Naomi goes for a bike ride: New York, New York

I wound up spending almost a full week in New York. Sam was around until Thursday, at which point
he headed off in the direction of Montreal (his final destination). What a fun-filled week it was! In an attempt to not put my fingers into over-use paralysis, I will recap:

-Visit to the Natural History museum, one of my favourite places from the last time I was in NYC.
They had an exhibit about food and culture that I found especially neat, talking about the past, present, and future of feeding humans on the planet.

-Wandering around Chinatown and introducing Sam to the world of coconut buns.

-Meeting up with Ali, who I met on the train en route to New Orleans and spent the day with in Chicago, for an afternoon of cycling around the city. Ali showed Sam and I some of his favourite parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan by bicycle, and he was kind enough to treat us to Italian food for lunch. Thanks, Ali, for a fun day!

-Having the pleasure of staying with Amy, another Warmshowers host, in Queens for a few days. Amy was happy to share ideas about what to do in the city and was simply filled with positive energy and enthusiasm. She also introduced us to a crazy horoscope book filled with insight and 'rusks', these tasty South African tea-biscuit-like-treats. Thanks for hosting us, Amy!

-Participating at the Triscuit sampler event in Times Square, for which we had to sign a waiver and then taste all sorts of Triscuit-related specimens. Favourite moment: Wondering why the speaker was saying "only 100 calories per serving" as though it was a good thing. Ah yes, the bicycling mentality.

-Lazing in the sunshine on the outdoor furniture in the Highline Park

-Buying a pair of $1 pants as I had realized the past week or two that my limited wardrobe was not conducive to 'camouflaging' amongst the non-bicycle-dependent population when it was cold outside. Aka I had no proper long pants. Problem solved.

-Staying with Warmshowers host Carolyn, once Sam had headed off, in Manhattan and getting to have dinner together. It was really interesting to hear her ideas about geographies and the different places she has been to and lived, not to mention her own zest for life and bicycling. Thanks for a lovely stay, Carolyn!

-Getting to spend time with my cousin Eric and Ariana, who I hadn't seen since their wedding last May. We got to have lunch together and catch up, and I even got to meet their dog and experience a New York dog park with Ariana. It was great to see you guys!

Amidst all of those thing that I discernibly "did" and "saw", I really just enjoyed being in the city. It was nice to spend a fully week in one place. It was also the first sign of familiarity that I have had since leaving New Orleans. I got to walk in places I had been to in May and see family. Everywhere up until this place was completely new to me, whereas New York was certainly not an old hat but there were places and people that I actually recognized. Just an observation.