New York - Island of Lights and Love

....Alas, dear readers, the last full day of my stay on the island yields little to report, as almost a full week of non-stop walking by day and partying by night had me well and truly bedridden until late afternoon. However, a cute and kindly Spanish dancing student who'd been living there for a week took pity on me, made me a coffee, and we chatted pleasantly in the darkness of an empty room on a Hell's Kitchen afternoon. DJ had been looking amorously her way when here earlier in the week, so I didn't consider pursuing anything, but we swapped emails as she said she was passing through London early next year. That's the hostel vibe I guess. She told of a health food supermarket on Columbus Circle, about three blocks away where I eventually hauled my sorry shaking corpse for a massive metal bowl of curry and salad.
My last eve saw me return yet again to the Village to meet up with Rob and Lucy, friends from London, who had arrived that very day, and we checked out a stonking set by Jimmy Bosch at S.O.B's (Sounds of Brazil). This was a regular Friday night classic salsa set but with that all important difference of it being in New York, with some of the best guys in the country. Trombonist Jimmy was up front in colourful shirt and leather pants singing coros when not soloing. The lead singer was hilarious - ultra slicked back hair, big brown shades, white shirt and tie, grey pants - classic! Completing the front line was the classic little tres player guy, who's obviously been doing it for fifty years, half the height of anyone else on stage and almost dwarfed by his own instrument, but ripping out ridiculous solos all night.
Farewelling my companions, I wandered down some of the more gorgeous back streets of the Village and into the 'chess' district for cheap bodgy internet on the way to Gonzalez y Gonzalez, near the corner of Broadway and Houston, the late night salsa hang. Big long room painted in yellow, full Mexican cantina vibe, sombreros with lights, streamers, a big moose head on the wall (ahh, taxidermy and live music! a lasting and important connection...)...band kicks off 11pm, free entry, dancefloor packed - my kinda place. The band were all right, not quite what I'd just seen but doing well enough, and all actually dressed in the same uniform (first time for everything)...
I felt as though a week wasn't quite long enough. While I definitely put in the hard yards and got to all the clubs on my large list, there was still a couple of places I didn't quite get to. In terms of cheesy tourist stuff though, everything was pretty much taken care of - the only way I could have done better in that respect is to have gone to more museums or galleries. That kind of added to something DJ said a while ago, about the place being mostly for work. While there's obviously plenty to do and see, if you wanted to spend some time there it would be for a distinct purpose, which also shed a new light on all the stories of all my muso friends who'd come and gone to give it a go, or indeed who were still there....