“A few months in NYC” has been on our travel list for so long that it feels almost surreal that we’re really here now. Thanks to Yiko we now call a 5th floor walk-up in Morningside Heights our home, at least until December.

It’s only been a week but we’ve already had plenty of New York moments: on our first night we passed a grocery store on the way to dinner and I went in to ask when they close to see if we’d have time to stop by for some milk afterwards. The cashier looked at me like I had just introduced her to my pet unicorn and said “Never”. I imagine this was followed by a roll-of-the-eyes and some grumbling about tourists but I didn’t stay to check.

Then a couple of nights ago we went for dinner with my friend Christine and afterwards for a quick massage at one of the ubiquitous Chinese massage parlors. Because really, what else would you do at 10pm on a Friday night in the Village?

Of course this weekend was also the tenth year anniversary of 9/11. We didn’t want to get too involved in the festivities (because, yes, that is almost what it felt like) so we stayed home on the day. But we did catch the free concert from the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center the night before, purely by chance, and it was beautiful. Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony was very appropriate for the moment.

We have also paid our respects at the navel of it all, the center of the city, the square of all squares, the core of the Big Apple. (The etymology of which, by the way, you can find here, if you’re interested.)