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Have you ever seen GREEN suede shoes?! I never would have imagined that someone would make them, let alone in slip-on loafers, but then for someone else to actually wear them is nothing short of tragic. This, of course, is how my trip to New York began.

When I started this post, I didn’t realize how much I was going to have to type about. SO, because of the sheer amount of material, I’m going to break it up into a few posts.

But not before the story of the illegal cab ride into the city.

We landed at the LaGuardia airport before Noon today, and hurried down to get our luggage at the carosel. We weren’t really in a hurry, but we didn’t want to waste any time. We were already planning to get to Chipotle for lunch, so we were just trying to keep our priorities straight. After getting our luggage, we started walking out towards the line of cabs just outside of the airport. On the way out the door, a well-dressed (black) guy stopped us and asked us if we were looking for a taxi. Since we were pretty much cornered by this guy, we went ahead and entertained his question. He said that he would only charge us a flat rate to get to our hotel, as opposed to the variable rates of the NYC taxis, and that he would be driving us in a BMW. I’m not gonna lie – the thought of riding to the hotel in a friggin’ beamer was much more attractive than the thought of riding in one of those nasty yellow cabs. So, we went for it. Thinking back on it, I should have asked if he was licensed to drive a cab in NYC, but I didn’t think of that at the time.

So, we followed the guy to his car, which really was a nice BWM. He was very nice, very professional, and got us to the hotel quite safely and quickly. I never feared for my life while riding in this car. But, at the same time, I don’t know that he was entirely licensed to accept money for transporting people in the city. We didn’t ask questions, so we don’t know for sure, but it was still a bit awkward. Oh well. Live and learn, right?