I'm sorry to admit it (it's sad! it's so cliche!) but the first thought I had about New York upon entering Manhattan over the Queensboro Bridge was this: "Man this place is dirty!" I do hope New York will forgive me as it was 6am, I hadn't slept on the flight and I had been up a very long time. Also, I had an AMAZING time in New York, so I hope it doesn't hold my "first" impression against me.
Here are some highlights, day by day (all photos with snappy captions can be found here):
Wednesday
- Lunch with SMS's grandma at Deluxe -- I had the veggie sandwich. I am bummed I wasn't in the mood for a Cobb salad, but man, are those fries good!
- Visit at JTS.
- Visit with S and N.
- Party at Blondie's (wings, cheeseburgers and wafer fries with cheese -- they were out of s'mores though, which totally bit!)
Thursday
- Saw my osteopath in Columbus Circle who made my back feel all better again.
- Got my haircut in Brooklyn and caught up with Dvir (if you live in Brooklyn and have hair, you should meet him!).
- Had lunch at Zaytoons and watched a Verizon truck block a city bus -- the ensuing honking made me a little bit homesick.
- Impromptu visit with A.
- Ended up on a bench outside of BookCourt next to my old, evil roommate and just sat there listening to her breath.
- Visit with C/Gc.
- Ran into J.
- Dinner at Bubby's while a bunch of Marines were having a bachelor party (at Bubby's?! you ask, Yup, at Bubby's!)
- Meandered my way back to Columbus Circle via foot and bus.
Friday - Day of Parks!
- Went downtown and walked across Washington Square Park, sadly under construction again.
- Ran into....wait for it....wait for it....ANDRE BRAUGHER!!!!!!!....outside the Public Theatre - rendered speechless for the first time in....FOREVER!!!!!!!
- Hung out in Tompkins Square Park.
- Wandered around the East Village and had lunch at Velselka with E, M and M. Yum!
- Wandered up to Madison Square Park, picked up K on the way and got cheeseburgers at SHAKE SHACK!!!! (I don't care what anyone says (because they are all wrong!) Shake Shack is still the best. Come on, they put BRISKET in their burgers, BRISKET, I tell you!)
- Dinner with AB and a walk home to Columbus Circle.
Saturday
- Back to Brooklyn
- A visit with Y&E and then brunch with Y&E, R&D and A at Cafe Luluc -- the crack pancakes still have it!
- A nap at R&D's.
- Seder in CT with the "almost family."
Sunday
- Brunch at Eatery -- the veggie burger still has it!
- Playground time with J, N and L in Mamaroneck.
- A slice at Nick's!
- Seder in New Rochelle.
Monday
- Breakfast with R at Manhattan Diner -- I forgot how much I loved a toasted corn muffin and any breakfast that includes three beverages: hot chocolate, OJ and water -- a slight twist on a typical new york breakfast.
- Walk through Central Park.
- A slice at Mariella's.
- Back to JFK.
- "Where have you been all of my life?"
- After leering at my chest, then turning to his friend, "God, I love summer!"
We were lucky to have the best host ever:
... and the best weather we could hope for:
There were things I was reminded of on the trip, things I hadn't even realized I had forgotten...
On my first morning there I took a shower in my cousin's bathroom. When I got undressed I sensed an intense heat and I couldn't determine where it was coming from. I did a quick scan of the room to see if anything was on fire. Nothing was. It turns out the heat was coming from a heating pipe that ran from the floor to the ceiling in the bathroom. Of course it was! How had I forgotten about heating pipes?
I was also struck by how loud people in New York are. I know this must sound strange, because everyone knows that New Yorkers are loud (and that I am loud), but I had forgotten what New York sounded like. There were people yelling everywhere I went. While waiting for a friend outside a bookstore in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon I listened to a man screaming on his cell phone about renovations at his house. He was brutal and vicious and I was shocked in a way that I never would have been when I lived there -- when I was used to that sort of thing.
Also, walking around the city I overheard tons of conversations -- something that doesn't happen much here in LA due to the lack of walking around and lack of loud people -- many of the conversations I heard were funny, but even more were not in English. I forgot how often that happens in New York.
And the funniest thing that I had forgotten is the way men notice me in New York. Here are some choice quotes from the week:
None of these can touch my favorite cat-call of all time. It occurred on Fulton Mall more than ten years ago -- a young guy looked directly at me and said, to no one in particular: "Shorty's got some big titties!"
I used to really hate these kinds of things, but being back made me realize that I sort of missed them. Sort of. It also made me realize that although I just blend in in LA, in New York, I'm smokin'!
Everyone has asked if it was hard being back, or hard returning to LA and the answer to both is "no." I LOVED being back in New York, and it was GREAT seeing friends, but NYC is not my life anymore. A part of me will always be in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn -- it's where SMS and I truely fell in love and where we started our married life together, but LA is home now. As strange and bizarre as that sounds, and trust me, it still sounds strange even to me, it is the truth. However...
...I am (and always will be) Queens Boulevard.
