Tag Archives: nyc

Labels and Love in NYC

17 Oct

 

While going for a ride on a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty on a tranquil Sunday morning on my own, I  read on a paper that in 1626 a Dutch settler  bought Manhattan from the native americans for goods valued at 24 $.

The name Manhattan comes from the Lenape language  and means island of many hills.

But I like to believe another quite popular theory: that it comes from one of three Munsi words “Manahactanienk”, literally  “place of inebriation“.

Who has been in NYC and did not feel this feeling? Is it not a place you all feel a little bewitched?

I wonder if it’s  inebriation of those  who love New York as the perfect city for singles, or those who have watched too many romantic movies where it is conceived as the city of love.

Woody Allen might believe that NYC is a romantic city, in quite a few of his movies people found  love in the Big Apple, such as Manhattan, When Harry Met Sally and Annie Hall.

If you ever watched Sex and The City you might  think about NYC as the place for Love.

Actually, Carrie Bradshow, says that women go to NYC for two L’s: Labels and Love.

The large amount of advertisements and fashion label storefronts were just like you see in the movies.

Without wanting to spoil anything I decided to take this blog a different way, to the second part of Carrie’s tagline: Love.

There are some movie scenes which you would watch and imagine  thousand times.

For instance, if a stranger bumped into me and another stranger like Mr Big would help me pick my stuff up  from the ground that fell out from my bag.

Yes, I am talking about Carrie meeting Mr Big for the first time.

Every body has had or has a Mr Big in their life.  No matter if you are a loser or a winner in love, sometimes you have lived a relationship not with the same intensity of the other person.

Mr Big has been so far clearly emotionally unavailable, but sometimes you go with it anyway and deal with the emotions you may feel. Even when you know it will be automatically over when he kisses you goodbye.

No matter if you are in one of the coolest cities of the world, and the streets, lights and the people out here are calling you, the only thing you want is to  stop the world in four walls (either if you are in a basement or at the floor 50 something of an amazing building in Manhattan).

While planning my trip I had dreamed about the perfect night that consisted of hopping in a yellow cab with Mr. Big, ending up in a 30’s style restaurant, and enjoying a Sucker Punch cocktail before delighting in a delicious meal.

And of the perfect morning waking up with a Nespresso coffee in one hand and a heavenly Sausalito cookie in the other while viewing a private dance to a song like “Sex is on fire” by Kings of Leon.

I was fortunate enough that some of the things I dreamt of actually came true.

It’s an absolutely amazing feeling when your heart is beating. No matter for who, no matter with who nor where.

Living independently on how it goes afterwards is good.

It helps and it is worth making mistakes and risking, otherwise  we probably wouldn’t ever fall in love, we would not grow up and learn in life.

We wouldn’t know what makes your heart beat  and what leaves you indifferent. It can be a great discovery every time.

Ending my blog, I would like to quote some Carrie’s sacred words on relationships.

“Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the “YOU” you love, well, that’s just fabulous.”

New York is “Awesome”

16 Oct

Probably the word I have more listened to during my days in NYC is “awesome”   – and I liked it, maybe because it is not very common in UK. And probably also because I felt immediately that that adjective was the first one I would consider to describe this city at my very first second.

The first place I have stepped in NYC once out of the tube, has been the World Trade Center when I was heading at Maurizio’s place, where I would be staying during those days.

Might have been the jet lag or the fact I was distracted, but I didn’t recognize at first sight something I had seen  million times on TV; it took me few second before to realize I was walking by one of the places that would leave its mark on the entire world:  ground zero.

I felt NYC’s energy immediately, people walking fast, yellow taxi zipping through the wide streets, random people from any cultural background, colorful and shiny lights, high building  and all of that made me simply feel happy.

While I was waiting for Maurizio down his building to pick me up, a man came and say: Have a nice weekend. I looked at him a little bit surprised and he said again : just  have a nice weekend.

I was dazed. Sometimes the first feeling when a stranger talks to us is that we think he wants to make something bad to us. But it was not, he was just nice and probably seeing me with a luggage wanted to give me a nice word. I felt guilty for having looked at him as he was akward. Probably we just lost the habit of a simply warm speech with a stranger.

I unpacked my staff at Maurizio’s 19th floor lovely place, we had a quick chat and waited for his friend  Chris to join and we had few drinks before to go out.  I have such a funny video of that night. Despite my jet lag and tiredness, we went out  we were all full of energy. And for those who know me or Maurizio, it might not sound a surprise.

Just down the corner of his place in the financial district there were many tv cameras, something I would see very often in few days in NYC. This time it was Gossip Girl.

People really likes fiction here, Maurizio is a great fan of How I met your mother. Its soundtrack will always remind me of the city from now on!

We first went to the West Village, had few drinks there and then walked to Meatpacking to a club called 77.

I ended up having to babysit Maurizio afterwards with a glass of champane in the taxi singing ‘new york new york’.

Close to home there was a clochard surrounded by  many bags and stuff,  watching tv in his laptop. I had never seen a clochard watching tv in the street. ( as the lyrics New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do, now you’re in new york, new york new york! )

I counted the hours I had been up without sleeping. 48. Forty-eight.So excited. First night in the city that never sleeps and I already found something in common with this crazy city. Good night

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