New York, New York

On my way back from Europe, I had a stop in New York City. Instead of catching my connecting flight, I decided to stay for a few days and visit some friends.

I had not been to New York in about 9 years. It sure was nice to come back and spend more time in the city. What a great city, from the smell of roasted nuts/street vendors, to the steam rising on the streets, to the great New York Skyline, to central park, to just the feel of the city.

My friends picked me up from the airport and we headed right to SOHO for a Utah artist's gallery opening at Coda Gallery (they have three Coda galleries in the US and one of them is in Park City). The Utah artist who's showing was in New York, was Brian Kershisnik.

On Sunday, I took a train into the city (about an hour from my friends place in New Jersey) with my friend. We went to the Metropolitan museum and then walked through central park. I had never been to the Metropolitan museum. I could of spend hours in there but settled for 2 hours. As we walked through central park on our way back to the train station, we came across a section where they had blocked off the street for some rolling skating dancing. It was so much fun to watch the dancers of all ages. Some of them were really good on the skates. I know that I would have fallen flat on my face numerous times.

On Monday I took the train into the city again and went to the financial district. I took a boat ride out to Staten Island. It was a beautiful day for a boat ride. How fun to see the Statute of Liberty and New York City from Staten Island. After the boat ride back to New York, I walked around the area. Past Trinity Church, battery park, ground zero (even though it is just a big hole in the ground, it still tugged at my heart strings to see it). That night I enjoyed a wonderful Japanese/sushi buffet with my friends for my birthday.

On Tuesday I stayed with friends that lived in the city (upper west side by Columbia University) since I was flying out the next day from JFK. It was nice to visit with some friends that I had not seen in years and walk around their neighborhood. We walked past the famous Seinfeld restaurant, which looks nothing inside like the one on the show.

Sunday, October 8

After spending a few days in Salt Lake, I leave tomorrow bright and early for my next adventure to South America