Two More Broken Rules

Two movie rules were broken tonight thanks to Barry Lyndon:

1. No period dramas.

2. No Kubrick films.

Actually, the second rule was relaxed in about 2005 when Trinitah College had their free Kubrick season, coinciding with the time I decided to start educating myself cinematically and stuff, and so went to see Lolita (which I loathed, having read the book and seen the Jeremy Irons version), A Clockwork Orange (great film to watch late at night and then slip back home along dark, deserted streets, even in Nowheresville) and The Shining. Eyes Wide Shut was on Sky once back when I still thought Tom Cruise was hot so I saw that and S convinced me to watch Dr Strangelove once but I think I would enjoy it more the second time, if only because I seem to remember being resistant to the idea of watching it. 

Anyway, Barry Lyndon is long. Really long. Like, three hours and ten minutes long. As ever, around the 15-minute mark, my eyes went into, "I think it's bedtime so I'm going to sleep now," mode, although luckily it only took ten minutes to persuade myself it wasn't sleepytime. It felt even longer--not in a bad way; I wasn't bored--even though there was plenty of action. Barry Lyndon (né Redmond Barry--incidentally, if I were called Barry and were changing my name, I wouldn't keep the Barry part) is a social-climbing arriviste who cheats, lies, dodges and charms his way to the top (first half), marries a rich heiress, following which ensues his inevitable tragic downfall (second half). 

The film is so long, there was an intermission card shown for about 20 seconds this evening. The latecomers who missed the announcement that there was no intermission jumped right up and dashed for the loo/the bar only to realise they had to come back. I do like a cinema that punishes latecomers! And one where grumpy old men in the row behind me can ask me quite loudly if I can ask the very tall person sitting in front of me whether he'd just sit himself down more (the guy heard perfectly, of course, and slunk down in long-legged shame).

Barry isn't very likable--none of the characters are, really, from the damaged, vengeful stepson to the wife who just sits there looking miserable and sad, without speaking, for 90% of her screen time but she is played by a former model who probably had plenty of practice; her wigs and outfits were enough to rival Keira, even if she couldn't quite manage to achieve the same wooden performance of The Duchess--but at least during the first half, he manages to pull off the "lovable rogue" angle. In the second half, he's just selfish, irritating and cruel, ignoring his chequebook wife (who doesn't even get a name, though she signs her cheques "H. Lyndon" -- women's lib--c'est quoi?) and lavishing all his attention on his son (perhaps his one redeeming quality). Also, Ryan O'Neal's Irish accent is quite funny, especially when he's an American playing an Irishman playing a German, and so on; quite a change from Oliver Barrett IV, anyway.

It felt like the film lasted so long solely because Kubrick intended it to be. Almost every scene opened with an establishing shot that would focus on a close-up object--a table or a woman standing in a doorway--and then zoom...out...very...very...slowly to reveal the wider scene. It's very arty, I'm sure, but it mainly made me feel seasick, especially when at the beginning of every scene, I started bracing myself for the zoom-out, which didn't always happen. Yes, a very clever little detail, but I prefer to be impressed by dialogue and acting than by technical details, though the film as a whole was a big romp over one beautiful canvas after another, spanning right across Europe and back again. The music was good too, although the reprise of the main theme seemed a bit clichéd as I could tell at which moments it would start playing.

But I enjoyed it. I might have given it a higher IMDb rating if it hadn't been so long--a three-hour film has to do more to earn its rating than a two-hour film, as though to justify my time expended watching it; sunk costs or none, I don't just give away 8/10. I still need to see 2001 and there are a couple of others I would watch but really, then, I've done all the Kubrick I want to--which is plenty, really...

Mad about--and in--New York

Last night is surprisingly memorable given the amount of alcohol I consumed. We went for pre-dinner drinks at Pastis in the Meatpacking District, which remains on my to-do list as an eatery. Then it was off to join some others from the gang for dinner at the Old Homestead. The staff were incredibly accommodating given that the original booking was for seven and by the end there were about 18 people there, including several who had had to leave early to go to another event. I had some Champagne, some delicious red wine, two oysters (my first--I blame the booze) and a gorgeous filet mignon. Then it was off to some bar in the Flat Iron District for over-priced cocktails. 

I stumbled out of the taxi and into the hotel at about 3.30 a.m. Woke up at 7.30 with an aching knee. Couldn't fall back to sleep so started packing and then, for some reason, decided to go running (decided was perhaps the wrong word as I wasn't really sentient at that point). I think the 27 degree air refreshed my head enough to stop the world from spinning and lurching. A strong coffee and a shower made my head feel just about about tolerable.

