NYC Walking Tour: My Discoveries

It’s March and the weather in NYC is beautiful. I don’t remember a time where I could wear a tank top in March. Well today, that wasn’t the case. With the sun beating down and the temperature in the 70s, I pulled on my tank top, rolled up my jeans, laced up my tennis shoes and hit the streets of NYC. I didn’t have a destination, except I knew I needed to make it to Chinatown to pick up some scarves for my mom. Other than that, I was hoping to try some new foods, see some new sights and purchase a few treasures. After eight hours of strolling the streets, I not only ate some amazing food, saw some unforgettable sights and bought several new things, but I feel like I finally got a true feel for what NYC has to offer. From the culture to the architecture and everything in between, this city is truly amazing, educational and I’m happy to say… my new home.

I started off going south on 2nd Ave. and took in the amazing scents of all the restaurants. At 23rd, I cut over to Lexington and continued south which brought me to Gramercy Park. Here I found a bench and spent time people watching, soaking up the sun and reading Lovely Bones.  After a little R&R I continued south on Lexington, stopped in at a few boutiques, bought a pair of shoes and after a few turns, ended up in Union Square. I can’t begin to explain how much energy this area had today, it was amazing. There was a craft show filled with beautiful pieces of art, unique homemade goods and jewelry. Besides the craft show, there were people selling plants, fresh food and looking for foster parents for several adorable animals. Coupled with the farmer’s market/craft show, Union Square was buzzing with people and filled with diversity, making it one of my favorite experiences in NYC to-date. 

As I continued south, I ate some delicious New York pizza in Little Italy, indulged in ice cream at Chinatown Ice Cream Factory and picked up some souvenirs for the family. From Chinatown I went east, through Confucius Plaza, past the Manhattan Bridge and into the Lower East Side. Here I found some great fabric stores, a discount candy store called Economy Candy and my new favorite market, Essex St. Market. Apparently when the city forced the pushcarts off the streets more than 50 years ago, a garage- like market was formed in its place. Inside are different vendors selling fresh fruits/veggies, delicious cuts of meat/fish, a variety of cheeses, gourmet chocolate and a wide range of food from numerous countries. I highly recommend all New Yorkers check it out at 120 Essex St, between Rivington and Delancy.

 

I started my journey back uptown and headed northwest through Soho, NYU and into Midtown. During this part of my journey I found a great art store called A.L. Friedman. I enjoyed my first donut from Tim Horton’s and agree with the locals that it’s NY’s best donut. I also enjoyed some people watching in Times Square and bought an ice tea from a cafe, just so I could use their bathroom. After visiting a few more shops and taking pictures of some great buildings, I started venturing back home. Of course I couldn’t pass up the “Nuts for Nuts” stand and had to indulge in a bag of sugar-coated cashews, they are delicious!

Needless to say I had quite a journey today and think it is amazing that each little neighborhood in NYC is so different, yet equally fascinating. It is such a cool experience to walk through NYC and feel the culture changes, see the architectural differences, and take in the millions of sights and sounds. I knew that I loved NYC, but I really never knew how much this city has to offer, how much I can learn and what a great opportunity I have right now. If you come to NYC, bring your most comfortable shoes and walk from neighborhood to neighborhood and experience what I did, I promise it’s worth it. Next journey? The West Side.

 

Conquering NYC Streets, One Step at a Time

One year ago I had just completed the 13.1 with Donna, a half-marathon to raise money for breast cancer, and was training for the Twin Cities full-marathon. Fast forward a year and I’m living in New York convincing myself not to run with every excuse in the book. Somewhere during my move from Minnesota to New York, I had decided that running in NYC was near impossible and hung up the running shoes.  My reasoning? It wasn’t that I was being lazy, but the constant reminders from my Dad and Grandpa to only run in well-lit areas filled with people were enough to make me a little hesitant about hitting the streets alone. Coupled with a slight fear, my other reasoning consisted of  my thoughts that there were too many stop lights, not enough room on the streets and I was too tired after work. I’m not sure what sparked the decision, but I got home today and decided it was time to unpack the running gear and conquer to streets of NYC. 

