Day 19: Chelsea

This morning we walked along the Highline, which used to be a goods railway and is suspended above and through the buildings. Yet another clever use of space, it has been turned into a walkway and park, complete with lawns and benches for sunbathing in summer. There are great views over the Hudson, but I was not really in the mood - it was absolutely freezing and I am getting slightly sick of walking until my feet hurt. Another interesting part of town - old rundown railway buildings have been converted or replaced by new and very flash apartment buildings.

After more walking in the freezing cold we got down to the weekly flea market, held inside a parking garage building. It was amazing, super old luxe vintage things everywhere. Lots of jewellery I liked, but a lot of it was quite expensive since it had real gemstones in it. There were whole racks of fur coats too, fur hats, and those foxes people used to wear around their necks. Ew. I had a look at one and was repulsed. I have seen lots of people wearing fur coats here, and a lot of the designers sell them. Most of them look very real, and they come in all colours and are very expensive. I didn't realise people still actually wore fur, and I certainly never would. I saw a lady today wearing a fur coat and carrying a small fluffy dog, and it was hard to tell where one stopped and the other began. 

It's interesting looking at the different dress styles in different parts of town. Our hotel is near the UN building and there is a whole row of big hotels - the Astoria, W by Hilton, Intercontinental. Walking past sometimes people will come out to get into their limousines, and they are all extremely well dressed, often wearing fur coats and toting Louis Vuitton or Prada luggage. 

Also at the flea market were dusty old photos, clothes and home furnishings, ornate antique mirrors, china, paintings and lots of genuine vintage clothing. I didn't really buy anything because although it was beautiful, it wasn't really wearable or value for money. Still, it was amazing seeing all this stuff for sale that we rarely see at home except in museums. 

There was actually a really nice cafe opposite there, which served decent coffee and pumpkin cake. Good coffee can definitely be hard to find here, but there are some good places if you look hard enough. 

I went over to the American Apparel clearance warehouse I had seen on the way. It was a maze of bright colours, signs and posters which supposedly organised it into sections. I was surprised to see the prices really weren't cheap at all for very basic clothing, although that is what they are so well known for. A lot of the things were quite strange (fluro orange mesh leggings anyone?) but the selection of colours was a rainbow. I did find some fantastic/ridiculous satin pleated palazzo pants and a navy pleated skirt, but there were no fitting rooms so I had to guess the size. I don't think I will bother going to the main store in Soho, to be honest it reminded me of Supre' at home. 

I wandered around until I found the right subway station then went down to the World Trade Center, the last stop on the line. The Ground Zero area spans several blocks, and it's quite hard to figure out where to go.

I stopped at St. Pauls Chapel, one of the oldest buildings around which was completed in 1730, and it is right next to where the Twin Towers were. This small but sturdy stone structure with a large spire has survived numerous fires and wars, and it came out of 9/11 with barely a broken window pane. The graveyard out the front is peaceful, and contains headstones dating back hundreds of years. Some of them are so old and worn you can hardly read them. It seems slightly bizarre to have this right in the middle of one of the busiest places in the world, and quite spooky that this ancient graveyard overlooks the final resting place of the thousands of people who died here on September 11, 2001. The day that changed the world.

 The national 9/11 memorial is two big waterfalls in the footprints of the Twin Towers, a surrounding park area and a nearly-completed museum. At the moment they are building the two new Freedom Towers which are huge and shiny and currently three-quarters of their planned height, so because it's a construction site they only let a limited number of people in at one time and it's all fenced off. There has been huge debate over what to do with the space, since it is prime downtown real estate but also sacred ground for many people. With all the arguments over cost and locations and designs, the Freedom towers are not yet finished and the total cost is a staggering $4 billion. Anyway, I wanted to see the memorial so I went to the museum preview/visitor center to get a pass. I ended up spending quite a while in there, and it was very moving. They had on display the dress uniform and wallet of one of the deceased NYPD first officers, found in his car dusty and worn. There were also collections of the tributes that grew in different parts of the city, such as this one outside the NYFD:

There was a huge media collection on various aspects of 9/11, and I spent a while flicking through books and looking at photos.

