New York City boys

It's our third day in New York and the gin and tonics (and the jetlag) are finally taking their toll! After Tuesday's late night celebrating the results of the election we took it easier yesterday. Much of the day spent in the village and Soho, starting with a glorious pumpkin latte at Grounded (coffee shop on Jane Street) before a meander down to Canal Street and back again. Mostly window shopping although I did get myself a new hat and Gerard bought himself a $3 dollar umbrella as the rain came down - haggled down from $5 I might add. We're the last of the big spenders! We've both been to New York a few times and the streets are becoming more familiar with each visit; this time we've taken it easy, just wandering, rather than feeling the need to fit on the stuff that, as tourists, we're supposed to be doing (although today we did queue at tkts for show tickets and spotted the Naked Cowboy, pictured - what's the point of him again...?)

We also popped into a couple of knitting shops yesterday too - Purl in Soho, and The Point, where we spent a couple of hours. I got myself a hank of blank Twinkle super chunky (not available in the UK...yet!) and whipped up a 'scarflette' together with wooden button, "hand carved in Massachusetts" so I was told. G rustled up a little earflapped hat for his nephew and it was nice respite from the walking and the rain. Having friends here also helps with avoiding the obvious and we met up with James and Ryan, had a few drinks and headed for Pylos, a brilliant Greek restaurant down in alphabet city. A few more drinks later and we were ready to head back to the hotel. we're staying over (WAY over!) on 38th and 10th Avenue, which, even though it's only a 15 minute walk into Times Square, feels like a lifetime away. But it's not bad actually, and for £70 a night (between the two of us - thankyou Priceline!) we can't complain.

Tonight we saw Gypsy, with Patti LuPone which was disappointing actually -old fashioned entertainment that didn't live up to the hype. We should've learned from our last trip when we saw Spring Awakening (which went on to win all the Tony Awards) and we hated it. I just don't think musicals are our thing. Oddly.

Tomorrow we head off to Baltimore for Stitches East.

Craig

Liverpool 08...

We had a short one-night stay in Liverpool over the weekend. it's gerard's hometown, of course, so we do go up quite often to see the in-laws. I finally got to meet Louis, who was bundle of gorgeousness, especially in his Liverpool hat. So cute! Gerard knit this for him last year, from Artesano Inca Cloud alpaca. It suits him perfectly and I love the way the rim curls up and the little 'umbilical cord' on the top. He's only 5 months old, but you can imagine how much knitwear he's got already! We were dropping off Christmas presents while we we there and Louis got a whole selection of stuff, including a pair of red Converse pumps and a Nenuco denim jacket. He's the best dressed kid in the city.

If you hadn't noticed, Liverpool is European Capital of Culture 2008, so there's loads going on. We visited the Albert Dock on saturday night. The new Echo Arena was an amazing sight, with a halo of blue lights, sitting on the bank of the Mersey. Funnily enough in the cold light of day it was less impressive, mainly because they were still building it round the back!

The thing I always notice the most about Liverpool is the mix of old and new, especially now, with the Dock Road area completely regenerated, with new buildings going up every week. Only a short walk away stand the old warehouses and derelict pubs that have all the character. But the place is an astonishing mixture of both contemporary 21st century architecture and Victorian gothic. We paid a visit to the Anglican Cathedral, which I haven't been to since a school trip when I was 10 years old. It towers above the city and, like Gerard said, wherever you stand you are always miles away from it. We wandered around the graveyard in the rain, which was romantic and spooky in equal measure.

It wasn't all sightseeing though. We popped into the Grand Central Hall to have a nosy at Purlesque, a tiny little knitting shop packed full of stuff. Gorgeous buttons and accessories and some homemade and handstitched pinnies that you may well be seeing at IKL soon. It's a quirky place and worth a visit if you are in town. Check first though....there's a secret rumour that they may be moving soon....

Back in London now, and it all seems so much greyer.

Craig