I've only been to New York City a few times in my life. It's always an overwhelming experience. I'm a country girl, so I'm not city-savvy. Brian is more comfortable in big cities (he lived in downtown Denver for a while), so we manage ourselves pretty well. This time however, we hadn't planned things out, so we were pretty out of our element. The natives could tell, too. We rode a ferry to the island, and our relaxed, non-dressy clothes immediately gave us away. Then to top of it off, we said "thank you" to the ticket counter guy...when we got off the ferry he said, "are you guys gonna be ok?" I guess saying thank you is a rarity in NYC.
Whenever we go to NY, we bee-line for Central Park. It's the only place in that whole place I feel comfortable, and it is beautiful.
The buds were literally growing on the bark of some of the trees. We hid in there until Rosa found us and gave us the best NYC visit of my life.We walked through the Met, which is super cool, and afterward we crossed a couple of things off of my bucket list.
Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, so when Rosa casually mentioned that possibility, I just about lost it with excitement. I didn't realize how easy and accessible the bridge is. It was awesome. I was so excited the entire time. 
Man is that bridge magnificent. And the view of the city really helps you realize how packed it is. It's amazing they fit roads between those tight buildings, and it's even more amazing that those taxi drivers navigate them so well.We walked the Brooklyn Bridge because we were on our way to Brooklyn (duh), and some fantastic NY Pizza! I've always wanted to have real Italian Pizza. I'm not the biggest traveler, least of all across the globe, so going to Italy to eat pizza in Naples isn't an option, but there's a place that is just as good in Brooklyn, NY. It's called Grimaldi's Pizza, and man is it good...best pizza I have ever had, by far. We waited an hour and a half to get in (which was super annoying at the time), but once I took one bite of that delectable pizza pie, my tired feet didn't ache at all. I was living in the moment. I wish I'd taken a picture of it...it looked just like the pizza she's eating in that clip I mentioned in an earlier post from Eat, Pray, Love. And just like her, I was having a relationship with my pizza.
After our bellies were full, we headed back to the ferry, and said farewell to my dear friend. It was great to see her, and I am so excited that she will be moving a short 5ish ours away in the fall. (The same goes for you Steph, I hear you'll be in the area sometimes, so I am absolutely stoked for a reunion).
We were feeling pretty positive about the city at that point, but then we tried to navigate our way out of that concrete jungle, and one wrong turn put us in an irreversible line to enter the Lincoln Tunnel. We actually considered crossing that middle area between the entering and exiting lanes, but then we realized that paying an $8 fee to go through the tunnel was a better idea than paying a $200 fine for driving over cones and doing a U-ie in a very restricted area. So, we drove through the Lincoln Tunnel, dreading the traffic on the other side. The heavens were smiling on us that night though, because we flipped a quick U-ie and made it out fast, alive, and not entirely in tears.
It was good to get back to wide open spaces. We car-camped that night, and finishing the drive in the morning, I thanked my lucky stars that I grew up in such a beautiful place. It's fun to visit the city, especially for the culture you can experience there, but I am so happy to live out in the open, friendly, and unbridled nature of Upstate New York.
No comments:
Post a Comment