So, I’ve been watching a lot of “How I Met Your Mother” and “The Mindy Project” re-runs on Netflix lately.

And they’re making me miss New York.

I went there for the first time this summer, partly to just an iconic part of the world, but also to meet my wonderful publishing team at Random House. I had been emailing and calling these people for months, and I thought it would be fantastic to meet everyone face to face.

Even though I was only there for 5 days (well, technically 3, when you factor in travel time), I completely fell in love with New York.

I feel like I GRIEVE for it.

(OK. I know that sounded melodramatic. But I don’t care. That’s how I feel).

Here’s an email I sent back home about my first day in NYC.

_______________________________________________

June 6, 2015 – Day 1

Arrived in New York today after a long day of connecting flights and puking on airplanes. (Yup. Puke face has struck again. Twice. So fun). lol

(NOTE to my blog readers: I get horrible, awful, nasty motion sickness pretty often. I hate it. But, it makes for comedic moments like this. Anyway, carrying on.)

Staying at a B&B in SoHo (a district on the south side of Manhattan). The owners are very friendly – Canadians who have been living here for the past 15 years.

The space is very artistic!  I love it.

Albert & Michelle (who own the B&B) rent out the 5, 7, and 8th floors at 153 Lafayette Street in SoHo. One of the floors is Michelle’s gallery. Not sure if she has paintings or photos, but it sounds cool.

They told us that their eccentric landlord doesn’t like the elevator to be used on evenings or weekends, so Chad and I had to haul our luggage up to the 5th floor. Thank God we only brought carry on bags!

(Pic below: the rickety old stair spiral stair case we climbed everyday. The squeaked and squawked with each step. Not surprising, since the building was built in 1895).

The B&B loft floor is made out of wood panels (not normal hard wood, almost plywood) and painted blue (something between navy and cerulean). It’s so uneven – if you put a marble on the floor, it would take off! Their décor sense is very eclectic and easy going. It reminds me of something you’d see in a hipster decorating blog, or IKEA catalogue. The roof is a modge podge of decorative tiles, painted white. Colorful painting and pictures on the wall, low, squashy, square couches with white furniture covers.

SOOO hipster. Love it!

Chad and I wandered around SoHo tonight, had pizza at Lombardi’s in Little Italy (Lombardi’s has been around since 1905, making coal fired oven pizzas – they led us through a maze of hall ways and paths through the kitchen to get to our seating area, lol), checked out street vendors in Chinatown, and stood on Canal and Bowery (just like the SONG, Hey! Ho! by the Lumineers).

There is SO much to see and do. I’d love to take it all in, but we’re really only here for 3 more full days. Gotta prioritize what we really want to see!

Going to a Yankees Game tomorrow. Should be fun!

Chelsey’s Top 10 Initial Impressions of New York: 

1) Holy crap, fast drivers! The minute Chad and I got into the cab at the airport and the driver took off, I KNEW we weren’t in Kansas anymore. (Well, Canada. But you get my gist, lol)

2) Do as the New Yorkers do. No one pays any real attention to “WALK” or “DON’T WALK” traffic signs, they just step out into the street. The tourists stick out because they wait.

3) Apparently my heavy eyeliner and henna tattooed feet make me look Indian. (As an Indian street vendor pointed out, lol)

4) Less noisy than I anticipated. I don’t find it any noisier (or crowded, for that matter) than the Las Vegas strip. I imagine it will be busier, however, the closer we get to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, etc.

5) The city I currently live in is really, REALLY white.  I don’t think I’ve seen this much color or heard this many languages since I lived in the south side of Calgary as a kid. I find the diversity exciting!

6) There are grates in the sidewalks everywhere you go. You can hear the subway cars rattle and hiss as they pass below your feet.

7) There are makeup stores open 24 hours/day. Because when I wake up at 3 AM, I think, ‘You know, I could really go for some black eyeliner about now.” lol

There are also Starbucks everywhere. Now that, on the other hand, I could easily have at 3 AM!

8) The old buildings here are PHENOMENAL. Seriously. I can’t get over just how beautiful and ornate the buildings are in SoHo (and surrounding areas). Most in the SoHo district date back to the 1800s.

9) New Yorkers are nicer than I thought they’d be! No one has yelled at us (yet, lol). In fact, the B&B owners have offered for us to use their cards to see “The Top of the Rock” and “MoMa” (i.e. Museum of Modern Art) for free!

10) If you don’t like pushy street vendors, don’t go to Chinatown. I didn’t mind it, but I can see how people getting in your face and saying, “You wan purse? You wan watch? Come, come, I show you best price,” can get annoying.

(Note: Little Italy isn’t far from Chinatown. Just look at the signs below!)

And there you have it! Our first day in New York.

Will write more soon,

Love y’all!

– Chels