Its up to you New York, New York!
Trip Start
Oct 18, 2006
1
66
93
Trip End
Oct 19, 2007
New York City,
New York,
United States
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Iam back' back in ol USA, inhaling that polluted New York air, surrounded by that easily identifiable N.Y twang which at times can make my ears cringe. It feels like everyone is yelling at everybody' but they´re not, l know better- they are Americans and New Yorkers at that!
Arriving at JFK at midday, l filled out numerous forms and entered the USA. Whisked away on my airlink bus l knew l was back as we speeded down through the streets of Manhattan and l got a tour in the shuttle of most of the city at what felt like the speed of light. Our driver seemed to be suffering from a case of horn blowing tourettes- feeling the need to beep it every couple of seconds for no apparent reason. I jumped out as quickly as l got in and checked into my hostel, located in a fantastic position' in mid-town Manhattan- walking distance to everywhere and everything! (Manhattan Inn Hostel)
How can l begin to describe New York to you- it is impossible to capture this city in words- in fact l believe it is impossible to capture this city at all! Once called New Amsterdam, now known as NY or the Big Apple- you could say New York is just like it is portrayed in the movies. Horns whine constantly from yellow cabs, hot dog and pretzel vendors adorn every street corner and fading wisps of steam can be seen trailing from every second man hole. Even though it is like the movies, nothing can prepare you for it!
I feel as if everyone of my senses are on overload when l visit New York! Last time l was here my nose was almost frozen off, Christmas light sparkled in the trees and shop windows while rain and snow was always just around the corner. It was in every word magical- but unfortunately l was generally stuck inside due to the rain and cold or in ques´s to visit famous and tourist monuments such as Miss Liberty herself and the Empire State building.
I was determined this time to actually SEE the city and met its people and not just see it from a double decker red tourist bus surrounded by other tourists. I was on a mission to see the real New York and its people! In order to do this l have spent the last three and a half days walking what feels like the whole of Manhattan itself! And of course catching the famous and notorious NY underground subway.
I began on Sunday afternoon by walking around Midtown from my hostel and discovering l was right near Madison Square Gardens, Penn station and more importantly Macy´s )the world famous department store. I did as every woman would- screwed the plan and went shopping! Sales, Sales, Sales is all l have to say about NY shopping at the end of July! I wandered around Macy´s and rode up and down its old wooden escalators whilst eating Tom & Jerry´s half baked ice-cream as l wandered around the huge complex. I then visited H&M and made my way to Sephora- a girls beauty dream filled with every make-up you can imagine and l emerged looking slightly like a drag queen! I then made my way to Neon city- Times Square which never fails to entertain especially with the naked cowboy´s antics and poses in the midst of the buzz! I checked out what was on at Broadway and had every intention of lining up on Tuesday for cheap tickets to RENT or Les Miserables- but fate had other plans! Tired and a little unsure of what time it was anywhere in the world, having come from Athens, to Heathrow where l had to sleep overnight due to missing my flight connection where l was surrounded in the Hotel by a Indian or more like Bend it Like Beckham wedding going on! I collapsed in bed meeting my beautiful roommate Kyra from Germany and watching Mark Phillapousas (Aussie tennis player) make a fool of himself and my nation on US TV in which he stars in a Bachelor like program where he had to pick between women in their 20s or 30s- it was called ¨The Age of Love!¨ It was very pathetic but a funny bedtime story!
Monday morning l awoke, tired to work out the slightly crazy shower in our en suite and had a fantastic free breakfast which included huge muffins! That morning l was on a mission to find some Havaianas flip-flops, mine having broken the morning before, and it is the essential traveling companion of every Aussie! Needless to say l spent the ENTIRE morning shopping again all around Midtwon and Times Square searching high and low for them or slightly normal looking flip flops and finding nothing despite entering Billabong, Quicksiliver, Foot Locker and numerous other stores. Finally l found somebody who knew a store- Urban Outfitter- in Soho who had them- luckily that was where l was heading that afternoon. Having to be back at my hostel at 2pm l walked back and was starting to feel the heat of the day! This coming from somebody who had just experienced and survived 49 degree heat in Greece- but Greece´s heat was ten times more bearable then New York´s. It was so hot, sticky and humid and combined with the pollution, smog and fumes surrounding l literally felt like l could bite into the air and have it settle in my stomach! I just found out that it has been averaging 98 degrees here and was about to enter a major heat wave! Lucky me! After departing Times Square l left on a mission to see Central Park before heading back to my hostel. Somehow l managed to get lost on New York´s easy grid system and when asking a passer by where l was after walking around for thirty minutes in what l thought was the direction to Central Park he replied ¨Mam, your in Hell´s Kitchen.¨ ¨Yes l think lam¨ l thought to myself dripping with sweat and lost in the ugliest part of NY l saw in my entire visit! I had to get out of heat and rushed into the nearest shop l could find, of course it was my old friend Starbuck´s. I had not visited since l had left Portland Oregon where it had become a daily pastime to sip on a white chocolate mocha in Portland´s cold winter in 2005. Entering this Starbucks in the heat of the midday l stopped and stared at the huge variety of choice in front of me as the lady asked me what l wanted. A little overwhelmed l held up my finger for her to give me a minute. Having lived on my simple Frappe for the past three weeks in Greece l now had to start all over again and find my coffee style at Starbucks. I had no idea what l ordered in the end- but it was cold and good as l sat by the window and watched the residents of Hells Kitchen stroll pass- most of them holding their own Starbuck´s cup in their hands as they went and a cell phone in the other.
