Since way before we left the UK Colin has wanted to visit the Bronx, mainly I think because of it’s reputation as one of the most dangerous places in the city. I was not so keen. However, for the first time this trip we took the subway north and our first stop was 138th Street and we walked from here to the New York Yankee’s stadium (I Googled to discover they are an American baseball team - I know I should already know this!).
Actually it seemed a lot tamer than I had expected although halfway along the Grand Concourse there were lodes of NYPD officers and roads were sealed off. Thinking the worst I asked another photographer what was going on and he explained that they had just had their ‘Bronx Week’ - an annual celebration of the boroughs best and brightest citizens and recognition of institutions and individuals that have contributed to the area. So actually all very positive and I had thought the worst! The area around the Yankee’s stadium was incredibly clean, almost sanitized and there were plenty of police at the nearby subway station. Colin even found the perfect baseball cap for golf which looked really cool. This is where we found a stereotypical view of New York with the rail tracks above the road casting some great ‘photographers shadows’!
Still not having found the grittier Bronx that Colin wanted to see we picked up a different subway line by the stadium and continued north to Fordham Road. This time it was a lot different. The roads were wide and the shops low level and definitely not the same as on 5th Avenue. We were obviously ‘strangers in town’ and after some ‘discussion’ about how to get to the Italian district I wanted to see, we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and as we had survived this far, not to push it and we turned around and got straight back on the subway back down to our ‘hood - Harlem. After the Bronx it all seems very quiet!
After our excessive amounts of walking over the past week, we just relaxed in our lovely apartment before heading back out down to Hell’s Kitchen for our dinner date at K Rico’s. We arrived in good time and were glad that we had made the effort to dress up a bit which also meant it justified having brought those clothes with us.
My mussel starter was excellent but I’ll be honest - the 16oz New York strip which I had asked to be cooked blue was not so good and at the price I paid, I was expecting it to be amazing. It didn’t help that initially our steaks were presented the wrong way around - Colin had mine and I had his. So after we swapped them mine got a little rarer but still not blue. Having eaten at Don Juan’s in Buenos Aires twice and another place, we have been lucky to eat the best steaks in the world and for a much lesser price. The waiting staff kept hovering and then towards the end of the meal the bill suddenly arrived with no offer of coffees or anything else, with the levels of tips going up to 22% helpfully worked out at the bottom of the bill! Not good.
13,561 steps today... the figures are going down as we are getting tired towards the end of our trip!
