new york i love you

last weekend i was fortunate enough to spend a few days in new york city. it was the first real time i'd ever been there and despite arriving with a feeling that i'd already experienced the city (through television and the movies, mostly) i was awestruck.

there is a strange energy at work in this city, giving it the feeling that it is a living, breathing animal.

i have to say that what surprised me the most was the beauty of the city. i never imagined i could describe new york as beautiful (not like i would paris or venice) but it truly is. on one hand, the architecture of some of the older buildings is akin to anything you could find in old-world europe, with rich, dark interiors, and gorgeous, detailed facades.

on the other hand, there is a sense of beauty that lies in the life force that pumps through the city each day. not to sound cheesy, but there is an energy here unlike anything i have ever felt in any other city (and i've been been lucky enough in life to have visited most of the big ones).

The Algonquin

we stayed in one of new york's most famous hotels, the algonquin, on west 44th street.

built in 1902, it is a historic landmark, and birthplace of the vicious round table, a literary club featuring some of the city's most famous writers, and the incomparable New Yorker magazine.

stepping into the lobby of the hotel felt like stepping into a time capsule, with its warm, cozy lobby and its small but endearing rooms.

the lobby itself was the home of the famous round table, featuring some of new york's most well-loved authors, columnists and playwrights of the 1920s, who would meet here daily for lunch, sharing quips and wits and their favourite bon mots with each other for nearly ten years.

I think it's pretty safe to say that I'll be back there soon!

please note: all photographs are the blogger's own, please don't steal them!