Sweat. Lots of Sweat.
Stairs. Lots of Stairs.
Sore Muscles.
Laughter. Lots of Laughter.
ABBA. Lots of ABBA.
Agua. Lots of Agua.
This week I spent mostly in Harlem moving Chelle from one walk-up apartment in Harlem to another. In the middle of July. Without much air conditioning. In the middle of July. This might seem like one of the most horrific forms of torture ever put upon a person....but it was actually one of the best weeks I have had all summer. I don't know how to put it all in words, so I will put it in little snippets that stood out in my mind setting this trip apart from the others!
1. On Wednesday Michelle and I saw two Broadway shows. I witnessed history seeing the newly Tony awarded actress, Patti LuPone, sing her heart out in Gypsy (pictured above). Later that night, Miss Flight Attendant herself and I went to see the new play Boeing-Boeing (with the delightful Christine Baranski most recently from Mamma Mia!)
2. No trip is complete without a stop at Magnolia Bakery for the best cupcakes in the WORLD! I am NOT kidding you folks! Michelle and I wandered over to the Sex and the City hot spot that is Carrie Bradshaw's front porch in the series. It's always beautiful to walk along the brownstones of Perry Street in the West Village....perhaps one of my favorite spots in all the city.
3. The very sweet middle aged woman who stopped me on the street and asked if I would sign her petition.
"Well, what's it for?" I inquired.
"It's a petition for equal rights for Vampires."
"Really? Are you a Vampire? Are you being treated unfairly?"
"Yes. Yes."
"What right's don't you have that I enjoy?" (You know me, I don't like inequality for anyone, I just didn't know there were older women out there who believe they are Vampires AND being unfairly treated for it. So, I googled it, and sure enough, there is an Amendment being pushed by the Vampires (who might really just be suffering from Tuberculosis? The symptoms are very similar, the night sweats, the pasty pale skin...etc.)
4. The young Jewish man who stopped me on the streets of Harlem to ask:
"Are you a Jew?" (um, you guys have seen me right, I look like I just got off the boat from Bavaria!)
"Um, no. But for the right man I'd convert."
5. The other man in Times Square who asked me, "What part of Germany are you from?" (Seriously, a lot of random men asked me a lot of random things on this trip.) I mean, I wasn't wearing the traditional fanny pack and sneakers that set so many Americans apart, but neither was I holding a bratwurst and beer stein in my hand....What ever happened to traditional pick up lines?
6. The evangelist who pointed to the only white girl on the streets of Harlem and yelled, "You there, White Girl, you are a RACIST!!!!!!"
7. Taking in the view from a quiet seat that I discovered years ago and people watching in Union Square Park
8. My quarterly trip to Sephora...which I fully believe is a bit of heaven on earth.
9. Laughing, shopping, singing to Mamma Mia soundtrack, driving through Jersey City, going to a late showing of Batman at the Harlem Movie theater, eating Vegan dumplings, and a million other fun moments I had with my friend Michelle!
10. Hopping on the subway at the same time as a Mariachi band heading for work and having them seriously come and stand around me and serenade me with a song. My face went bright red, but it was one of the most adorable moments of my life.
My life is simply magical.
32 comments:
Wow!
What a trip.
I'm supremely jealous. You got to see Boeing, Boeing, Boeing.
Because . . .
I Heart Bradley Whitford
_sigh_
And those cupcakes look delicious.
At least I've been playing Rock Band on our new wii.
That's not too bad :)
Love the pics!
jealousy, jealousy...i can't let it overtake me! no! no!!!!!!
oh well, i give up.
i'm jealous.
and your life is magically magical.
and i'm so glad that i get to be your friend.
Oh my gosh, your post just captured and transported me to NYC. I need to go back soon! I'm so glad I can vicariously live through you and your adventures.
also, i'm glad you're back to blogging. i was missing my d'arcy fix, man!!
Jessica!!! I love Bradley Whitford too, I am glad you know him!! There is something so sexy about an older business man isn't there? Va Va Voom.
Jo...me too, and I am jealous of those babies of yours, so we are even.
Thanks Stina!! It's fun to know people from all walks of life and imagine what our different paths could be.
Vampires and Racists and Mariachis, OH MY!
Girl, I am going with YOU to New York! I love that you got so many random questions asked.
And Gypsy Rose Lee was my favorite "old" movie when I was a kid. I used to belt out the songs on Saturday afternoons when no one was watching... which was always... but it was great. I loved her spirit and her joy through all of life's moments. Funny, I never really knew she was a stripper until much much later.
oh oh oh. You had so many great new york experiences. I miss them.
I used to work on Perry and West fourth street in a wonderful little restaurant with sidewalk tables, and when it was slow, I would sit at a table and paint the view down Perry street, looking toward that very stoop. Love that neighborhood.
I was once (or twice) walking by when those #6 evangelists got reamed out by young black women. I almost stayed and listened to it with joy, but being a new yorker, I was busy and had to keep going.
Unions Square is my favorite people watching spot. I had to suffer through years of the renovations, but then it became this beautiful plaza.
And I ADORE the music on the subways. The glorious sound rising up from below. And the musicians are so much better now than I remember from my youth.
