New York: Day 4 - Chinatown, Lower East Side, East Village, Squirrels

Day 4 started like any other.  Late and a little disorganised.  We got on the train with no real destination in mind and just thought we would go where the subway took us.  It took us to Chinatown (the subway can sense my people) which was good as I was craving dumplings.  I texted my cousin Sara for a recommendation.  She suggested Big Wong on Mott Street.  We ignored this and went next door to the Shanghai dumpling restaurant.  It was a good call, but I may always regret never going to Big Wong (or I may have saved myself from serious food poisoning, either way we will never know).  After we stuffed 16 dumplings into us we weaved through Chinatown making our way to the Lower East Side.

This is how Marc rolls in Chinatown.

This is how I roll.

I felt so at home with my people.  Marc was uncomfortable, too white and too tall.

Chinatown - pushing Little Italy out just like they did international media and free speech.

Smartest cat ever.

Child labour still in use in Chinatown.

The Lower East Side has two of my favourite things - a tea shop rumoured to be owned by a famous person, and a vegan cup cake shop!  We wandered the cute streets admiring the architecture and history of the area but really just trying to get to Babycakes before all the agave bites sold out (like little brownie bites but with less guilt, although it is a Jewish neighbourhood so there is some guilt).

I was clearly focused on the bakery.

Mmmm vegan baked goods!

Inside Babycakes

AGAVE BITES!!!!!!!

Yellow school bus blocking the Tenement Museum

Who says the American school system is rubbish?  I believe their math is sound.

The Lower East Side - where all good bikes come to die.

After Babycakes, we thought we would wash it all down with some tea from Teany, a cafe with a 40 page (just guessing) tea menu, supposedly owned by Moby.  The thing I like about Teany is that they don't just offer soy milk to those of us with a penchant for the plant based milk derivatives, they also offer, almond, oat, rice and hazelnut milk.  Delicious.

Satisfied with our gastronomic treats we ventured up to the East Village.  We would have wandered around more but we got caught up in Tomkins Square Park where Marc saw even more squirrels and took about 100 photos of them.  Then it started to rain so the squirrels all went home and we thought we ought to do the same.

Squirrel in a tree

Squirrel on the ground 

Squirrel on a fence

Marc feeling obliged to take my photo but resenting me for taking his attention away from the squirrels.

Squirrel drinking from a puddle.

That night we caught up with Breigh and Whitney who we met in Ecuador and went to a comedy show at Dangerfields (named after Rodney Dangerfields of Caddyshack fame).  I do love some good race based comedy and the comedians definitely delivered on that.  There were also the requisite political, penis and sex based jokes.  The highlight was when one of the waiters, who had been working there 40 odd years, got up on stage and told some real humdingers (none of which I can presently remember but trust me, they were great!).