I made it to see you, however I will never be back.
Never say never now Deanna. .... I think to myself ... however, this is one serious NEVER. Unless of course I take the cruise of the ST Lawrence which I think I will, so I may end up in New York after all.
What a whirl wind crazy assed fast super sonic stealth tour we marathoned through. It was excruciatingly amazingly wickedly stupendidly FAST !
I loved it. I didn't love the exhaustion at the time, or the pressure of the subway doors, or the cigarette smoke. But that is all.
I loved the four hour walking tour, as we were fresh off our overnight flight.
I loved the endless headstones on our way from JFK to Manhattan.
I loved our hotel room. Cozy, warm and quiet, with the occasional door slam... although the first night in New York, I found out that our hotel room neighbour really HATED Laura. Whoever that Laura was.
I loved the buffet breakfast, and the stealth like waiters & chatty elevator men. I loved the warmed chocolate chip cookie that we got, as they certainly could not be given out cold, as they wouldn't have been rock hard.
I loved the dinner at Stardust Diner. A place where the waitstaff just sing .. and wonder around the place, and deliver your meals. I loved the fact that I simply had chicken and salad, and no beef burger for me !
I loved the Museum of Natural History, and the surrounding neighbourhood of Central Park.
I loved the food carts that found themselves planted on most street corners.
I loved the fact for the first couple of days we couldn't find a Starbucks !
I loved the green handrails marked for the subway stations. I also loved that I had gloves with me at all times, so I did not have to touch any of the handrailings within the subway station AT ALL!
I loved our time to get acquainted with the map.
I loved my four pillows on my double bed. Bed Bugs .. who cares !
I loved trying to find the open air market, just to be told that it had basically been washed away with Hurricane Sandy.
I loved our attempt at China Town, the Financial District, the location of the WTC memorial, the buildings at night, meeting at China Town, walking through Little Italy, jumping back on the subway.
I loved questioning THEO our little tiny Julliard Graduate with the VERY big operatic voice whether I would be allowed to actually see inside an actual theatre at Julliard, rather than staring at blank walls that I could otherwise find if I went back to work at Ridge Meadows!
I loved walking through The Met, taking a photo of it's grand staircase, contemplating purchasing an opera jacket, seeing the building of the creature from Game of Thrones, stepping inside another church, standing in line at starbucks for the sister, and crusing the streets back to the subway.
I loved the fact that I was able to let the awesome young teacher guide us back to our hotel, without flinching as to whether or not we would end up in such a place called HARLEM. I wish I could have made it there.
I loved going to RED LOBSTER with Miss Fuss, and cruising through Times Square. I am MOST in LOVE with the fact that as much as I would have loved to see the violin performance, I simply couldn't put forth the effort, and opted to just stay in my hotel room.
I think my FOOT / legs loved me truly for the night off from traveling the pavement for one evening.
I loved visiting Rockafellar Center, Top of the Rock, Trump Tower, 5th Avenue, Madison Ave, Lexington Ave, Park Avenue, Central Park, the New York Library, Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Penn Station, 7th Avenue, Broadway, hidden gardens, The Gershwin Theatre, Wicked, Once, finding a fellow that was going to send The Fuss some Red Lobster memorlabelia, Meeting Morty and his Wife at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), and loved that MOrty had just walked from 85th street from his Dr's office where he had just gotten a clean bill of health, and was tired, and only wanted to sit, but his wife was ready to drag him through the MoMa, whether he wanted to or not.
I loved seeing how much people are insanely intense on their cell phones, whether they were talking about their latest female "she said, then she said" crisis, or two fellows discussing whether to call another fellow, or two fellows talking about "her", or striking up deals, or making dates, and clearing calendars, or meeting with their lawyers in starbucks ... I LOVED THIS!
I loved that our plane Cathay Pacific was extraordinary .. the stewardess were beautiful, and the ride was like a limo ... I didn't even know we had hit the air, or touched the ground .. it was just that smooth.
I loved watching the painful agonizing procedure of people NEEDING to skate at Rockafellar Center .. what a freaking painful experience .. well for those attempting to skate... not those (like me) that were true people watchers. I am not certain on what that certain love affair is all about.
I loved eating at the Havana restaurant, and sitting at the bar drinking a virgin margarita.
I loved the fact that I remembered my umbrella, and a second set of gloves, and my pale blue oompa jacket that comfortably housed my turquoise or bright pink vests beneath it .. to keep me extra warm.
I loved the performance of Wicked, truly loved it, I wickedly loved the Gershwin Theatre ... very cool about that.
I loved seeing ONCE, and downloading two of the songs, I expressively loved that I got to watch the movie on the plane on the way home.
I loved buying postcards,, of New York.
I loved being on top of Rockafellar Center .. staring out into the vast concrete jungle landscape.
I loved crawling my way to the 108th floor of the Empire State Building. How cool was that. I took a picture of a pigeon.
I loved finding Kleinfelds, and seeing Randy taping the show SYTD.
I loved walking in TWO directions along the HIGH LINE, one way with MISS FUSS, and other direction with "The Boys".
I loved walking through Greenwich village, and talking to a woman who has lived there for years, but doesn't have a clue where streets are, or places. She just heads out and walks her dog.
I loved walking into a dog walker. She had a very mouthy shepherd as part of her pack. I loved that.
I loved meeting two women where they told me about a movie that was playing that was all about 3 boys that were bird watching in New York. She commented that she knew the Executive Director. Funny, given that I was with my bird watcher nephew.
I loved wondering the streets just looking at buildings, and trying to figure out where people work, and what do they do to afford nannies ... there were lots and lots of nannies.
I loved seeing a six foot leprechaun, and then I loved it even more that I saw him again.
I loved the menacing taxi cabs, and their endless honking.
I loved the hoards of people that just walk and cross the streets of New York on their own time, it's a definite blend of flesh and steel, and in reality I never did see either one of these come in contact with one another.
I loved eating pizza and delicious cheesecake, and munching on caramel popcorn, and licorice allsorts.
I loved the frenzy of needing to be organized, and out of the room in the morning.
I loved the garbage flying in the streets, and watching the garbage men.
I loved seeing the woman dispute the horse & carriage ride with the man.
I loved watching the man still his horse, while taxi's drove past and honked.
I loved staring up at the homes along Central Park West and wondering who owned them.
I loved being confused about old money and new money, and stinking rich wealth, and the dividing line between them.
I loved the quiet hysteria amongst Central Station and the trillions of commuters.
I loved the crazy man that got on the train, and the sophisticated lady with the cream hat, pointy red flats, and the ripped knee jeans, and the guy with the weird hat, super trendy black trench coat, white round rimmed glasses fellow talking with another dark haired trendy guy.
I loved the fact that it poured with rain only one night, I really loved that fact.
I loved taking the boat tour, along the Hudson River, exactly at the point where the plane crash landed.
I loved using my new monopod as a walking stick.
I loved fighting with the security guard about my monopod being used as a walking stick at the MoMa.
I loved the fact that one of our chaperones didn't have a clue where she was on the map at any given time.
I loved seeing New Jersey.
I loved seeing the spot where the Titanic was supposed to dock over a hundred years ago.
I loved seeing the world trade centre where it once stood, and I loved seeing the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island, and the shoreline.
I loved wondering along the Hudson River Park.
I loved that we walked so many places, and saw so many things that it was intriguingly difficult to recall every single area that we traversed.
I loved just being there, knowing that this experience was exceptional.
