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It’s the biggest, most known city world-wide: New York City, The Big Apple. We have seen it in movies, read about it in books, and almost everyone’s money runs through it at one point or another. While I have been to many Yankee games as a child, I never really experienced the city until my early twenty’s. It was my first trip there that I learned a very valuable lesson.
My wife and I hopped on the MTA railroad from Poughkeepsie, which is a nice 90 minute ride into Grand Central Station. We talked about going while dating, but never made it officially until after our wedding. We were ready to take the biggest city by storm. There was so much to see down there: the Empire State Building, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty; and we were going to hit them all. On our ride down, we discussed whether or not we should bring a guide or map, but agreed that you don’t want to wander around Manhattan looking like a tourist, besides, how could one miss the biggest landmarks of the world?
We arrive late morning, and grab a bite to eat immediately off the train at a bagel shop in the terminal. Official New York bagels tasted about as good as any other, but we were in an area where movie stars and famous musicians sat and ate, so it added to the flavor. Upon ascending above ground, we found ourselves in the middle of a busy 42nd street, smack dab in the middle of the hustle and bustle of city life. Now, along with not wanting to look like a tourist, my wife and I were convinced we could get around by foot in lieu of being ripped off by the local taxi cab hacks, so we head in a direction with no destination in mind.
After roughly two hours, we have walked over 40 blocks, and have seen nothing but the Flat Iron building in lower-midtown. We continue on, and figure we are bound to see something fantastic, and try and find Little Italy on the way because we are starving and do not want to eat at an ordinary place. Another two hours later, still nothing. Of course, we don’t want to ask for directions, and are still too stubborn to purchase a map. So again, we continue moping around. At this point, we are ready to eat our arms, our feet are killing us, and the city lights are getting brighter because the evening has progressed. At this point, our patience is worn thin, and we argue over where to eat.
With a strong desire to eat at an Italian restaurant in NYC, we found ourselves at The Olive Garden shortly after 8pm. Not exactly how we planned it, but we were hungry and decided to eat at the next place on the block we passed. We get a seat at the window, at least, and watch the crowd, which has doubled since the morning, and it finally dawned on us that nearly every person walking by had some sort of map in their hand. And here we are, eating processed Italian food because of our wanting to “fit in”.
That was the longest trip we have ever been on. How many people go to NYC and never see a single solitary sight? Only us, I guess. We did go down again a few months later, and this time right off the train bought a map for eight dollars at a magazine stand. It turned out to be money well spent.
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