the arrival of S & J

the arrival of the boys has meant much eating and merriment. they arrived, bleary-eyed after an interminable experience at JFK where they waited to get through security for an hour and a half.

we promptly wheeled them out to eat at Motorino, which is supposed to have a fancy pizza oven, meaning that it pizzas get cooked super fast. the pizza base was delicious, somehow reminiscent of naan bread though the toppings just weren't as good as artichoke pizza. we were seduced by one of the supposed top ten pizzas in new York, the Brussel sprout and bacon. good but no cigar.

Thursday the boys managed to see the whole of Manhattan and then some. I'm surprised their legs didn't drop off. we went to amar y amargo, a bitters based bar, where we had an array of interesting tasting drinks. the highlight was their version of a gin and tonic. not a drop off tonic in sight but very refreshing thanks to grapefruit bitters. another was purely herbal, which I liked as it reminded me of medicinal Chinese soup. not many fans amongst the group.

the weekend was taken over by s glorious excursion to fire island, which deserves its own post so I'll concentrate on my thoughts on having the boys visit. it's been bloody marvellous.

so easy because I know them like family and I can just tell them that I'm off to an exercise class or ignore them (whilst I'm blogging, for instance). it's also been great having fellow gluttonous friends in town. a fine excuse to eat out at favourite joints and try out new brisket restaurants - roll on tomorrow. but above all, it's been like having a little bit of home here; the best of both worlds. can you get training contracts for trainee lawyers and secondments for civil servant lawyers to new York? will have to investigate...