NYC

This was written around Thanksgiving of 2015 and has percolated on the back burner ever since…

The city that never sleeps… That may just apply as I’m not sure how much I slept when I was there a few days ago. This was my first trip to NYC since I was very young. I have no memory of that time so let’s call this my first visit. I did see it many years ago from the Newark airport, when the Towers were still there, but that is as close as I ever got.

I was going there with my wife to meet up with family for the Thanksgiving holiday. There is nothing like flying across the country during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. Everyone is going somewhere to meet family and there is something in the air that feels like we are all in this thing together, flowing with that holiday spirit.

We flew into JFK at dusk so we were able to see NYC in all of its nighttime glory! We flew over Central Park and Times square probably the darkest and brightest areas in the city. What was amazing though was how far the lights stretched out into the far off distance. We flew out over the Atlantic and then turned around to land. We were greeted with the last vestiges of a beautiful sunset mixed with the black of the Atlantic and the lights of the city.

Flying into JFK was the first highlight of the trip. I’ve loved airplanes and airports since I was a kid and JFK has always been one of those “bucket list” airports for me. One of the reasons it is a “have to visit” airport is the TWA Flight Center designed by the architect  Eero Saarinen who also designed the Gateway Arch in St Louis, the Kresge Auditorium at MIT and  Ingalls Rink at Yale. It is a very organic building that was way ahead of its time when it was built.

The TWA Flight Center has been closed for years now and they are redeveloping it but this link (http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/06/30/explore_the_twa_terminal_a_pristine_time_capsule_from_1962.php) will give you a good look at what it looks like now. We were able to see the lobby area as we drove by in the shuttle and it still looked mostly original. Great design lasts many lifetimes, that’s for sure!

The shuttle, what a thrill ride! The driver was a little late so he hurried us in and than began to maneuver the “streets of JFK” like a video game. Gas, brake, swift turns, horn, tailgate, stop, pickup more passengers, repeat. He then proceeded to do the same for the entire drive to our hotel. He seemed to know every short cut and side street that would allow us to travel at maximum speed with the least amount of traffic. Let’s just say it was a great introduction to driving the streets of NYC.

The major highlight of the ride to that point though, were the first views of the Empire State Building just before we crossed the East River. This is one of my favorite buildings and to see it at the beginning of the holiday season, lit up in various holiday colors, took my breath away. What a great memory!

Traffic and buildings and brighter and brighter lights. People, more people and even more people until everything massed together in one big jumble called Times Square. There were huge, bright signs everywhere, advertising things, promoting movies and plays and more. People were everywhere, going about their business, having conversations, taking in the sites, hanging out.

We dropped off several folks that were staying at a hotel right on the square. I wondered how they would ever get to sleep with it lit up like daylight and the sounds of a constant flow of NYC just outside their window. Maybe they didn’t.

We ended up being the last stop for the shuttle. We were staying in the financial district and it seemed like our shuttle driver was unsure of the area as it felt like we made about twenty circles before finally ending up at our hotel. After settling in we headed out to meet family for a late dinner. Quite the introduction to the city that never sleeps even though I had to.

The next few days were filled with all kinds of activities, sight seeing, music, plays, shopping, food, walking, cabs, subways, Central Park, family. For me, it was trying to soak in as much of the city as I could.

How do I describe the city the way I saw it? I’ve been mulling that over for a while now and I guess the best way is to tell you what I saw. Let me take you on a short trip that I took the first day I was there.

It was lunchtime, I was hungry and I had some time to myself so I decided to head out and find a little, local place to try. The more “local”, the better.

The first thing I noticed stepping out of the hotel was how narrow the streets were and how tall the buildings were. I had expected the tall buildings but nothing really prepares you for the quantity and the height of the buildings. Mix in the narrow streets and it feels like you are in small, deep canyons. By narrow streets, I mean streets that are barely two lanes wide with probably five foot side walks on either side, at the widest. The streets and sidewalks are well used but not too dirty. There is trash here and there but not horrible. Everything has age and patina to it. In places, the sidewalk curbs are steel rather than concrete. Shops with signs and their wares situated in their windows. Wood doors, glass doors, little color except for the orange of work areas. Not many people around the hotel but an ever increasing number the farther I ventured.

I head towards the Stock Exchange building since it is the closest “tourist” thing to see, only a block or two away. Wall St. and Broad St. are blocked off with huge steel “boulders” near the Exchange. Security is high with armed guards around the Exchange only letting folks in that have the credentials to pass. Across the street at the Federal Hall Memorial, in front of the George Washington statue, there are 3 musicians dressed in revolutionary war uniforms playing a drum and two flutes, at least I think they are flutes. Maybe piccolos. I didn’t realize initially that what I was looking at was the Federal Hall Memorial. I thought it was just another finance building.

I stopped and listened for a bit and then took a look around the Stock Exchange. Not much to see really. I thought Wall Street would be a big long street but it turns out to be a short, narrow street. Still fun to see though. I headed up to Broadway to look around the Trinity Church. Way cool! Here is this old, small church surrounded by all these huge buildings, some modern, some older but nothing as old as the church. The church still has a presence and creates its own respect. The old grave yard next to the church could be a little creepy on a dark and stormy night.

After the church, I headed down Broadway to Battery Park. Along the way I had to stop and watch all the folks take pictures of their friends with their heads up the wrong side of the famous bull sculpture. It looked like they were going to be filming in the area shortly as there were all kinds of trucks parked nearby with lots of big flood lights and scaffolding on them.

There is a little park right by the bull, the bull being on one end and on the other is an area filled with various stalls full of vendors selling hats, clothes, nicknacks and who knows what else. I loved the feel of the area with its mixture of nature, business and people.

Right by the park I noticed a deli that was down some stairs. basically a basement deli. I thought what better place to try a Reuben than at a NYC deli. I figured I’d stop there on my way back from Battery Park which was only a block or so away now.

Battery Park, what a special place, especially on a sunny, warm, late fall day with the grass still green and the leaves that remain on the trees still full of color. The center grassy area was fenced off with an orange construction fence so I walked around it and headed over to where folks were catching the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Way cool to see standing so proudly out in the harbor. I snapped a few pictures and slowly worked my way around the park and eventually made it back to the deli.

For me, a Ruben sandwich from a New York City deli, sounded like the perfect lunch. Not some tourist deli but a hard core, hole in the wall deli that had the same folks visit it everyday because of the great food and great service. I think I found exactly what I had been looking for.

To get to the deli, you had to walk down some stairs right off the sidewalk and through a double door. Once through the door I saw a large “food bar” on the left where you could build a salad, get soups, etc. All around the outside walls were drinks and chips and such. On the right side was the grill and counter. I wandered up to the grill and ordered my Ruben then grabbed some chips and a Diet Coke, paid for it and waited for my sandwich.

What a sandwich it was too! They wrapped it tight in paper and foil and put it in a bag. It had thick corned beef and just the right amount of sauerkraut and thousand island. The bread was a mixed light and dark rye. The foil kept the sandwich extra hot. Did I mention it was excellent? Everything I had hoped for and more! What a great time, sitting in a New York deli, enjoying a delicious lunch and watching folks come and go! After lunch I slowly worked my way back to the Hotel to wait for a family event later on that evening.

Over the next few days and many more adventures and many, many more fabulous memories, NYC proved to be more than I had expected. It touched me with its spirit, it life, its people. I had never thought I would want to live in a city so large with so many people but after this short visit I am starting to see that there is a reason so many people say “I Love New York!”