Back to New York City for a Night in the East Village

A traffic accident on the freeway into New York City made my 250-mile bus journey from Falmouth on the 3^rd July considerably longer than I expected. Caught in a huge traffic jam, the bus crawled along at pace similar to a Galápagos giant tortoise in low gear.

Arriving mid-afternoon, I caught a taxi to my accommodation in the East Village… or so I thought. Thunderstorms had rolled in for the afternoon and in a particularly heavy downpour the driver pulled up at where we both thought I was meant to be.

Unfortunately, it turned out we were both wrong… forty blocks wrong I discovered after the taxi had left. Already soaked through and no available taxis in sight, I walked twenty blocks before discovering a bus heading in the right direction.

Resembling a somewhat disheveled and damp bag-lady and arriving much later than expected, I introduced myself to Sharon and her fifth floor apartment in the East Village that I'd booked through airbnb.com. My room for the night was compact but with a very comfortable bed and a nice window looking out over a little treed courtyard. I was tempted just to lie down and do absolutely nothing but it seemed a waste of an excellent adventure not to go out and explore for at least an hour or so before bed.

A friend from primary school, Claire, suggested via Facebook that I make my way to “Babycakes” for a coconut donut to die for, or at the very least, cheer me up. The famous gluten-free cupcake shop was an easy walk from where I was staying, so donning rain jacket and umbrella, I headed out once more.

Sadly, they were all out of coconut donuts by the time I got there but I survived nicely on a variety of yummy chocolaty cakey things. The chocolate fired up my dormant caffeine addiction so I made my way towards Tuck Shop – an Australian owned and run pie shop in the East Village, rumored to have excellent coffee and even more excellent Aussie meat pies.

However, by the time I’d walked from Babycakes to Tuck Shop in the oppressive New York humidity, I’d turned into a ball of sweat and coffee was the last thing I felt like… and really, who eats meat pies with coffee?

Fortunately the Tuck Shop had a large fridge filled with a selection of South Australian Coopers Beer. I selected a Thai green curry chook pie and a bottle of Coopers green label Pale Ale – a match made in heaven and the perfect evening meal when you’re feeling a little homesick for Australia, your family and friends.

A good night’s sleep and I woke refreshed ready for the next leg of my travels; it was the 4^th July and I was heading to the Hamptons.