My dad was in town at the start of the week so this was a great excuse to do some more New York activities.

We met for dinner on Monday evening, starting off at the Grand Central Oyster Bar, which first opened in 1913. I pass it most days on my way off the train from work and had put it on my list to try. It’s an amazing space with a huge selection of oysters and a great wine list. I am a fairly recent convert to oysters but I definitely enjoyed eating a selection from the surrounding states in such a famous setting.

We then went on to a French restaurant on the Upper East Side called l’Absinthe where we had a terrine followed by a rack of lamb, which was delicious, although I think we both substantially brought down the average age of the clientele…

On Tuesday, we went to Café Carlyle to watch Jeff Goldblum and his jazz band, the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. You start off with dinner (I had my first New York steak- amazing and about twice as big as you would get in the UK!) and then the performance. It was fairly laid back, considering how dressed up some people were, with Jeff Goldblum alternating between playing jazz and hosting movie trivia! The jazz was great and they also brought on a guest singer so plenty of variety in the performance. I’ve been recommended a couple of other jazz venues in New York so watch this space!

On Thursday, I was encouraged / forced to leave work at 5pm… the reason for this? I had tickets for the Yankees game that evening, and according to everyone on my desk, I had to be there by the time the game started to make the most of the experience. I began my trek to the Bronx, where the Yankee stadium is located, and, arriving at 6.30pm, was lucky enough to get this beautiful piece of headgear for free! I’m a true New Yorker now.

The stadium was rebuilt in 2009 and boasts great views over the city , which were further showcased when we had the national anthem and two fighter jets flew over the stadium.

The game was fun- baseball is the kind of sport I’ve decided I enjoy watching as you don’t have to watch it meticulously but it’s more about the overall experience. There is also less aggressiveness as it’s basically only fans of the home team- I guess the distances are a bit further here so it’s much harder to follow your team around. One of the best bits of the evening is the crowd sing-along to “Take Me Out To the Ball Game”: Lyrics below in case you fancy trying it out:

Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd;

Just buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,

I don’t care if I never get back.

Let me root, root, root for the Yankees,

If they don’t win, it’s a shame.

For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,

At the old ball game.

All in all, a very American week. More to come of my adventures this weekend…