new york, new york

Oh, New York City how I love you. You might make my feet hurt from walking all over your streets, but you make up for it with your beautiful sites, smells and sounds. I have never seen so many different people or seen so many interesting things. Your bright lights made the nights seem like day - I simply got lost in your chaos. An overwhelming amount of cigarette smoke seemed to find its way to my nose as I wandered through the mass of people in Times Square, but I found that if I watched them pass I distracted myself in curiosity. I was curious to know what made them the way they are, why they dressed in certain fashions, where they were from, what brought them to your city. The countless desires your city offers seem to bring people from the four corners of the world...including Provo (even though it's not one of the corners - or is it?). Your bridges and tunnels connected us to greater places as we explored the many places to see. A favorite of those places...The David Letterman Show. As a tribute to David I created my own top ten list to your city (in no particular order):

1. Got to actually see/hear David Letterman give his top ten list at a live recording of his show. Amazing. We got to sit second row and had a perfect view of Dave's desk...until the show actually started and all the camera equipment blocked our view. Kind of lame, I know. However, we did have an unobstructed view while he gave his top ten though, and it was just fun to be there. I've never been told to laugh so much in my life - they hound you. Guests: Jason Bateman and Dr. John P. Holdren (still not really sure who he is).

Our tickets! Upgraded to 2nd row!

2. Went to the top of the Empire State Building at night. It was a bit nostalgic, though I had never been there before. After watching Sleepless in Seattle so many times I think I felt a connection to it a little like Meg Ryan had with An Affair to Remember. I kept thinking that Noah was going to run out to get his backpack and maybe I'd get to see Tom Hanks. Just kidding. It was way too crowded to imagine that. They make it a little more romantic in the movies with no one else up there but you - don't get me wrong, it's still romantic...you just share the moment with probably 200-300 other people walking around with headphones on getting a tour of the city and squeezing their way to the edges to get a glimpse of the skyline. It was still just so beautiful even with all the people...the city simply captivates you and you seem to forget about everything else.

3. The New York City Library is even cooler in person than it is in Ghostbusters, although Adam and I spent our time there wandering around the incredible structure searching for scenes from the movie. We had luck with a few, the most beautiful being the Rose room (the giant room with books bordering the edges and desks with lamps filling the room), but could not seem to find the place where the hundreds of notecards fly out of the card catalogue drawers. We think we saw it through a window, but I guess we'll never really know.

The Rose Room.

4. Brooklyn. You name it. Brooklyn Bridge. Grimaldi's Pizza. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. The night spent on the Brooklyn Bridge and eating at the pier was probably my favorite in New York. It didn't seem to feel as rushed as most of our days did. We simply enjoyed walking on the bridge taking dozens of photographs and relaxed as we ate our pizza and ice cream at the water's edge. Thanks to Lauren's magic wonders of convincing (along with Jack's smile), we were able to order our pizza to go and not have to wait hours to eat - Laur even made a friend out of it.

5. A horse drawn carriage in Central Park is pretty romantic...even with an Irish driver and a short 15-minute ride. I can now officially cross one off my bucket list. Central Park is huge. I knew it was big before we went to New York, but it's even bigger than I thought. We saw the tiniest fraction of it, but the taste was sweet. It was beautiful - covered in trees with paths leading this way and that.

Frisbee in the park.

Eating an apple in the Big Apple. Adam's idea :)

6. Wicked. Oh wow. If you ever get the chance to see Wicked on Broadway, take it. You won't regret it...even if you have to fork out a bit for it. I got my money's worth when I collected six Wicked cups at the show's end (thanks to those who chose to leave their souvenir cups just for me). Yes, you may call me whitetrash...but in defense, they are put to good use in my house.

7. Times Square is the life of the party 24/7. I really couldn't believe there were just as many people walking around at midnight as there were at noon. Met one of the nicest people when we asked for him to take our picture...and he just happened to be an MTV photographer who was completely willing to spend an hour with us just sharing his wealth of knowledge. Jay was a nice man. He convinced me into buying a 50mm lens...the next day. If you're into photography and you go to NYC, make sure to make a pit stop at B&H Photo...you won't regret it.

I was taking in all the lights :) Adam was too...


Group shot. Mike looks like he's punching Laur in the face, haha...he's not.

8. Street vendors galore. You can guarantee that on every corner in NYC you will find a treat or two. From gyros and falafel to knockoff purses, NY souvenirs, and even signed photos from Michael Jackson. Oh, they were real. I especially loved the vendors with the real New York accents...I was definitely more tempted to buy from them. I do miss the gyros - it actually sounds incredibly delicious right now. I couldn't resist buying from a spice/tea vendor. Everything was so full of color and wonderful smells.

Gyros & Falafel. Delicious.

9. The financial district had some neat sites to see - Tiffany's, the New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street, Trinity Church, and Ground Zero. It's a pretty humbling experience to turn the corner and see a giant hole in the skyline where the Twin Towers once stood - it's not something you're used to seeing in New York. There is not much at Ground Zero besides a whole lot of construction right now, but I want to be sure to return when the memorial is complete.

Trinity Church. My first time as a grave robber.

10. MoMA. At the Museum of Modern Art we were able to see some of the most timeless pieces of art in history mingled with several modern pieces that you seem to have to be able to interpret. I still don't understand the canvas painted black...I just don't. When I walked past the black canvas there were several people standing around it pondering, and so I began pondering about what they were pondering about. How did the person who painted it get so famous? I think I'm going get get a piece of paper and draw a straight line right down the middle and call it art. Maybe in a couple hundred years I'll be famous for my pensively penciled piece. Who knows? Black canvas man did it, so can I. The wall (art) that Adam is standing in front of is thousands of names where people measured themselves - the black ink is a mass of varying heights.

I love you New York City, I simply do.