It's hard to believe, but it’s been 11 years since I last came here. This is also just my second time visiting, but for some reason this feels like a familiar place to me. I can really say, with a straight face, that I have truly enjoyed our last couple days here. In fact, this may be premature, but I would even say that I just love this place. Not sure if I would love living here, but I would definitely visit again and again.
As I sit in the lobby of our hotel, waiting for it to be time to head to the airport, I feel like I have to rush to put into words all the things I like about this place. I don’t want to leave anything out, as if doing so made it look less interesting, less exciting, and less cultural than it really is.
Over the last couple days Lionel and I walked up and down, left and right, side by side with the locals, with a purpose, as if we really had to be somewhere. Walking through one of the parks I told Lionel “You know? There are so many people who look like me, that I really don’t stand out in this place”. Now, you may think that is depressing, but to me it was kind of refreshing. The diversity here is just that sublime. And the thing is, people don’t just stay with “their own”, it really is a big melting pot. We have seen many beautiful people that you couldn’t start to guess what is their background. I guess they had a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
After all the walking our feet are exhausted, but it’s not just our legs that got a good workout. So did all our senses taking in all the beauty, smells and street sounds. So thank you New York, and see you next time.
The initial experience of new york must be so exhilarating; it must be that I've been here far to long to appreciate it anymore. It's good to see the city is still attractive to tourists and treating them well. I must note that the melting pot effect is probably more evident in the centers of Manhattan, the rest of the outer boroughs still have strong cultural and racial enclaves and distinctions, but there is still healthy amounts of mixing.
ReplyDeleteI think it is always easier to appreciate what you don't experience everyday. It is just the nature of things.
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