Friday, November 10, 2006

In New York you can forget how to sit still

In New York freedom looks like too many choices
In New York I found a friend to drown out the other voices
(New York~U2)

As you now know, I'm back from my trip to New York City. This wasn't my first trip to the city, but my first trip in several years. It definitely won't be several years before I go back. In fact, if my friends Meg and Jack Slate aren't careful with how kind they are to me, they may find a permanent houseguest sleeping on their living room floor.

Wow. The trip was out of this world spectacular. It started off on the wrong foot- our plane was an hour delayed and the turbulence for the first half of the flight was bad. I traveled with a co-worker, so when I say we or our, that's who I'm referencing. We had a vendor meeting us at the airport with plans to take us into the city for dinner and a show. Because our flight was so late and that airport is HUGE and took forever to get out of, we made it into the heart of Manhattan after the curtain had risen. Our vendor gave us a choice... sit in the holding room until intermission to see the rest of the show, or forget about it and explore Times Square. As much as I love broadway, we decided to skip the show and walk the city. Everything got better from here on out.

Our first night we bummed around Times Square:


Our Vendor wanted to take us to Sardi's but it had already closed by the time we got there, so we went to Gallagher's instead. This was the same day as the NYC Marathon, and about 50 of the marathon runners had dinner at the same restaurant. This was quite possibly the best $40 steak that I've ever had. Wait, it's the only $40.00 steak I ever had. Joe Dimaggio had a table there that was always reserved for him, even until he died a few years ago:

The bartender at this place ended up being one of my favorite NYC moments. He took sympathy on us because we had to wait for all of the marathon groups to be seated, so he gave us free drinks to bide our time. He was an older man, full of charisma, funny as can be, and so very New York. I was told that a job as a bartender or a waiter at a restuarant like this is very difficult to come by, they make a good living and don't give up their spots until they're dead.

We walked all over Times Square this night... I got to see so many places like Rockefeller Center:

The Christmas Tree will go behind the flags, up above the golden god, in front of the NBC tower, in two weeks from now.

I was also amazed by St. Patricks Cathedral:

I think I took 40 pictures inside of this place. All of the work and details that have gone into this cathedral are stunning.

At this point my ears were cold and feet were killing me, but I refused to pay attention to that-- how often do I get an all expense paid trip to NYC? Never. We walked until well after midnight before we decided to go to the hotel. I learned that the reputation of 90% of New Yorkers is unjust... eye contact and a genuine smile go a long way with them. Also, traffic signals don't mean all that much. Just be careful of the yellow cabs, because they will kill you.

I'm realizing now that this post is huge and I'm probably losing people at this point. I'll blog more about my next night, probably tomorrow, of course with more pictures (I only took 169 pictures in the 2 nights and 1 afternoon that I spent in the city).

Here are some parting shots, some more of my favorite pics from this first night. I had a cool one of me standing in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater (The Late Show with David Letterman), but I'm having technical issues at the moment:





14 comments:

Rebecca said...

They were NICE to you?!?! Huh. It must be because you're pretty - eye contact and genuine smiles do NOT go that far. Screw the beautiful people. You get everything. Bitter? Huh? What? Me? Thank Joss it's Friday, is all I have to say.

I wish I'd gotten to chill with you. Next time, next time...

Sister Mary Lisa said...

I'm so thinking that your post with great pics and descriptions was NOT too long...the people that matter are willing to read, no matter how long.

Right?

Christy said...

Rebecca, flattery will get you everywhere. I've not seen you before, but I know your brother and I assume that good looks are genetic, so you have nothing to worry about. It would have been cool to hang out. The only free time I had was between 1am and 7am on this trip. I have every intention of returning to NYC when the entire trip can be pleasure and not business.

SML- thanks! I am already working on my next post. I'm home today, the kids are at school, and laundry is just about done.

Anonymous said...

Oh, you and iB are KILLING me with homesickness. I love NYC so much. I'm loving listening to you talk about it, and looking at your pix. You can talk about it for the next six weeks as far as I'm concerned. :-)

I used to work across the street from St Patricks, and when I'd get stressed at work, I'd go watch mass every now and then. Lovely.

Floating in the Milk said...

I love your post and the pictures. I was in NY last month, and had the honor of meeting the Slates too. But I only got to see Times Square during the day, and I think it loses a lot that way. I'm glad you had such a fab visit.

Sideon said...

I'm overdue on a visit back to NYC.

Yes, there ARE nice people there. They get a bad rap for telling it like it is, instead of sugar-coating and doing passive-agressive Mormon-speak. Of course, I'm generalizing... :)

What a great post. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Your welcome to come visit anytime, and we'd even let you sleep on the sofa bed.

And I agree that New Yorkers get a bad rap. They may be intense, but they are always willing to help you out, give you directions, tell you about the city, etc.

I'm glad you had such a great time. Come back soon!

Miranda said...

Love the pix and love your description of NYC. I've never been there and you and iB make me want to drop everything and go.

Can't wait to see more.

Christy said...

Wow, thank you everyone! I have more story telling and more bragging yet to come, I hope you don't get tired of it.

iB was in NYC?!?!??! WHEN??? I need to email her and find out! Shoot, I'd be so bummed if we were there at the same time and didn't get to hook up.

Wry, you are living the life I thought I would live, and I'm so jealous! I hope you're loving every minute of it!

Floating in the Milk- I KNOW! (said like Monica from Friends) I was thisclose to going to NYC the same time you were, and I was hoping we could all arrange to hook up at the same time. That trip didn't work out then, hence my visit now. Bummer, but hopefully some other time our paths will cross?

Sideon- thank you! And stay tuned, there is a lot more NYC stories to come from me!

Meg- sweet girl, you are tempting me. I am in love with the city, I won't get back there soon enough.

Miranda- you know you're not too far from the city. I highly recommend it, it's SO worth it!

Regina Filangi said...

Looks like you had a great trip! I am so jealous that you got to meet the Slates. So jealous.....sigh. I am also jealous that they got to meet you! Another sigh....

Christy said...

regina filangi- Sadly, I didn't get to meet both of the Slates because Jack was in the middle of classes that day. Meg is wonderful, and I'll be sure to gush over her in my next post!

Rebecca said...

Spence is totally cute! And you met his wife, too right? GORGEOUS. I, unfortunately, am not genetically related to my bro, since I was adopted. I am the black sheep of the family, in lifestyle, looks, and pretty much every other area. S'all good, though - except for Spencie, all of them are still LDS, so the joke is on them!

Christy said...

Rebecca, Spencers wife is gorgeous- on the inside and the out! How is her pregnancy going? And do you have any pictures of yourself to prove what you have to say? Because I just don't believe you!

Rebecca said...

I'm not like the Elephant Girl or anything - just extremely average - like the kind that blends into walls. Fat walls *sigh, eats girl scout cookies* Did you not read my post in which I explained how Joshua from "Dark Angel" could be my long-lost twin? Because it's really, REALLY true, only I don't look like a mutant. Probably. And this is SO not a gross "tell me I'm pretty, whine, whine, whine" thing (even though you can't since you've never seen me. Check out a picture of Joshua, then imagine him female and de-mutanized. That's me). Because ew. I don't even care about 99% of the time. It's just what it is.

Chrissy's pregnancy is going well, as far as I know. I think she's getting more excited about it, so that's good. She also just got a job she really likes and they finally found an affordable apartment, so things are good all around.