i got friends in high places...

the 27th floor of a condo building on the lower west side of manhattan, actually, just a few blocks from the stock exchange and the WTC site. here's the view from his spacious studio:

i'm incredibly lucky the view is so gorgeous since i'm tied to the computer all day today to finish my paper for london. i'm tempted to take another nap on the rooftop skydeck, though... the view there is even more impressive - you can see all the way south to the harbor and the hudson river as well as all the way north over "the pit" and towards the empire state building. i counted 15 cranes at work on the new tower and memorial site. last night, some friends went out to stone street (a cobblestone street with tables where traffic would be right in the heart of the financial district) and then watched fireworks from the roof. maybe practicing for the 4th of july? no one was sure, but i was overjoyed to see the show since i'll be gone in july.

this morning i ran along the river up into "highline park" (a park built onto an abandoned elevated rail line) and then over to terri, a restaurant that serves gluten-free wraps and sandwiches. delicious! on my long walk back, i worked my way through chelsea, greenwich village, soho and tribeca before walking through two churches just next to the WTC site: st.paul's chapel which is right across the street and was where people hung pictures and mementos of loved ones lost after september 11 and is the only colonial building left in new york - george washington prayed his inauguration. the place was crammed full of tourists walking through the building to see exhibits from the weeks after the attacks. i don't know why exactly, but it bothered me to see tour guides and people taking pictures. it seemed tacky somehow - like not the way you should treat a sacred space. trinity church, just down the street, has a Revolutionary War era cemetery and is where Alexander Hamilton (my historical crush) is buried. tonight, paul and his boyfriend prad are going to dinner with me at a pizza place that is totally gluten-free and then tomorrow i leave for london after a lunch stop in brooklyn to see zena.

there is so much to see and do in new york, but i've been grateful to have to rely on less touristy moments to get my fix while i work to get the paper done.