Weird stuff in NYC

G and I have returned from two weeks in New York.   It was a great holiday, even though G and I found ourselves going mad with Alicia Keys' song New York stuck in our heads the whole time we were there. 

The trip confirmed my view that Americans (or at least New Yorkers) are weird.  Below, in no particular order, is a list of some of the weird stuff we saw in New York.

A cafe in East Village that takes an interesting approach to attracting customers to its outdoor seating.

An urban junkyard in Brooklyn containing toy gorillas displayed to look like office workers.

People so beautiful they could wear "I love New York" t-shirts in New York and make them look cool.

A bar so exclusive that it has no signage. To get to it you have to go through a dingy looking hot dog stand and into a telephone booth.  There, you have to follow the strict instructions on the wall in order to be let in to the bar through a secret door in the telephone booth, while those eating their hotdogs stare at you in bemusement.  The name of the bar?  PDT (please don't tell). 

Fine wine bars containing advertisements that would make any English gentleperson blush.

Really old, tall and mulleted hipsters in Bloomingdales.

A relative at the Natural History Museum (in the evolution display).

A poorly placed plaque at the Natural History museum.  It took me some time to realise that the display is not intended to immortalise Mr and Ms Goldstein by way of statues in their images.  Or at least I hope it's not. 

Hasidic Jews wearing beaver hats, competing for space on the pavement in East Williamsburg with homeboys, dodgy white guys and numerous brothers who need to pull their pants up.

An Easter greeting outside a Baptist church.

 A diner so relaxed that the menu (without any prices) is written on your table by the waitperson. 

A random pair of shoes left on the pavement.  These weren't the only ownerless shoes we saw that were inexplicably lying around in New York.

And, finally (and there's no picture for this one), a very large and disheveled  white guy berating his son for trying to cross the street without holding an adult's hand ("you know better than that, you know the rules"), all the while puffing on an enormous joint.  For obvious reasons, I didn't try and take a photo of that one.