My love affair is with New York is no secret. I've wanted to live there since I was 13, and as I grow older my passion grows deeper. After this years two week excursion I have come up with this top ten list.
10. The Museum of Natural History...
I walked through this place with my mouth gaping open, tripping over my own feet with delight. Someone designed this place with me in mind, artifacts, rocks, civilizations and evolution, science and archeology, and dinosaurs. Where was this museum when I was 8?
9. The Scented Candles...
Okay, designer scented candles in Vancouver are an arm and leg ( I know because I have paid it) but in New York not so much. New York boutiques almost always carry at least one, if not three, lines of scented candles. Not only that but they also burn one of these candles so that every boutique has its own signature scent.
8. At the club...
The girls apologize when they step on your shoes. And do so sincerely. No joke!! Not only that, they are aware of your shoes, and make a conscious effort not to step on your shoes, even when drunk!! I was speechless... I ended up thanking a girl for apologizing for stepping on my darling Mui Muis.
7. Diversity...
I found it so fascinating really being surrounded by people of so many different cultures. Not only that, but the diversity leads you to be able to experience so many fascinating culinary adventures. What struck me most about New York's diversity is being able to experience something so wholly outside of your own reality. Stereotypes are shattered and simultaneously confirmed, while understanding is deepened. Experiences can be uncomfortable, awkward, inspiring, surprising but are always interesting.
6. The Neighborhoods...
Chelsea and its museums, Lower East Side and its vintage stores, Midtown with its glitz and glam, and the list goes on. Emerging from the subway one never knows what exactly to expect, what is for sure is the that your experience will be different and intriguing. Whats more is the architecture that is scattered through these neighborhoods is a delightful juxtaposition of old and new. Gothic churches lie next to skyscrapers, while 80's box apartments stand across the street and brownstones are littered throughout.
5. The Subway...
yes there are rats, and congestion, homeless people and often unpleasant odors. But the system is so comprehensive traveling around Manhattan is incredibly easy.
4. "Junk" Food...
New Yorkers know how to do the bagel and cream cheese thing so well. A bagel comes with its own weight in delicious artery clogging cream cheese, and is dense yet fluffy, not a brick as is the Canadian custom. And of course...there is no such thing as a bad slice in NY. I have no clue what they do to make their pizza taste so good, whatever it is they are doing it right!!
3. Art...
The Met, MOMA, Broadway and Lincon Center are just the beginning. Art rivals litter in this city, found in the most unlikely of places: the walls of the subway stations, decorating barbed wire fences, unlikely theaters up precarious staircases and the t shirt of someone passing by. Public art is provocative and whether it is appealing or not always leads to good discussion. Whether your tastes are classical, modern or something altogether different, the New York art scene will have something for you.
The Met, MOMA, Broadway and Lincon Center are just the beginning. Art rivals litter in this city, found in the most unlikely of places: the walls of the subway stations, decorating barbed wire fences, unlikely theaters up precarious staircases and the t shirt of someone passing by. Public art is provocative and whether it is appealing or not always leads to good discussion. Whether your tastes are classical, modern or something altogether different, the New York art scene will have something for you.
2. The men...
I knew I had landed in New York when the border guard spent more time hitting on me than asking me the regulatory questions. When a man checks you out in this city, he wants to get caught. When you look good, you KNOW you look good. In the clubs, when you dance the men don't scurry into corners like nocturnal creatures running from lamplight, they step up and buy you a drink....LOVE IT!!!
1. The NY attitude...
there is no time for bullshit in New York. People are upfront, honest and kind. They will give you honest directions, they will check you out and tell you what they think. Go to coffee by yourself, and you can still have endless conversations with the surrounding clientele. With people being so upfront and honest, you are forced to throw your facades by the wind and act from an authentic place. Forget passive aggressive bullshit, forget manipulation, and welcome in honesty and truth. Thats what makes New York my favorite place on earth.
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