I finally moved myself from Starbucks land and walked another 15 blocks until l reached Central park. By the time l reached it l had hardly anytime to explore it- so l simply walked along Central Park avenue off 5th avenue which overlooks the beautiful park. I passed the world famous Plazza Hotel (currently under construction) and made my way to the subway station for the first time. When l think back to when l was in New York in Dec 04 and was a shy and unconfident and rather nervous 20 year old who follower her mothers strict instructions to not go on the NY subway alone in case you get mugged or shot l smile with how things and l have changed! Having conquered London, Barcelona´s, Rome, Berlin, Paris, Athens, Greece´s and Madrid´s metros l felt fairly confident l could take on New York´s. And so l climbed down the disgusting stairs, passed a sleeping homeless guy and tried to desipher the ticket machine and swipper. Ok so l admit, it was little more complicated then l had anticipated but l made it back to my hostel just in time to grab a coffee before meeting my afternoon ¨Big Apple Greeter¨ tour guide Anthony.
Big Apple Greeters is a free service l had found out about on a travel show where you are matched with a guide who shares similar interests in life as you and enjoys the area of the city you request to explore. I had requested Soho and put down that lam into music, art, culture and shopping- and of course therefore expected Anthony to be totally gay and spend the afternoon shopping with him around Soho! I even had a bet going with my friends! Boy were we proved wrong!
In walked Anthony wearing a rather amusing superhero t-shirt, looking around we caught eyes and l introduced myself to the tall, broad and dark guy standing above me. Ok first thing l was wrong about- he wasn't gay. he wasn't that old (33), he wasn't a New Yorker (in fact from Miami) and he wasn't in fashion or the theater (l actually cant mention what he does... but it was VERY interesting to hear about!). Second thing l was wrong about was that he was without baggage and single! But that is a very long story!
We ended up walking and talking for over five hours (it was supposed to be a 2-3 hour tour) around Soho, the village, China town, the meat packing district, Chelsea and Midtown and heard Anthony´s very interesting story! To cut a long story short l found out he was a Christian but divorced with two kids who all live in Miami and had been a paraplegic for one year of his life. Talk about a story and boy did he like to talk! We spent the afternoon talking about music, movies and fashion and he took me to some of the best stores and boutiques in Soho. Being a hot day l didn't feel like too much to eat so we picked a quite and quaint cafe on Bleecker street in the village and l drank the strangest iced coffee while he ate lunch as we were surrounded by funky tapa bars and rustic bohemian looking cafes and restaurants. Anthony is passionate about architecture and really got me to look up above me and look at the amazing variety of architecture surrounding us that afternoon. I particularly fell in love with the houses in Chelsea with their small terraces and Victorian style. I even got to see the three oldest buildings in Manhattan which stood at a mile as they were weather board western flat roof style houses that looked more like they belonged in a western movie then in NY. I expected a cowboy to come out shooting and screaming stick em up at any moment! I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and loved the boutique stores in Soho, the cafe culture in the village, the people watching in Washington Square Park (which was once famous for drug dealing and is now filled with an interesting variety of people and races surrounding the fountain and arch), the now posh meat packing district and of course the houses in Chelsea. Anthony even found Urban Outfitter for me and l ended up buying my black haviainas which l ended up walking in and getting a terrible blister from.
We walked all the way back to my hostel in midtown where we said our polite goodbyes and as l thanked him for a wonderful afternoon l knew l would be getting a call from him the next day. I sensed he wanted to ask me out but very tired and jet lagged l knew l couldn't handle the idea and excused myself quickly. I went out for a quick bite of famous NY pizza for the second night in a row and then proceeded to the local Deli and bought a small tub of Half Bake ice-cream and took it back to my hostel. I sat eating the ice cream whilst watching what l later found out was a cooking reality TV show called Hell´s Kitchen- filmed where l had been earlier that morning. I collapsed in bed after an amazing and walking filled day in which l had covered most of midtown Manhattan on foot!
