I stayed at The Chelsea Pines Inn, which wasn't luxurious but it was certainly in my price range and it was pretty perfectly located for my the purposes of my trip. I'd stay there again, the rooms are funky in a good way and the staff was sweet as hell.
Mark came straight over from his office to meet me Friday night and we spent a really pleasant evening just strolling around the Meat Packing District, the West Village and Greenwich Village. We were supposed to meet Charley in the East Village a bit later at the end of some big New York Blogger Drunkfest. But... we fell asleep in my room...
See... here's Mark sleeping...
We woke up the next morning and Mark spent most of the day with me, showing from Chelsea up through Midtown. It involved more than bit of shopping, I will admit. But... clothes be cheap in the city that supposedly doesn't sleep...
Mark eventually left me, cuz he had a party to attend that nite and a business trip the next day. I was terribly sad to see him go, cuz I do love me some Mark. He's one of the most adorable guys, looks and personality, that I've ever met. I've had a HUGE crush on him since we met last summer in San Francisco. Mark has since added a boyfriend to his life since last summer however, so I exercised a massive amount of willpower and our activities on this trip weren't quite so extracurricular... He's still a great kisser tho...
Saturday nite, Charley was too hungover to hang out with me, so I compiled a list of recommended bars from Charley and Mark and hit the East Village by myself. Staying in Chelsea, I had been a bit put out by what I'd seen of New York gay boys thus far. But the moment I walked into the first East Village bar, I felt like I was HOME. Tattoos, haircuts, fashion, etc... much more to my taste. The night is a bit of blur, but I managed to visit seven different bars over the course of the night. The highlights, IMO, being The Slide, The Phoenix and The Cock. Oh... and I wound up at some place called The West Side Club late in the evening...
Sunday, I was gonna check the Biennial at The Whitney, but when I got there there was an unmoving line to the street to get in. I guess all the natives waited until the last minute to check out the show. So, after a slight detour through some parade about Israel which the entire Jewish community of New York seemed to be attending, I hoofed my way back through the city to do some more sightseeing and shopping. I saw a good bit of the city this way, walking about 70 blocks. I briefly toyed with the idea of doing a show, but thought better of it. Even at TKTS prices, I just don't like theater that much...
Sunday nite was a highlight. After I caught the season finale of ALIAS in my room, Charley came over and met me and we went to The Rambles at The Park, which is a party that Jonny McGovern throws on Sunday nites. It was a really fun space and scene. And it got points for the fact that I heard a Moloko song... Charley's friends were all swell guys. And it's always so cute how no matter where you travel, people always get an excited look on their face when you tell them that you're from New Orleans.
Anyways, Monday was another Walkfest. I walked from my place on 14th Street to Ground Zero. I managed to take a zig-zaggy route that led me through Greenwich Village, Nolita, Little Italy, Chinatown and Soho. Ground Zero itself was weird. Not so much seeing the site, but standing in the middle of the people standing there staring into the abyss with such odd looks on their faces. It was just a bit too much for me to process, so I vacated my mind by shopping some more. Century 21 is right across the street after all.... Monday nite I was too pooped to do anything too strenuous, so I went to Hell. The bar in the Meat Packing District, that is. I sat there in the mostly empty bar for a couple of hours and chatted with Joel, the utterly adorable bartender who had an iPod full of music exactly to my taste.
And then Tuesday, bidding a fond farewell to H&M, I came home...
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