I’m starting 2018 with a trip to NYC. I’m leaving on Wednesday and will come back on Monday. In NYC I will:
- Speak at a conference
- Visit the book fair where my book is sold
- Have lunch with a friend from Ukraine I haven’t seen for exactly 20 years
- See a Broadway show with my sister
- Visit ABC Kitchens and enjoy their fresh seafood
- Meet up with a friend who’s been coming to this conference for years to interview for jobs and now will finally come as a TT professor who already has a job
- Go to an exhibition of Ukrainian art
- Visit MOMA (which is the only place in NYC I invariably like)
- Go to a place called “Corn on the Cob” because my sister swears by it
If somebody knows of any other NYC pastimes I will enjoy, please give suggestions. My Sunday afternoon and evening will be wide open.
Clarissa's Blog 
The Met
The Strand bookstore
Brooklyn Botanical Garden. A great way to spend a lazy afternoon. I highly recommend. Go on a weekday and you’ll feel the whole place belongs to you and you alone.
If you’re into dive bars, The Library is great (and you can eat at this 24-hour Ukranian diner afterwards: https://www.yelp.com/biz/veselka-new-york
If you like walking:
Take the subway to brooklyn and walk back to manhattan over the brooklyn bridge. Yes, the order is important (more beautiful to walk towards the skyline of manhattan than to walk away from it).
High-line park: It’s a short walk giving you an elevated tour of the city. It ends close to the Standard hotel which has a beer garden where you can play drunk ping-pong
with strangers. I’ve kicked a lot of ass on those tables!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line
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At least go to one rooftop bar in midtown.
https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=rooftop+lunch&find_loc=New+York%2C+NY
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My sister would love something like that, so I think we will.
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Thank you, these are great. I had no idea you knew New York so well.
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So when is the Met not crowded, Stringer Bell? I was last there in the summer and it felt like a shopping mall at Christmas, there were so many people milling around. Like the Rijksmueum in Amsterdam, another place I try to avoid due to lack of opportunity to observe the art. Seeking advice.
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“So when is the Met not crowded”
Never. But some things are worth braving the crowds for, I suppose. And you’d need several hours for it, so it might not be practical for Clarissa on this trip.
Speaking of crowds, I and L visited India last month, and went on a 3 day road trip to Agra and Jaipur. She resisted the idea of the Taj (tourist trap, cliched, everybody goes there let’s go somewhere else), but once you go there you realize it’s crowded for a reason. She was so glad she went!
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I’d so love to go to Jaipur. I’ve heard wonders.
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I’ve been to the Met many times, though. Including as a tour guide for my students
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My brother used to live there, so I’ve visited NYC 10-15 times. I’ve barely scratched the surface and would call myself nothing other than a tourist.
By the way, since you like Indian food, you should absolutely go to Indian Accent (if you can get a reservation, that is). It’s $$$$ but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/indian-accent-new-york
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See the Rose reading room at the New York Public Library in midtown. Reading there can be inspirational! And the whole library building is beautiful and awe-inspiring. Its “backyard” is the elegant Bryant Park with a holiday market and ice skating rink at this time of year, also worth a visit.
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Thank you, this sounds perfect.
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One more thing to recommend — Cathedral of St. John the Divine in uptown Manhattan. I believe it is the largest gothic cathedral in North America, it’s absolutely breathtaking (be sure to also look at the multiple small chapels in the back inside the cathedral, each is its own gem). Things nearby to also visit — Hungarian Pastry Shop across the street and Columbia University campus a couple of blocks away, plus Riverside Park also nearby if the weather is nice.
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Thank you! I feel a lot better knowing that I have specific places to visit.
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Curious about “Corn on the Cob” — where is it? The internet is not turning up anything.
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She said it’s like a very casual dinner type of thing. I’ll post details once we get there. I’m a huge fan of corn.
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Eat South Asian food on Curry Hill: http://www.grubstreet.com/bestofnewyork/best-indian-restaurant-curry-hill-nyc.html Or if you go to the NYPL and Bryant Park there’s an affordable Turkish Cafe not far from there called Simit Sarayi. Finally, if you like South Asian food and South American food come visit Jackson Heights in Queens where you’ll find food and shopping from both cultures in the same neighborhood (mostly Peruvian and Colombian and Indian and Nepalese, with some Tibetan too).
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Also the Met can feel quite empty when it’s not high tourist season, which is anytime that’s not summer or a holiday most people have off.
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Have you cleared this trip with Klara? I can imagine that if you leave with the scary lady and her bitter rival baby then she might have a tantrum or two to throw when you get back…
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They already left without me. So I hope it helps when she sees that I’m here today and tomorrow and then I leave alone. On a positive note, we know she can stand her ground. She was no quiet wallflower with the cousin.
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Remove the botanical garden from the list, haha.
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I still haven’t been able to leave, so I’m afraid everything is off the list. Shit.
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