nyc: day21.

hello from the city, friends – it’s lovely to see you again.

day twenty-one started out snowy, but i was nestled cozily in my bed. fortunately, by the time i exited the apartment, most of the snow was melted and the sun had emerged. i was on my way to meet kim for lunch. we had a few options, but ended up deciding on a cute little peruvian restaurant near her apartment. inside, the place was incredibly quaint, and we were two of about four diners, one of whom was seated at the table next to us – beautiful ulla from swedan. she was such a fine, dainty woman with the most charming accent. at the end of the meal we each exchanged information – heck, if we ever go to swedan, maybe we can meet up.

our meal was delicious – kim and i decided to split an appetizer and an entrée. thus, the course began with bit of shrimp enveloped by a sort of spicy mashed potato. this was interesting – the taste was unlike anything i’ve known – good, but different, and the two of us were surprised to find that the dish was served cold. the second portion was vegetarian omelet – asparagus, red peppers, mushrooms, and goat cheese – served with salad, bread and jam, and the best french fries i’ve had. there was absolutely no grease on them – kim thinks maybe they were cooked in water or something.

how cool is that?

then for dessert, we walked down the block to a place called sweet revenge. it supposedly has the best cupcakes in new york, but in my opinion, there’s no question about it. kim had a cup of coffee and the “fleur de something”, which was so amazingly sinful – the thing melted in your mouth – and i chose the “pure”, flavored entirely with mexican vanilla and topped with the tastiest frosting i’ve ever eaten.

and i am an expert on frosting. seriously.

anyway, after we finished eating, we walked a while, browsing, and then parted ways – kim in the direction of a few more shops, and i in the direction of the strand bookstore. on the way, i ducked into a really neat glasses store, made up a random prescription, and in no time, i was trying on designer eye glasses. they were all super cute, but my heart was stolen by a geekish pair of betsy johnsons. the woman helping me was such a good salesperson that i was almost convinced i was nearsighted, and had to dash away before i found myself buying them.

close call, but a definitely a hoot.

i never made it to strand – after the eye glasses incident, i decided to head back to the apartment. i made it there with just enough time to make myself a cup of tea before having to take off again for my last nycares assignment. tonight i was reading bedtime stories at the jenny clarke transitional shelter. my partners turned out to be two of the cutest little black boys – michael and jamal. they were so rambunctious at first, but it only took minutes for them to calm down, michael to pick a book, and jamal to slither onto my lap. the time passed so quickly – in what seemed like minutes it was time to say goodnight.

i drug my tired body to the subway station for the last time that night, and caught the quickest train home. the warm apartment was awfully welcoming – i was happy to finally be there. after a long chat with mariah, and a quick brush of my teeth, i settled down to blog for the night.

tomorrow will be my last day in the city, and i know it will be a bitter-sweet one.

hopefully it favors the latter.