I love this city even if it's crazy and makes me do crazy things!

Debit Card Ready and Nothing To Buy

This must be something of a record: I've been in Manhattan for 36 hours and haven't yet bought any clothing, despite having visited several J. Crews and a range of other shops. They all seem to have their summer season clothes and funnily enough, I don't usually feel like buying bikinis, flip flops and short shorts when it's 25 F outside--is it really any wonder that the retail industry is in such a state given that shops insist on offering for sale items that will only be worn in about five or six months?

In any case, fun was had. After the early morning run, I grabbed a bagel at Ess-a-Bagel, conveniently just around the block from the hotel. I then had to attend a group photo session in Central Park (playing the role of photographer, of course), which involved commandeering a whole path ("The Mall") for about 30 minutes to take photos of the whole team in a V shape with various combinations of people standing, leaping and posing at the front. It was very much like herding cats so Maman and I took off as soon as we could. We got the subway up to Harlem and then walked back down through Riverside Park, past a huge church and went into St John the Divine Cathedral before breaking for lunch at a great French bistro called Le Monde.

We then walked further downtown to my comfort zone but after an afternoon of shopping in Midtown, all I had to show for myself was a variety of houseware goods from Crate & Barrell--they were all brightly coloured and/or frivolous but even so, what is the world coming to if I go to New York and all I buy is a load of effing kitchen goods?

I made it back to the hotel slightly later than planned, just after six. Still, that morning the plan had been to go for cocktails with the group at six-thirty so I wasn't really late. I hurried upstairs to change and came back down ten minutes later to met Maman; the others had left soon after I went to the room so we were very surprised to be the first to arrive at the designated bar, Tao, even though they left ten minutes before us! Honestly, it's a miracle they get anything done. Tao is (strangely enough) an Asian-themed bar (although it made me think of A.A. Milne and wonder whether there was a sister bar called Te next door; actually it first made me think of Dawson's Creek). We didn't see Tom Cruise, Madonna or Beyonce (who often go there, according to the website), which was probably good news--the bar was quite funky inside and the cocktails were really good--I had a lychee martini (which came with a whole lychee inside) and a Taojito (Mojito with some kind of lemony liqueur), which were strong enough to mean I was somewhat tipsy throughout Revolutionary Road, which Maman and I went to see afterwards. Not exactly light-hearted Friday night viewing but it was interesting and faithful to the book; I don't think it should win the best film Oscar though.

We finished the night at P.J. Clarke's with a cheeseburger and plenty of Merlot. The restaurant is open until 3 a.m. and the bar was heaving when we arrived and when we left. So much so that it took most of the length of the meal to play my request on the jukebox (Thunder Road), although the rest of the choons that were pumped out were also pretty acceptable.

This morning is the coldest yet but it is gorgeously sunny and we are leading a group walk over Brooklyn Bridge and into SoHo. This will involve getting 10 people on the subway so fingers crossed.

Braving the Cold

My run this morning was absolutely gorgeous even if it was about 25 degrees outside and 7 a.m. local time. I jogged to the park with some of the gang before posing for a group photo on the little bridge, which was covered in snow and with the skyline lit up by the winter sunrise in the background. Then, I took off by myself being very careful not to slip on the snow, looping over to Central Park West and cutting across to the east side at 103rd Street. Parts of the park were so snowy, it was almost like I was cross-country skiing. Without the skis. For someone who has never skied. Anyway, it was a brisk and beautiful run which made my coffee and hot shower afterwards even better! Oh, I do heart NYC!

Ice Cold on Lex

As promised, New York is freezing cold but I don't care because I'm here. I watched a couple of films on the plane (Dog Day Afternoon and Falling Down), which at least let me put on my headphones and shut out AFC banter. I also read Jay McInerney's new book of short stories (I liked eight out of ten, although they all seem to be a bit samey with recurring motifs and the ever-present idea that fidelity is nothing more than a pipe dream and the different ways people use the word love to get what they want). On landing, I scampered off with a couple of our party and chatted to them throughout the long immigration queue before eventually reaching the outside world. We travelled by coach through the rush-hour traffic into Manhattan and arrived at the hotel. "Remember," says Dad as we enter our room at the Doubletree, "that it's cheap." Actually, we have a suite on the 19th floor with a good view and more floor space than my flat at home.

