The City that Never Sleeps

New York city is an amazing city. It is vibrant, young, brash. It is lively for the sake of be rebellious and energetic. It is, because it can. It is a city with a magnetic pulse so undeniable that it commands you to step in time. It can be cruel, harsh, and difficult; an simultaneous assault on all five senses.

There are several things that I'd like to do in NYC this summer. I rather enjoy being a tourist. Sadly, tourists often appreciate a city much more than the natives themselves, and for that I would much rather continue to explore and to discover. Natives may know the backroads, but they always seem to lose appreciation for the essence of the area they live in by virtue of marinating in it.

Bodies the Exhibition will be at the South Street Seaport indefinitely. This exhibit is the Chinese rendition of the German exhibit Body Worlds. Both displays feature human bodies plastinated to showcase and educate on different systems within the body (muscular, blood vessels, reproduction). The bodies are eerily lifelike and usually posed in an active manner (playing chess, swimming, dancing, etc). Alot of controversy surround these types of displays in regards to the source of the body donations.

One of my favorite movies is now a musical! The Wedding Singer opened on Broadway in late April. Is it too early wax poetic on an era that's barely passed us by? I don't think so. If it takes clever lyrics to get a new generation to experience Broaway through a populist theme, I'm up for it even if it includes big hair and puffy seafoam bridesmaids' dresses.

Brunch is a Sunday morning ritual in Manhattan. It is a gradual easing into the day started off with a sunny glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice, a tasty muffin, and friendly service heralded by the swishing of well-starched and bleached aprons. Brunch is a momentary haven from the bustle outside. So far I've only had dimsum in Chinatown and brunch at Sarabeth's. While both were fantastic, the city leaves plenty to be explored.

Even pets deserve to take a bite out of the Big Apple. The Meow Mix Cafe (on Fifth Avenue no less!) is the perfect bonding opportunity for pet and owner. Supposedly they serve meat-centric dishes for humans to match the meat flavors of their flavor pouches for felines. So after shopping at Harry Winston and Takashimaya, I think I'll need to make a quick stop for the Jackster. Oddly enough there is only one photo (so obviously a bad one from a cameraphone) of the cafe itself on Flickr. I'll be out to change that.

It's time to strap on my comfy walking shoes and head on back.