(Washington Square Park)
Why do I love big cities? I think it's the element of surprise. You just never know when you might stumble across someone sitting on a trash can, playing a grand piano in the middle of a park.
Or maybe it's that you can be in the hustle bustle of Chinatown and Canal Street with its sidewalk vendors and open markets, head down into the subway, and ten minutes later pop out of the subway in Greenwich Village where the view is these serene townhouses.
(On the right, the narrowest house in the city)
(Love this pink townhouse. I don't care that it still has it's holiday wreath- if you live in a pink house, you decorate it however you want.)
(detail of wrought iron gate and steps)
There are always new neighborhoods to explore. This time, it was Chelsea.
The Chelsea Market is an upscale food court, with an Anthropologie and bookstore thrown in for good measure. The building was originally the home of the National Biscuit Company, maker of Oreos and Fig Newtons.
They've kept a lot of the original industrial architectural details like brick work, exposed pipes and beams.
And added some eye catching accents like these arches of lights.
The High Line, an abandoned elevated railway that's been turned into an elevated park, is a few blocks from Chelsea Market. I'm sure it's prettier in spring as more is in bloom, but it still had a certain elegance in its spareness. You can read more about it here.
We went to the theater, saw a taping of Katie, and ate great food, but I'll leave that for another post.