Maman and I headed straight out to Columbus Circle as the shops were open for another two hours. J. Crew sadly had nothing I wanted (nothing!) although there are still some more branches to try but i did buy some toiletries, which cheered me up a little. We had a  pizza slice and salad downstairs at Whole Foods before bracing ourselves for the icy wind outside. The temperature on one of the buildings along Central Park South read 27 degrees. Two pairs of gloves were not enough so I'm glad I packed plenty of layerable clothing. The plan is to go running with the group (or, at least, by myself) tomorrow morning at eight but a combination of tiredness and coldness may well put me off. Must be brave! And buy a new pair of running gloves as I managed to lose half of the old pair.

Jan 29, 11 p.m. ET.

New York Condensed

Following on from my 'London Condensed' guide, it's probably time to unveil my Idiot's Guide to NYC, Bexquisite-style. I have probably already mentioned most of these suggestions at least once in the past (Joe alone getting over a dozen plugs, even if some just in passing), which probably isn't surprising given the 64 NYC-themed posts over the past two years (65 including this one), which is more attention than London has received and almost as much as Nowheresville, movies, music and shopping!

Still, I did discover some new places on my last trip and as this was four whole months ago now, I think that's enough time to have reflected upon whether my fickle favour was just in passing or whether they are really worthy of the top 10.

So, in no particular order (given that this list is so much more than the sum of its parts, ranking would be inappropriate, even for a typical first-born, listophile like me; however, because even after two years I still haven't mastered using bullet points in this retarded blogging software (at least, not without messing up the font and line spacing of all the ensuing paragraphs; even trying to learn HTML didn't solve this problem), I am going to use arbitrary numbers).

Food & Drink

1. Joe--The Art of Coffee. Did I mention how much I love Joe? I'm just sad that they aren't holding one of their milk steaming classes while I am there as I'm desperate to learn the tricks of the trade for making a heart (or a leaf or a rose) appear in my froth (from what I've observed, it's all in the angle and the wrist action). Also, last time I went, I didn't have any cash on me and they don't take cards so the lovely guy in the Chelsea branch told me I could pay next time. I don't care if it's been four months, I am definitely going to pay back the $4 (although back then, $4 was worth about £2.30, while now it's more like £17).

2. Corner Bistro. When one is in NYC, one must have a burger and Corner Bistro's are great: juicy, meaty and cheap. Fine dining, it ain't, and the service is a little unpredictable (ranging from sullen the first time I went and took up a whole table for two by my lonesome self; the second time, I sat at the bar and chatted away to the barman who was trying valiantly to explain the rules of American football to me (it was on in the background), while I valiantly tried to read my Pynchon). CB is very New Yorky, though, even if its West Village location has, in the past, caused me severe navigational challenges--especially problematic when I was starving and it was pouring with rain.

3. Employees Only. I love to sit at the bar in Employees Only, drinking gorgeous cocktails (the ginger smash is particularly good, although I've had a spot-on mojito there too). I'm not sure whether I was annoyed or flattered when I started spotting it on various lists of NYC's best purveyors of cocktails--it's kind of nice to share these secrets only with friends but equally, it's quite nice to have some confirmation that the place you are drinking in really is one of New York's finest. They even have a psychic at the entrance, just in case you can't make up your mind which cocktail to have ("I see a Billionaire in your future...").

4. Ess-a-Bagel. Ess-a-Bagel's bagels are big, soft, tasty and cheap, which is everything that English bagels are not. The range of fillings is pretty staggering in this Austrian bakery, but if I go at lunchtime, a toasted poppy bagel with a little bit of butter is big enough to keep me going until cocktail hour (or, at least, until coffee time). I also like Absolute Bagels but as they are on Broadway and about 107th Street, I only visit when I'm staying at one of the two hostels up there. Ess-a-Bagel have a midtown location on 3rd Avenue, which is pretty close to the hotel on my next trip so it's entirely possible that I will be breakfasting there on at least one occasion.

Retail Therapy

5. J. Crew. I don't care if J. Crew is boring and I don't care if the first family wear their clothes. I don't even care (much) if the shocking exchange rate means that their cute, colourful cardigans, sparkly tops and pretty skirts aren't quite as good value as they were last May or even last October. I find more clothes I like after a good one-day cruise of the various branches than in a whole year of winding my way through the depths of Top Shop. Also, I like the little steps up to the SoHo store and the fact that they give you little bottles of water while you wait for the fitting rooms. Easily pleased? Moi? Jamais...

