Thinkin' bout the city

"I'm thinkin' bout the city, and how it's living proof people need to be together" -Ben Lee

I feel like I haven’t written anything in a while. My mind must have needed a break after the intense paper writing that signified the end of Winter quarter…New York was fabulous. I didn’t see big touristy sights such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building or the Met, but I did experience the feel of the city. I’ve never been one for guidebooks or plans anyway; I’ve always been a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, letting the day unfold naturally. I walked the streets of the upper West side, East side, the village, Times Square, Brooklyn, Central Park, Midtown, Harlem, and the Bronx. I saw the buildings, fashion and skin color change from neighborhood to neighborhood. The personality of each neighborhood differs from the one before. I enjoyed acquainting myself with these new places.

However, acquaintanceship is enough for me. I don’t have the intensity and endurance to live in a city like New York. Being the introvert that I am, the thousands of people everywhere I look or turn made me completely claustrophobic and longing for my quiet Portland neighborhood. I still can’t get over the sheer number of people that live in the city, the packed streets couldn’t contain the crowds and many walked in the street side by side with the cabs and tour buses. And still there were thousands and millions more inside the hundred floor buildings in their tiny apartments and office spaces. My mind could hardly fathom so many people in one place.

Though, I wish I could have taken Central Park with me. I loved walking through the park, all crisp and sunny-like, brimming with charm and culture. So many people moving: running, biking and roller-blading, couples hand-in-hand taking a Sunday stroll, tourists from all over with their wide angle zoom lenses snapping artsy shots, the jazz band playing in the street and the guy dancing in front them in roller-skates, the smell of cotton candy and sound of horse carriages. I loved it all.

Here are a few pictures I snapped along the way with my non artsy zoom lens camera, but alas, they will have to suffice.

Central Park transportation

Sara always falls asleep on the subway, haha!

Times Square

John Lennon Memorial

Vendors outside the Met


Upper West side

Shadow Trees

"Presented to the city of New York and its music lovers"

Riverside park

The Poet's Walk, Central Park


Frozen hot chocolate, Serendipity

Shadow walks

Under subway tracks

Riverside Park
The Met

Outside Sara's apt