Travel: New York City, or "The Big Apple" (Part one).

All of my life I have known exactly the kind of person I wanted to become, the things I wanted to do, and the places I wanted to go. I'm the kind of person who has ideas and strong feelings about things I've never experienced.........the delightful part is that I am never wrong about my self.  And just as I knew that I would adore everything about running before I ever bought my first pair of Nike's (I log nearly 36 miles per week on a regular basis), I also knew that I would love everything about the hustle and bustle of New York city before I ever stepped out of my first yellow taxi.

My first taste of the big city was a small, weekend sized dose...but it was more than enough to wet my appetite. I hit the streets at precisely the same time and with as much gusto as the New York City Marathon. Run faster, New York! Here's the first installment of 3-accounting my whirlwind trip:

Day 1:  Let's skip right on past the part of this story where my traveling companion and I stay up ridiculously late the night before our A.M. flight out of Nashville, and despite our knowledge that this trip was coming WEEKS in advance, we are scurrying to get our bags packed 10 minutes before walking out the back door.

We crash through the airport doors and onto the dizzying streets of NY around 3:00 p.m. and though I am ablaze with excitement, my urge to take a nap is over powering (no comments from the peanut gallery). We check into the Westin Hotel in Time square, drop our bags, ignore the calls of the "heavenly bed and bath", and head right for 5th avenue.  My first official meal in New York is a cob salad from the little cafe` on the 6th floor of Lord and Taylor's. I was fairly unimpressed but by this point I am prepared to chew my arm off so it saved my limbs and wasn't entirely unpleasant in the taste department so I'll count it as a positive experience.

From there we work our way around at least 40 city blocks. We pass the Library, guarded by it's impressive stone Lions out front, we pass hundreds, if not thousands of runners trying to find their groove before Sunday's big race. In fact, the only thing we may have passed MORE frequently then runners are the corner stand guys with their bountiful spread of hot dogs, pretzels in the early stages of scorching, and light up hats that read: "I HEART NY!" - Eventually we find our way back to the hotel and catch a cat nap before the evening activities unfurl. Several hours later we hail a cab dressed to the nines in a smashing dark suit and glamorous full length evening gown. Our cheeks are glowing from the crisp night air and I'm wearing red lip stick. No one will enjoy themselves more than us tonight.  We have dinner reservations at a quiet French restaurant at 9:00 p.m. - There's a crackling fire on the stone hearth, and the sweet low melodies of a piano somewhere above us is showering down jazzy versions of "Moon river" and other timeless classics.  It's quiet and intimate. It's perfect. We begin with a simple, but tasteful split pea soup, followed by wild mushroom risotto and lobster ravioli. We drink glass after glass of fruity champagne, and a smooth red wine, our laughter ringing throughout the small and intimate joint. Our main course of Fillet Mignon arrives with a base of creamed spinach and side of truffled potatoes. It was  BLISS IN ONE'S MOUTH.  May I just say that French cuisine IS all it's cracked up to be? If you knew the two of us at all then it would be obvious to you at this point that dessert is the highest priority on our list, therefore we then indulged in decadence known as the chocolate souffle`.

The rest of the night was a bit of a wild, hilarious, frenzied blur.......I may not be able to do it justice in the retelling, therefore I will simply say that it was no less than...Charming, I'm sure ;-)  But what I do recall quite clearly was this: walking into the glow of time square as we approach our hotel, smiles on nearly every face that hurried by, though it is nearly midnight now. Taxis are still going full force, the clip clop of horse's hooves on the cobble stone side walk can be heard resonating into the night...and though my face is wind chapped and my expressions feel frozen, I am smiling. This is the New York city I've seen in movies and read about in books. This is the city of people, love, lights, sex, food, theatre, and energy. This is the city I knew I would be in love with before I ever saw it. After all of my preconceived ideas, she did not disappoint.