Even though it's the first time we met, I feel like I've already known you for a long time, you know? Your throngs of people mostly from different lands pushing past each other at crossings and subway entrances, blazing billboards, blaring car horns and wailing emergency vehicles at all, and I mean ALL, hours of the day and night.
When we first arrived on the Amtrak at Penn Station, the taxi line outside Madison Square Garden was familiar - too many people but the cabs kept coming. And the traffic jams that trailed us to the hotel, predictable.
The first thing we did to get to know you better was to just, walk. We walked past Gap, Zara, Loft, H&M (which drew me in because it has managed to stay away from online commerce in this day and age...can you imagine!), McDonald's, Burger King, and also many hole-in-the-wall but crowded shops, and many unknown names that must be unknown only to us foreigners.
It was clear walking around that like many other cities, there are streets and neighborhoods where people from similar background gather. We ended up in Korea Avenue or 32nd Street and 5th Avenue where we found excellent, authentic Korean fare at Kunjip Restaurant. Soft and succulent pork belly steamed for hours and eaten wrapped in pickled Napa cabbage, yu gae jang (spicy beef soup), soondubu (spicy tofu soup), and haemul pajeon (seafood pancakes) were so comforting we visited twice during the weekend we were there.
Just past Kunjip was another treat - bakery like we know it at Tous Les Jour. Pillowy soft buns encasing savory meat stuffings or sweet red bean paste - I like savory; he likes sweet; perfect for us.
What creatures of habit we are! Never will I again tease the American craving a good burger in Asia. We were Asians in America relishing the familiarity of a DIY Gyu-Kaku table BBQ, Thai food at Spice, dim sum at Golden Unicorn, and the awesome soup base and bouncy ramen at Hide-Chan's noodle shop.
Since you are all about what's hot, what's new, and what's hip, no first trip to NYC is complete without burning some cash at the boutiques. A trip to Woodbury Commons Outlet yielded Italian shoes and our favorite athletic wear Lululemon at great prices. However, a personal shopper assisted experience at the world's largest department store, Macy's in NYC, didn't create any breakthrough in style for me.
But we would rather walk the hallways of museums than duck in and out of the streets upon streets of shops. I've always wanted to visit the Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art and we did both. This time, unlike in Spain, he didn't need to be dragged to the museums. Instead, he powered through exhibit after exhibit, pausing to read the labels of more interesting pieces and marveled alongside me at the craftsmanship of artisans BC and in the early AD as displayed in the intricate jewelry and functional pottery.
All in all, New York, we enjoyed getting to know you...but after a few days, we have to admit that we were looking forward to getting back to Midland, a mere village compared to the bustling metropolis that you are, with all the space and amenities that we've grown at home in. Sure, during the time we were in NYC, we did come to recognize some people, such as the waiter from Hide-Chan whom we saw picking up his coffee as we sipped on ours at Stumptown. We also recognized as well the general those who seemed disenfranchised by their presence in the city, those wide-eye and touring the city like us, those who belonged in the city, and those whom the city has left behind.
Maybe it was because I was without my cell phone due to its unfortunate demise following a plunge into the potty, but there was always a niggling sense of unease in the back of my mind. We will visit you again, New York, if only to visit places that we missed this trip - United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Greenwich etc - and also the broadway show that I bought but got the date wrong.
In the meantime, keep crimes low, keep welcoming everyone, and all the best.
Love,
Linda
When we first arrived on the Amtrak at Penn Station, the taxi line outside Madison Square Garden was familiar - too many people but the cabs kept coming. And the traffic jams that trailed us to the hotel, predictable.
The first thing we did to get to know you better was to just, walk. We walked past Gap, Zara, Loft, H&M (which drew me in because it has managed to stay away from online commerce in this day and age...can you imagine!), McDonald's, Burger King, and also many hole-in-the-wall but crowded shops, and many unknown names that must be unknown only to us foreigners.
It was clear walking around that like many other cities, there are streets and neighborhoods where people from similar background gather. We ended up in Korea Avenue or 32nd Street and 5th Avenue where we found excellent, authentic Korean fare at Kunjip Restaurant. Soft and succulent pork belly steamed for hours and eaten wrapped in pickled Napa cabbage, yu gae jang (spicy beef soup), soondubu (spicy tofu soup), and haemul pajeon (seafood pancakes) were so comforting we visited twice during the weekend we were there.
Just past Kunjip was another treat - bakery like we know it at Tous Les Jour. Pillowy soft buns encasing savory meat stuffings or sweet red bean paste - I like savory; he likes sweet; perfect for us.
What creatures of habit we are! Never will I again tease the American craving a good burger in Asia. We were Asians in America relishing the familiarity of a DIY Gyu-Kaku table BBQ, Thai food at Spice, dim sum at Golden Unicorn, and the awesome soup base and bouncy ramen at Hide-Chan's noodle shop.
Since you are all about what's hot, what's new, and what's hip, no first trip to NYC is complete without burning some cash at the boutiques. A trip to Woodbury Commons Outlet yielded Italian shoes and our favorite athletic wear Lululemon at great prices. However, a personal shopper assisted experience at the world's largest department store, Macy's in NYC, didn't create any breakthrough in style for me.
But we would rather walk the hallways of museums than duck in and out of the streets upon streets of shops. I've always wanted to visit the Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum of Art and we did both. This time, unlike in Spain, he didn't need to be dragged to the museums. Instead, he powered through exhibit after exhibit, pausing to read the labels of more interesting pieces and marveled alongside me at the craftsmanship of artisans BC and in the early AD as displayed in the intricate jewelry and functional pottery.
All in all, New York, we enjoyed getting to know you...but after a few days, we have to admit that we were looking forward to getting back to Midland, a mere village compared to the bustling metropolis that you are, with all the space and amenities that we've grown at home in. Sure, during the time we were in NYC, we did come to recognize some people, such as the waiter from Hide-Chan whom we saw picking up his coffee as we sipped on ours at Stumptown. We also recognized as well the general those who seemed disenfranchised by their presence in the city, those wide-eye and touring the city like us, those who belonged in the city, and those whom the city has left behind.
Maybe it was because I was without my cell phone due to its unfortunate demise following a plunge into the potty, but there was always a niggling sense of unease in the back of my mind. We will visit you again, New York, if only to visit places that we missed this trip - United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Greenwich etc - and also the broadway show that I bought but got the date wrong.
In the meantime, keep crimes low, keep welcoming everyone, and all the best.
 |
| Tired of view, Statue of Liberty seeks new home |
Linda
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