This past weekend was probably the tenth time I’ve visited the Big Apple.  I have never been a big fan of New York; it was always too intense and aggressive for me.  By contrast, I fell in love with Chicago the very first time I set foot in the place.  But, I am about to relent… the place is starting to grow on me.

There is no denying that New York is a massive ball of energy, of people driven towards their own ends – each a contribution to the Manhattan mosaic of infinite variety of seek and find that goes on here.  There is so much that it is impossible to take it all in as a tourist.  It’s overwhelming.

There is a feeling that you are missing something all the time, that no matter where you are, something significant is going on somewhere else.  The selection of things to visit, see, and do is so enormous that a cursory sampling of these would take at least a couple of weeks, instead of the two days I usually have.

I am adapting.  I am learning to be content to take in whatever I see and forget about what might have been; that helps.  Part of this calm comes from my promise to self to come back here with more time, and keep doing it until I do get it all.

New York is an amazing feast wherever you go and whatever you see.

Washington Square at dusk, with quiet jazz wafting in the air was magical.  Bryant Park in the morning, with skaters on the ice and bustling shops all nestled in the midst of Manhattan apartment buildings and stores, was bright and energizing.  Greenwich Village shops were quaint and interesting, cafe’s eclectic and soothing, and oh so hip.

The size, bustle and action of New York allows the smallest and most diverse kinds of shops and bars to flourish; nowhere else could they survive…  a bar in the back of a barber shop, a peanut butter sandwich shop to name two off the top of my head.

I like intense places, to a point.  Specifically, and metaphorically, things move more efficiently where the slightest gap in traffic invites pedestrians to cross against the light without the slightest interference from the authorities.

The knock on NY for me has always been that I can actually feel my blood pressure going up when I am here.  There are line-ups everywhere – which I hate – and sometimes the pace just gets to be too much.

But, I am starting to get it.  There is just so much to see and do that people have to race everywhere all the time.  And, once you get accustomed to the pace here, everywhere else is just, well, kinda, slow.