Of NYC: Part I

I was going to think of a witty title for a post about this trip, but I feel like New York deserves the respect of a decently-descriptive heading.

I was visiting the city for another university tour (and I'll save you the suspense and tell you that yes, I have decided to move there next year!), and I had a pretty amazing time. Of course, all we ate the entire weekend were carbs (literally - they gave us bagels and danishes for breakfast and more bagels and muffins for lunch and then all you can eat pizza and deliciously mouth-gasmic ricotta stuffed bread for dinner. That is all.) - and we all know that carbs are like a happy-drug for this one. So I was pretty pleased. But it was also amazing in many other ways - I finally felt like I belonged. All of the cities that I've visited or lived in so far (Moscow, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago) have missed the mark in some way. Well, except London and Chicago - those were pretty great. But when I left my room in the morning before all the meetings and I strolled down the streets of New York, I felt like I was at home.

Finally, the streets were wide enough, and the buildings pretty enough, and there were trees and hills and Central Park was an oasis unlike anything I expected, and everything was just a little bit more European than Canada but still modern enough for Starbucks and free WiFi on every corner.

But back to day 1. I flew in on a Thursday (effectively missing all of my classes ... whoops. I did not plan it that way. Well, maybe just a bit). I, as usual, got to the airport WAY too early (think 3 hours waiting at the gate), but at least I had peace of mind. I actually managed to get in on an earlier flight (2 hours earlier ... a flight that I was also early for; so you can guess how early I was for my original flight). That meant that I actually had time to explore when I landed.

Times Square! It was quite ... bright and loud, I have to say. But I was a little out of it, so I wasn't overly impressed. My first impression of New York was big crowds and dirty alleys and cracked sidewalks (a.k.a. it was NOT a good start).

Of course, my yucky mood was partially lifted with cheering sights like this:

That would be in the environs of 10 policemen who were 'questioning' a rickshaw driver. I think they had him drive back and forth at least 5 times. Because obviously you need the extra manpower to overcome a man pedalling a wheelbarrow like contraption.