Val's First Dérive
February 21, 2018, by Valentina
I’ve done my fair share of getting lost in downtown Manhattan, but never like this. For some reason, I took the whole summer to drift my way through the tip of the island, and Tribeca was always the place I’d find myself in. The difference was I was always accompanied by a remarkable soundtrack, careful to shell the world away in my curated sea of noise. This time around, I could not do that.
My Derive began in a small street of West Tribeca, at 15 Renwick. I’d never been to that part of the city before, but was immediately drawn to the massive urban movement the city seemed to have. When I launched the app on my phone, I was given the very simple command of Turn Left which led me to head towards Canal Street through the small Renwick. Despite the high traffic of the area, I was surprised to find a group of guys doing some sort of urban circuit workout right in the middle of the street, complete with shirtlessness and very loud hip-hop music. February 21st was a particularly warm day for New York standards, so it made sense to enjoy the sunny weather.
As I followed the directions, possibly the hardest task of the journey was given to me by the next card, which instructed me to Veer off course and find something sweet. As I am not particularly fond of sweets, I grimaced at being right by the Holland Tunnel in search of food. I realized I was probably in the least exciting part of Tribeca, the one where pedestrians are confined to the completely tasteless site of the industrial areas under construction of the West Side. I was so perplexed by the banal turn my Derive seemed to have been getting, that I decided to take a photo to document the experience. Walking through that particular part of Varick street was not only somewhat uneventful, but also fairly foul-smelling. Nevertheless, I was very happy to turn onto Beach Street, where I finally came across Grandaisy Bakery, definitely a sweet spot destination, despite the annoying scaffolding.
My next task asked me to Head to a Low point. Unfortunately, I had no idea what that meant, so I moved on to draw another card. The very next one simply required me to Head West. So, I happily made my way through West Broadway, one of my favorite streets in Downtown Manhattan. It didn’t last too long, because before I knew it, I was chasing after A Line which I had to follow. I came across a crossing, which I interpreted as a series of lines, and which led me, once again, to return to. the chaotic Canal Street. My next task was probably my favorite, as I was asked to promptly Take two lefts and two rights, and document the middle. Out of pure coincidence, the very first couple of lefts led me back to loop around where I had been, first turning on Lispenard Street, and then once agai back on Beach. Out of sheer coincidence, I came across one of my favorite restaurants in the city located in the area, Pepolino! It really did remind me of my summer walks across Tribeca, and I was happy to document it with gusto (and maybe to eat some pasta). The next two rights brought me back to Varick, which I was initially not too excited about.
By the time I reached St. John’s place, once again, the card I received encouraged me to Contemplate the differences between where I lived (Jane Street) and where I was then. Both were areas I was extremely happy to visit, but I must admit Tribeca’s tall, tall buildings always took my breath away. It did feel somewhat like the West Village, but supersized. There were greeneries and gardens and streets that looked peaceful, but they just weren’t. Instead, they had this socially distant quality about them. If the West Village was a cozy place of gatherings, Tribeca was a welcoming hub for business meetings that veered on the informal. The crowd, too, was less eclectic, and much more formally attired. And, obviously, there were a lot of cars. I mean, just look!
After, I was back on a scavanger hunt, this time for any kind of square. I must say I took my liberties with that definition and walked back south on Varick to find… well, it was a square . The next complicated part of my hunt was Photographing someone or something old. As someone who isn’t really prone to people-watch, I found this somewhat intimidating. I came across a funky little restaurant with an outdoor cow sculpture that drew my attention, and believe me when I say, the man in the blue bomber was definitely older.
Eventually, an hour into my fun little walk, I was given the best way possible to end my Derive, by Heading towards a river or stream. There could be no more perfect way to end this walk than to run towards the Hudson Pier, so I followed North Moore street until I was face to face with the the water at sunset. I found this experience to be extremely gratifying and relaxing. Despite being an avid frequenter of the area, I got to return to some of my favorite spots in the city and enjoyed the experience very much.
