Over the last few weeks Boyfriend and I have begun our final descent in this trip back to The Southernland, and it's left me quite depressed. The City has been our home for three years. It's where we made our worst mistakes, best decisions, created our family, and began what was supposed to be our life as Manhattanites. Will I miss it? Absolutely, with every ounce of my little southern soul. Boyfriend? He hasn't stopped grinning since we made the decision to move back...in November.
But regardless of Boyfriend's incessant optimism, I do find that there are many things we will miss about our current stomping grounds. Here's a list of the places
1.) Osso Buco. The spot of our first date in The City. It's Italian, has cute little candles on each table, and is everything two broke 20-somethings ever wanted in a favorite neighborhood restaurant. Boyfriend and I would often stop by here and relive the magic and naivety that came with our first few months in The City when we thought cloth napkins meant dining fancy.
2.) Levain Bakery. Since I could eat I have had a very unhealthy and sick obsession with any and all cookies. It's developed into a much more sophisticated habit overtime, of course, as I no longer consume a pack of Chips Ahoy a day, but instead prefer the classiness of a fresh-baked Nestle instead. For my birthday last year, Boyfriend knowingly took me on a walking tour of the best chocolate chip cookies in The City. I have never felt more in love with a single human,
3.) The Highline. Looking for a different scene than our old Harlem neighborhood, Boyfriend and I made the trek out to the Highline last summer and spotted Hayden Panettiere, the highlight of Boyfriend's young life. He choked and failed to woo her, but we continued on and found the park built on an old train track to be a fabulous place to people watch and gossip over street meat. It's a true City experience, and nothing like it exists in The Southernland.
4.) The Museum of Sex. Nothing says romance quite like a sex museum. At least that's what I was hoping for when I took Boyfriend here for our first Valentine's date in The City. We spent over an hour giggling and gawking at the incredibly graphic exhibits, but it was an inappropriate experience that bonded us and opened our lines for communication.
5.) Our Spot. I can't highlight this and give you readers the link because there is no website. There is not a Yelp review or Groupon to help get you in here. Our Spot is a place Boyfriend found for us the first week he moved to The City. He took me there on a surprise picnic and we've treasured it since. It's a small patch of rock in Central Park hidden under trees by a lake. You have to climb to get to it and it's not a place people frequent often. We sat by the water on the driest part of the rock and watched birds bathe right next to us (not the disgusting pigeons...actual, romantic-scene-setting birds). Boyfriend kissed me while I ate my tuna sandwich and it was one of the calmest moments we've found since inhabiting this concrete jungle.
These places have some of our best memories. Boyfriend thinks we'll be fine without them, that our memories alone will serve us well. I simply cannot fathom going the rest of my life without tasting that delicious Levain cookie or searching for celebs at The Highline. However, we're still moving on to The Southernland soon and will eventually replace these landmarks with new ones. But for the time being, we're trying to enjoy our current home to the fullest. I now challenge you, the reader, to help us find one more special place to add to our collection. Where would you go if you could only go one more place in The City? We'll try it out and let you know if it's as life changing as the Museum of Sex, and you let us know if you try any of our favorite places.
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