An Interesting Day at JFK

Today is a day that I have been anticipating for months.
Planning and preparing for, day dreaming about in class, envisioning with a corresponding ear-to-ear grin…
The day I left for San Francisco to see my nephew, Oliver.
So as my cab speed through Manhattan like I was in the middle of a high-speed chase, and my sister broke out into a hysterical sob next to me – I have to admit I got a bit worried. Spending the night in JFK airport sleeping on a bench was all too familiar to me to let it happen again.

Everything seemed to be going right. I had a lovely brunch this morning at Baltzhaar with Josh, I picked up 2 new books to read on the plane, my chronically late sister even arrived at my apartment on time! The only error was that I didn’t have any plane-snack for the 6 hour flight ahead. But in true Alison fashion, my sister had researched not only the in-flight-dining options for Virgin America, but also all the food options in the Terminal 4 of JFK, and our arriving terminal in SFO.
Nutty? A bit! But also kind of genius.

My cabbie buddy, Quatar, was right on time to pick us up to make our 4:55 flight. But unfortunately, we hit MASSIVE traffic heading out to the airport, and it soon became clear that there was no way we were going to make it.

Alison began to PANIC. Tears, rage, yelling at my pal Quatar for taking the mid-town tunnel, and finally turning to me and shouting “WHY ARE YOU NOT UPSET!” Had I been thinking, I should have been video-taping this whole scenario for later blackmail. But instead I calmly called the airline and got us on the stand-by list for the later flight.
Crazy sister, calm sister. You decide who goes with which.

The mania finally ended at 4:25, when we pulled up in front of JFK. Leaping out of her door before the cab had even stopped, Ali went to grab the luggage and into the terminal she sprinted. It was of course – too late. The baggage check was already closed. But, for a mere $50 we were able to confirm seats on the 6:45 flight …..done! Anything to get to little Oliver.

Why is it that so many airline check-in workers are rude? It’s like you have to meet an unfriendly criteria before you are given the job! This particular charming airline woman tried to tell me my carry-on was oversized and had to be checked!
Pardonnez-moi?
It was a CARRY ON! I am used to getting to the baggage check and hearing “oversized” – but that’s with my enormous case - and because it usually weighs around 70lbs, and even looks oversized. It could easily fit a human. Maybe 2.
But a carry-on bag?!!

She wheeled my little pink case over the bag check area and said it was sticking out an inch over the edge. Mind you – I carried this bag on every other flight no problem – even Ryan Air! I wasn’t going to let some sassy airline woman rip me off and make me pay $25 for a bag that was clearly acceptable. That money could go towards shoes! Or jars of nutella!
Looking back, I should have never bought pink luggage. It’s like a red flag for Elle-Woods treatment. Just because you’re blonde and like pink, people assume you’re stupid. Well, she messed with the wrong blonde. I transferred my PINK laptop from my case to my carry on so my case didn’t puff out at much, zipped it back up in front of her, and wheeled off. Blonde head held high in the air.

So with 2 hours to kill until take off, Ali and I decided to explore JFK.
Terminal 4 looked oddly familiar. I wondered... “Is this where I slept with Traci when we missed our connecting flight to Paris and had to live in the airport for the night?” I remember the devastation I felt of loosing a day of our trip, the uncomfortableness of trying to sleep on a metal bench, and the irony of waking up that next morning in front of an Au Bon Pain when I was supposed to already be at a boulangerie in Paris! But the only faux-french thing in sight was a little food stall called the Upper Crust, “famous French baguettes!” Intrigued, I wandered over as Ali went to get a latte. When I saw the baguette sandwiches were pre-made, and had ham and cheddar instead of ham and guyere – I left. Clearly, they were not fresh, and clearly they were not French.

I joined Ali instead at Pete’s Coffees and Teas! Way to get in the spirit of San Francisco, as it’s a local fav. I was happily sipping my mocha freddo when I saw it…. the au bon pain. OUR au bon pain. Awwwww the memories of my first trip to Paris with Tre! I contemplated buying an imitation croissant as a memento, but then remembered the freddo in my hand. And how awful imitation croissants are! I snapped this photo instead.


I was not this happy the last time I was there.


Ali still clearly affected by the arrival trauma....


While I am fully enjoying my delightful freddo!

After a latte and finding a new edition of USweekly featuring the Real Housewives of New York City on the cover, Ali was back to her normal self, and we headed for the gate to board.


Stopped at a store and almost bought a 1lb bag of Gummy Bears for a plane-snack.


Then I found the I love NY chocolate bars...


