NEW YORK CITY

Guess where I've been! My husband and I spent a lovely week in the Big Apple where we walked and ate, ate and walked.  Of course there was Times Square, plays, the Ferry, Little Italy, China Town, the Empire State Building and the 9/11 Memorial. We've visited NYC in the past for the day or a short weekend, but never for an entire week.

I loved it. And I was struck by two things. One--people were soooo friendly.  Strangers on subways offered directions to us or others when they saw us staring at a map. They stopped us on the street and said, "Make sure you check out the park up the block where West Side Story was filmed." We weren't looking for the park, but it was a nice gesture.  We talked to young women who were born and raised in the neighborhood and were starting their careers.  People offered menu tips at more than one restaurant. The noise, confusion, the dirt, the sheer volume of traffic and people had not taken away the inherent friendliness and need to connect.  We are all different. We are all the same.

Second, I was constantly aware of the contradictions of New York.  Cities smell.  There always is trash of some kind, the diesel truck idling on the curb making deliveries, the oil from engines and trains, the stale stench of old beer from the bar with its doors open to the street. And then there is the corner bakery with recipes older than grandma offering delicacies from Greece, Italy, Germany or those tempting American cupcakes laden with icing.

More contradictions? Think noise of people and traffic contrasted against the quiet of a walk in Central Park; the blinking lights of Times Square clattering for your attention and the darkness of a theater as actors pull you into their story.  There are dozens of tulips blowing in the spring breeze of Rockefeller Center and there is a city of subway trains under your feet.

NYC is exciting and full of so much to see and do. I'm so very glad we went, I'm so very glad we are home.  Do you have any vacation stories to share?

Photo Note: This is the first collage of this type that I've tried.  It was from a template. Once you get the hang of keeping the layers straight, it isn't difficult. You should try it.  I also noted (again) that I'm graphically oriented, especially in the city. Can't help myself.... those shapes seem interesting to me.