A Tiny Bite of the Big Apple

"Walking through a crowd, the village is a glow.  Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats.  Everybody here wanted something more, searching for a sound we hadn't heard before, and it said welcome to New York, it's been waiting for you." - Taylor Swift

I've been to this city now five times, and it continues to amaze me.  While I have no desire to live in this city, there is something that each time, stirs something inside of me.  There's a bit of magic amongst the crowds and towering buildings.  Even when I see some of the same things, they astound me, teach me something new, and wow me.

We were incredibly fortunate, one again, to have a friend offer us a place to stay.  A good friend of mine from high school, through an odd course of events through her husband's work, ended up with a short-term stint in a stunning, spacious apartment in the upper east side. It was an amazing place to stay, and also wonderful to get to catch up with she and her family.

Jessica and I, experts and go-getters at seeing as much as possible, took on the city and saw a whole lot in about two and a half days.  Even when having a free place to stay, cities are expensive, and so we wanted to make the most of our time.  I know that once again, we only scratched the surface, and I do hope to come back to this city again sometime to see even more of it, but for now, I'm thrilled with what we did see.

Central Park is always a favorite of mine, and Jessica was eager to see it as well.  It is a real wonder, seeing a space which takes up so much of the packed city that surrounds it, but the lush greenery and pathways would be my only solitude if I were ever to live in the city.  Watching people run, rollerblade, bike, play baseball, walk dogs, present talents, and just chill is a nice little glimpse into the wide variety of ways the people of New York take advantage of the park.Times Square is another must if coming to New York, simply because watching the masses of people can not only be terrifying, but also fascinating.  We happened upon this spot a few times.  Once, we ended up getting a pretty good deal on some Broadway tickets, and another time, we watched crowds of people celebrate the Summer Solstice with yoga, yep, yoga in Times Square.

Part of New York, is certainly seeing the talented people who gather here each year, hoping to make it big.  We took advantage of their talents and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Jessica and I had already serenaded to the soundtrack of Anastasia, an animated film from our childhood, on our way here, so when we saw a deal on tickets to the new play by the same name, we jumped at it.  Although the story line had changed a great deal (probably for the better, and certainly for the more realistic), the songs were very similar.  The set was well-done, and several scenes, like the one of them on a train, were incredibly done.  We loved it, and would highly recommend it!  We also saw an off-Broadway play, a spinoff of Harry Potter.  Puffs was a great parody about a boy wizard of the same time period as Harry, whom was placed in the Hufflepuff House.  Wayne (yes, Wayne) wanted to be a hero, but things just never worked out in his favor.  Our sides hurt at the end, not only because of the jokes at poor Wayne's expense, but also the sly pokes at our beloved story, like the actor playing Voldemort who had a visible piece of tape over his nose.  This was a great, reasonably priced show for any Harry Potter fanatic in the city.

I never really had any interest in seeing the Charging Bull down near Wall Street, but the recent addition of a strong girl facing up the the bull, well, that was something I wanted to see!  The crowd of tourists surrounding the bull made it nearly impossible to see the bull, but for some reason, the crowd around the tough little bronze statue was not as great. My personal opinion, they seemingly missed the mark on one of the coolest things in Manhattan.

Despite being to New York City several times in my life, I had never seen the 9-11 Memorial.  Each time I traveled there had been after the event, but the first couple of times, the memorials had not been finished, and the last couple of times had been fairly quick trips in other parts of the city, so we made getting to the memorials a priority.  They were absolutely stunning, moving and powerful.  The water that cascaded down the sides of the deep holes left by the buildings, moving into a spot we could not even see was a reminder, perhaps, that life does move forward.  And yet, the names, and loud crashing sound of the water makes it impossible to forget the horror that took place in this spot.  Flowers adorned some of the names, some obviously left by loved ones, some marking the person's birthday.  One tree around the memorials was decorated and roped off, the Survivor Tree.  When workers were removing the rubble, some two months after the attack, they found a pear tree still alive, in fact, the only living thing found amid the rubble.  Can you imagine how inspiring even a tree could have been to the men and women cleaning up from this disaster.  The young tree was moved and cared for, but now it has been returned where it continues to grow and inspire those who come to see the memorial.  We did not go into the Memorial Museum.  Part of me did want to see it, but I had heard that the museum was mainly stories of those who lost their lives, and I wasn't sure if I was emotionally prepared to handle that.

The Statue of Liberty is not only a strong symbol of New York City, but also of our country.  She's worth getting up close and personal with.  We pre-ordered our tickets, and although tickets to get to the crown were no longer available, we did get tickets to go to the pedestal, which I believe were the same cost as general admission, and totally worth it.  The view from her feet was pretty spectacular, but it was the significantly smaller amount of people at the bottom of the pedestal, providing excellent photos that was really worth it.  The weather could not have been more perfect: warm, but not blistering, sunny, but with a touch of puffy white clouds.  We stood in her presence for a long time, enjoying her majesty and remembering her importance.  Especially because of the current crisis in our country, we wanted to make sure we saw the poem that we believed stood at her feet.  But after circling her, we could not find it anywhere.  I asked the perfect ranger, who took us back inside where we had been, allowing us to bypass lines and leading us directly the bronze poem.  The poem is about opening doors and hearts to those less fortunate, to those with dreams of being in this country.  We, at least the vast majority of us, are descendants of immigrants.  I hope we can find the right answer that will allow others to be a part of this land, that we are all fortunate enough to be a part of.