Alison's saving grace, USweekly.

It was my first time flying Virgin America. It’s true what they say – your first time is really special…. Virgin America is luxury! It is definitely my HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY!

The plane looks like a nightclub, and the stewardesses like rock stars. Our greeting attendant was clearly going for an Amy Whinehouse look. Beehive and all.


The inside of our night-club flight.

I love reading plane manuals, so I quickly learned I had several unique in-flight options for entertainment on my personal mini screen! Including but not limited to: video games, movies, satellite tv, shopping, food menus, reading, and even IM chat with other passengers! How freaking cool is that!? And useful! For example…

(Possible IM chat:)
Me: Hello! Passenger seated in 15A?
15A: …..yes?
Me: Hi, I noticed you ordered the lemon chicken wrap. Is that any good?
15A: …um… what?
Me: It’s just I can’t decide what to eat. I saw them deliver the wrap to you and I wondered if it’s any good?
15A: Yes, it's fine.
Me: Hmm, interesting.... Do you think I could maybe have a bite to see if I like it?
Virgin Atlantic Notification: PASSENGER 15A HAS BLOCKED YOU FROM THEIR CONTACT LIST.


As tempting as getting to know my fellow travelers was, I plugged in my computer and opted for the $12 WIFI. Nothing passes time like Facebook-creeping!

But as for now I’m off to tune into the tube. Ali has rented “When In Rome” – because we just can’t seem to get enough of terrible chick flicks set in Italy. Soon we will be in San Francisco, and since I am still on New York time, and it’s nearly midnight - Joyeux Anniversaire to my adorable nephew Oliver! He is 1 year old!

The On-Going Hunt For A True Baguette

FLASHBACK: December 18, 2009. Paris, France. Rue Saint-Dominique

An obviously Parisienne mademoiselle walks into the Boulangerie Julien. She is starving, having just gotten out of classe. What to choose?.... A croissant? A macaron? Mais non - she says, "Si vous plait - juste un baguette.... merci!"
She exits the boulangerie, a warm, crusty baguette in her hand. She knows she should wait until she is back at her apartment, to smother it in camerbert, but she cannot. The smell is overpowering. She pulls off a chunk of the end, and as the crust crackles and crumbs fly, she bites the most delicious bread in the world. A true, french baguette.

PRESENT DAY: February 24, 2010. New York, NY. West Broadway and Duane St.

An obviously Parisienne mademoiselle walks into the Bouley Bakery. She is starving. She is clearly excited at the prospect of finding a seemingly french market in Tribeca. There are croissants! There are macarons! One can tell it has been far too long since she has been in a boulangerie. "Excuse me," she asks the unknowledgable American man behind the counter - "do you sell baguettes?"
"Yes," he responds.
Doubtful, she inquires further, "True, French Baguettes?"
"Yes, he insists. This is the Bouley Bakery. Daniel Bouloud is French! Everything is authentic french.
Relieved, she orders. "Wonderful -just a baguette please!"
As soon as she exits, she rips of a chunk. The baguette is not warm. The baguette is not crusty. As she pulls off a chunk, no crumbs fly and no crackles are heard. She bites into the worst excuse for a french baguette in the world. Disgusted, she throws the remainder in the nearest trashcan. Thinking of Paris as tears rise, she continues to walk up west broadway - disappointed,deceived, and hopeless.

Sadly, this story is true. Since I returned from Paris I have been on a hunt for a true, french baguette. And nothing has even come CLOSE to the bread I bought and devoured each day while in Paris. I expected the task to be difficult, but it has proven to be impossible. I have tried bite after bite of immitation baguettes and been disappointed which each.

This fore-mentioned scene at the Bouley Bakery was my first attempt. The Bouley Bakery would certainly have a decent bakery! Daniel Bouloud is french! It was terrible. The worst of the ones I've tried. I also tried their marcarons, which I also threw away. Not surprisingly, the Bouley Bakery closed about a month ago. Clearly I was not the only Parisienne they disappointed.

My next attempt was Whole Foods. This baguette was warm when I bought it, which was the only reason I even decided to try it. I grabbed some wine and chevre and Caroline and I had a "remembering Paris" night about a month ago. It was also, disappointing. Dense and chew

The End of Seclusion Is Near!

The end of seclusion is near! Ali returned to the city today, and tomorrow Josh and Kristin return! My time of roaming the streets alone is almost over!

Today was quite a wonderful day! Beautiful, sunny, and perfect for laying out! Which I would have done had my beach buddy Kritin been here to soak up the sun in Sheeps Meadow with me. But since she wasn't - I headed to the NYSC to continue my vigorus (15 lb weight) lifting routine.

