I can see why all of my friends are moving here...

A couple of months ago everyone I knew suddenly decided that they HAD to move to New York City. Some are pursuing new career opportunities, some are going to grad school, some are trying to make it big in New York theatre, and some just feel this unbelievable need to be there because, for them, New York City is the absolute center of the universe. Having never been to New York City I could only piece together what I assumed their lives would be like in this new place...walking out of their appropriately small but also requisitely cute apartment on the _______ side, picnicking in Central Park, attending fabulously glamorous events, partying all night at some hot new club, and of course, appearing in Broadway shows. All of this imagining of what New York would be like, coupled with the fact that at least half of my nearest and dearest friends are calling this city their new home for some undetermined amount of time got me thinking...maybe I should move to New York City too? Of course I have no reason to do such a thing. Only an absolute DREAM JOB could tear me away from the West Coast right now...but maybe this five day stay in New York City before heading off to Europe can serve as a testing ground to see what life might be like if I lived here.....

So here we go....

Elissa and I arrived in New York last night...I don't think I've ever seen a more stunning view from the airplane window as when we began our descent over the city.

After navigating our way out of JFK and into a cab (the cabbie was pretty certain that Elissa and I were contestants on ANTM) we ended up at our first destination of the trip, Elissa's best friend's apartment in SoHa (South Harlem). Slightly exhausted and kind of surprised by the humidity (humidity of any kind surprises me....I thought L.A. was humid when I first moved there) we encountered our first true test as backpackers...a fifth floor walk-up....with a very narrow staircase. After a few missteps and one or two tricky backpack maneuvers we made it. We were officially in New York City!

The heat kept Elissa and I both up most of the night last night (no ac in the fifth floor walk-up) so we started out pretty early, meeting the third member of our travel team at his lovely apartment near Central Park. Over brunch at Good Enough to Eat (easily one of the best breakfast places I've been in awhile....L.A. people think Toast...or Doughboys; SF people...I don't think I've ever had breakfast in the city...so you're out of luck) the three of us decided that we absolutely MUST have a secret handshake and mantra to start every day of our trip. Although we're still brainstorming, the winning mantra from today went something like this "Elissa, Kristen, Michael, YAY! We're going to have an awesome day." Yeah........

The rest of the day went as follows: walking tours of Times Square and Midtown, searching desperately for a pub because after not sleeping all night and walking around in the sticky heat all day all Elissa and I wanted was a beer, taking the subway several stops out of the way when I was left to my own devices, meeting my lovely friend Jenn at her GORGEOUS apartment on the Upper East Side, FINALLY getting that beer at Brother Jimmy's BBQ, ending the night with a Tasti D-Lite and a glass of wine.

I'm completely exhausted. This city has an energy like I've never seen.