Springtime in New York, part 1

This past weekend I went to New York City, which just happens to be my favorite of all of the cities. I've lost count of how many times I've visited, but I'm pretty sure I've covered every month — December was the coldest (-22 with windchill), June the hottest (90+, a record that year) and August the rainiest (I nearly lost a flip flop down a storm drain).

I've been there when it was 60 degrees in January and 40 degrees in May, but this past weekend it was absolutely perfect. Sunday was chilly and rainy, but Friday and Saturday were some of the most gorgeous days I've spent in the city.

Determined as always to see as much as humanly possible, I packed an extraordinary amount of sightseeing into two-and-a-half days. I can't possibly pick a favorite spot, activity or even borough when the contenders include most everything on my to-do list with notable additions being the "Cat You Care For" book I bought for forty-eight cents, delicious burgers at Shake Shack and an entire grove of lilacs.

I have to say though, for being such a city, New York certainly knows how to do nature. I spent a considerable amount of time walking around Central Park, Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and every time I turned a corner something was blooming and taking my breath away. The highlights:

I spent Friday morning walking most of Central Park, eventually ending up at the Conservatory Garden. I was just about to exit the gate, when I walked into this courtyard ringed with the most gorgeous tulips I've ever seen. Believe me when I say these tulips were a game changer.

I hesitate to say they took my breath away, but I'm still having a hard time believing I even saw something this beautiful. Did I mention the Conservatory Garden is free?

After the Conservatory, I headed to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I went for the flowering cherries, and they didn't disappoint. I wish I was still there, sitting under the canopy of peak-bloom cherry trees — every time the wind would blow, a few petals would fall and I had to keep reminding myself that it was real life. Sometimes I can't believe I'm so lucky.

Also, I got in for $5 thanks to my student I.D., even though it's been 4 years since I could call myself a student.

Don't tell New York.

As if the cherries weren't enough, the Botanic Garden also has the most delicious smelling lilac grove I've ever seen. Well, it was also the first lilac grove I'd ever seen, but seriously I wish you could smell my photos. That's not usually something I wish when presenting New York City photos, but trust me.

Not to be outdone, the azaleas were also in peak bloom and in such vibrant colors I could barely trust my own eyeballs. Luckily I took approximately six thousand pictures as proof. Apparently the bumble bees enjoyed them as much as I did — I tried to take a picture of two bees getting fresh with one another, but they were all "stop creeping on us" and flew away.

I can't recommend the Brooklyn Botanic Garden enough — every where I looked was incredible. The bluebell field is apparently in bloom as of right this second, so grab your fraudulent student I.D. and head over to Prospect Park if you can — tell the cherries that I'll see them next year.