I decided to take the GIANT 24x34 picture frame I bought downtown for my apt with me to return to AI Friedman before going to the gym, since it's been sitting in my kitchen for almost a week. So, lugging a giant bag of metal and glass to 18th and 5th, I arrived to find AI FRIEDMAN WAS CLOSED!! HOW RUDE! Blasted memorial day! What was even more frusterating is that it was the ONLY shop on the whole of 18th street closed! I was left with a giant picture frame to be my gym buddy.

I also got to lug it around with me while shopping on lower 5th with Ali an hour later. I love lower 5th! Such a perfect concentration of all the shops that a girl would need! H&M, Free People, Club Monaco, Anthro, Sephora, Zara, and I even found myself wandering into Gap Body, and wandering out with an adorable white bikini! I am stocking up for my summer trip with Josh to Greece! And in order to match the decor of the country, I am only buying things that are blue and white! Goodness....I am only 21 and I'm already my mother!

So as I am lugging the frame and shopping bags around 5th, still quite sweaty and red-faced from the gym, and my unwashed hair sitting in a messy knot on the top of my head - I am approached by a strange man who says, "may I use your beauty in a painting?"

What is almost even more amusing than this completely odd request, is that being a new yorker and being used to such utter stangeness, I calmly replied - "no thank you" and continued my conversation with Alison before even realizing what had happened.... "May I use your beauty in a painting?" What does that even mean!

The day continued to get more comical, as Ali and I went to see Letters to Juliet, a movie I had been dying to see since the first preveiw I caught back in January. I can't even get into how terrible it was. It was just about as fromage-y as an awful teen movie could ever be. Now coming from someone who worships the HSM series, it is really something for me to say a movie that looks terrible is in fact - terrible. My $13 would so have been better spent on a sundae at Dylans!


Movie of doom! Amanda Seyfried would have been better off starring in Mean Girls 2.

We re-gained our intellegence by making dinner chez moi and drinking wine while listening to my Paris playlist on Itunes! Ali hadn't seen my apartment in a while, so I was excited for her to see it now that is nearly completely furnished, which brings me to my highlight of the day!

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: CRAIGLIST
http://newyork.craigslist.org/

I was always a craigslist-hater after several failed attempts to find internships and apartments. But in a recent, desperate search to find a suitable studio for myself below 30th street, I had to resort to every source I could - Craigslist included.
And low and behold, just when I was about to give up all hope and contact a nearby homeless shelter - I found my perfect apartment, and I found it on craigslist. The fabulous finds did not stop there! Craigslist has become my bff. My cute beadboard bed - found it on craiglist! My cottage style table and chairs - found it on craiglist! My antique blue coffee table - found it on craigslist! Even my straight-from-the-eighties mover with a legitimate mullet and pick-up truck - found him on craiglist!

Not only did these craiglist finds lead to great deals on furniture, but it also lead to friendships! The day I picked up my table and chairs from the LES, I met the cutest married couple and their adorable french bulldog named Batman. They were so nice, and they helped me flag down a van cab, and put the set inside - where I befriended the cab driver, Quatar. Quatar gave me his card, and told me to call him if I ever need a cab! What a wonderful idea I thought! After living here for 3 years I finally have a cabbie buddy! I called on him later that week to pick up my antique table from Hell's Kitchen, and he picked me up right on time outside my door! I highly recommended getting a cabbie buddy, it's kind of like having a driver - only you don't have to pay! Well, and you're car is a taxi instead of a black Lincoln. But at least Quatar's cab isn't a stinky cab! Which is RARE!

I also had so many nice street strangers help me move things in the past couple weeks, as I've been hauling tables and lamps and giant suitcases around Chelsea. It goes to show that there are nice New Yorkers out there willing to help a damsel in distress! I feel liking baking cupcakes and passing them out on the street outside my building one day as a thank you!

So, the lesson learned is don't discredit Craiglist! Logging on to craigslist is like venturing into Forever 21. You have to dig through the mess, and a majority of stuff is crap - but if you know how to search, you can get some great deals on hidden gems that you will love forever! (Or in the case of forever 21 purchases, until it falls apart.)

Je Suis Revenue!

It’s been 5 months and 12 days since I left Paris...

It’s also been 5 months and 12 days since I last blogged. When I left Paris, I decided to put a fin to my blog because I thought I would no longer have anything exciting or interesting to write about since I could no longer spend my days velibing around the Marais, eating baguettes by the Seine, and sitting in the Jardin de Tulieries admiring the adorable French children with toy sailboats.