Day 3
This morning l met a young photography student named Casey from Indiana. We got talking over breakfast and it turned out that we both wanted to catch the Staten Island Ferry )free that morning to see the NY skyline. So we decided to venture downtown together for the morning. We hit it off really well and l helped him for the rest of the most part of the day with his photography assignment as we covered downtown Manhattan together. We caught the ferry from Battery Park and stood on the hot deck watching the industrial side of the New York glide past, we soon realized we were on the wrong side of the deck! Never mind, we enjoyed the ride and got off at Staten Island and did as all the other tourists seem to do, got right back on again! This time we raced up to the hurricane deck (top deck) and got ourselves in prime position to watch the Statue of Liberty, Ellis island and numerous gliding seagulls pass by as we approached Manhattans sprawling skyline.
Being downtown and never really exploring this area of NY last time l visited, we decided to go walk down the very business driven Wall Street and past the stock exchange with the biggest US flag hanging outside of it l had ever seen. We then made our way to ground zero, the previous site of the Twin Towers or Word Trade Centre. Unable to see the ground at all there we just had to look at the sheer size of the vacant block to try and envisage what once stood there and what it now represents. We sat on some stairs overlooking the construction site and fence which envelops ground zero and l got chatting to a lovely African American construction worker who was working in the site. I asked him about life working everyday at ground zero and he shared how at first it was the toughest assignment he had ever been given, but in the end its just work for him now, its just the site to him and he says¨¨life goes on¨ as he points to a tattoo on his arm consisting of a beautiful heart with a girls name engraved in the front and a RIP above it. I enquire about the beautiful name slashed across the red bosom of the heart and he shares with me that it is his girlfriends name who passed away 7 months earlier. I tell him that l think it is the most beautiful tattoo l had seen yet- (and l meant it) and he smiles what would have to be the most beautiful yet saddest smile so much so that my heart breaks. I ask if l can take his photo and he politely and shyly poses for me with one of his heart breaking smiles. (Never in my life do l miss a photo so much as l do that one!) We leave our new friend as we walk towards Chinatown and he returns to yet another site and day at work rebuilding the Twin Towers at ground zero.
Walking to China Town we walk under the mighty Brooklyn Bridge and around seaport before suddenly entering the Orient where we are surrounded by paper lanterns, beautifully colored silks, strange spices and almost any gadget and unwanted toy you could ever imagine. Chinatown is huge and we walked its busy streets enjoying the overwhelming display of colors, sights and smells.
And then suddenly the hanging ducks disappear and the Chinese characters and plastic toys are replaced by bustling cafes and streets filled with Italian t'shirts (Ciao Bella) and signs reading ¨If you taka my place l breaka your back!¨ We had entered little Italy! And as little as it was it made me sad as l realized l was no longer in Europe where Italy was always right next door. It all felt artificial all of a sudden and l longed to be back in Europe, back in the real Italy that l love so dearly. I asked that we get out of there so Casey and l went to Bleecker street in the village again and we ate a great 3 course Thai meal surrounded by an interesting variety of people all enjoying the fabulous cuisine l wish to one day learn to cook!
