banana - Monday, March 24, 2008 10:13:27 PM

Okay, so let's see how this goes.  I have not figured out how to use this space yet.  I am painfully aware that I cannot be as public with this blog as I was with the last one, even though my purpose in moving is to come to a more secure space.  I'm considering using it for primarily fictional purposes, or perhaps to embellish my real life.  Then again, things are crazy enough...

Have you ever walked in the snow well below freezing when it crunches beneath your feet?  Have you been to central Europe in the winter with the snow falling, much as it does in the movie Amadeus?  In 1992 Prague, it was possible to eat a meal fit for a king in a room resembling the ballroom from Russian Ark.  This is something that came to mind recently.  Last week I was having a drink at Zola, next to the Spy Museum, when I thought of it, and then again at the Metropolitan Opera.  In some ways, it is an antithesis to other aspects of life.

My friend Mark I have known for nearly 24 years, ever since I sat behind him in 7th grade social studies.  Mark is a foodie who has studied music, language, cooking, and restaurant management.  We seem to see each other frequently now even though about 450 miles of highway, air miles, or train track separate the two of us.  He was present in New York this weekend.

Andy and Hetty I have known for nearly 12 years and well for about 10 or 11 years.  They are my closest foreign friends, even though they are barely foreign - UK and the US are barely different from each other.  Unlike Mark, they did not study music, language, cooking, and restaurant management, but they enjoy food, wine, and travel.  It was originally their idea to head to New York for Easter weekend, a presence they made courtesy of a free ticket from Her Majesty's Airways. 

Morgan and I alternated our time in the city this weekend between the two of them and Mark, and sometimes interchangeably.  Along the way, Mark brought along his friends, including Daniel who we had met previously.  For me, the weekend was as much about how we immersed ourselves in the love of friendship as it was about the culture we soaked in, but regardless I was stirred by the great hall at Ellis Island, the dramatic scenery and singing of La Traviata, and just about the best meal ever at Boqueria.