The next stop on the ferry was to Ellis Island.  I remembered going here about ten years ago, and how powerful it had been.  It was once again, a very moving museum.  The huge building was the point where so many immigrants were processed coming into our country at a time when our doors seemed to be wide open.  The museum goes through the steps that each immigrant would have gone through upon entry.  I cannot imagine how terrifying those hours would have been, waiting to hear if one little flaw you had would keep you out of the country or separate you from your family.  It was actually while standing in the great hall of this building that I received an update that Trump had signed an executive order that would keep families together.  While I'm glad about that, it's not a complete answer, and it leaves so many more questions out there in the open.  No matter what, visiting these two sites at this time in our country's struggles with immigration was powerful.  It was a great reminder of where we all have come from.

Part of our NYC whirlwind tour was of food. We did not get to visit any outstandingly renowned places or anything like that. Not making reservations is a slight disadvantage to road-tripping on the fly. But we did some of the things you are supposed to do here: we ate a hot dog from a stand, a cheap pizza slice and had bagels for breakfast. The variety of bagels, but more importantly the cream cheese you put on the bagels was amazing! I had a rainbow bagel with blueberry cream cheese, a cinnamon raisin bagel with apple cinnamon cream cheese and a blueberry bagel with plain cream cheese. The child in me resisted the cookie dough, chocolate chip and birthday cake cream cheeses that screamed my name. But I made up for it later when we went to, well frankly a place I should have created, DO. It’s a fantastic creation that has a bar, like an ice cream bar, but the flavors you are choosing are cookie dough. That’s right, cookie dough is served in a cup with a spoon. It may have actually been my own personal slice of heaven. We did have some delicious pizza one night where we stood in line for a recommended place with some fellow Fulbrighters from Portland who happened to be in town at the same time we were. It’s so fun to get to keep in touch with cross-country connections! And the pizza was delicious, New York style pizza.

Jessica and I did a few things that I had never done in NYC that I really enjoyed! One of which was a Downton Abbey exhibit. Yes, I know we were in NYC, not London, but this same exhibit was in Singapore last year near the time we were there, and we missed it, so we felt the urge to go this time. It is a traveling exhibit that highlights some of the props, costumes and characters as well as showing some of the real history behind the events in our beloved show. My favorite part? Highlights from the fabulous Maggie Smith including her quote of, “What is a weekend?”

Friends is my all time favorite TV show. Turn on just about any episode and I can tell you the punch line before they say it. Almost every life event somehow relates back to one of the famed six. A dear family friend managed to get me tickets to a taping of the show in its final season, so while I know the show is filmed in LA, it takes place in NYC. There are lots of skyline shots as well as a frequent shot from outside the apartment building (even though the girls’ balcony never matched). So, we set off to find the famous building. The show ended over a decade ago, and yet the corner building that pretended to be the home of our beloved characters was still crowded with fellow tourists. Almost makes me proud!

Washington Square Park is in downtown NYC and was the home to a film Jess loved, so with a bit of spare time, we decided to check it out, and I’m so glad we did! The Park was jam-packed with people, many of whom seemed to be local. There were people sunbathing in bikinis, toddlers playing on the playground, kids splashing in the fountain, jugglers tossing balls high in the air, musicians enjoying the acoustics of the giant arch, drummers keeping a rhythm of the city, poets selling poems and a sand artist creating an intricate creation. There was even a lady out and about with her five-week-old kitten (yes, I stopped to speak to her!). The hustle and bustle, the enjoyment of sunshine, and the appreciation of some green space in the city was infectious and a joy to experience.

No trip for Jessica and I would be complete without climbing something, or in this case, riding an elevator to get to the top of something. I had been to the Top of the Rock a couple of times, and I really enjoyed the views it provided of Central Park and the Empire State Building, so we went there first. There were plenty of other tourists, but the outside space is really nice, so you never really feel crowded at the top. We could see what appeared to be a microscopic Statue of Liberty, the whole of Central Park, the Chrysler Building, and parts of Times Square. But we couldn’t resist the opportunity to go up the famed Empire State Building (of course hoping Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan would be there, too!). So, on our last night there, we decided to get a nighttime view of the city from atop this building. Seeing the city aglow was magical. While on top of the building, I wondered why exactly I find this site so beautiful. I typically enjoy the beauty found in nature, and yet, I was awe-struck looking at this giant concrete formation. Perhaps it is the symmetry or the architectural and electrical wonder of how it all works. Or perhaps it’s something far simpler than that. We always gawk and wonder at the shining stars above. Perhaps it is a similar wonderment of the twinkling lights of the city.

No matter what, I love New York, and I love being a part of the incredible vibes the city gives off, at least in short spurts.