Lazing in Hell's Kitchen

You may have noticed that my blog has gone back in time a bit. There are two reasons for this: firstly, I was too busy having a good time to write all of my NY experiences up as they were happening; secondly, I am being forced into taking it easy for once, as I've been unwell for the past week. The one plus-side of being ill is that you have more of a chance to sit back and reflect. And I definitely have a lot to be nostalgic about after nine frenetic New York months.

These are some drawings I did of my friend Milenna in a diner in Hell's Kitchen. Intending to visit the famous Hell's Kitchen market, we met at 14th street and bravely marched along 11th avenue to reach it, despite the savage wind blowing from the Hudson and our lack of umbrellas. Faced with the disappointingly meagre array of goods on offer at the market, we didn't stay long, and stallholders had already begun to close up due to the leaden sky. So instead, we huddleed up at a formica table in the diner across the street and ordered true diner fare, oatmeal and banana for myself and eggs benedict for Milenna. We ate, talked, made room for Milenna's friend Kobai and her visitors from Berlin when they arrived post-Ellis island, and sketched. Milenna, now used to me scribbling at any given social occasion, asked for a sheet from my pad and some crayons and joined in this time, to my delight. Despite the slightly dingy feel of a place that probably hasn't changed decor for at least fifteen years, the diner was brightened up by (real) flowers on the low windowsills and the late afternoon light streaming through the large windows. After a nice long break we set off downtown, via the huge H&M on 34th Street where we both wandered round collecting piles of garments, and surprised ourselves in the changing rooms to find we'd both picked out the same things.