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New York, New York, It’s A Helluva Town!

July 5, 2017 By Linda 14 Comments

Observations from the streets of New York, New York …

1. Dirty water hot dog stands are still going strong. Yay!

2. 50th between 2nd and 3rd is my new favorite street in New York. Not that I had a favorite before. But you get the point. πŸ˜‰

3. Garbage day in New York is gross. This picture doesn’t even come close. Made me appreciate Chicago’s alley system.

3. I saw zero women in flips flops. Zero. Nada. Zilch. So I left my flip flops packed away in my suitcase for the duration of my New York trip.

4. I saw a lot of color. In clothing. Perhaps I was walking among tourists. Or perhaps the flip-flop-shunning women of New York have finally embraced colorful clothing.

5. I did not see a lot of white pants. So I broke with the norm and wore my Old Navy white pants. Perhaps I launched a fashion revolution. I think I may need to come back in a few months to see … πŸ™‚

6. I could easily find little hole-in-the-wall pizza-by-the-slice joints tucked away on the side streets. Yay!

7. Sadly, little coffee and bagel shops have all but disappeared. Nay. I blame Starbucks.

8. Sunday brunch is huge. Huge with a capital H, U, G, & E huge.

9. People walked a lot slower than I remember. Again, it could be the tourist factor. Or because I wasn’t walking the streets during rush hour.

10. If you’re looking for crazy hot guys in New York City look no further than Dos Toros Taqueria on Lexington at 11:57 AM on a Friday. Seriously. It’s like the super hot guy bus drove up and dropped them off.

11. Contrary to popular belief, people in New York are friendly. Don’t believe the hype. I was greeted on the streets with lots of hellos and smiles. Or maybe it was because I was walking around the streets of New York with a big old smile on my face! I love and missed my old friend New York.

12. It’s really hard to find a place to stop and sit down to type up your observations from the streets of New York. Well, at least on Lexington between 49th and 56th streets.

13. Women in their 50’s are fabulous. And beautiful. And amazing. And brilliant. How did I not see this before? I think I may be finally ready to embrace this decade. Three years and 356 days in … πŸ˜‰

* pictured with my fabulous, beautiful, brilliant 50-something AXO sorority sisters who I have not seen in 30+ years *

* pictured below with my fabulous, brilliant, beautiful 50-something former work colleagues who I have not seen in 20+ years *

On a final note, every trip to New York City must include at least one “because New York” iconic moment. I thought I had one early on involving a rookie mistake when giving the taxi driver an address (not to self: in New York you give cross streets, not building numbers. Otherwise you end up at 80th & Park when you wanted to go to 80 Park). But a much more Seinfeld-esque story emerged at the very end of the trip. It, too, involved a taxi …

 

After Sunday brunch (which  was huge) and one last walk around the upper east side, it was time to depart for the airport. I grabbed a cab and off to LaGuardia we headed. Only that was the wrong airport. I flew in through LaGuardia and, naturally, assumed that’s how I would depart. Nope. My departure was from JFK.

 

Oops.

 

Luckily, the cabbie and I discovered this mistake early on. And now he was hell bent on getting me to JFK on time. Like riding-the-shoulder-jumping-curbs-cutting-people-off-at-every-turn hell bent. When I stumbled out of the taxi at JFK I would have kissed the ground if I didn’t feel like I was going to throw up after such an erratic ride.

 

The $65 flat rate charge (+tip) to JFK didn’t help either. πŸ˜‰

 

But, as promised, he got me to the airport on time. Which probably would not have happened had I been in a Seinfeld episode. πŸ™‚

Filed Under: Life in Chicago

Comments

  1. Donnamae says

    July 5, 2017 at 9:54 am

    Thanks for the quick tour and highlights. Yes….women in their 50’s are fabulous…good news is…it carries over to 60’s! What a taxi ride! πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • Linda says

      July 5, 2017 at 10:19 am

      Something to look forward to! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Mike Braden says

    July 5, 2017 at 10:16 am

    The Bronx is up but the Battery’s down…

    Reply
  3. Calypso in the Country says

    July 5, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    Sounds like a great visit and I loved your observations!…and that you referenced Seinfeld! We live an hour from New York but don’t get into the city as much as we should! Loved your photos!
    Shelley

    Reply
    • Linda says

      July 6, 2017 at 8:35 am

      Thank you! Hey, we live in the city of Chicago but don’t get downtown much to enjoy all the city has to offer with the parks and attractions and theater and stuff! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  4. Elizabeth Abrams says

    July 5, 2017 at 3:43 pm

    I was looking for the hot guy picture!

    Reply
    • Linda says

      July 6, 2017 at 8:28 am

      LOL! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. Barbara says

    July 5, 2017 at 5:11 pm

    Love ALL of your observations my friend – you are still funny and beautiful πŸ’šβ€οΈ Let’s get together again soon – hopefully in less then 30 years 😊

    Reply
    • Linda says

      July 6, 2017 at 8:27 am

      Yes indeed! 30 years is too long to wait again! Plus we’ll all have walkers by then! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  6. Laura says

    July 6, 2017 at 5:33 am

    How awesome for you to see and catch up with friends and colleagues. I love New York and your observations.

    Reply
  7. Carolyn says

    July 10, 2017 at 5:02 am

    What a great tour! I’ve sadly never been to New York. I’ve always wanted to try a hot dog from a street seller. I’m not sure now. As you call them “dirty water” hot dogs!

    Reply
    • Linda says

      July 19, 2017 at 1:08 pm

      LOL! I ate them for 10 years while working in NYC and never got sick so perhaps the rumors about the “dirty water” aren’t true. People question how often they clean out those carts! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  8. Delilah says

    July 13, 2017 at 4:30 pm

    I just got back from a family vacation in New york and we weren’t as excited about it as you were! The noise, the crowds, the smells, the garbage on the side of the road… Unfortunately, I didn’t spot the hot guys! lol
    We were so excited to be home after 12 days in NY!
    There’s no place like home!!!

    Reply
  9. Dealman says

    August 13, 2017 at 4:15 pm

    Lovely location New York and Loved your photos!

    Reply

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