Dressed in my full running gear and equiped with my GPS watch and Ipod, I started my journey up 2nd Ave. My findings? Yes, the streets are crowded, but it’s not unbearable and definitely makes time go faster. For someone like me who enjoys people watching, I couldn’t be running in a better city. I also found that the stop lights on every corner served as a  much-appreciated resting spot for my legs that hadn’t been worked this hard in months. But the best part was the scenery, culture and new sights that I came across. I found out that I live just blocks from the United Nations, down the street from a cute little Italian restaurant and within walking distance of a great shopping area. Looks like all I needed was one good run under my belt because I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s run.

Of course, no good journey would be complete without a speed bump or two. First of all, my GPS watch took 20 streets and several avenues to figure out it was in New York and not Minnesota. Also, it wouldn’t be a day in New York if I didn’t come within inches of going one-on-one with a crazy driver going too fast around a corner. But perhaps the thing I will have to adjust to the most is figuring out how to navigate my turns around the corner. More than once I turned a corner and had to dodge to the left or right to avoid smacking right into a pedestrian. The corners reminded me of 9th grade U.S. Government class when I was running late and sprinted at full-speed through the classroom door and right into Ms. K, the teacher. Let’s just say Ms. K ended up on the ground and as discipline made me call my parents to tell them I had “bulldozed” the teacher over. I still cant’ live that day down.

Anyways, I’m happy to report that running in NYC was a much better experience than I ever anticipated and I’m excited to start running some New York Road Runner races. I’m also looking forward to getting more involved with the amazing NYC running community I have met via Twitter.

Side note to runners: If you don’t own a Garmin GPS watch, I highly recommend getting one. Once they figure out what city you are in, they are truly amazing!

Happy Running!

Mood Fabric: Not for Beginners

I moved to New York City two months ago and couldn’t wait to venture into Mood Fabric. As a dedicted-viewer of Project Runway and a beginner seamstress, a trip to Mood Fabric was a must-do. For those of you who don’t watch Project Runway it is the fabric store that the competitors use to find the fabric that they turn into masterpieces that are eventually judged by Heidi Klum and crew. After completing the Pinafore Folding Chair cover, I decided I was skilled enough to venture over to the famous store. I compiled a list of materials needed for my next project and made the walk across town to Mood. Unfortanely, like most stores in New York, it has varied hours and was closed.

So today I woke up and decided this was the day I would finally make like a Project Runway contestant and find my way back to Mood. I had heard the store was huge, the fabric selection amazing and the staff some-what rude, so I figured I was prepared for what was to come. Well….let’s just say I was wrong. I took the elevator ride to the 3rd floor with five fashion school students talking about the three-piece outfit they were working on. As I entered the store with my list of materials for a beginner project, the intimidation only grew. Not only was I probably the only beginner seamstress in the store, but the store was huge and I had no idea what I doing.  However, the store was amazing and the fabric selection was the best I’d ever seen. Mood is definitely Heaven for anyone looking for fabric, notions, buttons, etc. So I got to digging.

After close to an hour of drowning in material, I came up for air and had finally found the perfect fabric for my next project. Next thing on the list, one-inch webbing. What’s that? Great question. Panic almost took over as I realized I was in one of the most popular fabric stores in the world, surrounded by amazing designers and about to ask an employee what webbing was. Not only that, but like I said, rumor had it that the staff wasn’t exactly friendly. I got in line behind a woman getting material cut for an evening gown and in front of another fashion student getting fabric for a twill coat. Next thing I knew I was up in line and whispering to the employee about webbing. Thankfully, the rumors were wrong and she was extremely nice. She helped me gather up webbing, D-rings and elastic, and wished me luck with my sewing. For those of you still wondering, this is what webbing is:

After what seemed like hours, I had everything I needed and made my way to the cash register. Along my way, I passed pictures of Project Runway contestants, the store dog, a beautiful re-finished couch and many fabrics that I don’t even know the name of. Feeling a little defeated, I opted for the stairs instead of the elevator, and found my way back to the busy streets of NYC. All-in-all, I’m glad I ventured over to Mood as it really is filled with anything a fashion designer would need. Being surrounded by so many talented people was really inspiring and definitely motivated me to keep with sewing. However, I think I will do my research on all the materials I need before venturing back to Mood again.  Also, I may need to get a few projects under my belt. So, it’s back to the sewing machine for me. Pictures to come…

Thanks Mood!