There are various kinds of cities. Pretty, beautiful, ugly, magical, friendly, snooty...a city can take on a personality that is comparable to any human. But usually, most cities exhibit some dominant characteristic. My stay in New York however convinced me that it was big enough to posses several characteristics..something for everyone. On one hand, you had the maddening pace and sheer ugliness of the buildings in Midtown and the Financial district..on the other hand, there was the quiet serenity of neighbourhoods like Greenwich Village and Chelsea, two aspects of one of the boroughs in the city, diametrically opposite and interesting in different ways. One thing that definitely adds to any experience in New York is its aura. Shows like Friends, Sex in the City, 30 Rock and countless movies have glorified and deified the place...exalted it as the place to be: fun, exciting and stimulating. Hence, you go there expecting a LOT. And I at least wasn't disappointed. New York played into a lot of my passions: music and showbiz, sports, walking in parks, countercultures, finance (?!) and so on...A lot of the things I was seeing were things I had grown up hearing about, read extensively about and dreamed about. And it offered the pace of life which I think suits me best..fast (I am not kidding about this. One lazy-ish day and I just can't sleep at night!). Hence, I decided to compile a list of things (apart from the usual touristy stuff), very personal to me, which completely made me fall in love with the city:
1. Jazz music playing in all the Starbucks and several other places which I went to.
2. Listening to the strains of 'America', every time I passed under the Palace Theatre at Times Square, where West Side Story was showing.
3. Just sitting on the chairs in Times Square and watching the world go by.
4.Walking around Greenwich Village.
5. Washington Square Park.
6. Watching the dogs playing in the Dog Runs of the various parks I visited...so cute!
7. Seeing the site where John Lennon was shot. It actually made me sadder than the Holocaust memorial or the Vietnam War one (yeah, shocking I know!).
8. Turning a corner in Chelsea and coming face to face with a tiny art gallery.
9. Browsing at The Colony, this insane memorablia shop on 49th Street, 7th Av. I think.
10. Being hit on by so many men! And in a nice way.
11. Observing 'Yo Momma' types listening to hip-hop, wearing bling jewelery in most Bronx Bound trains. Some of them were really hot as well. If it wasn't for their musical taste, I would completely go out with one of them.
12. Having 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. (Yes I did!)
13. Going to Central Park for a morning walk and shopping for detergent after that.
14. The Statue of Liberty..from every angle. I never thought the symbol of freedom of another country, especially a piss off like USA would inspire such a feeling in me, but she is awesome!
15. Brooklyn Bridge at night.
16. The top of the Empire State Building.
17. Watching the New York Ballet and New York Symphony Orchestra rehearsing: amazing!
18. The Broadway shows, especially Chicago and Mary Poppins. I have never been so blown away.
Well I think that sums it up. It was a great trip, an excellent adventure..and more importantly, an indication of where I should focus my energies: I'm sure I want to live there at some point. Now its time to see how.
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