Chelsea and the West Village, New York City
 

I've had an urge to go on a walking tour of my neighborhood and get some photos of the area. So that's what I did on Sunday when the clouds broke and the sun appeared. Except I had to be somewhere soon, so these are kind of rushed. I promise some more creative shots later in the series.

Anyway, I live in this place called Manhattan. My street works well for most people since it borders on three neighborhoods: if you're straight, you live in the West Village; if you're gay, you live in Chelsea; if you're not sure, you live in the Meatpacking district.

Today's entry is walking west into the Meatpacking district. Yes, somebody thought it would be really cool to open velvet-rope clubs and trendy restaurants next door to B&S Wholesale Meats.

This is my street.
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Here are some pigeons being fed at Jackson Square park.
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Here's the woman feeding them.
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This is 13th Street (left), where Greenwich Avenue begins (right).
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This is Corner Bistro, home of probably New York's best bacon cheeseburger ($6). I go there often (beers are $2).
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This is the meapacking district. Cobblestone streets, fancy shops, unnecessarily over-priced restaurants and droves of beautiful women (men too).
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The Gransevoort Hotel
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Those stores must smell horrible when the actual packing of the meat is going on during the day.
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To the upper right is the end of High Line, which was this elevated train discontinued some years ago. There's a movement to restore the area and turn it into pedestrian walkway. Think of it like an urban boardwalk.
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Yes, meatpacking.
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All your favorite brands.
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This is Hogs & Heifers, a nationally renown biker bar - a block from where 40% of Sex and the City took place/was filmed.
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As you can see, they like their hogs.
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About 150 feet away is 14th St and Washington St., where all the hip clubs and extravagant no-name clothing designers are.
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Even the rich do not have shame here.
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Hudson St., facing south (the opposite end of the first Meatpacking photo).
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Nice shots. What kind of camera did you use?

Great pics! I love the one of the pigeons in motion with the obviously (to me) crazy person walking through the throng.

Just a Sony DSC-P8 (3.2 mp). I'd like to upgrade - that thread started by ... um ... someone last week really got me thinking about it. But I spend so much money on other crap as it is ... I guess a new camera would be a better investment than, say, a few nights of drinking?

Wait, what am I possibly thinking?? :eek:

Thanks for sharing! I love it! That building at 13th where Greenwich Ave. begins was on a Peter, Paul and Mary album! Cool! I have dreams about living in NYC...it seems like the ultimate place.

Why don't you move? It's a fun place ... and contrary to popular belief, anyone can live here. Not at all hard to find a job, and if you put in a little extra effort you can find housing that is do-able on any salary.

Truthfully I am more of a suburban type, but for now, at 24 years of age, New York is very accommodating to my affection for sex, drugs and alcohol. :)

Next installment: Chelsea and lower Hell's Kitchen

I take it you didn't grow up in NYC? Were you suburban born and bred? And if so, where? NYC seems intimidating for a MidWestern Suburbanite like myself...tho I vacationed there once and LOVED it! I would move, too, but I've two sons...kinda roots you until they are up and out of the homestead...maybe later, though!!

I grew up in a faraway place called New Jersey. I was nurtured in the lush suburban landscape and intellectual hub known as Princeton, where I played little league baseball and learned to blow apart model rockets 150 feet in the air. In high school, we were too pretentious to hang out at the mall, so instead we popularized the trend of spending every excess moment chatting in one of the town's dozen coffee shops over $3 cups of iced mocha and hot chocolate. I have never been arrested, but I did have a run-in with police when I threw a party my senior year of high school and three assholes thought it would be a good idea to have a beer fight in the middle of the street at 2 am. Really, the average resident has more intelligence than that, but our adoption of recreational drug use made us fit in nicely with national trends, meaning our above-average town really was no different than the norm.

That would be me. The best site I have found is http://www.dpreview.com/, which give you side by side reviews, searches by feature, and a direct link to CNET shopper to compare prices.

I loved the picture of the pidgeons in flight too. And the contrating DONT FEED THE PIDGEONS one too.

Your home looks busy - so many people and building after building - how do you breathe??!!

I don't think that they do. ;)

I don't like the sensation of having to look directly up to see the sky. And the population density. I don't dig that at all.

You don't. New York is like a vaccuum chamber full of dull, lifeless and uninspiring people. That's just the way it is. But it's fun!

Rich, I'm looking seriously at the Sony V3. I would go for the F828, but that's about twice as much ... and knowing myself, I should probably start at a lesser level and work my way up.

I'm a sucker for those skinny flat ironesqey buildings. Gets me every time. thanks for a sunny spring day, its rainy here.

Thanks news, I've never done much walking in NYC but I have enjoyed a lot of early Sunday morning driving with only the cabs to fight with. You probably see the nuances that make each block unique on foot. Driving, the blocks tend to look alike for long stretches between architectural style changes. :)