being the weekend (and summer) here in new york, people come out into the sunshine. they pack up their arts, crafts and best fresh produce and flock to the public spaces for market day. armed with the best market book money could buy, we headed out into the morning sun in search of all things weird and wonderful. and that is exactly what we found!
we began at hell's kitchen flea market, a market selling a whole array of vintage things. well, it sure blew any of our hipster markets right out of the water! trays and trays of rings, leather bags, vintage clothing and handmade jewelery as far as the eye could see. there was also a fairly killer vintage camera collection from most tents. one store in particular had pretty incredible stuff from these two african american girls with so much swagger it was a joke. their stuff was handmade, with one making the sunglasses and the other the necklaces. really beautiful unusual stuff! when we finished making the rounds at the market we headed for the subway for our first taste of the ny public transport system.
heading downtown to union square, we went in search of another market. what we found was a farmers fresh produce market. although this was delightful- we don't exactly cook (we are from new york you see), so couldn't buy much. we did, however, but a mixed berry pie- which turned out to be utterly disappointing. we headed to union square park to rest in the shade, and get our bearings. the park was beautiful, and people of all ages, races and differing levels of sanity were out and about. we decided that there wasn't much more for us as union square. being well established now with the transport system, we hopped on the subway downtown to china town (not intentional- just happened to rhyme seamlessly).
group of guys skateboarding off the court.
arriving in china town, it was hotter and full of people. the condensed population became very apparent. we didn't last long in china town before deciding to hop back on the subway and home to rest. however, on the subway ride uptown, we realized it was saturday afternoon, which meant central park was abuzz with dance classes.
riding about halfway up central park, we picked up bagels for picnic dinner before going to the park. we found alice's statue (alice in wonderland) and the lake with the remote control boats seen on numerous films. we went to the bethesda fountain where we saw the first lot of dancers. we sat up on the hill and ate dinner as they all danced and clapped, partnered latin dancing. walking a bit further into the park, we saw a second group all dancing the tango. it was an incredible sight- all these people doing partnered dancing in the middle of the park. most of them didn't know one another- but turned up and partnered whoever was there.
we had now been intending to go home since about 5pm to rest. checking the time, we realized it was 8:30pm. the city has a way of luring you in to it's magic. walking in the direction of the park exit, we heard the sound of drums. and a lot of them. getting closer, we realized a drum circle was set up. people were in the center dancing, women and their children and a number of others. everyone danced and laughed, some joining in whole heartedly and some standing on the outer. anything goes! as the crowds dispersed, and the sun began to go down, we approached the exit of the park.
i realized a man beside me was taking a photo of the ground with his iphone. pfft, what a weirdo, taking a photo of sub par grass. 'no, look!'. mum pointed out to the large expanses of green grass. small lights began to flicker tiny speckles of gold. soon enough the grass looked like it was being sprinkled with glitter. it may be one of the prettiest things i have ever seen. i didn't think fireflys were real. i thought owl city were on crack. obviously i was wrong. truly incredible!!
gay pride march tomorrow- should be a very interesting and completely faaaaaaaaaabulous day.
