Highlights from my Last Week in New York

A friend came to visit me on the 22:nd of October - my 35:th birthday. We had 20 degrees and sun on this day. We started with a latte from Starbucks on Times Square. Later on, the banana bread from Starbucks became a favorite. We had dinner at Union Square Cafe - rated most popular restaurant in New York by Zagat guide. The food was excellent without being too fancy or stylish and the same can be said of the place itself and its atmosphere. Great service, nice decor, but yet simple, relaxed, and functional. We took a taxi home. It's a nice feeling to ride a taxi on Manhattan and it's cheap too.

We had lunch at Sushi Yasuda - supposedly the best Sushi restaurant in New York. It was really upscale and authentic and if you are a sushi fan willing to open your purse it may be worth a visit. It was definitiley something very different from your average Sushi restaurant in Stockholm. On friday lunch Sushi Yasuda was full (you need to book a table there) and so we ended up at Michael Jordans steakhouse in Grand Central station. I really like that place. It's an upscale steak house in a beautiful setting. Great stakes! Pricey though, of course...

We tried some shopping at the Disney Store, Victoria's Secret, Bloomingdales and Macy's. Friday evening I enjoyed an amazing piano concert with Murray Perahia at the Carnegie Hall. It was one amazing piano piece after another. The composers covered were Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and Chopin. It was an orgy in beautiful piano music and Perahia delivered it beautifully. According to my room mate Erik who studies classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music it doesn't get much better than this. I can't disagree with that. We were sitting way up on the balcony of Carnegie Hall. The concert piano looked like a small instrument from there. But the acoustics were amazing and the hall had a beautiful ambience. This was probably the best classical concert ever for me. It was a big experience.

We did some shopping at the spectacular Evolution Store in SOHO. Unfortunately we forgot to return there to buy the Shark in a Jar...

We wanted to see a Broadway musical and we chose the Lion King. It was quite an experience, especially for the dancing, the music, the decor and all the costumes. A lot of work and money must have gone into a Broadway show like that. The plot and the dialog didn't do much for us though and we would have preferred more music and dancing... I was most impressed and moved by Tshidi Mayne - a great african singer performing "He Lives in You".

My stay ended with a magical dinner at the Gramercy Tavern. This restaurant is top rated in Zagat and we were very happy with it. Nice dark and fancy decor, great service and food. We had a three course menu and the whole evening was a great experience.

The trip home went really well, so well in fact that we got upgraded to business class - massage seats that can be converted into beds, three course meals with port wine and liqeur. Nice! :-)

Being back in Stockholm felt great. Fresh air streaming through my lungs walking through a beautiful city. In many ways, Stockholm may very well be the most beautiful city in the world. However, after only a few hours or so the cold and the darkness was starting to get to me... I'm very fortunate then to be leaving for my next adventure soon - Argentina!