It is Sunday in New York City and we've just moved into the Parker Meridien Hotel for our annual stay in "the city." We're tired and hungry....and I want breakfast. Of course, Norma's is there, the most fabulous breakfast place ever, with their wonderful oatmeal mixed with apples and pears topped off by a crunchy carmelized brulee or their to-die-for banana macadamia nut pancakes or take a look at the menu yourself. But I realize there are many other options..I'm in New York after all. There are the deli's on each of the nearby corners that serve up solidly good standard fare at close-to reasonable prices, but there is also Seppis, the charmingly French bistro with a Swiss chef, directly connected to the Meridien through a door by reception. And I am tired, so Seppis it is. Sitting at the bar , I read my Times, and order an omelet with cheese and spinach -- not on the brunch menu, but it's what I want and they make it with pomme frites ( I can't call them French Fries -- they are just too good to be called French Fries -- thin delicate potato slivers, gently fried and salted, no grease -- perfect.) The room is pleasantly tan and beige with interesting period posters, mirrors and prints covering most of the wall space. The jazz piano player starts tapping on the keys signaling the start of brunch. Seppis serves a delectable brunch, with many of the dishes as the chef explains in the restaurant's YouTube interview oh so slightly hinting of chocolate, and with a full chocolate-lovers buffet table to boot. But I just want to savor my omelet and sip my wine, and listen to the refrains of the jazz group now playing "I'll remember you."
Yes, I will remember you...this New York moment. For years I lived and worked here, then visited often, now too infrequently. But I realize that living in a virtual age has made New York a keystroke away. Within seconds I'm zooming in front of the Parker Meridian on Google Earth, walking down 56th Street, and spotting the deli I ruled out in favor of Seppis. Viewing the rooms at the Meredian website, I recall the exquisite functionality of the hotel - and as described there the "traditionally French, but decidedly New York" style, expressed so well in the glib writing, e.g., "Hi-speed internet: what do you think?"
If I choose I can browse over to the MOMA and check out favorite paintings or move over to Carnegie Hall and listen to bits of music as I peruse upcoming concerts. On YouTube alone there are almost 400,000 video pieces covering some part of the city, 40,000 covering Central Park . Then, of course, through TripAdvisor, Virtual Tourist, Trazzler, and many more travel sites I can read, view pictures and vicariously experience New York through the words, pictures, and videos of thousands of visitors and people who live there. Not to mention, the bloggers...and tweeps who can be questioned to help retrieve a memory of a restaurant, attraction or other experience.
I wonder though had I not smelt Nathan's hot dogs and the other rich aromas of the City, not tasted the food and taken in the atmosphere of New York restaurants and deli's, not brushed up against New Yorkers rushing up Broadway or onto subways, not heard the blaring sound of taxi horns, not seen with my own eyes Central Park from a New York skyscraper, not watched Ice-skaters nor the Today Show Live at Rockefeller Center, not mingled with crowds of people hustling into theatres would I be able to so clearly go to New York in my mind. I don't think so. Traveling can't be replaced virtually. But what virtual traveling can do is amplify the anticipation and memory of a real experience. ...and oh, am I so very grateful for that.
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