Loving Cigars Even When You Don't Smoke Them
Visiting New York with my boyfriend, Wayne was an adventure in itself. He has always loved travel and experiencing new places, but hasn't had the money or opportunity to do so. I have been to New York a few times. I let this trip be about what he wanted to do, and it just so happened that month he had really been getting into the cigar world. Apparently the cigar industry is so much more complex than you would think with flavors and styles.
I do not smoke cigars. When Wayne wanted very much to visit the famed Cigar Inn, I was not very excited but wanted to support and went along with it anyway. When we arrived, it was night and the place was glowing with a brilliant yellow light. Walking into the shop was a little intimidating because the keepers are staring at you wondering who you are and what you are all about. The best thing to do is walk in with a lot of confidence and tell yourself you are looking to buy a box of cigars.
The reason I even write about this place at all (and especially to all of you non-smokers out there) is because out of all the times I have visited New York, this was the first time I felt like I got a glimpse into old town New York and the history of it as well as current trendy New York. When we walked in we were handed cold water bottles by a very pretty girl (which are not free), and then were greeted and my boyfriend was quickly whisked away into the humidor. I continued to walk through the shop. It is a beautiful preserved store with old barber shop chairs (which we sat in of course), old tables with old and young men in their clouds of smoke, and all the way in the back was a very masculine looking lounge. The lounge was filled with young and old alike. There were even a couple of trendy looking ladies with cigars pressed to their lips. The place is very well ventilated for what it is, so the smoke never bothered me. Even to just walk in and out and maybe take a couple pictures, it would be a treat to see.
Never would I normally seek out this type of shop. I was even a little disgruntled heading there when there was all of New York to see for Wayne. But it made him very happy, and took me into a little time travel trip into the past. It is a really neat place to see and experience....besides you're in New York, why not try your first cigar!
