Brighton beach and the little Russia there. First we had a great brunch and chat with her friends at a cute little cafe. This quintessential "Friends" moment was another bit of icing on the cake of my full New York experience. But we could not linger, there were adventures to be had elsewhere. My intention – to see the beach and ocean. Our mission – to go and practice our rusty Russian language skills. Overall we probably had as much success as the last famously declared “Mission Accomplished” in that we came, we saw but we definitely didn’t conquer. However we had a great time wandering the stores looking at all the Russian goodies such as cakes and cookies, sausage, beer and siirok (cheesecake things I die for). I did manage to have a brief encounter no-pycckii (in Russian) with a store clerk as I tried on a dress that was definitely too small for me, but we deft fingers and no awkwardness on her part, she came into my dressing room and zipped me up. After I had pried myself from the suffocating garment she asked me if I was going to buy it and I could only shake my head no, wondering how she could think I would subject myself to that ordeal more than once. We wandered the boardwalk then for a while taking in the sights, sounds and smells of Brighton beach. It wasn’t the cleanest of beaches that’s for sure, but there was an ocean and that was good for me. (After all, I have traveled 40 minutes one-way just to see a beach in the dark in Galveston. Yes, I’m crazy and obsessed, what can I say?) A sight I wasn’t expecting was a little crab wandering the shore. I side-stepped him quickly hoping to not accidentally run into more of his
friends when we happened upon another marine friend, a jellyfish. Julia assured me it was dead before she then played out her dreams of being a doctor and started to dissect it with a nearby shell. It didn’t scream at the first or second cut, so I trusted that it was really dead. After a while we meandered back to the train and headed off home for a relaxing evening of dinner and a movie with Saul.Sunday was my last day in New York but that didn’t slow us down! This time all three of us went to Manhattan to check out the Salvador Dali exhibit at the MoMA. I must say, his paintings I do enjoy but the films he did were a little freaky even for a nutcase like me. I would have enjoyed the exhibit better I think if the place hadn’t been so packed
with people but it was still a great experience and we managed to catch our breath in the sculpture garden. Then we went back to Brooklyn where I indulged on my last meal of real Mexican food for the foreseeable future. (Mexican cuisine has not yet caught on around the world as it should.) And learning my mistake from coming into town, I searched for and found a private car service (not a whole freaking 12-person bus!) to take me back to Newark Airport. So we said our goodbyes and thanking my wonderful hosts I got into a beautiful black town car just like Ugly Betty and sped off into the night. That is, I sped off until we hit Manhattan and then we stopped… and waited… and waited… I now understand why everyone in movies will get out of the taxi and just start running for dear life. It’s ridiculous. I was sure I’d never make my flight and then would have to turn around and return to Brooklyn to beg for a few nights more stay on their couch. But all was well and the minute we got through the tunnel on the Jersey side it all cleared up. Another scare came when the stupid company I used wouldn’t accept my credit card and again I was imagining the horror of missing a flight and having to spend a night and day in the airport but in the end the card was taken, I got checked in and past security in the nick of time. To wait some more. As my flight was delayed due to mechanical issues. An hour after the scheduled departure we were finally off the ground and I was on my way to Ireland.. at last.
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