water, water everywhere....
My trip to New York was really fabulous. Although it may be too early to really compare the two, I'd have to say that at this time I think I prefer NYC to London, which was previously my favorite city. London is really great and all, but New York has a quality that London doesn't have, although it's hard to describe. For one thing, it's so diverse it made my head spin. Just walking down the street, one sees every kind of person of every race, ethnicity, religion, social class, dress, etc. that you can possibly imagine. It's like the entire continuum of human existence all crammed onto one island. But it's more than that. There's a certain sadness to the city, as though all of the suffering of the world is expressed in the humming of the subways below the sidewalk and the music of the street performers. (This sounds very abstract, I know, but I said it's hard to describe, and I can't think of any other way to put it into words). New York is amazing in more concrete ways too, though. For example, the city really does never sleep. It keeps going right on through the night, and there is always something to do. London completely shuts down at like 11pm. Losers.
Criticisms of New York:
Their subway system sucks. This is one area where they could really stand to take some pointers from the Londoners.
When the weather gets bad, the entire city comes to a halt. And wow, when it's bad, it's BAD.
There are too many tourists in Times Square. ugh.
The statue of liberty is not very big. At all.
There is no skyline. As far as design, architecture, the skyline, and just the overall aesthetics of the city are concerned, Chicago blows NY away.
Despite these criticisms, I had a really amazing time. I went to the Chelsea Arts Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, which were both really great museums. I wanted to go to MoMA, but there was three hour wait just to get in, and I didn't have enough time. We went out every night and I got pretty drunk every time. We went to some really nice bars and gay clubs that actually played dance music instead of r&b remixes. Kara and I also saw three shows on Broadway: RENT, which was great as usual, despite my opinion that the current cast isn't really all that impressive, Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, the first revival of the classic play starring Kaltheen Turner and Bill Irwin, which was so good I almost cried, and Avenue Q, which is still in it's original broadway cast and was absulutely the most fun I've ever had at a show. And boy did I shop... wow. I spent WAY too much money, but it was worth it. Although when I went into Bergdorf Goodman with the honest intention of possibly splurging on myself and buying something by Prada or Roberto Cavalli or the like, I was literally followed by the attendants, who gave me dirty looks and seemed to think it was rude of me to have even entered the store. cunts.
And the boys... Oh, the boys. There are very very hot men everywhere you go in that city. But since I'm shy and had no idea what I would even say were I to speak to one, I just did a lot of staring. It was very frustrating, of course, since I never had any time alone... well, you get what I mean. Not a drop to drink.
Criticisms of New York:
Their subway system sucks. This is one area where they could really stand to take some pointers from the Londoners.
When the weather gets bad, the entire city comes to a halt. And wow, when it's bad, it's BAD.
There are too many tourists in Times Square. ugh.
The statue of liberty is not very big. At all.
There is no skyline. As far as design, architecture, the skyline, and just the overall aesthetics of the city are concerned, Chicago blows NY away.
Despite these criticisms, I had a really amazing time. I went to the Chelsea Arts Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, which were both really great museums. I wanted to go to MoMA, but there was three hour wait just to get in, and I didn't have enough time. We went out every night and I got pretty drunk every time. We went to some really nice bars and gay clubs that actually played dance music instead of r&b remixes. Kara and I also saw three shows on Broadway: RENT, which was great as usual, despite my opinion that the current cast isn't really all that impressive, Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, the first revival of the classic play starring Kaltheen Turner and Bill Irwin, which was so good I almost cried, and Avenue Q, which is still in it's original broadway cast and was absulutely the most fun I've ever had at a show. And boy did I shop... wow. I spent WAY too much money, but it was worth it. Although when I went into Bergdorf Goodman with the honest intention of possibly splurging on myself and buying something by Prada or Roberto Cavalli or the like, I was literally followed by the attendants, who gave me dirty looks and seemed to think it was rude of me to have even entered the store. cunts.
And the boys... Oh, the boys. There are very very hot men everywhere you go in that city. But since I'm shy and had no idea what I would even say were I to speak to one, I just did a lot of staring. It was very frustrating, of course, since I never had any time alone... well, you get what I mean. Not a drop to drink.