6. Housing Works and Shakespeare & Co. It's cheating really to include both of these indie bookshops in the same entry (yes, it's still cheating, even if I make up the rules) but I couldn't really choose between them. Housing Works was a recent discovery and is like the Oxfam Bookshop in Oxford except a million times more awesome and with free wifi, a cafe with good coffee and great cakes, a really good selection of cheap, used fiction and celebrity customers! So, it's not at all similar to charity bookstores in the UK. Shakespeare and Co. isn't quite so cheap, given that it sells mainly new books. It also has a smaller selection (with a big focus on theatre and the movies) but is equally fun to browse, certainly compared to the Bookstore at the End of the Universe (the planet's biggest book shop). Also, they have a really fat, cute cat, which is tame enough not to abandon ship when approached by over-caffeinated, English cat nutters.

7. Bedford Ave. and Beyond. I discovered Brooklyn on my last trip to NYC. Well, a very small, once cool but now so passe part of it: Williamsburg. Previously, though, my only experience had been getting the subway to High Street Brooklyn so that I could run straight over the Bridge to Manhattan so I felt like I was really branching out. On and off the main drag, Bedford Avenue, there is a bounty of boutiques of the kind I like (specialising in clothes by small, indie designers, tasteful jewellery, pretty handbags and girlie stationery), including Catbird (of the nautical necklace), Jumelle and Sodafine. Comme refreshment, there are more cooler-than-thou independent coffee shops than you can shake a pair of skinny jeans at. I picked Verb, natch, though hopefully, Verb hasn't been verbalised yet ("so, I Verbed last night with Clive").

Other Diversions

8. Brooklyn Bridge. I went running over Brooklyn Bridge even before I did running outdoors, back in my gym bunny days. The view is quite stunning, although why some of the guidebooks suggest people walk away from Manhattan is beyond me. I've got hundreds of photos of the bridge and of a View from the Bridge but somehow, there hasn't been a photo of me leaping there yet, so I hope my knees will be in a leaping state by then (and that snow doesn't stop play).

9. Top of the Rock. Everyone goes up the Empire State Building on their first trip to New York. Well, actually, I went up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty on my first trip to New York but that was 1995 and they did things differently there. On the second trip, though, we went up the Empire State and I have since done it on many occasions, in various temperatures, with various people and at various times of day. The Top of the Rock is now my favourite Ascendable Tall Building, though. It's less crowded than the ESB, there is room to leap and to be photographed leaping, you get a great view of the ESB and, best of all, you can take photos without annoying glass or fences in the way, unlike up the ESB. So, Top of the Rock rocks.

10. Bloomie Nails. Given that I don't really like people touching my hands, having manicures or beauty treatments of any kind, it's perhaps odd that this little chain of nail bars makes my top 10. However, getting a manicure is a very NYC thing to do and the technicians do a great job of making even my grubby mitts look dainty and elegant, even if they do tell me my skin is too dry ("look, lady, you try living in Nowheresville when there are no mountains between there and Siberia!") and, when you pay before they apply the polish (so you don't smudge the varnish getting your credit card out), they point meaningfully at the little card that says, "We take Amex, oh and by the way the price doesn't include a tip; we suggest at least 20%." Nonetheless, they use the OPI varnishes I like and their manicures are really, really cheap compared to England and, for a week or two, my hands feel really soft and my nails look pretty. Our hotel on the next trip is next to the Bliss Spa so I'm also optimistic that at least one parent will offer to get me a massage or a posh hand treatment/manicure there.

Apart from the Williamsburg excursion (too time consuming when you only have three-and-a-half days) and the Top of the Rock, which I did last time, I hope to do all of my required-experiences on my next visit. Then again, the choice between a really good burger in a divey restau-bar and a posh dinner in a swanky but cool restaurant is a pretty tough one to make, so it's conceivable that I might cheat on Corner Bistro with a smarter alternative. On verra!

London Condensed

This week's Time Out has an article with a list of 40 things to do in London on a Sunday. Now, while activities in Cambridge are a little thin on the ground on Sundays, I've never really had a problem entertaining myself in London on a Sunday. Nonetheless, the first suggestion listed involves a pre-brunch Bloody Mary at Providores, and Providores also makes my top 10, even though most of the rest of Time Out's top 40 diverged from my own top weekend activities in the city.

I want to create a sort of beginner's guide to New York with a list of 10 activities, coffee shops, shops and restaurants that would, on completion, provide a perfect introduction to the bits of New York that I love. However, I need more time to review my Moleskine before doing this so in the meantime, this is my Beginner's Guide to London.

Food and Drink

1. The Soho Antipodean coffee shops. These include Milk Bar, Flat White, Fernandez and Wells and Lantana (technically in Fitzrovia but only just across Oxford Street). It used to be so hard to find good coffee in combination with a characterful, friendly ambiance in central London but thanks to these cafes, and similar, caffeinating in style is so much easier and more fun.

