RULE NUMBER 11.

Busker at Union Square Markets

American Museum of Natural History

The High Line

Graffiti in Meatpacking District

Rows and rows of jewellery at markets

Antiques Garage - Hell's Kitchen

Antiques Garage - Hell's Kitchen

Antiques Garage - Hell's Kitchen

Young Designers Market - Soho

squirrel friends

Rule Number 11.

This little piggy went to the market.....

Hey everyone,

We're about due for another update. Now....just trying to remember what we've been up to.

We're down to 2 and a half weeks left and time has flown by. We're only just beginning to adapt to the cold weather as well!

As Adam mentioned, he spent Saturday and Sunday at the course learning a program called "After Effects'. He's really enjoying it and adding more skills to the many talents he already has :)

Seeing as I had the weekend to myself, I decided to check out the New York markets (thanks to Tash for giving me a little book on them!). It was drizzling pretty much all day long but that didn't stop me. First, I visited the Young Designers Market in Soho. It's located in a local hall and a perfect place for up and coming fashion/jewellery designers and artists to showcase their work. It's not cheap like a flea market but there was some pretty cool stuff. I ended up buying a dress.

I then trained up to the Antiques Garage in the "Hell's Kitchen" part of town. Apparently this place is frequented by Dianne Keaton...unfortunately, I didn't see her. During the week, it's a big parking garage and on weekends it turns into a 2 storey flea market full of ALL sorts of stuff. You could spend hours in there sifting through everything...so much to look at. There are stalls full of jewellery, old photos, clothes, records, books, homewares, art...EVERYTHING. All sorts of people too...head to toe fur wearing women, antique dealers, fashionistas and bums.

After Adam finished his course, we headed out to East Village to have some dinner and see a movie. We found a great place called "Cafe Centosette" along 2nd Avenue. Another awesome meal...it's rare to have a bad one here. Adam chose the dish of the night - he ALWAYS chooses the best dish! A chicken parma served with pasta. He ended up giving a fair bit to me as I kept looking at him with puppy dog eyes once I had a taste. My meal was also good - a sirloin burger with salad and chips. Nice.

"The Fighter" was the movie of choice and it was brilliant. No wonder Christian Bale keeps winning for his performance...same with Melissa Leo. It really was great in every aspect and deserving of all the hype.

Sunday, Adam was back at the course again. It was a much nicer day with a bit of sunshine too. I'd heard about the High Line in the Meatpacking District. It's an old train track that's raised pretty high above the ground and runs along the Hudson River. It's kinda like a boardwalk thing with gardens along the side and surrounded by buildings etc. Obviously all the gardens and seating were covered with snow and ice but I imagine it would be a really nice spot in the warmer months. It was pretty cool and a good way to see some of the river and Meatpacking District. More info by clicking here

Next stop was all the way in the Upper West Side at the Green Flea Markets. Note to self - always check if the train you're on is an EXPRESS train. After having a really nice chat with a local girl while waiting for the train, I didn't notice I'd jumped on an express line. Hrmm...the train passed my stop and then the next one...and the next one....so I ended up all the way past Harlem at the top of Manhattan. Whoops! Won't be doing that again. Anyway, I finally got to the Green Flea markets. These are held at a local school with stalls on the basketball courts and in the hallways. A similar feel to the Antiques Garage but a bit more upmarket. Heaps of great stuff on show...just gotta have the patience to sift through it all :)

The Upper West Side certainly feels different to the villages...you can tell you're surrounded by more money. The people are different, the buildings are cleaner and the streets are wider. In fact, EVERY area in New York has it's own feeling - I guess that's what makes it so great. While up that way, I came across Shake Shack and had to quickly cross the road before being sucked in. I had lunch at a Shake Shack the other day and it was amazing. Their chocolate thick shake....oh...my...gosh. I need to take Adam back there.

Last stop was the Union Square Markets...these are only held outside and it was pretty quiet. I guess the cold stops a lot of people from setting up. However, quite a few had their art, photography, clothing, crafts on show. I think I've done the NY markets for now...but it was well worth it.

The last two days have been pretty cruisy for me while Adam's at the course - keeping it local by staying in the East Village area. I've been enjoying a cup of hot passionfruit green tea at a local cafe called "The Bean" and watching the world go by. I'm trying to sit for an hour or so during the day as well and use my pregnancy speaker system thing! Music of choice lately...Neko Case, Justin Townes Earle, soothing instrumental stuff...

On Thursday, Adam's sister Amie and hubby Steve arrive. We're looking forward to nights out with them and showing them around....Adam will also have someone to share a bottle (or more) of wine with! Good times.

Hope all is well back home. We'll report back on the weekend sometime....Missing you all!

Much love, Gem and Ads xx