Sunday 28 June

I snooze for 1/2 an hour, it's too hard to be so regimental every day. I rearrange my morning and set off for The Bronx. I am trying hard to stay awake on the subway and it hurts. The trip is about 30 minutes and as we approach the end of the line the difference in aesthetic is obvious. The last few stops are above ground so I can check things out. Here we are 242nd St, The Bronx.

There are large groups of apartments and tenements all over New York but here they just seem to go on and on. The streets are littered and dirty, the shops are old. I am here to check out Wave Hill, a massive garden and performance space, another of those secret places in New York. I walk for a bit and can see the Van Cortlandt House Museum which is to be my 2nd stop. I soon discover that I am about to get myself lost and am nowhere near my destination. I think I have mixed up directions between the two places. That's okay I will just go back to the house and wait for it to open which won't be long.

Van Cortlandt House is the oldest in The Bronx and it stands out because it is so out of place. I am the first visitor and get chatting with the sale lady. I wonder how she gets through the day out here with few visitors. There are no other attractions around.

I decide to skip Wave Hill due to the awkwardness of getting there and my time frame which does not allow for me getting lost. I simply cannot get lost today as I have my theatre ticket. I walk several blocks sticking to the train line as this is a "hood" and I don't have an extensive map for this area. I get some shots of the overpass and the road which is an image you will be familiar with from car chases in movies.

Next stop Harlem. Yep, I am up in the hoods today. The hoods are uptown so saying "down in the hood" is technically wrong. I walk along 125th St which is the main street and there are heaps of street vendors selling Michael Jackson t shirts and memorabilia. The Apollo Theatre has a memorial wall where people can write a message. I get some photos but don't feel the need to stop for long.

I pop in to the Studio Museum of Harlem which is actually an art gallery and I'm not too fussed. I'm happy enough to leave town and head back to Times Square for my play. I'm very glad I got to look around the area a bit, not as much as I had intended, but I have blisters to take care of and the clock is ticking. Once on the bus I am able to relax my eyes as we move into familiar territory and I don't need to pay attention for ages.

As we get closer to Times Square the traffic is backing up. Oh the Gay Pride march is on. I get off and walk grabbing a hot dog on the way. I am starving but don't have time for anything else.

Time for God of Carnage. It is a great play but the theatre is far too big for the show. It really needs intimacy. So much was lost between the stage and the back row that this is where I think ticket prices are a crime. It's a different show when you are in the back row of the balcony compared to that which you see in the stalls. Remind me when I am a producer to adjust ticket prices more fairly. I hang around the stage door which is right next to the main entrance because I can. I get pictures of the cast and don't bother with autographs.

I'm feeling pretty damn chuffed so I think it's Macy's time!! I know, how many times can I go back there? It wouldn't be fair to miss things. As it turns out I get my Calvin Kleins and more. I even find a department that I wasn't expecting to. So you see this is where my style of shopping becomes successful. Now I really have to gome home, I am dead on my feet. My feet are dead. I don't know how but I get through the supermarket and home before dropping. I (think) have a shower, I can't remember 24 hours later, have dinner and write a bit. I accidently on purpose fall asleep and wake up when Chris comes home. I read for a bit then go to sleep again.