2. Providores. The fact that this cafe/bar/tapas bar is so close to where I live doesn't hurt, nor does the fact that the weekend brunch is good enough to queue for half an hour in the cold and the rain! The coffee is good and my usual brunch option (French toast with maple syrup, pecans and crispy bacon) as well as my recent variation (sweetcorn fritters with blueberries, vine-ripened tomatoes and rocket) are both yummy and filling. The cocktails are pretty good too-- I had a cucumber mojito, which was very refreshing on a sultry summer night in the city.

3. Relais de Venise. Their motto could conceivably be, "if the formula ain't broke, don't fix it." £19. Steak. Frites. Salad with walnuts. All of it so very tasty, even if the ambiance is kind of 1954 Paris, right down to the French wait staff. Is this the French equivalent to a retro American diner? Quite possibly. At a time when many small restaurant chains are cutting back and closing branches, Le Relais de Venise just opened a new branch in the City and there is usually a queue outside the Marylebone location, even on a rainy Tuesday evening.

4. Wild Honey. I'm not exactly a gourmet but sometimes, even I want a little more elegance, a little more style and a little more choice than Le Relais de Venise offers. Wild Honey, in Mayfair, offers plenty of the above and more with its bargainous set menus and also very reasonably priced à la carte options. The staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming too. When I went, my salmon was gorgeous, the pudding options were tantalising and the wine list is huge, with most bottles being offered in a carafe size to allow the pairing of a particular wine with each course, if one is that is that way inclined... 

5. The Duke of Wellington. My friendly, neighbourhood gastropub. I have been going there since moving to Marylebone, and didn't realise that it is also supposed to be one of the best gastropubs in the city (a big and growing category), being the runner-up in Time Out's "best new gastropub" category last year. I'm not a big Sunday roast fan (I prefer brunch) but whenever I've been, the food has always been good. It's equally nice as a purveyor of booze, whether that involves sitting on one of the outdoor benches with a glass of Pimm's on a summer afternoon watching the world go by or huddling inside in the depths of winter next to the fire, nursing a glass of red.

Retail Therapy

6. South Bank book market. Along with Henry Pordes, the book market on the South Bank is my favourite place to buy books--and to while away hours (half an hour, anyway) browsing. The collection is always varied enough for me to find all sorts of things I didn't know I wanted or had never heard of, as well as things I was looking for, and perfectly sized so that I can easily scan most books on the stalls in half an hour.

7. Liberty. Perhaps all department stores should be like Liberty, but then Liberty wouldn't be so special. It contains only the departments that I would want to visit (accessories, stationery, gifts, jewellery, chocolate, beauty, clothes, etc.) and none of the dull ones (washing machines, etc.). Liberty contains everything that is beautiful and not very much that is useful, which is part of its charm. They do have a kitchen department but it is a) hidden on the top floor and b) contains ridiculously expensive and/or frivolous items so that even buying a set of coffee cups isn't as tedious as it ought to be.

8. Marylebone High Street shops. London needs more streets like the MHS and I often walk its length, dipping in and out of its many shops, from Daunt to Aveda to Fresh to Comptoir des Cotonniers, stopping for coffee and a cake at Le Pain Quotidien or Paul (whose praline macaroons are delicious). Again, it isn't easy to find useful things here but you have Baker Street and Oxford Street in close proximity for such mundanities.

Other Diversions

9. The BFI. In stark contrast to the less characterful cinemas of the West End, the BFI makes going to the movies extremely pleasurable. The seats are comfortable, the main screen is huge (and in the others, the seats are designed so that you can actually see the screen even if a very tall person is sitting in front of you) and they have a couple of cool cafe-bars for a pre- or post-film snack or drink. Best of all is the fact that the people who attend the films shown do actually love the cinema and treat it as a sacred experience. They do not sit there talking through the film, letting their mobile phones ring or get up part-way through to go to the loo. They just sit and let the film come to them.

10. Green spaces. I recently discovered a new park for my running--well, two, really: Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens--and this is rapidly becoming my running route of choice, although this might be that I am suffering from Regent's Park Outer Circle overkill. I like running past the fountains and the sunken gardens and the Albert Memorial and somehow, Hyde Park reminds me more of Central Park than Regent's Park does, although neither of the London parks are particularly similar to my favoured New York alternative. That said, I do very much enjoy taking in the view from the pinnacle of Primrose Hill or the reward of a posh sausage bap at the Honest Sausage in Regent's Park. When the weather improves, perhaps I will want to run for longer and will explore pastures new...