I Heart Jo'burg

Christmas in Rockefeller Center

The Tribeca Film Festival is going on in New York City! Once again I get a pang of nostalgia, a feeling of homesickness. I miss New York!

Like many people, I love New York. I am a total culture addict and NYC never fails to satisfy. I especially love the New York City Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, The NY Philharmonic, the Tribeca Film Festival, Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-off-Broadway, Shakespeare in the Park, MOMA, the Met Museum, the Frick, etc., etc. ...




In fact I cannot think of anything I do not like about NY except maybe the tolls to get in from NJ and the obscene parking costs. I love to go shopping in NY, eat in NY, drink in NY, walk in NY, see films in NY, and do absolutely nothing in NY.

It is like a best friend I can't wait to see and savor and enjoy.

Tribeca Talks at the TFF w/ De Niro

And the fact that I remembered that the Tribeca Film Festival was going on proved to me that my biological calendar still follows the New York City calendar. I realize I set my watch by NYC time. New Year's Eve in Times Square (haven't been in person in years but it is not a new year until I watch the Swarovsky crystal apple drop on a screen at midnight wherever I am), Restaurant Week (now practically a month), the Westminster Kennel Show, a Valentine's Day dinner at a great NY restaurant, Fashion Week shenanigans, Chinese New Year in Chinatown, the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Lenten ashes @ St. Patrick's Cathefral (put in your request for Easter morning High Mass on Ash Wednesday or fuhgetaboutit), the Ukrainian Museum for pysanky supplies, 10:15 Easter Mass at St. Patrick's followed by the Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue followed by brunch/lunch at some great NY restaurant,

Manhattanhedge

Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, springtime romps through the NY Botanical Gardens, the Conservatory Gardens, and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the Tribeca Film Festival, the NYCB Spring Gala at the New York State Theatre, Kips Bay Designer Showhouse, birthday dinner at some great NYC restaurant, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition, Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night's Swing, the Tony Awards, NY Philharmonic in the Park, the Metropolitan Opera in the Park, Shakespeare in the Park, outdoor movies in Bryant Park, another restaurant week, the US Tennis Open, the San Gennaro Festival, anniversary dinner at some great NY restaurant, 9/11,

Saks' Shoe Department has its own zip code!

the opening of a new theatre season, more NY Fashion Week shenanigans (even if I do not go to the fashion shows, the street scene is fabu!), the Halloween Freak Parade in Greenwich Village, the NYC Marathon, the Metropolitan Opera Opening, Ice Skating in Wollman Rink, Rockefeller Center and Bryant Park, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Christmas markets in Union Square, Bryant Park, Columbus Circle and South Street Seaport, the Tree in Rockefeller Center, the Christmas windows, the NYCB's Nutcracker.

The Merchant of Venice w/ Al Pacino at Shakespeare in the Park

It's not my fault really. For most of my life I have lived in - or in the shadow of - NY, worked and gone to school in NY. When we were young my father always liked to "shoot into the city" at a moment's notice. We celebrated major milestones there. It made it seem even more special.

And in fact it was a love of NYC that sealed the deal with my future husband. When we first met, we would explore the city for the best Bloody Mary (One Fifth - it is no longer there), the best egg cream (Gem Spa), the best Chinese (Hunan - no longer there either,) etc. Our first two dates were a Sunday visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Greek and Roman sculptures followed by burgers at Elephant & Castle, and the New York City Ballet's Vienna Waltzes followed by jazz @ Sweet Basil.

We were married at St. Patrick's Cathedral and had our two sons baptized there as well. We had our wedding reception at the Plaza Hotel and the wedding party took a hansom cab ride around Central Park before the reception. Our wedding was announced in the New York Times even though I lived in Bernardsville, NJ (it was announced in the Bernardsville News too but sorry,  it didn't seem official until I read it in the Times!)









NYC is like a best friend and I will always miss it terribly. I know Jo'burg is not NY. That would be an unfair comparison. There are very few cities than can rival it. Even though Johannesburg is one of the largest cities in Africa and very sophisticated, it is not NYC. I will try very hard to appreciate Jo'burg for what it is and try not to compare so much, but you never forget your first love -



or your second love for that matter. I love Paris too. But that's another (honeymoon) story.