Hot 🔥 & the City

This afternoon the temperature climbed to 34°C and the humidity was relentless. What had started as a pleasant day of exploring slowly became an exercise in endurance, with the heat wrapping itself around the city like a heavy blanket. By mid-afternoon, simply walking from one block to the next felt surprisingly hard work.

With little time to spare, we pushed ourselves beyond the 9/11 Memorial and headed further downtown to catch the famous Staten Island Ferry. The free crossing offered wonderful views of Statue of Liberty and a chance to watch the Manhattan skyline slowly fade into the distance. We hopped straight back on for the return journey, making our way to the front of the ferry this time. That proved to be the better half of the trip, with Lower Manhattan gradually emerging from the haze and the skyscrapers growing larger with every passing minute. The views were simply sensational.

Knowing we had to try the famous treats from Magnolia Bakery in the West Village — the very bakery made famous when Carrie and Miranda sat outside chatting in Sex and the City — we made a quick pilgrimage. Mark chose a cupcake and declared it “melt-in-your-mouth delicious”, while I opted for the famous banana pudding. It didn’t quite blow my socks off as I had expected, but it was certainly delicious and provided exactly the sugar hit I needed to keep going.

Mark insisted on a daytime shot in front of 66 Perry Street… Carries’ apartment. He had to tackle 2 annoying Instagramming Italians for his own moment to shine! ✨

Eventually, the heat won. We retreated to the hotel, parked ourselves in front of our gloriously noisy air-conditioners, and enjoyed a little respite from the sweltering city. A whiskey for me, a wine for Mark, and an hour or so of blessed cool air before heading back out again for the evening’s entertainment at the legendary Lips drag show uptown. After a day of memorials, ferries, humidity and sightseeing, it felt like the perfect New York way to finish the day.

Proudly, we have pretty much mastered the Subway 🚇 system. It’s only the exits on different corners that we are still grappling with, but with just two days left in New York, it’s not something I care too much about mastering. PS: if I ever complain about the sardine-like nature of Melbourne public transport again, please reprimand me! In NYC it’s very much ride or die!

It was quite a culture shock walking into Lips 👄 Before the show had even properly started, drag queens were moving through the room collecting tips, and throughout the performances they continued circulating, gathering as many dollar bills as possible from the audience.

Coming from Australia, it felt very different to what we’re used to. Here, every performer would come out, do a number, then continue the number while holding fistfuls of cash collected from audience members. We even watched one queen empty a wad of notes into a bucket before heading back out for more. It all felt a little disingenuous to me, though I fully appreciate that tipping culture in America is deeply ingrained and many people would see it very differently.

Mark made sure they (particularly our drag queen server) knew that this isn’t how we do things in Australia, which I wasn’t entirely convinced was the wisest move… but it certainly gave us a laugh!

Then the trays of shots started appearing. It was impossible not to notice how organised & orchestrated the whole process seemed. Staff were carefully noting who had purchased drinks and shots so they could return later and encourage more spending. All I could hear in my head was ABBA singing Money, Money, Money. 💰

I must admit, it almost made me feel uncomfortable simply sitting and enjoying the show without waving money in the air. That’s not really how I want to engage with a performance. I understand the culture and I respect that it’s different, but I will be quite happy to return to a society where tipping isn’t such a central part of everyday life.

Afterwards we headed to Don’t Tell Mama near Times Square. Open since 1982, it has been entertaining New Yorkers and visitors alike for more than forty years. There was something genuinely lovely about being there. Part of the reason I wanted to visit was because it was a place my good friend Dame Betty T Rose experienced some thirty years ago. Sitting there, it struck me just how much the world has changed since then. Mark pointed out that entertainment, audiences and even queer culture have moved on enormously, and I think he was absolutely right.

The most genuine and heartfelt part of the evening came much later.

Mark and I returned to our hideous but perfectly adequate digs and took ourselves down to the common lounge room. Sitting on those tired old couches, we spent a couple of hours talking about everything we have loved — and not loved quite so much — during this trip.

Like all travelling companions, we’ve had our ups and downs. There have been moments where we’ve seen things differently, moments where we’ve annoyed each other, and moments where we’ve needed a little space. But throughout it all, we’ve remained steadfast. More importantly, we’ve listened to one another and genuinely acknowledged what the other person was feeling. That’s a quality I really admire in both of us.

We talked about our favourite parts of the trip and, without hesitation, we both agreed that Palm Springs was the standout. There was something about its pace, its warmth, its character and its people that captured both of our hearts.

It’s moments like these that mean the most to me when travelling. The sights are wonderful, the attractions are memorable and the photos are great, but it’s the conversations and shared reflections that stay with you.

I said to Mark that this trip would have been entirely different without him. There were experiences that I might have endured rather than enjoyed, and there were countless moments that became richer simply because he was there to share them.

This isn’t the end of the journey — we still have two more days to enjoy — but there was something incredibly special about sitting on those worn-out couches, reflecting on where we’ve been, reconnecting with our thoughts, and talking about the memories that we’ll undoubtedly cherish and laugh about for many years to come.Read more