City of Dreams

I left my house in a panic just after dark, suitcase, backpack and purse dragging behind my trench, scarf and hat shielding me from being disturbed on the bus. 

It was pouring rain as I left Toronto, watching the dark streets and lights of the city I have come to know disappear behind me as the double decker bus pulled onto the highway. With 10 hours ahead of me, I pulled down my hat, fluffed my scarf and rest my eyes while listening to a New York themed playlist. 

City of Dreams here I come. 

The ride was rocky, uncomfortable and less than solid. When I finally peeled my eyes open it was after our arrival time of 7 a.m. and we were no longer on the highway. We were pulling into Manhattan. 

The New Yorker hotel's bright red sign sparked a beat in my chest. I swallowed, sat up and prepared myself for the wrath of the city. 

But over the next few days... what did I find instead?

A favorite bakery I first found while in L.A. (Le Pain Quotidien) right across the street from a park, where old men were playing chess. Just as I stepped inside it began to pour with rain. A perfect place to eat my almond nut loaf, drink my tea and gaze out the window.

Famous streets, cool neighborhoods and exhilarating buildings. I had breakfast in the Dean and Deluca in the New York times building, while reading the paper.

Familiar faces: A good friend from Winnipeg gave me the grand tour- Times Square, Magnolia Bakery and Rockefeller Center.

Hung out alone on the Upper West side- crab cakes for lunch, shopping, starbucks, pretending to be interested in real estate, shopping and more fantasizing about buying the second one in from the right. 

More things I love about New York: the people who are surprisingly so helpful and friendly, the excitement, the neighborhoods, the attitude, the food, the cabs, the subways, the grid street system, the trees, the opportunities.

And... my last NY picture... taken from inside the bus, it rained as I left. The bus driver made sure to give me one last glimpse of my New Yorker sign and I smiled with more than 10 hours worth of memories and thoughts to keep me going. 

I truly do <3 NY.

See you in Greenwhich Village!