serendipitous

i have been spending more time than i like to away from nyc, which is why i haven't posted my thoughts recently. so here are the compiled moments.

my mother gave me a membership to the met as a gift recently. i had an afternoon all to myself, and decided to go to the museum to see the things i usually skip in favor of visiting my favorites. side note: alas, these are disappearing. for the longest time i wanted to get married in the american wing garden. all practicality aside, this is now completely impossible, as it has been closed for awhile (a few years?) now, in order to completely re-do it all. it will never look the same again, and i will never get married in a tea length cream dress in front of a statue of pan. sigh. the modern galleries are also partially closed, though they should re-open soon. back to topic: i went to the greek and roman galleries. as an art history nerd, i love to see pieces in person that i have read about in texts, so it was incredible to see the kouros figure standing at attention in front of me and to step into reconstructed rooms decorated with roman frescoes. my favorite new find, however, was ancient greek and roman jewelry. fine filigreed necklaces, elaborate diadems, beautifully simple rings. (poor s. he can't afford the art deco engagement rings i drop hints about; now i covet greek emeralds?)

speaking of my dear s, we had a lovely day this past week. it was a new york day, in the most touristy way. we met up at columbus circle, and walked downtown to lunch at grand central station. i wanted to eat at central cafe, which looks as adorable as they come, but it was a little pricey for lunch. grand central, home to the most beautiful ceiling i've ever seen (how much would it cost to have that recreated in my house i wonder?), has a delightful lower level full of restaurants and cafes. we enjoyed stacked-high sandwiches at junior's and then took pictures of ourselves and the station. down the block we headed to the chrysler building to see the art deco lobby. it is truly amazing--a mural on the ceiling, impressive wood paneled elevator doors, and a handy little computer that lets you look up every business in the building. that's probably not a tourist feature, but we got a kick out of the financial organizations with utterly innocuous names. also, who knew that the chrysler building was the tallest building in the world for only one year? then something newer, taller, more exciting was put up. i miss the days of rampant technological advances observable with the naked eye. doesn't it seem like bigger used to be better? it's harder to get excited about something getting even smaller. (except for iPods.) post-chrysler, we walked uptown to e 60th to serendipity 3 for frozen hot chocolate. world-famous frozen hot chocolate, that is. it lived up to the hype. s downed his peanut butter frozen hot chocolate post-haste, and ate most of my plain-jane original. i must admit, there is a certain amount of cachet to desserting at andy warhol's favorite spot. dylan's candy bar, the hippest sweet shop i've ever been in, is just down the street. we perused the wares (it's better to go to a candy store when you're already full of sugar--i could appreciate all the color and whimsy with no desire to purchase anything.) we are excellent city wanderers, so we struck out down the street towards the park. the best public rest rooms near central park are at FAO scharwz. plus then you get to dance on the giant piano (i played hot cross buns with my toes) and try on the sorting hat in the harry potter store (come on, ravenclaw.) then we went to the adult toy store: the apple store. do i want a new iPod nano? yes, yes i do. minty green and adorable, please.

magical, indeed.

but, why?

there is too much negativity in this world. (this may itself seem like a negative statement; so be it.)

i feel that i notice this particularly in blogs about city living, especially new york city. no, city living ain't easy, but it sure is fun. and i think people tend to forget the wonderful, lovely, magical parts of living in one of the greatest cities in the world, overwhelmed by stuffed subway cars and the scent of urban streets. but i have had many wonderful, lovely, magical moments here, and i want to chronicle them. and with that in mind, i christen this blog magical new york.

i will try to record whatever strikes my fancy; a funny encounter, a great restaurant or venue, a beautiful day. this city makes me happy, and i want to make you happy.