PREORDER I THINK WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE




Saturday, May 04, 2013

{new york city}

Earlier this year I was sitting in an airport watching planes come in with my friend Becky. We weren't there to pick anyone up or drop anyone off or go anywhere ourselves; we just felt antsy and jittery in our skin, like five year-olds trying to sit still through piano lessons.

I can't even pinpoint what it is about going to the airport when you feel like this, but it helps.

We got drinks and sat leaning back in our chairs with our feet up against the windows, talking about where we would go if we could go. I didn't even have to think about it, because I always always always pick New York.

It's like a place that doesn't exist in real life. I've seen all these movies and watched all these TV shows and heard all these songs about it; I know of its million fictitious residents (Kevin McAllister! Kramer! Phoebe! Spiderman!); I need to go there and confirm in my head that it's a real place and sit in Central Park and walk around Manhattan and take a taxi...somewhere. And then it'll be like I'm a part of the stories too.

Anyway. 2013 seems to be a year of dreams coming true, because I'm heading there on Monday. My little sister is performing off Broadway and the troupe is bringing me along to do hair and make-up and prop-finding and all that. I'm exhilarated out of my mind.

I know a lot of you have been to NYC: what are the things I need to do while I'm there? I'm very open to suggestions. Very very.

music for the new york state of mind by suzy krause on Grooveshark
{brilliant skyline sketch from here}

19 comments:

Magical Daydream said...

That is so exciting! I have never been to NY but I would love to go some day, have fun! :)

Paul Grzesina said...

It's been a lot of years since I was in New York, so I can't give advice about places to eat or what the trendy places to go are, but the old standards will still be good -- Central Park, the Met, the Empire State Building, and the New York Public Library. I've heard good things about Brooklyn and I'm curious about the World Trade Center memorial (they were still buildings when I was there).

Mostly though, I'd recommend just walking around and seeing what you run into -- as I recall, there's interesting things to see just about everywhere. Try not to strain your neck too much looking up at the buildings...

Oh, and if you happen to run into a cute curly haired brunette who's about 25, studying philanthropy, plays the Irish drum, and was in Savannah at the end of March, tell her she owes me an email.

Have fun and I'm looking forward to your blog posts about your trip.

Jen Glen said...

Absolutely go see Les Mis. Even if you've never seen it. Even if you've seen it 100 times. NOTHING comes close to seeing it on Broadway. I was MESMERIZED. It's probably a bit expensive, but hey, Broadway's always worth it! Your little sister is performing Off Broadway!?! How cool is that?!?! How'd she get hooked up with that? Does your little town really have that many talented young people in it?!?

Niken said...

you inspire me to sit on an unusual place and have coffee. airport sounds like an interesting place to be. i think sitting in central park will be nice too.

Carmen said...

I hope you have wonderful time. And I hope you can tell me all sorts of wonderful things to do on my trip there in a couple weeks.

Jannaya said...

Exciting! You're going to love it. I so badly want to go back.

I've only been once, so I mostly did "typical" things but it was still great.

Highlights for me included:
-Central Park wandering
-Seeing a show on Broadway
-Visiting the New York Public Library main branch
-Taking a boat to Ellis Island (if you like museum-y stuff)
-Wandering Greenwich Village and going on a food tour of the area (http://www.zerve.com/FoodTours/GVTour)
-Getting a good view of the city from high up (we went up the Empire State Building, but I'm sure there are lots of places you could go for a good city view)
-Flea/antique markets in Chelsea
-The Metropolitan Museum of Art (huge - we could only see part of it)
-Wandering (I loved strolling around in the evening in areas like Times Square (although it was insanely crowded) and Bryant Park (a pretty little park, especially in the evening. It's close to the New York Public Library main branch).

There was so much more that I wanted to do, so I hope I can make it back sometime!

Have fun!

Suzy Krause said...

i've never been either! {obviously, haha}...so excited. :) thanks!

Suzy Krause said...

innnnteresting. you fell in love in nyc? that's cute. if i run into said brunette, i will absolutely tell her.

:)

Suzy Krause said...

i think we are going to a broadway show--we'll see where we end up! :)
and she got hooked up through her school's drama teacher, whose friend owns little players theatre down there. pretty sweet opportunity!

Suzy Krause said...

you absolutely should go to the airport for coffee--so many interesting reunions and departures and people... one of my favourite coffee places!

Suzy Krause said...

eek! i love that we'll be able to compare notes on something of this magnitude! yay!

Suzy Krause said...

whoa! thank you very much for the list! i'm so excited... i think i'm most excited for the last item on the list: wandering. that's always the best part of any trip. :D

oh. and that food tour looks amazing...

the best part of my day... said...

Get a great big slice of pizza. Anywhere....

Courtney Bates-Hardy said...

We're going there for our honeymoon! You should absolutely buy a New York Pass if you're planning to do a lot of sightseeing because NY Attractions are ridiculously expensive and line ups are loooong. A NY Pass gets you into a bunch of attractions for much cheaper and sometimes you get to skip the line or get a discount at a restaurant or on Broadway tickets: http://www.newyorkpass.com/En/

Unknown said...

SO exciting, lady! I'm terribly jealous. Jannaya's list is a mighty good one, but what the heck.. I'll just add a couple other things from the brief few weeks I've spent in NYC:

- It sounds weird, and if you're positive that you hate rice pudding then completely disregard this, but near Soho there's the most divine little shop that serves up ONLY rice pudding in like twenty flavours. It's called "Rice to Riches" and I think it's on Spring Street. Anyhow, I didn't think I liked rice pudding before, but after trying their hazelnut chocolate one day, I went back three times in the span of two weeks.
- Walk the Brooklyn Bridge at night! There's a pedestrian walkway (so it's totally safe from the traffic), and though it can be a little chilly up there and is about a mile-long so takes a little while, the lights and the view of the Manhattan skyline from there is second to none. Also, on the Brooklyn side, if I recall correctly, there's a cute little ice-cream shop where you can buy ice-cream and then sit along the river.

Anyhow, enjoy your trip! There are so many wonderful nooks and crannies in that big ol' city. :)

Unknown said...

Ah! This might be too late, but GO TO RICE TO RICHES! It's the most divine little rice pudding shop, with like 20 flavours!, and is located on I think Spring Street near Soho. I didn't think I liked rice pudding, but I tried this place and went back three times in the space of two weeks. Oh, and please, on my behalf, WALK THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE AT NIGHT! It can be a bit chilly, and takes at least half an hour one way, but the the view it lends of the lights and river and Manhattan's skyline is second to none and it's pretty safe cuz it's all lit and has a dedicated pedestrian walkway above the traffic. Plus, on the Brooklyn side, there's a cute little ice-cream shop down on the river side. Anyhow, have fun! (PS: this is Jesse Gronhovd - I just made this new google account with what will be my married name, in case you were confused..)

Suzy Krause said...

definitely did that!

Suzy Krause said...

you're going to have so much fun courtney! my parents got the new york pass; barclay and i just did the trip on the cheap (both ways are so good!)... i'm so excited for you to go!!

Suzy Krause said...

jesse! i'm so sad i missed your posts before my trip (very little wifi time in new york). i walked past that rice to riches place like ten times, but we didn't have time to go in...maybe we should've just made time. NEXT TIME FOR SURE. :) we did, however walk the brooklyn bridge, both at night time AND during the day, and spend some time in DUMBO (down under manhattan bridge overpass), which also has a BEAUTIFUL view of the new york skyline. i need to go back there again someday, SO great. :)