In this case, it's more along the lines of "The Florist, the Baker, and Duane Reade*." One of the things about Manhattan that I've had no trouble getting used to is the profusion of small shops catering to specific needs, all of which are within a few blocks of our apartment. Though I have a strange and lingering longing for the enormous megasupermarkets and beige stucco-and-asphalt wastelands of California's outdoor "shopping plazas," this unfamiliar, antiquated way of doing things is not altogether unpleasant.
And I've found my perfect bakery and flower shop! Over the past two years, after discovering the products of Acme Bread Co. and Esther's German Bakery in the bay area, I've become a terrible bread snob. I now refuse to eat the squishy, mass produced and plastic-shrouded shelf-stable loaves of my childhood. I feel entitled to a crackling crust, chewy and airy interior (with "tooth"), and a sprinkling of some sort of seeds or nuts. Silver Moon Bakery on Broadway and 107th has lovely breads. This week I bought their Ethiopian sourdough, a whole grain loaf rolled in spiced black sesame seeds.
*Duane Reade is the New York equivalent of CVS or Rite Aide...in more universal terms, a drug store.
And a little hole-in-the-wall convenience store on Broadway and 104th has the best (and cheapest) selections of flowers I've run across so far. My goal this week was to create a bouquet reminiscent of the flowers now blooming in Central Park, in purples and yellows. I'm really pleased with the two species I chose, especially the globular orange-tufted ones, which remind me of something from the artichoke and thistle family.
The Ethiopian sourdough with goat cheese and apricot preserves, plus beautiful radishes from Sunday's farmer's market.
One of Devin's talents is baking ridiculously delicious chocolate chip cookies. It has now been scientifically proven that they taste just as good in bar form and on the East Coast.
One thing about Columbia's campus is that there sure are a lot of pillars. Coming from a much younger undergraduate school with much less of a cohesive Neoclassical-and-brick influence, this new university seems pretty fancy. The main Morningside Heights campus is also quite small in comparison to previous institutions, which is not all bad.
This herringbone brick pattern is everywhere.
Interior of the dome.
The building where all of my classes are. More pillars!
A pretty intense lantern outside where I work.
A glimpse of the farmer's market right outside the university gates.
The walk homewards.
Freshly purchased apples=scholastic, autumnal, etc. Each one is a different kind.
