Notes on New York

It occurs to me that I never wrote anything about New York.

It's a fascinating place, or rather, a series of places. I didn't think I'd like it, had avoided going back to it, because of that. That, and the intimidation factor. But once you break it up into little neighborhoods, and get used to where places are and the terms they use (lower east side, etc.), it actually makes sense. In a grid sort of way.

Things are noisier here, faster. That is really irritating. The blaring of the horns -- all night long! -- kept me awake my first night in New York at the Holiday Inn Soho. It was actually worse the first night at the New York Barclay. This time I knew what it was because the horns were in my face. Or at least they felt that way. The street the Barclay is on is a very busy one, yet only two lanes, a way, I guess, to get over to Lexington ("Lex" as Val called it). And taxis are clogging up the street every which way.

And some don't want to go in your direction. We found a taxi at the waterfront when we got off the sightseeing boat. And they want to hear where you're going before they commit. (I had no idea that was the system.) He shook his head and waited for the next one, which came only seconds later. Val told me, "We're going across town. He doesn't want to drive across town at 3 o'clock in the afternoon." The nerve.

But we didn't have to wait long for another opportunity (and I must admit, Venice flashed in my mind as we waited over an hour for a land taxi at the marine terminal). A limo driver gave us a decent price, we climbed in, and he talked and talked until we got to the small shoe store which was our destination.

And that was another story. It was a posh store, and they hurriedly rushed us out. It was many minutes later when I understood what happened, after a discussion of the events. Whoa. I guess California t-shirts don't carry much weight 'round these parts.

I should mention here that I really, really enjoyed the Circle Line bay tour. Yes, a 3-hour tour, all the way around Manhattan. What a touristy thing to do, huh? But it gave me a perspective on where everything is (and believe me, the map(s) don't help). And it was all so beautiful. When we came upon the Statue of Liberty, I held my breath. I scurried over to the other side of the boat, but then we turned around and I could see it in all its never-overrated glory. What a sight to see. And to think it was a gift from the French.

There were some disappointments. We didn't make it to the Yankees game while we did make it to a Broadway play (Spamalot). I didn't take any photos of the city the second time around; my camera was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I liked the pace we took....we tried to slow the Big Apple down so that we could bite off small portions. And now I know I'd like to go back.