Casey kindly shouted me lunch and we went and sat in Washington Square park for a good hour just people watching and chatting about music and photography and just life in general. We finally moved ourselves from our shady spot next to a reggae artist and two African drummers who had provided us with plenty of entertainment and we made our way uptown on the subway to 130th street with one mission in mind- to see ´Toms´s Diner´the diner exterior used in Seinfeld. I would have preferred to find the soup Nazi as it was a long way to go to just to see a Diner but it was fun to see if they had the big salad on the menu- which they didn't! Casey and l separated there and l caught the subway back down to Canal street to do the last of my ´discount´shopping on the famous rip off street where l wheeled and dealed and managed to get some good deals as usual! From Canal street l raced back to my hostel smelling like a million different perfumes where l got washed up before catching the subway up to 86th street- where instead of going to see a musical for that evening on Broadway l went out for Sushi uptown with Anthony and surprisingly his beautiful two children. Yes thats right- Anthony had msg me to ask me out for dinner¨, his msg had read that his family would like to met me, no pressure. By family l had assumed he meant his aunts and extended family living in NY and l had expected to be the light entertainment for the night, being Australian and all! Surprise Surprise l emerged from the subway and smiled at Anthony and then looked down to the two hands he was holding on either side of him... ¨oh my goodness....he meant his kids.¨ I was totally caught unawares as l thought his kids were in Miami...but l tried to play it cool as l thought it might prove to be an interesting night....which it proved very much to be! We went out with his highly cultured kids for Sushi where l drank for the first time rice wine and ate Sushi and dumplings. We then walked around taking photos before having an amazing dessert at a beautiful french cafe and Anthony said he had a surprise for me. Ohh no not any more kids, or the ex wife appearing l hoped! As l sat in the cafe l felt a feeling of dejavu and that my surroundings looked really familiar but l knew l had never been there before. Anthony spotted by confusion and asked me¨Does this place look familiar to you,¨I nodded a yes ¨Have you ever seen You´ve got Mail,¨he asked again, and l nodded as l suddenly realized where we were and my eyes must have almost popped out of my head. He laughed and said ¨Yep your sitting exactly where Meg Ryan sat and l am sitting where Tom Hanks sat!¨ I just sat there silent for a moment looking at the his kids next to me fight over the ice cream and then around me....it was all a little surreal and too much for me to handle after a rather interesting and eventful filled night where it appeared that l was now on a date with two kids in tow and eating an amazing cheesecake l wondered how l seem to always get myself into these situations! The highlights of the night would have to have been Justin telling me after asking if l was a teenager that he loved me, and then so embarrassed not speaking to me for the rest of the night, Kiera stating that she had never been on a date with her daddy (she said this when he had visited the WC) and then that moment in the cafe surrounded by old Can Can posters, rows of scrumptious cakes and beautifully lit trees adorning the trees outside glittering in the summer night air! I was so taken with the whole situation before l knew it the kids were asleep in their fathers lap and l knew that l needed as much sleep as they did so they walked me back to the subway and l hugged the kids goodbye- Justin literally would not let go of me! I thanked Anthony for an amazing night and wished him good luck and to keep in touch and the usual and l caught the subway back to the hostel in a happy and rather sleepy and satisfied mood!
Day 4
Today being my final day in NY l squeezed as much as l had left in me and my tired feet before catching my plane out of La Guardia to Chicago that evening.
I spent the morning and early afternoon with my lovely German roommate Kyra catching the subway up to 72nd street and walking to Strawberry fields in Central park where we gazed at the Imagine memorial, and then walked to the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant where Sting and his wife jogged past us. We continued walking and chatting away in Central park before coming out onto 5th Avenue and getting iced coffees at one of the strangest restaurants l had ever been to! I had wanted to visit a rather poshy cafe on 5th avenue but we couldn't find any apart from hotel ones so tired and hot we entered The Primeburger between Madison and 5th avenue where were ushered to a strange high chair like wooden chair where apparently Sarah Jessica Parker had eaten on the Oprah show in 2005. We then decided that the place was cool and funky!
I then parted ways with my lovely new friend and made my way to the Rockefeller centre where l read the amazing quote by Rockefeller while gazing at the huge building and golden statue, where two years earlier l had stood and watched the magical ice-skating rink and skaters below me. Only this time the rink was not full of ice skating lovers but yuppie´s in a posh cafe terrace surrounded by sub-tropical vegetation and flowing waterfalls. After contemplating Rockefeller's famous quote, l continued along 5th avenue for the next 30'40 minutes stopping under the shade of the strand trees lining central park and watching the rich jog past while African American homie looking boys dog walked tall poodles! Was a funny sight!
I walked all the way along 5th avenue to the MET- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the most famous art museum´s in the world. I spent the next 3-4 hours wandering around its 3 floors, starting in the New Greek and Roman art wing- prehistoric through to classical including the beautiful Greek sculpture court and youthful Hercules- which all made me miss Greece and Italy all over again. I then learnt about and viewed the amazing ¨Poiret King of Fashion¨exhibition and his incredible early 20th century Asian and Oriental inspired gowns. Such incredible beading, colors and detail! I then made my way to the Impressionist wing of course and viewed the Robert Lehman collection and once again was mesmerized by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Gauguin's beautiful Tahitian women. I finished of by viewing the Egyptian art, modern art masters such as Picasso and then the American wing with its incredible instrument collection. I raced back to the hostel, it taking one hour to get back on the bus to Penn Station along busy 5th Avenue and l hopped straight away onto my shuttle bus. I was lucky- once again l just made it! As l sat on the shuttle l got talking to a business man who was originally from the Philippines but now living in Geneva and watched Manhattans skyline hide the falling sun as l said goodbye to the city that literally never sleeps and always entertains!
