Like a Balloon.
Bloated and floating. A tribute to my NYC birthday trip. *Chapter 8*
Whoooweeee. Y’all, I am completely spent. New York was everything I wanted it to be and more. Expectations were met and exceeded. I’m recovering from a five-day hangover and about three hours sleep every night in the crappiest Airbnb bed of all time. My cells may be gin-poisoned and inflamed but I am happy.
We walked back into our home on Friday night. Before we left, I deep cleaned it and put on new sheets so it was like returning to a hotel. What a dream. A week of dreams. All I want to do right now… is nothing. At this point, I’ve written and erased 10 paragraphs trying to figure out what I’d like to mull over this week and all I can muster is a list. A list of thoughts I had and things we did. I hope this will suffice, I’ll be back to a more structured reflection of things next week.
Here we go:
Alan’s Firsts. Acknowledging that this is cliché and at the risk of patronizing or infantilizing my boyfriend, experiencing ‘firsts’ with someone I love was astoundingly magical. Parents say it all the time, to watch your children live life with fresh eyes is exhilarating and life-giving. To do this with another adult who has the life experience to truly appreciate what’s happening, to sit back and marvel that he’s on a plane for the first time or walking through The Metropolitan Museum of Art when he’s never been to New York, gave me a new appreciation for things I’ve done a hundred times. To be in New York is always fun, to be there with Alan was exceptionally special.
Gottino. That this little West Village wine and charcuterie spot still exists thrills me to no end. The last few times I’ve visited, I’ve expected to show up to an empty storefront or something new but alas, Gottino lives on. It’s the spot where I learned how much I enjoy sitting by myself at a restaurant. Where I learned the elegance of wine and apéro. Sitting in the window, next to Alan staring out onto the street, with a pile of prosciutto and wine in front of us, I could vividly remember who I was and how I felt at 23 years old, gazing onto Greenwich Ave, book in front of me, sipping wine, wishing the boy I had a heart-wrenching crush on would walk by. It was like the ghost of me was right there. I could viscerally feel the energy of my past life, like my old self was sitting right in between us. New York is amazing in that way, holding the energy of memories for so many.
The Met. There really aren’t enough words for this national treasure. It is a truly magical, divine place. We wandered for two hours through all the rooms on the first floor, from Victorian bedrooms, to early American kitchens to a Dojo and Samurai swords room. Alan said after a few hours, “there really aren’t many paintings here.” I gasped, “there are a million paintings here we just haven’t gotten to that part yet!!” My only regret from the trip is not spending a second day at the most mystical museum in America.
Central Park. My friend Gregg and I used to walk the park from top to bottom. We’d start at 110th street, sync our iPods (usually to the Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack), get really high and stroll down to somewhere around Columbus Circle. Indescribable magic. Central Park is mind-blowing whether you’re stoned and listening to epic movie soundtracks or completely sober and wondering how in the world anyone had the foresight to plant trees in the exact right places so a hundred years later they’d form the perfect thickets and meadows. Still shaking my head in wonder. We had such a wonderful time strolling from the East to West side of Manhattan and back.
Eating Food and Drinking Everything. I am incredibly lucky to have such incredible friends and I’m even more lucky that all of them are food people. I’m not a paid subscriber to Moxie (yet, because after reading this, I most likely will upgrade) so I can’t access the whole article but today she posted an essay called, what is compatibility? and this quote made me say aloud, “oh my god, YES.”
I think that, perhaps, nothing society tells us is important—shared goals, a fundamental respect for each other’s values, similar levels of religious observance—matters much at all, and that all of the things we’re told are silly or superficial—sexual compatibility, despising the same art, a similar alcohol tolerance—matter the most.
My friends and I get very drunk, eat amazing food and love catching up on all the gossip. The first meal we had was at The Four Horseman in Brooklyn. This spot speaks for itself and you probably already know it. The food is simple and divine and the execution is perfect. Everyone there has a deep love for the restaurant and it shows. What a special meal.
The next night we ate at Frenchette where my dear friend and wine extraordinaire, Emilie, set us up with a booth for 6 even though I made a reservation for 2. Eight people showed up… if I hadn’t been as toasty as I was, I would have been mortified but Emilie saw it coming a mile away. The meal was stunning, the drinks were superb. Another perfect night.
Other highlights included martinis at Minetta Tavern, apéro at Gottino, a special birthday dinner at Olmsted in Brooklyn with one of my best and dearest, Megan (pictured in portrait above), frozen yogurt at Forty Carrots on the top floor of Bloomingdale’s (one of my favorite past times I should have known to avoid as dairy and a hangover do NOT mix…that was a terrifying and nearly mortifying train-ride home as I almost…got sick…to put it nicely…) and wrapping up the whole trip was a night at my friend Jamie’s who cooked an entire Korean BBQ feast at her apartment in the West Village. We drank all the booze every night and I am still bloated and recovering. It was all more than worth it.
Turning 40. To wrap up this list that has turned out to be much longer than I’d anticipated, I will say that turning 40 has left me with a feeling of exhilaration for the years to come. To be back in New York City, where I became a real adult, to reflect on parts of myself that were so new then but are fully integrated now, makes me feel excited for all I’m currently working towards. Mystified by how fast time flies and confident that dreams really do come true.
Thank you for reading and for being so lovely. I received some precious notes on my post last week that sent me off to New York City feeling so full and happy.
I hope this weeks brings you many chances to celebrate. See you next Monday.
xoxo.
40 Rocks!
❤️¡Felicidades!🍾