There are thousands of words to describe New York but I'm going with amazing for this entry. It truely is. There is so much to see, to experience, to eat, to hear, but as I'm flying home, I'm realizing that there's one thing thay NY seems to be missing.
We had an incredible time!
About 15 months ago I took Shel to NY for her 30th birthday and after spending a few days there, we both agreed it was one of our favorite places to go! So in those 15 months we've now made it there three times! We hit up the Yankees game where they managed to lose again but what a stadium! We saw the musical, "In the Heights," on (more or less) Broadway which I thoroughly enjoyed once I could get past the idea that the people kept singing instead of just talking! Before that, a sandwich the size of your head and cheescake that an entire cake wouldn't be enough it tastes so good, at Carnegie Deli.
On Saturday, we watched more people sing instead of just talking at the Metropolitan Opera. I think what amazed me the most was that the performers were not mic'ed, they were able to project their incredible voices throughout the entire hall! It was great to experience but I think it's one of those things I can now check off the list and say I've seen it!
The pinacle of that day was by far the opportunity to have one of the most incredible meals I have ever had in my life! The four of us took the train down to Greenich Village for a meal I can nearly taste now just thinking about it at
Babbo! Words can't do it justice, especially my crappy words! You'll just have to experience it yourself. Goat cheese tortolinni. The staff was incredible and not that I've experienced many somlieles, but man did this guy know his stuff! And his Italian accent made him sound all the more reliable! Who knows, maybe he's like my friends from high school in Rapid City, SD, who when asked a question while giving tours at the caves and other tourist traps would just make up the answer! "This stilagtite was formed from the slow dripping of water through the limestone and when the bats would fly by, the gentle breeze from their wings would cause the drip to freeze where it is!"
Shel's uncle and his girlfriend have both lived or worked in Manhattan for nearly 30 years and they showed us around on Sunday treating us to some more amazing meals! We took the ferry trip to Staten Island, turned around and rode right back! It was a great free way to see the Statue of Liberty and a great view of Manhattan. Walking the Battery Park area on a beautiful Sunday afternoon was a great way to close out the weekend.
Speaking of walking, you don't realize what wusses we Minnesotans are with walking until you visit NY! A long walk for us is walking from the back of the Target parking lot to inside! My legs and feet and hips KILL! NYers do this all the time! Wild but amazing as well! I love that you can walk to the corner store there to get groceries. Being that it's about the size of three HyVee aisles though cuts down on the variety! Anyway, it's a good thing we walked as much as we did with eating being one of our main hobbies!
Monday was spent, well five hours of it, at the
Museum of Modern Art. Another must hit for sure! So inspiring.
With our flight leaving La Gurdia today at 3:45, we headed down to SOHO to squeeze in one more power-shopping trip! A couple pairs of shoes/pants/shirts later, we hustled back to the subway for our last ride! I love the subway. You see so many different people, hear so many different languages, every once in a while, smell so many different things!
But riding on the plane now with the video over I was watching but with my headphones still on, I realize that NY is missing silence. It truely is the city that never sleeps with cabs honking at all hours of the day, Times Square lights shining just a couple f/stops below the sun, they're missing out on peace and quiet. I'm ready to see my boys, ready to relax from my vacation, ready for a break from the noise of the City.
It won't be long though until I'm ready to be back and experience more! In five hours, we only saw half of MoMA and I'm sure there's more goat cheese tortolinni to take part in!
Shawn
