An Exert From My Notebook (dated Saturday 03/19)

This city is a gallery. Every corner, every street, every apartment building, fire escape, park, yellow taxi. All of it.

Today I got lost. It was my own fault. Tired of the subway I tried to walk from 14th Street to Washington Square Park. I didn't get lost because the park was difficult to find (I mad a map after all.) Rather, as I walked, I became absorbed in the city and I allowed it to carry me away.

It all started at the subway station where a group of street performers had attracted a large crowd of onlookers as the danced to hip hop music. Everybody in the audience was bopping their head, or grooving and cheering along.

When I finally left the subway I was quickly distracted by a market set up on Christopher Street. Vendors sold Tshirts, jewellery and prints of their own painting and photography. It is such a wonderful and special opportunity to speak to the artist before purchasing a print.

As I walked aimlessly about the Village (or I think that's the area I was in) I passed what looked like an abandoned plot. Hanging from the barbed wire fence that surrounded it were tiles in memory of September 11, 2001. Each tile had been created by a different person and had words or drawings dedicated to the people who died.

The overwhelming theme of the tiles was peace and love. This city is not about anger or revenge. Rather, the people and the place have been in mourning and are trying to move forward in peace.

That's why I love this city. It is a city that appreciates beauty and love - in painting and photos and music and life. This is a city of art and the people that live here are a part of that. People hidden behind dark coats, hats, umbrellas. Heads down. Or basking up the summer sun. We are New York. Street performers at every corner. Vendors selling hats, candied nuts and hot dogs. Artists creating work right here on the streets. Rubbish that people have left on the curb as it over flows from the bins.

Even the subway stations are beautiful in their grime. They send steam shooting up onto the streets to remind us that they map out the ground bellow. In the stations there are mosaics, photos and other art scattered between advertisments. Everything is covered in dirt and grime - stained by all of the hustle and bustle that passes through.

Earlier today we walked the Chelsea Highline** and saw the city from above in all of its grandeur. Yellow taxis, abnoxious billboards and restaurants attempting to hide from those of us not cool enough to know how to find them. Seeing the city like this transformed me into a dreamlike state. No wonder I became so lost.

**My original notepad did not include a link to the Chelsea Highline website!! To describe the highline briefly it is a walkway the spans above Chelsea. The overpass was originally a train line, but now there are flowers planted between the tracks. Day beds are scattered along the path and there is a fantastic view of the city.

As I spent the afternoon wandering aimlessly about I heard two young kids talking. Kid A: I've never been to this part of Brooklyn. Kid B: Wow! You know where we are*

*This was in the Village - which is most definitely not Brooklyn

 What a perfect day. There is no magic like being lost in New York.