new york minute.

"think of a city and what comes to mind? it's streets. if a city's streets look interesting, the city looks interesting; if they look dull, the city look dull."
-jane jacobs

you can describe a city in the same way that you can describe a wine. like a full-bodied red, the cities that i have fallen for have depth, a robust flavour and a unique complexity to them that make them one of a kind. in nyc, its charm lies in its streets and its neighbourhoods. the best way to see the city is certainly by walking. but what strikes me every time in nyc is that in a minute, so much happens. a minute seems longer in new york, more sights are passed, more sounds fill the air, more attacks on my senses. whether i'm touring the tacky lights of times square, the quaint houses in greenwich village or the ritzy stores in soho i fall a little bit more in love with new york every time i go.

i know that my mom loves new york even more than i do, so i knew she would not be a tough sell when i suggested a girls weekend in late may. alyssa titus was also in (especially when we were able to pick the weekend after she finished her first year med school exams!), and we easily convinced her mom, ellen to come along. the four of us get along famously, and we had always wanted to take a trip together to take our female bonding beyond the scope of ahmic lake. the four of us out for dinner in greenwich village:


mom and i flew in bright and early thursday morning and immediately took a cab to our cute hotel in the theatre district. we are both go-go-go in nyc because we both have so much that we want to see, so we did not waste any time getting a move on. we wandered down 42nd street to the united nations, got a guided tour of the building and had an extensive history lesson. our tour guide was this cute little man who spoke as quiet as a mouse, but he answered all of my 'dumb' questions and i left feeling much more aware and curious to learn more. my mom's best lesson was that there are now just a few more than 80 member nations... (192 to be exact!) we continued wandering around the grounds because i wanted to catch all of the sights that were used for one of my favourite movies, the interpreter. a view of the flags, in alphabetical order:


the rest of thursday was filled with lounging in parks, exploring the new york library, stumbling upon the chaos in grand central station and staying off grass that was 'recovering from a major trauma'. we had tickets on our first night to a broadway play called inherit the wind , which was christopher plummer and brian dennehy at their finest. both were clearly veteran actors who effortlessly became the characters they were portraying. the premise of the play surrounds a teacher who has been convicted of breaking the law for teaching darwin's theory of evolution rather than creationism in a small town bible thumping community in the 1920s. the highlight was having the opportunity to switch seats and move to a seat on-stage as a member of the jury! very cool the be able to see christopher plummer spit as he talks and be a part of the action while still being an observer.

alyssa and ellen were meant to arrive on thursday evening but due to some flight cancellations ended up sleeping/resting in the toronto airport and arriving mid-morning on friday. aside from mom being kept up half the night with thoughts of all the the things that could have happened to them (plane crash, kidnapped by aliens and so on), i was slept right through! when they finally did arrive, we power-walked a zillion blocks down to greenwich village for our 'food and culture tour', which was worth every penny! we collected tidbits of celebrity gossip, got delicious samplings from incredible restaurants, shops and bakeries and even got a bit of the history of the neighbourhood. i LOVED it. and now we have a list of restaurants to try out on future visits! alyss and i in one of the courtyards in greenwich village:


we ventured over to a park in greenwich for a little break from all of our snacking before heading down to ground zero and the small chapel that houses a touching memorial. next alyss and i decided we needed some shopping to boost our energy levels and explored the heaven-on-earth that is century 21! holy all designer clothing at discount prices! needless to say, we were feeling much more energized for our dinner back in greenwich. the mom's called it a night, but alyss and i went out to a wine bar recommended by our neighbour. unfortunately the mello atmosphere put alyssa to sleep shortly after ordering a full bottle of wine so we did not tear up the nightlife like we had hoped! we were both happy to see our beds when we crawled in shortly after two am...

saturday was an unfortunate day. somehow i contracted a 24-hour bug and ended up having a vomit-fest all over manhattan. i was devastated! initially, i trucked along, ducking into back alleys to leave my dna when i needed to. but when we arrived in soho and i was completely unable to enjoy the shopping extravaganza, i realized i needed to lie down. conveniently, we could not find a park ANYWHERE. finally (what felt like months) my mom and ellen found a dodgy little park with homeless people sleeping and drug dealers smoking. i was so sick that i didn't even care! i fell asleep on a bench next to my mom in minutes... my mom wanted to avoid my being robbed, so she sat by me as ellen and alyssa ventured off to find katz's deli. after an hour, i decided i was good-to-go for the tenement museum in the lower east side. but it was hot, and i could barely stand up, so they eventually forced me to go back to the hotel. after a few 'there is no way i am going to be able to sleep while you guys are off enjoying nyc', i think i fell asleep in about five seconds flat. when they returned a few hours later, i was a new person! bubbly, energized and no longer wanting to die, i was able to attend our entertainment for the evening, the color purple . being a distinct racial minority in the audience was a refreshing experience, and the music was outstanding. and i didn't even have to leave to continue the vomit tour! the girls in the powder room at the color purple:


sunday was another mom and me day. alyssa and ellen really wanted to go to central park and the museum of modern art, but i really wanted to go back to soho now that i had rejoined the world. in the usual fashion, mom and i dominated our time, shopping our brains out (victoria secret anyone?), having a quick glass of wine over lunch and still having time to make our third (count 'em!) broadway show. this time, we went for a lighthearted fun show with legally blonde ! mostly tweens were in the audience but the songs were fun and kitschy and i caught myself saying omigod in the airport on the way home. (don't tell anyone!)

the weekend was short but stellar. it was some much needed girl's time, retail therapy and city hustle and bustle. i am trying to convince my mom to turn new york weekends into a yearly tradition! unlikely but i'll let you know how it goes....

mom and i in front the un: