{PHOTO} A Guy's Gotta Eat

I can't even imagine how cold it gets in winter and have a job where you are required to stand outside. We came in from the December cold of New York City to grab some warm dinner & I looked up to see this gentleman, still in full winter gear (minus the gloves), ordering dinner. I couldn't resist snapping a photo but I also made sure to make the camera disappear really quickly. 

No need having a police officer get mad at me, right? That's not the souvenir postcard I would want to send home. 

"Wish You Were Here - in jail - with me and my confiscated camera."

{PHOTO} NYC: Walking Amongst the Shadows

When I look at this picture, I always think of the childhood sing-song "step on a crack, break your mother's back". I think it's because of the line breaks on the sidewalk from both the tree shadows as well as the hand rails. If that saying is true, then it looks like this guy hit the triple jack pot.

Poor mom. She's probably in traction now because her son didn't mind the cracks.

{PHOTO} NYC: Need Your Shoes Shined?

It's not as sharp as I would prefer but I was busy taking pictures of something else and then had to hurry on. As I walked I spied this scene and just put the camera at my waist and fired off three shots hoping it would capture it without cutting off his head.

I just loved the pants rolled up, thinking it was quite the story. Who knows what kind of job this man has but here, getting his shoes shined, he's gotta roll up those pants and wait.

{PHOTO} NYC: The City Moves So Fast. . .

. . . .that if you stand still the people move by in a blur.

{PHOTOS} New York City: The Timeless Grand Central Station

When we were visiting New York City, my husband was incredibly understanding and insisted we make every effort to visit anything and everything we could to get some great pictures of NYC icons & this, most definitely, included Grand Central Station. It was an incredible architectural icon but the amount of PEOPLE was just amazing. We were there, bumbling around, as tourists, while everyone around us had a purpose and a place to be - quickly. It was amazing to see and beautiful in every way.

And my favorite - "The One Who Didn't Wear Black"

{PHOTOS} Chasing Shadows In The New York Public Library

{PHOTO} Wee Bit Cheeky, Eh?

Tying into the random and awesome things spotted while walking around New York City (like this amazing graffiti roll-up door), I wanted to share two more examples of what you'd miss if you're too busy looking up and staring at the skyscrapers (don't worry - I did it too).

Wee bit cheeky, eh?

Nothing is safe from being stickered to a frenzy

{PHOTOS} The Legend Itself: Katz's Delicatessen

It's the place of legend. Every tour bus/book/guide tells you THIS is the place to eat and experience the real NYC. That place is - Katz's Delicatessen. I didn't believe the hype. I thought "Eh, what's so big about a deli?" and being from Florida - of course I had absolutely no clue what a BIG deal this place really is. It was packed, frenetic, warm, loud, and DELISH.

I was not disappointed at all.

They give you a ticket when you walk in and, repeatedly, tell you to hold onto that ticket. You go to the counters/stations to order what you want. I'll be honest, I was THAT person driving everyone crazy because 1) I had no idea what I was doing and 2) all I wanted was a Spinach Knish. I'd never had a Knish before and today was going to be the day I would try one. There wasn't a big neon sign telling me "Knish's Cooked Here!" so, I was left to ask the guys behind the counter. Luckily, they had no problem helping me out, marked my ticket with my order, and pointed me along my merry way to the sodas and french fries.

There's a section where you can wait to be served on the far wall but we sat down in the middle seats, squeezed ourselves in, and tucked in for some grubbage.

Turns out, we weren't far from the scene where they filmed "Where Harry Met Sally". I've never seen the movie but, come on, who hasn't seen the scene where Meg Ryan "fakes it"?

The food was great, the scenery entertaining, and it was nice to have somewhere to come in from the cold weather outside (early December = 45 degrees = COLD for this Florida gal). Hubby and I really had a lot of fun.

{PHOTO} Sitting In The Park Enjoying The Fall Foliage

Sitting In The Park

This is one of those pictures that immediately evokes a memory. Every time I look at this, I think of how I took this out of the need to do SOMETHING while my husband and I waited, on this bench's twin, until the company we rented the apartment from could come save us from being locked out. After grabbing some grub we ended up just sitting here.

Waiting..........and waiting.......and waiting some more.

I also think of how we were just sitting there and heard a noise behind us  - which I immediately assumed it was some massive creature. Turns out, it was a homeless person crawling among the bushes picking up trash.  Nothing to worry about - like the mountain lion I had imagined in my head.

My brain always goes to crazy scenarios.

{PHOTO} NYC Crosswalk: A Foray Into Black and White

NYC 5th Avenue Crosswalk

"As we drew near New York I was at first amused, and then somewhat staggered, by the cautious and grisly tales that went around. You would have thought we were to land upon a cannibal island. You must speak to no one in the streets, as they would not leave 'til you were rooked and beaten. You must enter a hotel lobby with military precautions; for the least you had to apprehend was to awake the next morning without money and baggage, or necessary raiment, a lone forked radish in a bed; and if the worst befell, you would instantly and mysteriously disappear from the ranks of mankind." - Robert Lewis Stevenson 

A foray into black and white, not my usual medium. Despite being taken in 2010, this picture looks like it could be any decade. My eye always goes straight to the guy in the long coat walking across the crosswalk. Too bad there weren't any random cars from the 40's or 50's driving by to really complete the retro tone.