bayawman in new york

i'm glad i took everyone's advice to check out new york, even for a brief moment. i got a call from gina one night, and the following morning everyone in the office encouraged me to check out the big apple.

and so i did. after a four-hour bus ride from northampton, which crossed connecticut, i finally got in new york at around noon. gina was there at the gate to meet me, and it was a whirlwind from thereon.

before it even got dark, i visited three bars/restaurants at the village: joe's (john's--i forget) pizza place at bleecker street (where bob dylan used to do the rounds of bars), the white horse tavern (frequented by dylan thomas--who collapsed there--and our own jose garcia villa; also the second oldest bar in ny), and a place called chumley's. yup, before it even got dark, i had three glasses of beer... yeah!

after a short tour of a small part of central park, gina brought me to the metropolitan museum. and for an art history student, it was quite an experience. i got to see--up close, real up close--a lot of the works we only got to see in books and microfilm. and i'm talking about paintings only. i didn't get to see much of the sculptures. but the paintings--oh my god (i felt like a freshman art history student!)--picasso's, chagall's, degas's, matisse's, monet's, seurat's, i can go on forever!

that was just the met. the following day, after brunch at this ukranian place called veselka at the east village, we went to moma (museum of modern art) where i not only saw more of the important paintings in modern art, but i also saw one of my all-time favorites: gustav klimt's hope ii. bayaw, my jaw almost dropped to the floor! it was overwhelming enough to see many of these significant works in just under two days, but to see a personal favorite was just priceless. i nearly cried! (keep it together, keep it together...)

aah... new york... i fell in love with the place...

but i have to say that what i instantly loved about new york was the village. new york is very interesting to say the least, you know, the sights we all hear and see in movies, tv, etc. there are great great scenes: the empire state building, the chrysler building, the ny public library (awesome library!), times square, the subway, grand central, union square, washington squeare, rockefeller plaza, radio city music hall, etc. beautiful. all of 'em beautiful. but the village, now that is something else.

it felt new york, and yet not so new york. there's no bustle of uptown and midtown new york. there is a mix of many, many peoples. there's an interesting place at every corner. buildings are shorter, and each is as beautiful as the next.

ah, amazing. just amazing. on my way back to northampton and even as i type this, i wish i can have an opportunity to come back to new york, especially the village. and stay a bit longer. words aren't just enough to describe the feeling.