I miss New York. I have an indescribable love for this city. Recently, to celebrate my husband’s 40th birthday and our 15 years together, we spent a week in the city that never sleeps. I was supposed to go back there with my parents on an organized tour (from which I would have regularly slipped away…), but COVID came into our lives and locked us in our homes…
In fact, the Big Apple was hit hard by the pandemic. The images spoke for themselves. The city seemed completely lifeless. It was as if, for the first time… it was sleeping. No sound of cars, construction, honking, or people shouting in every language imaginable. The streets were empty of all those colorful, hurried, lively people that are New Yorkers. No tourists either—it was sad enough to make you cry!
I dream of the day when someone will say to me, “It’s beautiful—book it all—let’s go!” I can’t wait to lose myself in this city of glass and concrete, in its perfectly laid-out streets. To explore the less-loved, lesser-known neighborhoods—yet so rich in character. New York isn’t just the island of Manhattan, even though—thanks to its real-life and cinematic history—it remains so alluring, captivating, and fantastic.
I can’t wait to take my kids to the American Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs. To watch them ride the Ferris wheel and run along the beach at Coney Island. To see the look on my oldest’s face when he eats pizza in Queens—not just any pizza, but the one from the real Spider-Man! I can’t wait to see the stars in my little one’s eyes on the aircraft carrier at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
I can’t wait to get lost in the greenery of Central Park or stroll along the East River on the Brooklyn waterfront when we need some fresh air… To window-shop on Fifth Avenue and treat myself to a (little) splurge at one of the Housing Works stores. I can’t wait to sip a glass of Riesling from upstate New York while watching a show at a jazz club with my husband. I can’t wait to see the look on his face, torn between “I’d love to be up on stage with them” and “let’s just enjoy this moment with these masters.”
In the meantime, I’m daydreaming. I’m watching lots of movies and TV shows set in New York, where the city is a character in its own right—a lead actor. I’m looking at lots of photos—my own and those of others. I have fun imagining myself as a millionaire and torture myself by virtually touring apartments for sale in Williamsburg or the East Village. It makes me feel good; it lets me escape a little, from the safety of my home, and break free from this somewhat boring routine we’re all stuck in.
I wanted to write about New York the way you talk about an old friend. To make you want to discover it from a new angle—my own. That’s the beauty of this city: every New Yorker and every tourist has their own perspective. You can combine mine with yours and let yourself escape, too—all while staying safe and sound in your own home.
“New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can do” – A. Keys