I'm still laughing from those random male comments.
(I think it is with relief. Apparently I am not the only one who rambles incoherantly about nonsensical things.)
(Oh...an afterthought...I hope I am not as offensive, though.)
I love lists like this! I love reading about all the people... Wow, what an amazing species we are.
Glad you got out, had a good time, ate cupcakes--it's a good thing I only have one egg in the house, or I'd be inspired to whip up some right now!
I'm happy to hear that you had a great time in NY! I haven't been there myself (yet), so I have to live vicariously through you... :)
p.s. I'm all for staying 20 forever, as long as I can keep all the "wisdom" I have obtained through the years! :D
Wow! It sounds like you are having so much fun! I lived in New York for 6 years when I was a kid and spent many field trips in elementary school in the city. I love it there too.
PS- Stacey started a blog (FINALLY). Her link is on mine.
Yep, I agree, your life sounds simply magical. So much life, and so much happening. Sigh. Jealous, definately! But, like some others here, we will just have to keep on living through you (or your blog, rather).
3-6 are big parts of what totally makes NYC such an awesome place :P
I heart Bradley Whitford, too!
My friend and I took a similar trip; Carrie's stoop, Magnolia's Bakery, Sephora, and the like. She loved the cupcakes so much she opened her own store in SLC. Nice walking down memory lane, makes me want to go back.
this is why I love New York...there is NEVER NEVER NEVER a dull moment. Something is always happening somewhere, usually right in front of you. Remind me to tell you about the random woman who threw a donut at someone in the middle of Times Square...then I had to walk by her as she sipped her coke...I love the New York crazys. Next time you're up there let me know and I'll meet up with you...it's only a four hour drive from here and my in-laws are in Queens...
Kia ora D'Arcy,
What a full on trip! Love the photos and your thoughts. Very cool poem as well, I really like it and thank you for sharing as some people find that very hard. I keep thinking what a contast your last week was to mine, all these random interactions with people. Yet all these people have stories and experiences and we probably share far more connection with them than we ever know. Love that shot of the Apollo! One of my favourite all time albums is Sam Cooke Live from the Apollo and that shot looks like it was taken back in 1962 the night of that show.
Kia ora D'Arcy.
Rangimarie,
Robb
LOL. Sorry I didn't get to see you. I just laugh. No matter what everything happens to you. No matter who is in this Universe the unusual will find you. I will take a trip to the City in two weeks. I will come home and if I'm lucky, I might have one exciting thing to report. Loved reading about your trip. Hopefully I'll see you next time.
There is TRULY, no place on earth like New York City. :-)
There is no place like New York!
I dig the banter that is New York City.
Did Michelle reward you for all that hard work by buying you a cupcake?
Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
I hope that if a disgruntled Vampiress approached me on the street that I would be able to respond so wittily while still being kind. Did you sign the petition?
I love visiting NYC, but I don't think I could live there. I watch their shows and eat their food and then leave them with the scent of overcooked trash and return to my lovely mountain home. Suckers!
Marie, I fully believe that if Twilight would have been better written and feasible as a novel (as far as Vampires go) then I would have signed the petition. As it is, the 74 pages I got through of that novel made it certain that I would never side with a Vampire if it came time to pick sides.
Gus, no cupcake, but she did buy my $12.50 plane ticket out there. Yes folks, it's true. It is cheaper for me to fly to New York than to drive home and see my family who live 30 minutes away.
Sugar... I remember when I learned "Let Me Entertain You" and I wanted to sing it for a church talent show... I was about 6. My mother didn't know how to explain to me that that was NOT going to happen!! And in the show, they never really call her a stripper, it's all secreted under the world "Burlesque"...which is still alive and well in NYC and the Moulin Rouge!
Rowena, I used to work in the Village too! It was amazing! And I always got good food from it. That part of earth is simply heaven with big front porches!
Jenn, it was funny, I wish I had a quick come back for the Germany one, but sometimes my one liners don't come as quickly as they should!
Alisa...you and me and Jessica and crepes next Tuesday. I will provide the nutella!
Carli---you were in one of those groups of students I try to avoid at all costs! I can see you with your matching t-shirts right now pretending you own the natural history museum!
I will be a regular at Stacey's blog. I've already left her about 5 comments today alone!
Kingdomwriter, Andrea, Boquinha, Olivia, Stecherbush, HappyWife....all y'all are awesome for visiting my blog and making my day! Your comments make me feel important and loved.
Robb, we probably had the most opposite weeks that two people can have. That's the beauty of the diversity of this planet we live on! I can't WAIT to hear about your trip. Your tapes are awesome. I've got one down and three to go!!
D'Arcy, you ARE awesome AND loved!
BIG HUG!!! :-)
It was a great week, wasn't it? Thanks SO much for all your help, my new place is fantastic.
Wow! I just LOVE NYC - and for many of the reasons you list as your experiences there. I love the diversity of the people, the "strangeness" of the people, how one can really just be anything one wants to be. I love the brownstones, the theatre, the streets. *sigh* Maybe someday soon I'll go back again.
And, I love "Gypsy." I did "When Mama Gets Married" with a friend, as an audition piece back in my theatre days. Such a great show.
Post a Comment