Upper West Side: Chillin’ like I’m from New York

This area was my favourite. I liked it because it is quieter than other parts of New York and less touristy. Also, the best cookies in New York live in this area at the Levain Bakery. This tiny bakery, with a counter the size of an average desk, serves only 4 types of cookies, but they are definitely the best. When you arrive, you walk into a wall of ooey-gooey good smells and you leave with a bag of the heaviest cookies in the universe. Did I mention that portion sizes on cookies was also ginormous? I think these cookies could have been a meal all by themselves. I did not restrain myself to cookies, but also tried one of the cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery (it is the bakery where Miranda and Carrie buy cupcakes). While Magnolia Bakery has become a chain that even has a shop in Grand Central Station, Levain Bakery has remained small and artisanal. I might add that the cupcakes still taste good though. However, I think the humble (by which I mean the double chocolate peanut butter variety) cookie has stolen my heart and wins the award of the best thing I ate while I was in New York.

Besides, a delicious bakery the Upper Westside has many other restaurants that are a bit more reasonably priced than those in other areas. I am slightly biased about this area because I reconnected with two friends in New York and we explored this area together. Eliza met us at the Metropolitan Museum of Art so we could gossip with famous works of art and antique items within eye sight. On a serious note, the Met rivals any museum in Europe. Like the Louvre, the collection spans many different time periods and geographic regions around the world. My mother loved the impressionist section, which I have to admit was lovely, but the Cypriot section won my heart. As you might have noticed, I have a bit of a thing for the underdog. In my travels so far, including a trip to the ancient history museum in Istanbul, I’ve never seen Cypriot works before. I really liked the style of these works because they combined both Egyptian and Greek ancient statuary. Anyways, you can do more research in order to form your own opinion. If you’re going to be in New York sometime soon, I would suggest seeing the “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” exhibit at the Met. It is both an exhibit on American national identity AND a fashion show. They take you from the elaborate ball gowns of the late-nineteenth century heiress to the screen goddesses of the 30s and 40s. My favourite bit of this exhibit was the Gibson Girl clothing. The Gibson Girl was a marketing phenomenon in the late-nineteenth century. She embodied greater freedom and liberty for women through physical activity. However, I have to say how she skated or played tennis in long petticoats remains a mystery to me. But good on her for leaving her needle point behind.

However, the best part of the Upper West Side is the proximity of Central Park. The green space provides a welcome relief from sounds and smells of New York (although the sewage does seep into the part a little). Kevin and I were lucky enough to have Line, my Danish friend, show us the statue of Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Andersen. My beloved European fairy tales even have a little home in Central Park. Line If fairytales aren’t your thing, Strawberry Fields is also in Central Park with a monument to John Lennon who lived in the Upper West Side. I also loved the rented motorized sailboats floating on the lake. Central Park allows you to take a break from the rest of what makes New York special. Oh, and of course, it’s also supersized.