If You See Something, Say Something

I tend to see New York by accident.  The very first thing I did when I came to New York was visit Houdini's grave.  It's one of the few times I planned to go, went and saw exactly what I intended to see.

I've wandered into the main public library and stumbled across Winnie the Pooh and a special exhibit of Jefferson's copy of the Declaration of Independence.  Both times I've visited Met museums it's been because I was wandering around a park and had to go to the bathroom.  I didn't see the Statue of Liberty until I was on a train down in Brooklyn to go see an apartment and happened to see it out the window.  The first time I saw Ellis Island, I was on Governor's Island and briefly assumed it was a casino in New Jersey until I Googled it.  I went to Coney Island because I was looking for a wrecked submarine (which I never found because I walked in exactly the wrong direction for ten blocks and the sun went down).  I ate a Nathan's hot dog and considered the irony.

I would say that this is something that happens because I live here, and then I remember days in Toronto by myself were spent similarly.  I'd get lost and wind up someplace I didn't intend to be but relatively glad I went.

I find this funny because when I was married, I would plan itineraries and follow them to the letter, whether I was with the ex-husband or the ex-nephews.  We rarely got lost.  I don't remember much from those trips.

Regardless, every time I go out, I wonder how I would plan an itinerary for this city.  I see Reddit posts of tourists saying. "Where should I go that aren't the usual places," and New Yorkers write back, "What is that even supposed to mean?"  But I know.  I see those same Facebook posts directed at non-New Yorkers, "I'm going to New York, what should I see?" and you hear the same places, "9-11, Statue of Liberty, The Met, Central Park."  These are "the usual places," and maybe people should see them.  I've seen several of them.  The only thing that was absolutely disenchanting so far was the Brooklyn Bridge.  Don't go up there.  Just don't.

Where to start to see New York?  The museum I work for has a slogan, "Where New York Begins."  They're nearly right, but you have to understand a lot about New York before that means anything.  OK, so, we can't start with the distant past without dealing with the present.  Same with starting with Trinity Church, it's a part of New York's history, but you have to grapple with New York as it exists today to get there.

The first thing you have to see is the New York subway.