New York City: A Foreign Land

Ever since 9/11, I've felt like New York was at the very heart of American patriotism.  Big Apple, apple pie kind of thing.  Yet my weekend there sent many of my foreign country instincts into high gear.  I saw and heard Spanish at every turn.  There's a whole New York sub-culture with rules for traffic and pedestrians as well as how to dress, when and where to sit on the subway, and I'm sure many other things I can't pick up on in three days.  It felt a lot like the first few days in a new country when you're hanging back half a second trying to observe how the locals do things so that you can figure out the system without making so many mistakes.  The many cash only establishments just added to foreign feel all the more.  

I've been to NY before (pre-9/11) and had a chance to see many of the sites then, so this trip was more about enjoying and exploring the city with my brother.  I met a friend for brunch on the Lower East Side (I feel so sophisticated just saying that, ha!) and enjoyed catching up with her after 5 years.  After that fun and deliciousness, we walked the High Line, a beautiful elevated pathway that didn't even exist last time I was in town.  We made our way to Central Park, which I got to really wander and explore for the first time, before heading back to Brooklyn to grill in the backyard (yes, he actually has a back yard!).  Saturday morning found me in Prospect Park watching city league baseball for the first time in years before seeing some other areas of Brooklyn.  That evening we wandered a neighborhood of Manhattan and found a great Italian restaurant to enjoy dinner before going Uptown for a play.  The independent show Growing Up Gonzalez did not disappoint.  Sunday we got a chance to stroll around Brooklyn before an amazing brunch and a visit to the 9/11 memorial.  Afterward we wandered to Battery Park and then one of my favorite areas- the financial district, where we found a small Italian pizzeria to watch the second half of the Euro 12 final game.  The little old Italian owner was the best part.  Somehow, we also managed the energy to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge and see the park beneath it before stopping for gelato and then heading home to crash. 

At the 9/11 memorial

Central Park

Appetizer Saturday evening

Brooklyn street

On the Brooklyn Bridge

View of the Manhattan Bridge from the Park

Evening light on the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline

The entire weekend reconfirmed to me how much I love New York, as well as how fun and easy it is to travel with my brother.  He and I always travel really well together.  So even though it didn't necessarily always feel like the US, it was a great way to spend some of my last days in the US.  Can't wait to go back!