of stolen umbrellas and old friends. (part 1)
warning: post chock full of semi-crappy photos ahead.
i can say with great certainty that if i were not deeply in love with the man i am married to, i would quite seriously consider moving to new york city. some might say that i could just move with said husband, but i say to those people that you don't know him very well. he needs space. and you can't have space in new york. so what i'm saying is, my realization is a moot point, because he's the best. anywho.my first day in new york started out with a work meeting that was done by 11am. i checked into my hotel (the one that mister man used all his points for) and walked outside straight into a rainstorm to start my wanderings. i stopped at st. patrick's cathedral to look at the architecture and say a couple of prayers for the grandparents. it's so weird to me that you can just come across buildings like that in the middle of manhattan.
once i left, because i am a simple, midwestern girl who assumes that things are safe where you leave them, i got my umbrella stolen from a bin at michael kors. come on mk! cut a girl a break! i bought another one from a guy on the street for $5, but it was not as cute as the stolen one. ny lesson #1: learned. to make the best of it, i decided to visit 30 rock and go all the way up to the top to continue my touristy streak. if anyone who lives in new york hasn't done this yet and feels like embracing their inner tourist, it's actually pretty worth it, and not crowded at all. plus, the views are amazing, even in the rain.
statue of liberty waaaay out there
me and the esb
storm rolling in over brooklyn
central park
can you see me?
don't worry, that's most of the photos. i really wore myself down with that trip to the top of the rock. once i came down, i started to just walk up 5th ave. towards central park. along the way, i was asked 4 times (!) for directions. this may or may not have been (it was!) a highlight of my month, even though i didn't help any of those people. i think i either looked like i knew where i was going, or i looked like the most approachable person in a giant sea of people. i have a feeling it was the latter, but if you think that maybe it's possible i looked like a new yorker, feel free to share, you'll be my favorite. also, here is an observation. i had heard a rumor that abercrombie and hollister were these crazy tourist destinations, and when i passed them, i saw through a haze of cologne that there were LINES to get in. what? why? what?once i got to central park, the rain had stopped, there was greenery everywhere, and i could just walk around and people watch. i should have gotten a map and just sucked up the fact that i looked like a tourist because seriously. this place is like the size of a small national park, do people actually run around it for exercise? that seems a little insane to me. i mean, i got LOST at one point. in a park. in the middle of a city. so i sat down and ate a Magnolia cupcake while i sweat through my clothing. but it was still so delightful.
and then dinner with hannah. my lovely little hannah. words cannot express what an amazing time i had with her. did you know that you could be friends with someone for 6 months, then not see them for 4 years, and still just fall right back into how things were when you last saw them? you can. i think you have to survive things like leaving her in a barcelona airport overnight, and getting attacked by preteens in london in order for it to work, but it's completely possible. i could have caught up with her all night. i think one of our conversations may have been about the right way to pronounce bagels, which is still making me giggle. now all i have to do is trick her into coming to visit minnesota, make her fall in love with a man who has the best minnesotan accent she's ever heard, and we can be neighbors forever!
i went back to my hotel feeling sad to say goodbye and drank a glass of wine by myself in the hotel bar. (you should all learn how to do that by the way...have a drink or a meal by yourself. it's maybe one of the most liberating things you'll ever do.) then i went to bed so i could be ready to go for my big day of schlepping around the city again.because i love you, and because you've probably stopped reading this far, i'm putting that day in its own part. there won't be as many photos, but i will tell you all about my feelings on the subway system.
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