Our first two weeks will be happily spent in the Bronx, courtesy of Shay and his girlfriend, Emma, where we'll be 'minded' by Pat, Frank and Sam and it is in that lovely borough that the five of us have been invited to two roof-top parties, both of which, naturally, we'll attend! Our previous stays in the Bronx were absolute magic - the people we were with and the dozens upon dozens of locals that we spent our days with, the venues they took us to, the contrasting atmospheres we shared with them, the trips to local parks and pubs (hello all in the Celtic House, MacDwyers and Séan Mulligans!!), the Bronx Zoo and the Bronx Mall, to name just a very small number of the attractions in that borough which, along with Union Square in Manhattan, are two of the best and must-see locations in that great city.
For our third week, we're booked in to our usual lovely apartment in Queens, where Kev, Heno, Mel, Larry and the girls will spoil us rotten before unleashing us to wreak havoc on the neighbourhood - in the nicest possible way, of course! - then to Harlem (East 101/Lex!) for our fourth week, which is a fantastic place - much like the Bronx - in that the people that live there are real down-to-earth, with no airs or graces, and we have always got on famously with all the Harlemites that it has been our pleasure to share company with - they, like their Bronxite 'cousins', seem to share an affinity with us Irish, in that they have much the same sense of humour and outlook on life. A 'home from home' for us, if you like but, as in any city or town - in any country - 'home' sometimes just has to be anywhere that's warm and relatively safe and, in instances like that, a ten-minute chat to a person less fortunate than yourself can be as welcome to all involved as the cash or food you give them. And we enjoy those occasions : there but for the grace of God.
Our fourth week will see us graciously ensconced in a three-bed duplex apartment among our new and old friends in Hell's Kitchen (hello again, Liz and Susie, and all those we agree with in singing 'To Hell with Clinton Hill'!!) - we are looking forward, again, to our tours of the taverns and speakeasies and basketball courts and local parks and sight-seeing on the Hudson River docks and so much else - too much, indeed, to cover in just one week. But we'll certainly give it a good shot, and you lot know what to expect this time!
(*A.S.A.C.R.O - 'As Soon As Cash Runs Out'!)
Thanks for the visit - and have a nice day, y'all...!
Sharon.
