brooklyn

i honestly thought that upon my arrival in new york, i'd find my identity as a manhattan girl confirmed -- the heaven of shoes and other kinds of shopping, my fascination with the west village and washington square, and the nostalgia i have for 42nd street, gleaned from spending my formative years in the fantastical paradise of busby berkeley. imagine my surprise when, upon crossing the brooklyn bridge on an exploratory run early on tuesday morning, i felt the unheimlich slap me upside the head. i wouldn't go so far as to say i'd felt as though i'd come home ... but i did feel at ease in a way that i hadn't monday afternoon as i wandered up and down bleecker street.


in part, i think this has to do with my obsession with the brooklyn bridge as both an architectural wonder and a cultural signifier. i couldn't take enough shots as i was making my way across. the smog was wonderfully atmospheric.


if this feeling of the uncanny had a soundtrack, it would in large part feature the brooklyn-based band, slavic soul party that L and i ventured out to see on tuesday night. they make their regular home at a club called barbès that has a performance space the size of a new york closet, ironically named the "hotel d'orsay". as we sat and listened to their two sets, i had to make a concentrated effort not to spill beer all over the pants of one of the trumpet players who stood less than a foot away from my rickety wooden chair. the bell of the sousaphone (yes, there was a sousaphone) was constantly straining against the tin ceiling. and there was an accordion. need i say more?

i'm sad that i'm going to miss the 3rd annual tour de brooklyn. i really like the idea of guiding my (still shiny and new) bike through the "the best of all the boroughs".

i promise i'll post some more pics from my trip to new york soon!