Now then, I may have travelled here, there, and a bit of everywhere, but until recently I’d never been to the ahem , Land of the Free. I put this right in the late summer with a visit to New York and New England.
Having spent a number of recent years blaming the US for the cultural demise of this country’s youth and moral fibre, this was going to be interesting. It certainly was, and surprised me somewhat in a very positive way. I found americans , both in the tourist industry, and locals alike, to be polite, entertaining, genuine, and they don’t take themselves too seriously.
Anyhow, arriving at JFK airport on a no frills, and not much service American Airlines flight, we proceeded to get completely lost, without leaving the airport buildings. Managing to squeeze onto a minibus with a very helpful driver was a good move on our part, but not so good when he overcharged us , then dropped us off nowhere near our hotel. Never mind we thought, lets get the subway. Fighting our way through the crowds, and the mad people, to get to the ticket machine, we then stood there unable to work out how or where we needed to be. New York doesn’t suffer fools or hesitant foreigners unable to work it’s ticket machines gladly. There was soon a buildup behind us of angry commuters, sweltering in the summer heat. Miraculously we managed to get tickets to somewhere and headed for the bewildering array of subway platforms. Subway train arrived, we jumped on, our stop arrived, the train didn’t stop, next stop we are in Harlem. Oh dear, not a good start. We got off and crossed platforms, and a few minutes later were hurtling back the way we had come, once again passing our destination stop, but in the opposite direction this time. We got off eventually and got a non-express subway train that stopped where we wanted. Welcome to New York. Hey, we were jet-lagged.
Our hotel was located in the Upper West Side, close to Central Park, amongst the brownstone apartments, delis, local bars and restaurants. Never mind the sites, the first thing I needed was a drink, so we headed to the nearest local bar, and got chatting with the clientele. A few hours later we emerged and ventured to Central Park, stopping to watch the inline skaters before taking snapshots down Fifth Avenue of the great and the good emerging from the fashionable shops and watering holes. More photos of Broadway and Times Square, a seething mass of humanity, neon lights, and fast food chains, before we arrived at the Rockefeller Centre. The building is beautiful, much of the interior is art nouveaux, and it’s a huge place to explore. My travelling companion particularly enjoyed the Lego shop next door.
As it was dark we got tickets for the Top of The Rock observation platform in the Rockefeller Centre, and made our way to the huge elevator. The views of the city at night are awesome, as the americans say, and what’s more you get to see the Empire State building in all it’s illuminated glory.
Up nice and early the following morning, we headed off to the walk the Brooklyn Bridge, great city skyline photo opportunities, before a sobering visit to Ground Zero, or at least the confines of, as this was just before the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and the finishing touches were being put to the new memorial. Security was very high, as you would expect, and the best views were from the nearby World Financial Center.
I was rather perplexed later in the afternoon to emerge from Grand Central Terminal, a visit to both floors essential, to see panic and chaos opposite the main entrance. There was a huge pile of smoking rubble, and police sirens wailing, cops on motorbikes arriving, and people running about. There was a moment , in between getting my camera out and a policeman moving me on, that I thought, oh no, not another attack. However, the incident had been caused by a steam pipe exploding below the ground, and nobody had been fortunately injured, so we retired to Trump Tower to sit in the cocktail lounge, and watch the Water Wall, which was novel.
No visit to NYC is complete without a visit to Chinatown, with its rundown buildings, beautiful park, and vibrant atmosphere. Little Italy was well, little, and Greenwich village a great place for cafes and restaurants, but not very bohemian these days, in my humble opinion. We joined a rock tour of the East village with a local guide that proved informative and interesting, as he regaled us with tales of The Ramones, Blondie , New York Dolls and Charlie Parker amongst others. I spent some time in the famous Trash at Vauderville, buying fifties shirts, and perusing the punk gear. We finished off nicely with a few beers in a couple of spit and sawdust irish bars, watching the Yankees on the ballgame.
The day we had scheduled to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was unfortunately wet, very wet in fact, and blowing a gale. There was a tropical storm blowing through the state, and we spent most of the day squelching about in waterproofs, and up to our ankles in mud. Late afternoon we joined a tour in the Tenement Museum in Lower East Side, surprisingly more interesting than you might think, and it was indoors and therefore dry.
A week later we returned after our trip to New England, for a second visit to New York to fill in with some sights that we had missed. South Street Seaport is worth a visit. This former dockland area has been renovated and is now awash with cafes, bars, restaurants, tall ships, boat trips, and street entertainers. We stayed this time in Little Korea, very noisy throughout the night, but very central within Manhattan, and a great choice of restaurants obviously. Our final morning in the US we walked from the tip of Manhattan to the Empire State Building up Broadway, taking in the sights and sounds of the city, desperate to prolong the experience, and planning the next visit.
