New York has the element of surprise on its side.  Just when you’re starting to feel like the city is too expensive, too crowded, too much . . . you experience one of those delightful and sometimes absurd New York moments that reminds you why you love this city.

Like the impromptu street parade that marched past me on the High Line, an urban park suspended 30 feet in the air on the former tracks of an elevated freight line.  (Strange but true: 10th Avenue, used to be nicknamed “Death Avenue” because of the high chance of getting run over by the freight trains . . . . That is, until the High Line was built. )

I turned around and followed the musicians, along with a few hundred other dancing folks.

Or the mysterious floating head in Madison Square Park that my friend and I came upon while savoring yet another gelato from the fabulous new foodie amusement park called Eataly (you have to experience it to believe it).

The gigantic spooky head turned out to be an art installation by Jaume Plensa for the Madison Square Park art program.  Check out this article for more information on the inspiration and installation of this 44-foot high statue.

There were the sudden summer downpours on an otherwise sunny day.

And the time I got on a bus down Fifth Avenue without exact change.  The bus driver insisted that I hop on, and asked on his speaker system whether anyone could help me.  While two little old ladies were digging in their purses and asking me how much change I needed, a smartly dressed businessman dropped the change in my hands as he got off at his stop.  He was gone before I even had a chance to say thanks.  Who says New Yorker’s aren’t nice?

Then there was the shopping.  There’s always something cute to purchase at little shops like this one, John Derian Company, in the East Village.

Or the secret community gardens to discover on New York’s many side streets.  This is Albert’s Garden on Second Street.

And finally, there are the new friends we meet – both human and doggy, like this little pup waiting outside a coffee shop.