~ I <3 NY ~
New York City made me sick! Literally, as I have a miserable flu, complete with a sore throat and body aches. Until yesterday evening, I thought that my ill feeling was due to over-exhaustion. As I began to feel worse and worse, I asertained that I was truly under the influence of a maladie acquired some time during the tour-de-force which was my vacation.
Step one: Complain.
New York is a stinky, dirty city. Everywhere I went, particularly the underground mass transit, I inhaled the smell of urine, feces, and vomit. Seeing someone's discarded soiled pants at the subway station was hardly worth noticing, as the grime and grossness were all too common. I determined that the reason I smelled urine and feces everywhere was because of the quaint tradition of not offering public restrooms in the city. All week, the practice of going to the bathroom became an exercise in offensive strategy. Also, the urban wildlife was remarkable. I've never paid much attention to those stories of rats in the subway, but they're true! Rats the size of small cats! And the honking of car horns...never stopped. I spent the duration of the week unable to completely relax because of a lack of establishments for rest and recuperation. The coffee shop experience is THE staple of my quality of life. Who knew? that there are no coffee shopes in New York as I know coffee shops?!!
Step two: Fondly Remember
New York is a very interesting and stunning place. It was unlike anywhere I've ever been. Even though I took 150 photographs, I felt that I wasn't photographing much at all, because New York is an over-photographed place. And I've seen the city so much in photos and movies that I recognized most everywhere that I went.
Seeing old friends: By far, the best part of going to New York was the opportunity to see some friends who I haven't seen for a long time. Lola, who lives in Astoria, and Zach and Corey who came up from Massachusettes...ah, it was as though I saw them just yesterday, nothing had changed. The great thing about me is that I've got great taste in friends, who have excellent senses of humor and keep me laughing and laughing. Josh also had the opportunity to see his brother Seth, who lives in Brooklyn.
Eating: One of the nice things about having local New Yorkers, Lola and Seth, around was that they took us to some fantastic places to eat. My favorite was an Indian restaurant in the East Village called Panna II, followed by a Japanese sake bar on 47th street where we drank sake from a box.
Sight Seeing and Activities: Josh and I walked and walked and walked around the city. We hopped onto a boat which took us around the southern part of Manhattan, which allowed for us to gain a good perspective on the city. We went to a Broadway show, Spamalot, based on Monty Python's Holy Grail, which was too funny! I had the opportunity to visit the Met and MOMA for free, where I took in some art. Josh and I travelled to the top of the Rockafeller Center for a view of the city. We spent a bit of time in Central Park. We got to see Noe Venable play at a small venue in the East Village, and it was a wonderful concert. We went by the United Nations, saw Ground Zero, and marvelled at some really huge buildings. We saw the East Village in depth. Soho was overpriced and disappointing. The Meatpacking District was overpriced, but had some good galleries. We saw a photo shoot for a high end fashion magazine there. I saw some celebrities in Greenwich Village. We saw Newt Gingrich in Midtown.
Man, I've got a lot of stories from the trip. But I'm tired and I have the flu.
If I had it to do again: I would have liked to spend more time in Central Park and Brooklyn.
Feel free to navigate my photos on flickr. Josh has also posted photos on his flickr deal. I will leave you with a shot of myself and Josh, at night, with the Chrysler building in the background.
