Walkies!

Manhattan is an island. It’s very easy to forget this. Even for someone (like me) that loves the water, I forget.

There’s no one thing that presses in daily on my consciousness to remind me that there’s tidal rivers and ocean out there. No briney breezes wafting in to make the air smell of iodine and fresh, open water. No ships horns echoing through the canyons of buildings like ghosts from another era. No fresh seafood plucked out of the water just minutes ago beckoning from little shacks to be slurped down in utter joy. None of these things exist, and yet, every now and then, I remember, and that means it’s time for a walk!

Recently I got it in my head that we should perambulate from 14th Street to 14th Street on the water.

Click on each photo to see what we saw.

Monterrey Bay?

Escape Boat?

The Irish Countryside?

Check Mate?

It may sound like a nice easy promenade, but somewhere around the 4th hour my feet started complaining and I realised, this was a walk that should not be undertaken on a whim.

A sad, chicken-less granny cart.

Isn’t she beautiful?

Not dinner.

Also not dinner.

Two hours later, having stopped at the Union Square Greenmarket for some sustenance, we finally arrived home. About 15 seconds later I was firmly ensconced on the couch with a bag of frozen peas slaking the ache in my complaining ankles. Am I getting old? It was just a walk. But no, it was not just a walk, after a quick check of the gmaps pedometer it became clear that we had walked just over 10.5 miles and burned over 1,600 calories a piece. Who needs a gym when you have a huge city to explore!

And since there was no fish or duck for dinner we had to eat something. And something we did! One of my five foods to eat before you die: Salt Potatoes.

Yum!

Salty, starchy, fatty, eaten with some olive tapenade and olive oil, the perfect way to put some calories back on after an epic walk.