Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Subways, The Brooklyn Bridge, And Soho

I’m one of those people who actually enjoys going underground; riding the subway. And call me weird, but there is something so urbanely intoxicating about how they SMELL. I can’t exactly describe it, but it’s a cross between electrocution and gasoline.

See, I told you I was weird.

And the subway system in NYC is mind-blowing because it’s an intricate maze of tunnels that will take you anywhere you wish to go. The public transportation in this city is awesome because it runs 24/7–365 days a year and is reliable.

Now I normally don't take subways when I go into Manhattan on a day trip because I walk everywhere. And when I say walk, I mean WALK. I can cover anywhere from 80-85 blocks in a day. Yet, the strange thing about it is that I am not even aware I’m walking that far because there is so much to look at I don’t notice the distance.

I have to add here that Val is the perfect NYC traveling companion because she loves to walk as much as I do. And we walk at the same speed – warp.

However on this trip, since we were meeting up with Rob in Lower Manhattan, Val and I took a subway so that we could get there within a certain time.

*By the way, the weather was perfect. No heat. Didn’t even break a sweat.

So down we went to the 28th Street and Broadway subway station and took the R train.

I mentioned to Val that when I lived in NYC back in the ‘70s & ‘80s, the subway cars were dirty, riddled with graffiti, and had NO air-conditioning. Well, look at them now…

When we got off at our stop, we called Rob at his office and then he met us on the street.

And can I just tell you how super it was to finally meet him? As Rob shared in one of his emails to me after we met that day, it’s one thing to know someone online, but to meet them in person is another. I don’t care how many times I meet fellow-bloggers, I still get that same excited feeling. And meeting Rob was no exception. What a grrrreat guy he is!

*waving from Philly*

Hi, Rob!

I will share more about our meeting and what we did at Ground Zero on another post later next week.

After we hung out with Rob, Val and I grabbed some lunch and sat in a park and people-watched, which is a phenomenal experience unto itself.

Then we were off to a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

It’s been YEARS since I did this, so I felt like a first-time virgin.

The Empire State Building

Lady Liberty

Later in the day, we took another subway uptown and got off on Spring Street. I had no idea where the hell we were going, but to my utter delight ended up in Soho.

Soho is an artsy and what was once, a very Bohemian part of Manhattan. The cobblestone streets are lined with old warehouses; containing loft apartments, art galleries, and shops. It used to be cheap to live there, but now it’s VERY expensive. In fact, it’s expensive to find residence in NYC…period.

Chanel Soho - I had to take this shot because I used to work for Chanel.

Rag & Bone - Val spotted a black dress in this store that was beyond sexy.

Le Labo Fragrance Lab - They hand-blend fragrances in this shop; customizing them to your desire. The aroma from this place was so alluring that it drew us in from the street.

Helmut Lang – Clothing Designer. They were renovating his designing studio.

Val and I saw some filming going on in this street. I immediately got all excited; thinking we would spot a movie star or two. But alas, we discovered they were shooting a TV commercial. Buy hey, it was still exciting!