Tuesday, May 14, 2013

LIFE IN THE CITY


Vacations stay with us. The memories of sunny beaches, a cruise, or a relaxing meal away from our busy everyday lives can make us smile and relax a bit when the days get a little tense.  In this case, my memory is of a walk to the Sullivan Street Bakery (not located on Sullivan Street).  I highly recommend the bakery if you are in New York City.

The photograph reminds me of the neighborhood near our hotel. We passed this street almost daily to and from the bakery. I expect no one is surprised to know that space is at a premium in the city. Row after row of what might be called townhouses in the suburbs are a 3rd floor walk up for others. While strolling, my husband and I often talked of the requirements of city living. Think....very expensive parking so why own a car?  What about buying groceries, carrying them home on the subway or through your neighborhood, then you still have to get them up those three flights of stairs. Apartments are generally small, kitchens --tiny which I guess prevents buying too much at one time. We saw people buying goods at a Home Depot and trying to stuff them into a tiny car.  Now just imagine getting  through traffic, stopping on a narrow street lined with parked cars on each side, unloading your treasures, getting it up the stairs, parking the car, going back to your apartment,  then where to put your newly acquired stuff?  Gee, I hope it isn't raining while you are doing this.

Personally, no thank you big city. Chicago, NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, New Orleans or D.C....I love you all and I am so very, very glad I don't live in any of those places. You have interesting things to see and do. And don't get me started about the food. I LOVE to try new foods and the big city is an ideal place to do that. But I'm happy where I am and I'm glad we can visit those bustling cities from time to time.

Life in the big city may be intense, but I sense people seek the calm of nature. Central Park is a wonderful example. During our walks there, it appeared there were more locals than tourists enjoying the beautiful spring flowers. And walking to "our" neighborhood bakery, we could admire tiny attempts to bring life to the concrete jungle. In paved gardens smaller than our king-sized bed, these city dwellers planted pots of flowers and in this case, a tree struggling under the shade of tall buildings and old trees that lined the street. The blooms brought color, life and light to the city and reminded us to slow down a bit and enjoy springtime in New York.

Do you have a favorite vacation memory to share?

PHOTO NOTE: I used the Channel Mixer adjustment layer in photoshop to desaturate the color in the photograph. Then I "painted" the flowers with black at 16% opacity to bring back some color. Finally I added a Kim K. texture (Aurora I believe) in soft light mode and about 45% opacity. I again created a mask on the texture layer to "erase" some of the texture from the flowers. Really easier than it sounds.

2 comments:

  1. No thanks to the City life. Wonderful to visit, but I need wide open spaces. I probably have too many favorite vacations. And still so many places that I want to go to.

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  2. Big city life is fine for some. I grew up in Los Angeles, and back then it was a wonderful place to live. You had the mountains and you had the beach. But now, it is mostly freeways with stop and seldom go driving, very, very crowded, and any place that you want to go is at least an hour or more drive. No more Los Angeles for me. Bellefue, NE, is fine. But, I do miss the ocean.

    Earl

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