New York City (for more than a day)

I headed back to New York City last weekend, for more than a day this time, as one of my work allocated fly-backs. After flying all Thursday night I arrived in New York on Friday around lunch.


There is an extra energy when you fly to the motherland or maybe it's arriving in the city that never sleeps. Either way, I don't get jet lag when I arrive back in America which is a good thing because Courtney rather ambitiously planned a group dinner on Friday night. A small group of us had a lively dinner at Essex in the Lower East Side and then grabbed some drinks and hit the dance floor at Piano Bar and Gatsby's. The best part of the evening was that I was able to blend my two worlds. My original roommate Mike moved from Johannesburg to New York in January and it was great to take him out in America as he was able to do for me in South Africa (not sure if he needed any help though, he seemed to be a big hit among Courtney's friends).


On Saturday morning I received a call for brunch from a rather hungover Drew. Lindsay, Courtney, Drew and I ate at one of our favorite spots: Extra Virgin in the West Village. It was a sunny March morning so we walked along the river... until we realized that it was March and we were freezing.


That afternoon I got "talked into" taking a yoga class. The 90 minute class may have been a little ambitious for my first time but I left feeling more connected with my inner person. And I left sore.


Saturday evening we had Drew, Lindsay, Sean, and Mitzi over to Courtney's apartment for dinner. It was a perfectly relaxing way to catch up with some great friends. ehh, relaxing might not be the right word... we spent the evening brainstorming business ideas, quizzing each other on world capitals, and debating whether pet dogs are commonplace in Latin America.


I completed my taxes on Sunday (woo hoo) and, even though I owe Uncle Sam money this year, I was nice enough to take Courtney out to dinner.


I boarded the plane back to Johannesburg on Monday night and had a long layover in Frankfurt. After working the South African hours in the airport lounge I took the train into downtown Frankfurt (stamp you very much!). The economic hub of Germany is a rather confused city. The tourist map would have you to believe you are going to see a historical city yet there is nothing older than WWII...duh. Seeing the German architecture and walking along the River Main made for an enjoyable afternoon and I capped it off with the largest German lager I could find.

Beer in Frankfurt

Traveling as much as I have over the past couple years can be disorienting. A plane is a plane, a cubicle is a cubicle, and everyone takes dollars no matter where you are in the world.... BUT THEN I boarded the plane in Frankfurt and looked across the aisle and nonchalantly said hello to my high school friend Omar (with whom I am travelling to Namibia next weekend) that I really got turned upside down.


It is unfortunate that our small world rendezvous hadn't come a few hours earlier as that beer would have tasted a lot better if I had someone to share it with.