Chinese, Italians, Designers and a man with a message

Today, I headed out to find some fabric stores as I'm going to make some baby toys for a friend's sisters. Something to keep me occupied so I'm not constantly checking my emails! So I set off for a big walk. I made it to SOHO, the fashion district where designers rule and people who looked like me (ie. sneaker-clad people) would not be allowed entrance to their stores. Stores where individual items of clothing are not allowed to touch each other on the racks. Finger spacing is not just desirable, here it is mandatory! I found out that there is no special story behind the name SOHO, a name which has become THE name of high fashion and style. The district is named as such because of it's position. It is South of Houston St. SO-HO. That is it ( a little anticlimatic I think!). There is also a NOHO (north) however I guess no acclaimed fashion houses moved in here. Anyway, walking down Broadway through SOHO, the most prominent fashion houses are no where to be seen along this strip, however I was on my own mission today, so shall find them some other time. Below Canal St I found "fabric row" a short section of Broadway dedicated mostly to fabric and haberdashery stores. I didnt find this out til after I'd spent most of my money int the first fabric store I found, but it's a lesson learned! Also on my travels in this part of town I found the most amazing newsagency...well I call it a newsagency because it only sold magazines...the most eclectic assortment of magazines Id ever seen. There is a great underground graphics design "movement" which in Brisbane is very hard and expensive, however here it is in full swing, with many 'zines' dedicated to this graphic style and many artists thriving with success.

So I walked on with my purchases and found myself strolling down Canal street through a sea of tourists looking for bargains in the many market stalls that sell everything from I heart NY tshirts to mobile phone chargers to chinese massages. Once I'd managed to navigate the mass of people who constantly stop in the middle of the sidewalk to look at a cheap tshirt, unaware people are walking behind them, I found myself on the edge of Chinatown. And more tourists. Here food is cheap, as are fake gucci sunnies and louis vutton handbags. Gorgeous fruit stalls had been set up along the sidewalks offering pomegranates, coconut drinks and melons whose aromas filled the streets (a great feat considering this is New York). Contrast this with the seafood being sold directly opposite these stalls...it was a festival of smells. To get away from the crowds I took a left turn and found myself in Little Italy. This is a place I've never been to before, so it was a completely new experience (and I was completely lost!) and found an area which was a little more easy going, a place that put food above everything else. I only wish I had more than $5 in my pocket...the menus looked delicious and you could get some pretty good deals at lunch time. Italian men would stand out the front of their restaurants beckoning the passers by to look at their menu first.
Straight through Little Italy I found myself on Spring Street back in SOHO. On my way back to the subway, I found myself thinking about the number of cars (large cars too, no little honda jazz's here) that go through the city and wonder where people keep them. Then I walked past a car park lot...it was quite different to what we have in Brisbane...plus it had an anti-Bush man walk right into my picture. Very New York!