A coastal Thanksgiving

A friend told me the other day that every five or six weeks you need to make sure you get out of the city and take a break from the madness of New York.

It wasn't that long ago that I was in the heart of sleepy Devon in the United Kingdom. I literally spent ten days reading, sleeping, and taking some serious walks across Dartmoor with my Dad. It was divine, and helped re-charge my batteries for the hectic weeks that lay ahead.

This Thursday is Thanksgiving, and my roommate E. has generously insisted that I join her family for a traditional celebration of the national holiday. We are taking the train down to their coastal holiday house on Wednesday afternoon, and I'm told to expect lots of turkey and pumpkin pie. E. is twelfth generation American (cool, right?!), so who am I to argue?

Plus, I'm stoked to be getting out of the city for a mini-break, just as the doctor ordered.

View across the valley, Dartmoor, England

First celebrity encounter. WITH CONVERSATION.

Today at the Brooklyn Flea Market:

Ed Westwick (aka Chuck Bass): “Your food is dripping everywhere.”

Me: “Oh, sorry. Did I get any on you?”

Chuck Bass: “Doesn’t matter. Is it good?”

Me: “Yeah, it’s pretty good. Could do with some cheese.” (WTF?)

Chuck Bass: “I don’t like the look of it.”

Me: “Hmm, good thing you aren’t eating it then.”

Chuck Bass, gesturing to Jessica Szohr (aka Vanessa): "SHE likes it though, she said she wanted one."

Alrighty then. First New York celebrity spotting complete.

PS: Jessica was wearing these. HOT.

PPS: I was eating a quesadilla. It was tasty, but did need some cheese.

Gossip Girl Cast, just in case.

The upsides of solitude

Moving to a new city where you know fewer people can make for a surprisingly peaceful life, even if your new home is one of the more bustling metropolises in the world.

Where previously almost every hour was blocked out on the calendar and evenings booked up weeks in advance, now I find I have a significant proportion of time that is, well, free.

It's liberating. I can spend more evenings devoted to the rewarding (and previously rare) pastime of reading a book - currently Eleven Minutes and The Art of Choosing. I can spend time researching interesting industry trends and planning my ascent into the lofty heights of Sheryl Sandberg-esque greatness. There is time to dream, and time to relax into the anticipation of life in New York, especially now that I've done the hard yards and am deciding between two equally exciting job opportunities.

So although my American address book is growing thicker each day, for the time being I'm quite content to spend some time alone, settling into the city and adjusting to the newness. And for someone accustomed to a hectic social schedule, this is quite revolutionary.

View over the New Jersey skyline at sunset, seen from Hudson River Park

New York Etiquette...?

The taxi driver has loaded my bags into the back if the cab and my SmartCarte trolley is causing a traffic jam on the sidewalk outside JFK airport.

I look at it anxiously, waiting for a gap in the people streaming past to try ad move it out the way.

"What are you doing?" the cabbie asks. "Just leave it - pretend it isn't yours."

Seriously, this is New York.

This is New York

It's sometimes hard to not to feel overwhelmed by the current of the city, but, at the same time, if you are persistent and determined - anything seems possible.

So, even when you have a meltdown because you can't find your iPod and the laundromat washer seems to have eaten one of your tennis socks, just remember this is all going to be worth it in the end.

This is New York, after all.


THE BEAT OF NEW YORK from TOUSSAINT on Vimeo.

Video credit, via Yes and Yes.

Happy Halloween!

Hand-carved pumpkins in the Abingdon Square, just around the corner from my new apartment