Different from Home

I just returned from a fantastic trip to New York with my mom and sister. How is New York City different from Danville, Va? Let me count the ways . . .

1. No matter where I went, I never let go of my purse. I am pretty careful anyway, even in Danville, but this was extreme. For fear of infamous purse snatchers, I never lost a grip on my purse. (For the record, I never saw anyone else's purse snatched either.)

2. We walked everywhere! No wonder the vast majority of people in New York looked pretty fit. Either you spend a fortune on taxis, drive in gridlock, or walk. Even riding the subway requires walking to the right one, walking up and down the stairs, and making a break for the doors before they close again.

3. Someone seems to always be touching you -- while waiting at intersections, walking along the street, and riding the subway. On the subway from the airport, I felt like the guy sitting next to me might have been trying to snuggle with me.

4. Some restaurants are about the same size as my own kitchen. A wonderful noodle place had one long table for seating that could be separated into 2-seater tables by pulling them apart a few inches.

5. We could eat from a variety of cuisines all in the same day. One day in particular, we started with American cuisine for breakfast, moved on to Italian for lunch, and finished with Vietnemese for dinner. Yum!

6. Regular errands at home become sight-seeing in NY. My kids and I devour books like others devour cookies so a trip to the library is a happy day. Only in NY can a trip to the public library include seeing a 600-seat reading room and the Gutenburg Bible.

7. Their park may be bigger than the entire city of Danville. I spent 2 hours walking Central Park on the last day of our visit and only explored approximately one-third of it.

8. NYC never seems to sleep. I once attended a midnight movie premiere in Danville. On the drive to the movie theater and back home, I felt like I was traveling in an abandoned city.

9. Smokers abound. We may have tobacco farms in Danville, but I think I took in more second-hand smoke during that week in NYC than all of the days of my life combined.

10. Everything may be bigger and "better" in New York; there may be amazing sights, smells, and tastes in New York (and just as many terrible sights, smells, and tastes), but there's no place like home.