New Jersey - day 3... NYC

In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothing you can't do. Now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you. Let's hear it for New York... (poetry courtesy of Alicia Keys/Jay-Z, Empire State of Mind)

Colby and I took the train all by ourselves into New York City. I was a little bit worried, but that was because I'm from a place with little to no public transportation. Public transportation kicks ass for tourists. Here we are headed into the city:

Navigating the city was easy as pie. Thank goodness Colby is great with maps; we arrived safely at all our destinations. Here we are fresh out of Penn Station and ready to see the city:



And here's our first city photo:



My Mr. Navigator:



We walked from Penn Station to the Empire State Building, stopping at shops along the way. Walking in the city is an experience all its own: the people, the vendors, the traffic. I swear to you, and this isn't an understatement, we were at times the only two people in a crowd speaking English. It was great, like seeing the world in an entirely different light, wondering what people were chatting about. Although, I must say that some emotions are universal in any language and can be easily interpreted: all of us tourists no matter where we were from were amazed by and enthralled by the city.

We had to stop along the way and take some photos in front of the New York Public Library. Anyone remember this building from Ghostbustersn (my favorite movie as a kid)???

The view from the Empire State Building was, here it is again....Amazing!

After Empire State we headed to the Museum of Modern Art. We ate a fabulous lunch there including the best peach raspberry crisp I've ever had. I have to say that while many of the works housed at MoMA are a little too, um, difficult for me to comprehend, seeing Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh took my breath away. I even forgot to snap a photo. Here are some other of our favorites from MoMa:

Chairs that deter thieves - very helpful in the city:





A few of Andy Warhol's very recognizable pieces:




Good old Roy Lichtenstein:




Our day was not yet complete. We still had to stop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it was well worth the time. Much to my surprise, the Met had a huge display of works by Alexander McQueen called Savage Grace. Google him right this second if you don't know who he is. Go. Now. Stop reading. Okay, now that you know who he is, you can appreciate how freakin' shit your pants excited I was to see his clothing on display. No photography was allowed, but next time you're at my house I'll show you the book I bought that includes all the pieces in the Met's display.

Here are some other favorites from the Met:






We stepped about 5 feet into Central Par as we were walking about the city:



When we arrived in Time Square I thought I would loose Colby. He was so enthralled by the sights and sounds that he wasn't paying any attention to where he was going and when it was time to walk across the street. He was mesmerized.



We headed back to NJ on a late train for some fried chicken, grits, and corn bread back at casa Sassafras at 10 pm. Seriously people, we were treated like royalty by our hostess.