Bill Bryson, and I am currently reading The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. Roz meanwhile read How to Be An American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway, A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson, The 10pm Question by Kate di Goldi, A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood, and I'm Not from Here Myself by Bill Bryson... And she is currently reading one of her Elliott Bay Book Company purchases, When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. Phew.