Tuesday, February 27, 2007

monday in new york

yesterday.
i had an amazing day in new york.
i mean, it's been one adventure after another since i moved here, but yesterday was very memorable.

it started with this.

i run up stairs and down stairs at the subway station nearest my apartment. these are the stairs leading down to the Manhattan/Brooklyn bound trains. i stopped in my tracks when i saw this mess. my first thought. who would do this?? my next thought. what are these papers?? i soon found out. at least the answer to the second question. Chase Bank deposit slips. this photo reminds me a bit of Amelie, how almost every frame was tinted green, especially in the metro subway stations. this is a bit more yellow. it's my own yellow.

the train came shortly after i took this photo, and took me into Manhattan for my last day with the Residential Designer i've been working with since November. 4 hours of work later, i was heading cross-town to meet a friend, and we walked all around Manhattan, from Midtown to the Lower East Side to Washington Square Park. this loverly tower also stopped me dead in my tracks, found in a local community garden in the L.E.S.

i saw the arch in Washington Square Park [think When Harry Met Sally] from a distance, and practically ran there! my first time there. i felt like such a tourist. what made it even worse, i was taking a photo of the arch, and a girl was walking by and asked if she could take a photo of the two of us [my friend and me]. we wanted to make a joke and tell her we were actually New Yorkers, but pretended to be tourists anyway.

i thought you would like this especially [mom], as it is pretty much an exact replica of L'Arc de Triomphe. which i will hopefully see in person someday. i imagine it pales in comparison. but maybe a close second?

we must have walked 3 miles that night. ate some wonderful vegetarian food at Kate's Joint, the cutest little hole-in-the-wall. i ate a glorious veggie burger on a bed of brown rice with veggies and tahini while listening to The White Album.

my legs weren't even that sore this morning.

4 comments:

Ruth said...

Oh! the stairs photo! That is so good in the yellow sepia tone. But why would so many bank slips be scattered like that? It almost seems as if one person had a stack that accidentally got dropped. I really love this photo! Isn't it fun to imagine a story around this photo/scene?

I will click on all the links at work later, because it will just take too long on dialup. I can't wait!

Is that cool tower a sort of totem for the neighborhood, do you think? There are some pretty interesting things hanging there. Fish, elephant, car . . .

Washington Square Park! I've never been to that arch, but I've seen photos, and it is gorgeous. No wonder you ran! I want to see it with you, and then I want to see the Arc de Triomphe with you. Yes, even inside the arch I can see the similarities. I love how there is space around this arch, at least from what I've seen. So you can get good vistas of the City around it.

I did check out the Kate's Joint link. Funny and cool how they create yummies in a healthy way!

This was quite an adventurous day. I'm glad you have had more time lately to get out and tromp around. You will never get to the end of it, this City, no matter how many days you explore. And isn't that wonderful.

Ginnie Hart said...

So wonderful indeed, Lesley. Tromping around and feeling the city. I can see how it would grow on you. I just read a
post
this morning, however, and wonder if you agree with it--the oppression on faces? Maybe that comes with time and only on certain faces. I can't imagine it ever happening to you!

Unknown said...

i know mammas! it was crazy. i love thinking about the exact moment that happened...papers flying everywhere, the look on the person's face. what have i done?? there is a Chase bank right around the corner, so.

i really want to go back to that garden during the day! it's right around the corner from Kate's Joint, where we ate. it looked like a beautiful garden.

can't wait to walk around NY with you and pops!

it's another gorgeous day in New York! i'm going out tromping with a few friends tonight, so that will be nice.
loves!

Unknown said...

that is such an interesting post, aunt boots. no one but a New Yorker would know anything about that. unfortunately i see it every day. living here is unlike anywhere else i've lived, as i walk with my fellow New Yorkers, as opposed to driving next to them. it's so up close and personal. sometimes i look around at the people riding with me on the subway, standing in line at the grocery store. this is a difficult city to live in. so many people are trying to make their dreams come true.
i definitely feel the exhaustion sometimes. but try to keep my chin up! :)