Gone Sex and the City

I love Sex and the City because it’s the one movie I’ve seen where women can be their frank, bawdy, witty selves without having to apologize to anyone or go lesbian. The movie, however, did not only glorify contemporary womanhood and the challenges that go with the territory; it turned New York City into The City.So, I’m thinking: if I ever get over my fear of big cities, I think I’ll go live in New York. It may be huge, and strange, and intimidating, and awfully scary, but it’s the one city I could think of that pulsates with so much life. If one city could be the personification of an adrenaline rush, New York is it. And just to take this plan further, I googled how one plays tourist in New York, and came across New York City Sightseeing. One company, CitySights NY, actually offers a hop-on, hop-off double decker bus tour of Sex and the City Hot Spots! Hop on, hop-off means you can get off the bus at any of its stops, wander around as much as you want to, and get on the next bus the moment it stops at where you are. Naturally, all the hopping off and on have to be done during specified tour hours, but so long as you get to take all the pictures you want, who’s splitting hairs over the hours?

But I digress. Going back to that tour, for only $42, you get to gawk at Carrie’s apartment stoop, visit the SoHo gallery where Charlotte worked, or actually shop at The Pleasure Chest where Charlotte got ‘Rabbit’. The tour lasts three hours, and covers more than 40 locations used in the movie, including the church where Samantha met The Friar and the furniture store where Aidan designed tables and chairs. And should it ever rain while you’re on this tour, you get to keep warm with the ponchos your guides provide.

I wonder if our tour companies here offer similar concessions, or better. I often see busloads of Japanese and Korean tourists alighting by the Banilad fruit stands. They look happy to have their pictures taken with the mangoes, pineapples, bananas, and other fruits on display. It’s different strokes for different folks, however, so I could only surmise they find our local fruits worthy of oohs and aahs the same way I’d ooh and aah over Carrie’s apartment stoop. I’d take New York City sightseeing any day over these local tours, though. After all, In New York, says Carrie, things can easily go from bad to cute. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine pineapple or banana going from bad to cute. I just can’t.