The Garden State and the Big Apple Part II

I'm going to finally finish writing about my trip, but I'm feeling lazy, so I'm not going to include any pictures (even though I have some great pics of Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park).

So let's see...day 3. We got a later start because my friend Laura's daughter Lily had a music class. But the only things I hadn't seen yet that I didn't want to miss were the Met and Central Park. Laura's husband Brian dropped us off on the Upper East Side, where I got a slice of pizza at a place Brian had found online for me. (Brian and Laura are Orthodox Jews, so they eat only kosher foods, which is mostly what I also ate during the week, except for a hot dog from a street vendor and pizza.) I wrote down the name of the pizza place but can remember it now. Anyway, the pizza was great.

From there Laura and I walked to the Met. I really liked getting a chance to see different areas of Manhattan. In the Village, the sidewalks seemed smaller, and they were crowded with people and vendors. I heard all kinds of different languages. On the Upper East Side, the sidewalks seemed huge, and although there were still people walking, there were fewer people and fewer vendors, etc. Along the sidewalk by the Met there were quite a few artists and photographers selling their wares. I was thinking how cool that would be if I could just set up a table by the art museum here or along Delmar or something and sell my knits and yarns.

The Met was beautiful, of course. We didn't have a lot of time, but I got to see the European wing, with the Impressionists, etc. They had some nice VanGoghs, Monets, and Degas. They allow you to take pictures, so I got several pictures. Unfortunately the pictures of the Degas were too blurry. They also had some Picassos, but not the ones that I particularly like. They also had a special super heroes exhibit, but unfortunately we didn't have time to see it.

From the Met we walked into Central Park, where we walked by the Great Lawn and Turtle Pond. We then walked up to Belvedere Tower, which overlooks Turtle Pond. As we were walking, we passed several musicians, which was really cool. We then went to see Cleopatra's Needle, which is an obelisk that was actually erected in Heliopolis Egypt in 1600 BC, moved to Alexandria in 12 BC, and then given to New York City and erected in Central Park in 1881.

After walking around Central Park, we walked back over to the Upper East Side, where we got take out from a vegetarian/kosher Indian restaurant and then headed home to eat. It was delicious! I got a curry dish with eggplant and potatoes and a variety of appetizers (like samosas).

We had planned to go to the Jersey Shore on Thursday, but the weather didn't really cooperate, so we ended up just going shopping at Ikea. I was happy with that though, since we don't have an Ikea in St. Louis.

Friday morning we drove Brian into the city and stopped at H & H Bagels on the way. Yum! After we dropped him off, we drove past the UN, and I also got to see both Yankee Stadiums across the East River. Then I flew home Friday afternoon.

It was a really busy trip, but I did also feel like I had time to relax and to visit with my friends.

It is strange because even though we only spent a few days in the city, there is a part of me that misses it. I was trying to think of a way to explain how I felt about New York. I finally came up with this... If you think of visiting a city as kind of like dating, there are sort of three categories: there's the person you go out with who you really don't care if you see again (you may actively dislike the person or just not like him enough to see care if you see him again); then there's the person you like, who you could be friends with, but that little inexplainable something is missing; then there's the person who you have chemistry with (regardless of whether it ever actually goes anywhere). Well, when it comes to cities, I feel the same way. Kansas City is in the first category... I could take it or leave it and really don't care. Chicago is in the friend category... I love to visit and spend time there.

But New York and I, we have chemistry.

The Garden State and the Big Apple

I realize this is a cliche, but I have to say it. I love New York!

Last week I visited friends who live in Englewood, New Jersey. We went into New York city three of the days that I was there. I immediately fell in love with the city. I wasn't really sure how I would like it, but I think that I could move there tomorrow and be happy.

The first day we had lunch at Azuri Cafe, which has amazing falafel. It is a tiny, hole in the wall sort of place on a narrow side street. My friends have been to Israel, and they said that the falafel was the closest they've ever had to the falafel in Israel.

That day we also went to Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and the Empire State Building; we walked by the library and got cupcakes from Crumbs, which were amazing.

That day we had sushi for dinner, which was really good. It was only my third time having sushi, and I liked it the best. I guess it really is better when you are close to the ocean. I especially liked the blackened pepper tuna roll and the spicy tuna roll. I have determined that I don't like raw salmon though.

The second day we took the ferry from Wehawken to Manhattan. We then caught a shuttle to the Village, where we did some shopping. I think we found one of the few inexpensive streets in
Soho, where I bought a few things. From the Village, we got on the Subway and rode over to Brooklyn. From there, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.

After we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge we went and saw the World Trade Center site. We then walked to Battery Park and walked along the river to where the Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty ferry is. We didn't have time to go to either of those places, but I did get to see the Statue of Liberty from the park.

The first 2 days were a lot of fun and a whirlwind of activity and sightseeing. More to come about day 3.