Bright Lights, Big City

Picture this: Three country mice set off on an adventure to the big city. But not just any big city, New York City, The Big Apple, the city that never sleeps. I can definitely confirm that last part is true! Visiting NYC had always been a “bucket list” item of sorts for me. It’s a place that’s iconic with so many landmarks, history and beauty that as soon as the plane lands it is hard to contain your excitement because you know that once you step outside those airport doors the world as you know it is completely transformed. I’ve been to big cities before but none compare to the lore of New York. It’s the backdrop of a thousand movies, the setting of hundreds of novels and the theme of many songs. Fairytale of New York by the Pogues first comes to mind. Then as we were landing at LaGuardia I spotted Rikers Island which contains one of the world’s largest correctional and mental institutions in the world. The only thing running through my head was “People Who Died” by The Jim Carroll Band, which briefly mentions Rikers. We spent about 10 days exploring as much as we possibly could. We could’ve stayed 100 days and we still wouldn’t have seen it all. Anyway, I’ll let my photos speak for themselves after all a picture is worth a thousand words so I’ll spare you my take!

Contrary to popular belief there are quite a few green spaces in NYC with Central Park being the crown jewel.

I was intrigued by the architecture in New York. From the sleek and slender buildings stretching to the sky to the curves and ornate details on others dotted throughout the city, it was quite the juxtaposition between modern and classic. There were a few instances, though, that didn’t I know what to make of them. As you will see in some of the following photos there were a few oddly shaped structures that weren’t “even” if you know what I mean. Looking at them hurt my brain. I like things to be either even and equal in detail or over the top ornate. There’s no in between for me! In particular there’s a building that looks like a Jenga game and another that looks off-angle; I. CAN’T. EVEN.

Getting around the city is a breeze…as long as you are not in a vehicle. Cars, trains, subways, boats, bicycles, scooters, feet; you name it we saw it. The streets and avenues are all numbered so that helps tremendously. The following snaps are in what I like to call the “transportation” category.

You never know who or what you’ll see on the streets!

Being a nature lover it was only natural that we visit the Natural History Museum ;-). In addition to that visit I managed to snap a few photos of some creatures in their natural habitat as well.

The next series of snaps are of the St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was absolutely stunning!

One of the most difficult days was our visit to the 9/11 museum and surrounding area. It was a beautiful sunny day, not unlike that fateful day when the world as we knew it completely changed and we watched every moment of it unfold before our eyes. I’ll never forget where I was that morning. We were in the process of selling our old house and we were getting ready to meet with the real estate agents in the afternoon. I was in our bedroom making the bed and tidying up and as usual I had the TV on in the background when breaking news came on about the plane crashing into the tower. Now here we are, standing at Ground Zero, looking around at all the outside beauty that surrounded us. It was in stark contrast to the events that unfolded on September 11, 2001. It was hard to contain the emotion. Inside the museum it was solemn, peaceful, respectful. People quietly shuffled through each exhibit pausing to take in the gravity of it all. I was doing okay up until I rounded a corner and saw the faces of the people who had lost their lives; photo after photo after photo lined the walls. You feel sad when you see the twisted metal, the concrete stairs that remained intact, the temporary shrines to the fallen, the words of condolence from around the world but to put a face to all the people lost that day really took my breath away. It was a gut punch, and then I cried.

Skylines and city views are a sight to behold!

Sometimes the lights are so bright you can actually lose track of time, night becomes day.

I can say with 100% certainty that I’m not an art connoisseur. I don’t know the difference between Art Deco or Impressionism or Cubism but I know what catches my eye. Here are a few pieces that left an “impression” on me. I included some pictures from an art installation at Summit One Vanderbilt which were mind boggling, to say the least.

This was my absolute favorite piece. It’s called Girl Before A Mirror by Picasso. I think it resonated with me because of the way we perceive ourselves. Oftentimes we look in the mirror and we don’t like what we see reflected back at us, figuratively and literally. The girl in this painting is looking in the mirror and the image she sees is all distorted. That’s how she views herself. However, when we look at the girl and not the reflection of her we see her for the true beauty she is. That’s my interpretation anyway. Even though Picasso painted this in 1932 it is quite relatable to today’s culture and how we see beauty in ourselves and what we, as a society deem acceptable as a form of beauty. Beauty is not what an online influencer, a magazine cover or TV commercial tells us it should look like. Beauty is how you live your life and how you treat others.

What’s a visit to New York if you don’t stop by Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum? Some of these figures are so realistic you’d swear they were alive. It one point I was walking past Kris Jenner who was sitting on a stool with her legs crossed. I accidentally bumped into her foot and immediately apologized. *facepalm* Thankfully the museum was pretty empty at that moment.

And finally we come to one of the best things about NYC: the food! You can’t throw a rock without hitting a food truck, street vendor or restaurant! Thankfully, all the walking helped stave off all the calories consumed.

The Canadian Flag, a sight to behold!

If you made it this far in my blog, then I thank you! This trip was something we had been planning for almost a year, long before the ‘Canada vs USA’ became a thing. I know people canceled their plans and trips to the states but we made the decision to go anyway and one we definitely don’t regret. There was very little political talk, no Canada 51st state crap and the people were beyond friendly. Lots of great memories were made and John, Charlotte and I learned we could live together for 10 days in a hotel room the size of a postage stamp and didn’t feel the need to bring the others home in a body bag!

Until Next Time!

Andrea