New York Lays Back: It's The Weekend

Something about New York City is very different during the weekend, and especially on a Sunday. It may be that all the hustle has to slow down sometime. It may be that with few corporate businesses open, those who live in the suburbs are just happy to be there and those who have no need to be on the street are indoors. Shoppers are out in force and in the areas where bargains may be had the keen are keener. But, those who venture out do so with a much more relaxed air. More tolerance seems apparent. People are in sweat pants, shorts, T shirts, sandals, and other summer leisure wear, not with their wing tips and high heels. They head to Central Park or to another park nearby to laze and watch others laze, or to take exercise and watch others play sport.

People--and they are of all ages--also are out eating and that is really a good part of a weekend's activity: brunch and the New York Times are a wonderful combination. If you love Jewish deli food or Chinese dim sum, the weekend, especially Sunday is the time to get your eat on. I had the joy of doing both. I went to the famed Katz's Deli, near Soho--jammed tables and long lines do not put you off. I also went to Jung Fong, in Chinatown, which looks like a huge banqueting hall but is dim sum paradise: congee, steamed dumplings, barbequed chicken feet, etc.

Sports fans can also put their supports on. I found a great bar that made watching football like standing on the terraces in England. Mad, yelling men peering at several screens as one or other English Premier League match was played, or this weekend, World Cup qualifying matches. Americans have truly taken to football--though they are hard pressed to call it that rather than 'soccer'. But love it they do, and with the Latin American and European influences in NYC, the football fever is high. "United!" or "C'mon Chelsea!" are belted out in accents ranging from pure English (Lancastrian or Cockney) through nasal New York or East coast drawl. But, it does not stop there. Those who love the French versions--many are from west Africa--or the Italian variants, are also there waiting their turn. The street is packed with those waiting to get in. On match day you could spend more than 12 hours in a bar watching the round leather ball being biffed all over the place. Magic!

I took the time to head over to Brooklyn, not to sample Caribbean food. I mean, why leave the Caribbean for that? But to enjoy the new energy that is filling some of the nearby neighbourhoods, as Yuppies look to get a little more air and space for the dollars they have to spend. Some of the neighbourhoods have the Lower East Side feel but with a lot more weirdness going on. You may have to ignore the transvestites, and the body piercings and the coloured hair and the same sex couples. This is New York, not Bridgetown. Some new and funky eateries have opened up and if it's Japanese,my stepdaughter is bound to have tried it, and so would we. I love to try all those things with fish and seaweed. I like to have dishes of hot sticky rice with eel and vegetables. Don't you?

The younger ones still have energy after 9pm to head off to a club or to go bowling. The older, and wiser, ones take their cue to head back toward homestead, knowing that the night session of tennis is just getting into full swing. Who's on tonight? Whoever it is they will have to excuse me while I don my jimmy jams and curl up on the sofa. Roger in his tuxedo-like Nike outfit does look sharp. Sharapova, pendant earrings dangling, looking like her tennis wear could do at a night club. Serena looking like the belle of any ball with sparkles and huge earrings. They all look ready to start the night shift. I've done my part and the day is well done. Well done me.