City That Never Sleeps...

New York is not for the faint of heart. There are rats in the subway - big, fat ones with skeletal tails. And they don't always stay down around the tracks and out of sight. (Speaking from firsthand experience on that one.) Furthermore, the streets are exceptionally loud. You might as well forget trying to talk on your cell phone as you walk. Regardless of whether the taxis are honking at you or another car, they always manage to drown out whatever conversation you are attempting to have. All manner of human being can be found walking the alleyways at any given time, day or night. And I used to think that I maintain a decent stride when I walk (thanks to 7 years of keeping up with Matt's long legs,) but even my pace was not fast enough for the hurried people who were encroaching on my personal space from all directions. But despite the overwhelming noise and distraction, there is an underlying lure to the Big Apple. Maybe it's the sense of being small and anonymous that makes you believe you can be whoever you want, get away with it, and escape without being judged for it. Or maybe it's the sneaking suspicion that around any corner you could discover someone famous who is trying to blend in to the hubbub. I'm pretty sure the majority of the romantic, lightheaded sensation hanging in the air can be attributed to the noxious fumes emitted by the 8 bazillion citizens jammed onto a tiny island laced with impermeable skyscrapers. But I digress... In my expert (ha) opinion, New York City is near the top of the list of places to visit but much farther down on the list of places to live. Traveling there every once in a blue moon allows me to retain my unrealistically glamorous notion about it. But, I can only imagine that spending more than a couple of days fighting the hustle and bustle would quickly send me crying to the nearest airport.

All this being said, the short stayover that Matthew, Caleb, and I spent in the "City That Never Sleeps" was a pleasant and touristy one. The people we encountered were friendly and helpful, the food we ate was fantastic, and the attractions we visited were world class. By now, I'm guessing that you know the drill. Once again, I will attempt to recap our journey through pictures and quick captions. This time, I'll try to group them into categories like food, animals, sight-seeing, etc. Of course, if we are going by order of importance, we should start with food.

We made time in our busy schedule to stop by the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I had a scoop of the green tea flavor, which was a refreshing and spontaneous choice for me. Turned out well. By the way, our hotel was located inside the edge of Chinatown, which was interesting, but also turned out well.

I know this is not a picture of food, but instead a picture of our friend Kala. She lives in NYC with her husband, who is also named Matt. However, she met Matthew and I at the Shake Shack, and we had a super yummy, classic American dinner of burgers, franks, and fries. Complete with a fair trade coffee milkshake. Simply scrumptious. I would have taken a picture of said deliciousness, but we were busy warding off the table poachers that wanted to start a fight over the seating area we had already claimed.

Feast your eyes upon the best brunch ever ingested. This was our breakfast on our first morning with Caleb, and we each ordered a different platter so we could sample them all. Hands down, that was the best French toast, Belgian waffle, and buttermilk pancake to ever come into contact with my taste buds. And we paid for it in US Dollars, which made the whole experience all the more appetizing. So much food for so little money!

 Since I was in the company of two ravenous young men, we deemed it wise to visit the place designated for "foodies" - Chelsea Market. It did not disappoint. This one stall called "The Filling Station" was crammed with shelf after shelf of salts. Each one was a different flavor, i.e. chipotle. Then on the other side of the aisle...

...was row upon row of olive oils and balsamic vinegars in every fathomable variety. Let's just say it was nearly impossible to drag the boys away from the sample cups.

And, on the final night before Caleb had to go back to Harvard, we demolished some unbelievable deli sandwiches at Katz's Delicatessen. (You might recognize the diner from the 'infamous' Meg Ryan scene in the movie "Where Harry Met Sally.") I don't even know what the heck pastrami is, but I do know that it was an explosion of savory wonder when coupled with rye bread and stuffed in my mouth.

Now, on to the animal portion of our pictures.

The mounted police horses were pretty sleek. I think I will forever associate them with the movie "Elf." I understand how the horses would be more effective than a squad car in places like Central Park, but I'd like to see one maneuver through Times Square traffic. These dudes were keeping an eye on the St. Patrick's Day parade.

And judging by this dressed up dandy's outfit, he thought he was actually in the parade.

This little squirrel got our attention as he relentlessly accosted a woman who was sitting on a park bench. He wanted her food. Bad. I can't fully explain how twitchy and erratic he was. It was kind of scary. We dubbed him the "Meth-head Tweeker Squirrel."

I think every police dog we saw was a black lab, further adding to Matthew's insatiable longing for Bullitt. Don't worry. We pet(ted?) every single one.

And this chocolate lab was being trained to sniff out drugs, money, etc. down on Wall Street. He found the right box on this attempt and was rewarded with some rope play time.

Finally, this gussied up gal was quite a sight in her sweater. I had to restrain Matthew from scolding the owner out loud for making their poor poodle look so ridiculous. Matthew only takes a liking to "man dogs." And this is the exact opposite of a man dog. Please note the food truck in the background. Got me a darn tasty pretzel topped with mustard from that truck.

And that brings us to a nice, yet unintended, segue to the museum group of our pictures. After a brief respite on the curb with our food truck snacks, we went inside The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The cool thing about NYC museums is that most of them list a price for admission that is only a suggested donation. So you can pay whatever you want to pay and enter all the permanent exhibits. If I remember correctly, we paid $1 each for The Met, and it was the top art museum I have ever visited. To me, it blew The Louvre, The Orsay, and the National Gallery (London) out of the water.

There were dozens of rooms filled with my favorite genre of paintings - Impressionism. I mean, there must have been BILLIONS of dollars of masterpieces from Monet, Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Pissarro. And the place was nearly empty, so we had plenty of space and time to browse. (Everyone else was stumbling around drunk outside on the streets for the St. Patty's parade.)

Typical Matt and Caleb stances. I was ecstatic that Caleb shares my affinity for snapping photos, so us picture-takers overruled the naysayer, and we were never rushed to find the perfect angles.

Insane how such a small portrait painted by an unknown (and disturbed) artist can later become such a renowned and expensive piece of art.

The Met was also one of the few museums I have been to that allows visitors to get up close and personal while taking pictures. I loved seeing the brush strokes magnified.

Combining the two previous categories, museums + animals = The Museum of Natural History. Not the most thrilling locale in my opinion, but educational nonetheless. After observing practically every creature, great and small, I possessed a new-found appreciation for God's creativity. Too. Many. Species. For. My. Little. Brain.

Dinos and...

Elephants and...

Whales! Oh my!!!

And finally, rounding out the museum circuit, we hit up the modern art wings of The Met. Didn't quite make it to the MOMA. Fiddlesticks. (Please note my sarcasm regarding modern art. Generally, it's not my cup of tea.) Most of what we did see was flat out bizarre, but overall, it wasn't unbearable.

This would fall under the 'bizarre' heading. Its glass eyes took it over the top. Heebie jeebies.

See? Not unbearable! Kind of cool, actually. You think this how a horsefly sees humans?

Tired of museums yet? Me too. Guess that means it's time for a break. Plus, I am almost caught up to a normal sleep routine after a severe case of jet lag, so I better quit while I'm ahead. Meet you back here tomorrow for the flowers, friends, and cityscape pictures! Goodnight and sweet dreams!