Potpourri: NYC! A View from the Inside

On our recent trip to New York City, I had in mind to explore the city in a different way than I had in the past. I had seen the touristy, glitzy side of the city on a couple of previous trips. This time, I wanted to immerse myself in some of the neighborhoods and local hangouts, to get a sense of what it was like to be a New Yorker, to talk to everyday people about their lives there.

We learned a great deal by conversing with a United Nations of cab drivers, hotel staff members, and food service people; by visiting a couple of old friends; and by spending an afternoon with a couple of colorful Italians who are our coffee clients. I think we just scratched the surface in getting to know more about NYC, but it was a good start. Here are a few of our inside views:

A casual Italian restaurant with a take-out front shop, Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, nestled in the old Bowery section, just down the street from our hotel. It seems to draw locals, as well as notable food celebrities. The food was mouthwatering.

A view from our hotel of the East Village skyline. Love the rooftop gardens you can spot here and there. Everything of interest here was on the outside. Our room was so small, there was barely room to walk around the bed.

Inside the magnificent Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The grandeur and architectural achievement take your breath away.

Of course, we had to feed my fondness for Rembrandt paintings inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The caricatures inside the dining room at Sardi's bring to mind the old movie days of Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope and more.

How could we ignore the New York prices for coffee drinks at Sardi's compared to what we see here is the SF Bay Area?

More grand architecture inside the renowned Shubert Theatre.

Our favorite breakfast place, Gemma's, inside the old Bowery Hotel.

A view from inside Washington Square Park. Such a lovely environment in the middle of the concrete jungle and surrounding NYU.

This is the NY lifestyle I wanted to know more about . . . the quiet neighborhoods in the West Village.

Inside Gray's Papaya, a signature hot dog stop for locals and visitors alike.

Our Italian coffee clients,Lucca and Enrico, with Mike inside their Queens coffee shop, Triple Shot World Atlas Cafe.

The City, from inside a car crossing the Manhattan Bridge.

We enjoyed the fun decor inside Lily's Restaurant, an eclectic Midtown eatery in the Theatre District.

We couldn't leave New York without being on the inside of a powerful flash thunder/lightning storm at the South Street Seaport.