40) Ottawan-New Yorkers

Balducci grocery store sells the best red velvet cupcakes around!

39) Family Visit

We took a bus tour of Manhattan on one of those double decker buses crammed with camera totting and football stadium hollering tourists.

















































































The Alice in Wonderland themed bakery and cafe is a must-see for any mother-daughter duos. Their cupcakes are truly decadent!

38) Long Beach, Long Island, NY

On weekends, the city-dwellers descend on the outlying beaches, from Coney Island to Long Beach - the last stop on the Long Island Rail Road, an hour's commute from Penn Station.

Clocking in at 35 degrees, we were glad for a day's respite from the sweltering heat - soaking up some sun and enjoying the soothing Atlantic breezes.























Despite concluding a 36 hour shift at the hospital, Soriaya joined us - the trooper that she is - and napped on the beach, alongside Reiko.












When not sleeping, Mt. Sinai's newest neurosurgical resident practiced tying endless knots to the arms of her sunglasses.

































Putting the rest of us to shame, Jessica trained for the New York marathon with a two hour run along the beach.


















Unlike the standing room only train ride down to the beach, the return journey was rather relaxing and punctuated by snores of fellow beach revelers, exhausted from a day of sun and sand.

37) A long walk nowhere in particular

I walked nearly the entire length of Manhattan Island today. From 118th on the West side, all the way through Central Park - stopping to attend a free show for an hour - past the zoo, along 5th Avenue and the high-end fashion department stores, down to Union Square and the convention of skateboarders, punks and harried shoppers hustling into Trader Joe's to buy organic, fair-trade treats.
















On the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the members of Marble Church, on Fifth Avenue, began tying yellow ribbons to reflect the prayers offered on behalf of fallen soldiers and their families. Each ribbon indicates the name, rank and hometown of deceased soldiers. Blue ribbons represent prayers offered for Iraqi civilians killed. Green ribbons are prayers for peace in the Middle East.







Along my journey, I decided to be a tourist in the neighbourhood where I work because I rarely get a chance to see the sights and feel too foolish to carry a camera during lunch hour.



Right across the street from the Time&LIfe building - Radio City Music Hall and further down the block, Rockefeller Centre and NBC Studios.

36)Friday

The Friday after America Day is only for skeleton staff. There were maybe a dozen people on the floor. The highlight - the big boss (at right) and another employee showed up to work wearing the same new dress. It's an embarrassment for any New York fashionista to be caught wearing the same outfit as someone else. It is even worse when you are the boss. And more terrible still when it is discovered that you "slum-shop" (not my words) at H&M.














Here's Brendan, my cubicle mate, refusing to turn around for his official candid portrait.















With nothing to do at the office, we were sent home early. Alana and I met up in Tribeca and headed over to Uniqlo - the Japanese H&M to buy some cheap dress shirts (me) and a Marc Jacobs inspired knock-off (her). We then gorged on $3 sushi and cocktails in the East Village.

35) America Day

"America Day," more commonly known as "4th of July" is a big deal here in NYC, or so I heard. Perhaps the only patriotism I saw displayed was the star and stripes flag pin I received at the grocery store with my $10 purchase.

There were no marching bands, choirs singing, children running about in red, white and blue. After experiencing years of Canada Day festivities where the city is decked out head to toe in red and white, the sheer lack of colour-coded enthusiasm was surprising. Granted I did not wander about in Time Square today, but no one on the subway, save one small child was draped in a flag.

Most of today was spent eating. The photos were all taken at "Trailer Trash" a lovely homage to the American trailer park lifestyle and culture. In the heart of Chelsea the irony might have been lost on some of its patrons, but the tater tots and philly cheese steak were rather authentically prepared. The paper towel roll on the tables keenly displayed with pride. The quick-wittedness of the wait-staff, or lack thereof, was most likely not put on for affectation. Or maybe it was . . .

As it poured with rain most of the day, we bought snacks and headed over to the movie theatre. Michael Moore's Sicko was sold out in the afternoon, so we waited til the early evening, skipped the fireworks, and felt collectively smug that our respective countries, Canada and the UK, both have universal healthcare. There were parts of the movie, where Moore discusses France, that made me want to move back there in a heart beat.

Came home and discussed movie in brief with roommates. One of them declared that Michael Moore was a a wing-nut lunatic who should not be allowed to make films. I asked which of his films was most objectionable. The response: "Haven't actually seen any of them, but they always say on Fox News that he's crazy."

34) Canada Day: A Brooklyn Story

I spend a lot of time eating in New York. And when I am not eating, I am scoping out the never ending array of gourmet grocery stores. I walked 40 blocks to the "Gourmet Garage" this evening - the only place to sell a lemon-artichoke pesto.

This morning, Greg and I ventured into the heart of Brooklyn to eat at the famed "Junior's," a restaurant so popular that Greg's mother in Boulder, Colorado had recommeded the establishment, although she has never been herself.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of my breakfast - deep fried french toast and turkey sausages - was the cup of OIL that was offered as a side garnish, alongside the apple and raisin jam and syrup.



The previous evening, Soriaya's parents fresh from a two day drive from Indiana, took us to Taka sushi in Greenwich Village - an astoundingly delicious meal of spicy tuna rolls!

























On the advice of some Israeli girls gleaned during subway ride conversation, Nathan and I headed to the Brooklyn Art Gallery for an afternoon "art bash."











A $10 cover fee provided entry onto the grounds of the gallery for an outdoor DJ show. Refreshments were sold in a room illuminated solely in cotton candy pink neon bulbs. The more the crowd drank, the, more the crowd danced.

Of the many colourful people we encountered - the impressario of a shower curtain empire. Our meeting was all thanks to Nathan, who happens to know the son of Britain's plastic shower curtin ring king (not to be confused with the metal shower curtin ring king!)















There was complimentary entrance into the various galleries of modern art - from empty rooms with a single canvas depicting a lone coloured dot on its surface, to multicoloured popsicle stick constructions discussing the fickle nature of human emotions.













We eventually found our way to Prospect Park (the Central Park of Brooklyn) for another Canada Day concert featuring the Stills, Malajube and Sam Roberts. Having coerced my fellow interns into attending, I felt confident that they had glimpsed a fine display of Canadian culture. They spent most of the evening quizzing me on "who is really Canadian" in the pantheon of Hollywood celebrities.