But in my 5 months back in the United States, and back in New York – I have come to realize that my days are quite interesting regardless of where I am located. I miss being in Paris every second of every hour of everyday (just ask Caroline). But I believe NYC can be just as inspiring to a writer (I am now referring to myself as a writer) in a different way. And I’ve missed writing! As all famous writers should. (I have decided to now refer to myself as a famous writer instead of just a writer - it’s my blog. )

So, la blonde parisienne has returned! But, to preserve the Parisienne-ness and love for my first original blog, I have created this one - and aptly named in Blonde In the Big Apple! Soon I will be back in Paris and can resume my other blog as my life in France. But for now - I am in nyc, and summer has officially begun with Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend is the new "it" holiday. Everyone has plans for memorial day weekend! As of Thursday, the city is a ghost town. You can actually walk down the street at a normal pace! You can actually be seated right away at a restaurant in the meatpacking on a Saturday night! You can even find a seat on the 6 train at rush hour! GASP! The calmness and ease of the city is like a pity gift for those of unlucky, poor, New Yorkers trapped here without a house in the Hamptons to escape to. Like me.

At this point in time, virtually almost everyone I know in the city is gone. My 2 sisters, my brother-in-law, my best friend Kristin, my boyfriend, my friends from FIT, even the family I babysit for. Only my darling pal Amy is here, so I actually ventured out in the world last night to have dinner and see Sex & the City 2 with her after work. Aside from that, I have been spending lots of quality time with my new apartment, the NYSC, and Chelsea. (Chelsea as in 14th – 30th street on the west side, not a friend named Chelsea - sadly).

Since I had nothing do to and no one to do it with all weekend, I’ve worked EVERYDAY. I won’t mention where I work – because that just has “FIRED” written all over it as I am bound to complain about it endlessly. I have realized that I am just not meant to work. There are only 3 things I have tried so far in life that I was complete crap at…
1.Sports
2.Math
3.Working

Alas, it’s just not meant to be. Everyone has different strengths – working is just not one of mine.

However, wandering around the city finding delicious foods and adorable things is! So, I want to discuss my “highlight of the day”!

As a part of my new nyc version of my blog, every time I post, I am going to choose my highlight of the day! This will be something I discovered or did in the city that made my day wonderful)

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: LIMELIGHT MARKET
http://limelightmarketplace.com/



This place is AMAZING! It’s in the old Episcopal Church on 6th and 21st that was turned into the Limelight nightclub, and now this! Think Chelsea Market meets Bendels! You step inside and are transported into a chic, adorable, indoor marketplace selling everything from clothes and home decor to gourmet food and French fromage. How parfait pour moi!

I was coming from the gym, so I just popped in for a wander and ended up spending an hour lusting over amazing furniture and homemade whoopee pies! I thought it would be very counter-productive to eat a whoopie pie or cupcake as my post-gym snack, so I restrained myself – but believe me, I will be back! They look amazing! I have already tried a minicake from the BlueBird Bakery inside. (Josh bought it for us last week to share, and then I ate the whole thing). But there is also a CupCake Stop shop, MarieBelle chocolates, a brownie place, a yogurt stand, gelato and crepe counter, the whoopie pie man, and even a bon-bon store! So much to try! Good thing I'm here all summer! A little sandwhich counter sells fresh bread , salads, sandwhiches, and fromage , and a Grimaldis is opening upstairs! GLORIOUS! It is my new favorite spot in Chelsea!


Whoopie Pies from WannaHavaCookie Bakery!

Believe it or not, there was something that caught my eye more than the food, which is quite a statement for me to make. I walked upstairs into Brocade, this new home store and felt like I was in modern-day Versailles! It was the apartment décor of my dreams! The exact look I’ve always envisioned for my modern Marie Antionette inspired studio. When I am rolling in money from my first book advance some day, I am going to re-do my place floor to ceiling Brocade. Regardez!
https://www.brocadehome.com/

Since moving into my new place, I’ve been obsessed with home goods. You know you are growing up when your entire credit card bill is from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and you spend more time looking at spatulas than shoes. But I adore my apartment! It’s like living in a cupcake. All pink and Paris-y and girly and just so, well – me! When you live in a city as hectic and crowded at this one, having a little place to call your own and escape to is just the best feeling in the world!

Right now, cuddled up in my bed, in my little home, watching Funny Face and blogging again, I couldn't be happier! Well, unless I was in Paris.

Bon Nuit!