Walk Today – New York City, Chelsea & West Village

by practicalspactical

walk 

Tell me what you saw:

I saw hundreds of people splayed out on the grass of Hudson River Park. I saw a child running behind his father, mother, and sister in a stroller; he was drinking orange soda, his parents told him to save some for his sister; he did. Hippie chicks and Hipster chicks and girls in bikinis. Old Man with a cane shuffling. A couple in front of me, holding hands. A little kid on a little bike in the bikelane. Dangerous. Light across the water of the Hudson River. Water lapping at a piling of rocks. Chelsea Piers. A huge street fair on 10th or 9th Avenue in Chelsea. Printing shops. An independent bookstore. The biggests bookstore in the world, with science fiction, mythology, poetry, literay criticism, philosophy, and new releases. Broadway. Union Square Greenmarket. Sunglasses. Glass bowls sold by a white dreadlocked man. A sign that said “Going to California Tomorrow,” in front of a table of wares. A woman with a clipboard asking me if I’m registered to vote in New York City. No, I say. Crowded masses outside the Strand Bookstore, going through the dollar books. (Leavetakings of the Dead, I imagine). Too frustrated to fight the crowds. Phone calls from an upset Sugarplum. Walking behind a girl in a purple skirt. She turns right into the East Village. I turn left on 8th St. College students walking around. Washington Square Park. Sun in my eyes. Waiting at the corner to cross 6th Avenue. Past the sex shops and IFC theater. Bela Fleck has a movie playing. Crowded. Man selling books drops a cart, the masses stream around it. Joe’s Pizza. Two cheese slices and a bottle of coke for seven dollars. Walking past the deli, then a cafe, then a gelato place. Cross the street. Triangular park with large fountain in the middle. Learned recently this is new landscaping. People sitting. Elegant. Cross the street. Winston Churchill Park — full, first time I’ve seen it so. 6th Avenue. Restaurants have tables outside, full. Girl and her boyfriend in front of me. She’s wearing a tshirt and exercises pants. He’s wearing a buttoned shirt tucked into plaid shorts. King Street. I turn, and the sunlight is brilliant in my eyes. As I head into my apartment, a neighbor comes out past me, a girl — I cannot see her for the brightness.

Total Walk: 4.5 Miles.
Total Bookstores: 4
Total Time: 2.2 hours, w/ stops.
Total Purchases: $7, dinner.

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