Overnights.

I've just finished working my second overnight shift in a row at the Mercer Hotel. This city was alive most of the night, the streets were flowing with people arriving at, and stumbling from, one of the many bars located nearby. Gaggles of beautiful girls, and all the guys that wont get to take them home, but all I really want to talk about is when the city sleeps. (passes out?)


At around 2AM people start making their way home, and by 3 most everyone is gone. Soho at night is gorgeous. The streetlights work their magic giving just enough light to reflect off all the appropriate places. The sidewalks and cobblestone streets shimmer from the thin layer of moisture left from their cleaning earlier. Without the hundreds of New Yorkers in the view the surrounding area looks like a painting, too appealing to be real. The weather couldn't hurt either. The comfortably cool, almost calming air accompanies the rare silence perfectly. It's a quiet, inviting scene, wonderful for sitting outside with a cup of coffee and watching the sun climb out of its home behind the horizon. Occasionally you see a straggler from the bars, or maybe just an early riser out to enjoy the peace. Nothing more then a "Good morning" is needed, perhaps just a polite nod, it's clear that the silence is as golden as the sunrise and shouldn't be interrupted.


It's really just an incredible, slightly eerie feeling being in the center of the void that is Soho at 4Am. All these things combined with an undertone of lack of sleep leads to a lack time. The hours don't really seem to pass fast or slow, more like you arrive and time stops until the sun comes up and then you leave. Overall it's refreshing to know the New York isn't always crazy, angry, or late. Try to experience it.