On the wall there was a big timeline with accompanying photos, pieces of recovered steel and personal items. I didn't know that by lunchtime they evacuated Disney World and a lot of other symbolic sites in America. I wasn't really old enough to fully understand when it happened; I remember being completely puzzled as to why someone would fly two planes into the biggest buildings in New York on purpose. It's only in recent years I have learnt a lot about what happened and how, the controversy and conspiracies. The  mini-museum was really well done and constantly paid homage to the victims, especially those who died "in the heroic line of duty" like the 343 firefighters. There are transcripts of phone calls people on the planes made, and incredible stories of the airline crew who stayed calm and professional right to the end. One woman stayed on the phone to a Boston airport as long as she could, relaying what the hijackers had told them and their plan to use the plane as a weapon. All pilots were warned, including the one who was attacked minutes after the official call went out. The government ordered all planes to land at the nearest airport, where they were grounded indefinitely. I thought this response was remarkably swift, considering no one had ever thought of hijacking a plane for this purpose. Apparently the attacks came at a time when everyone was paranoid about biosecurity and car bombs, and previous plane hijackers usually demanded money or concessions from the government.

There was also a souvenir shop, of course. These are everywhere the tourists go and sell the iconic tee in various colours (These ones had blue text, the official colour of the 9/11 memorial), keyrings, mugs, posters, bumper plates, pens and everything else. All the books are also for sale, and I actually considered buying one because although we could get them at home it would be a lot harder. My favourite was the Police photographer's book, full page photos of the scene as it unfolded. It's hard to imagine Lower Manhattan blanketed in smoke and dust like it shows. Deborah says the smoke was so thick you couldn't see anything, so no one really knew what was going on. All the subways and buses shut down, so millions of people walked out of Manhattan and streamed over the bridges with the Twin Towers burning behind them. The streets here are so busy, I can't quite picture them being evacuated. Looking up at the skyscrapers I've now become used to seeing, the mind struggles with the concept of two of them falling down. The empty space covers a couple blocks, and it's bizarre when you look at all the buildings crowding the skyline around it.

By this stage it was getting a bit late and it was still freezing outside, so I decided to come back later to go to the actual memorial.

I needed a change of scenery, so I went over to Century 21 which is a huge 4 level department store which sells end of line and surplus designer clothing at very discounted prices. Inside it was a zoo of people rushing around the racks, which were semi-orderly and very full. I decided to check out accessories and shoes. There were hundreds of designer handbags at relatively cheap prices, but I really don't need a Gucci tote right now. You could very easily spend a lot of money in there, buying stuff you don't really need or want because it's designer and discounted and you can't get it, let alone that cheap, at home. I'm still a bit overwhelmed by the sheer range here - I don't think you can even buy Michael Kors handbags in NZ, but he actually does a massive collection and you can buy them all at 50% off here. Every second person you see on the street is wearing something with a recognisable designer label, and I can see why since there are so many places to buy it here.

The shoe section alone was massive, and in the end I bought 4 pairs - BCBG and Guess pumps for $60 each, I don't even know how much they would be at home. Downstairs was the disorganised clearance section, where I found Tommy Hilfiger wedges for a ridiculous $10. 

With armfuls of shoeboxes and bags I caught the subway home, and then to meet the family. We went to Cafe Frida which is a really nice Mexican place. I had enchiladas which were served with a herby, cheesy sauce and were incredibly yummy. Everything was. I really can't rave about the ethnic food here enough - reasonably priced, authentic, delicious.

Strawberry Fields Forever

This morning we had to navigate a few subway transfers to get up to one of the Central Park stops. Apparently soliciting money in the subway is illegal, but people often do it anyway. They make polite announcements about their homelessness and usually add 'God bless' before moving down the carriage with a container. This seems to be the main mode of collecting money for homeless people, and some also sell candy or play instruments. I'm really not sure how I feel about giving them money, because how can you distinguish between someone who has lost their money on gambling and drugs and someone who the state has abandoned? It's one of the things I find very strange about big cities, and something I still can't get used to. My father has a good policy; he will give money to someone who is obviously disabled and cannot work.
There are a huge number of public servants around here, sweeping streets and collecting recycling. Some of them wear uniforms or have signs on their carts describing a community project that helps people find jobs in civic service. The streets in the main areas are very clean for a big city, and people don't seem to litter.

We met Deborah at one end of Central Park and I then realised just how big it is. The upper side of Manhattan is only a few blocks on either side of it, and you can only see across it in winter when the trees are bare. I can imagine it being really nice in spring, there are trees and grass everywhere. Even on a chilly winter day the paths are busy, people walking and running and walking their dogs. New York is a big dog city, and it's quite a social scene here because everyone takes them to the parks. Sometimes you see professional dogwalkers walking 5 at a time, and there are specialty shops everywhere selling food, accessories and carrybags for your handbag varieties. I have actually seen a few people with little fluffy dogs in their handbags or arms, but I am surprised at the number of big dogs here. I've seen many different breeds and sizes all around the city, and they all look very happy and healthy. If I have time I will go to one of the dog parks where they are allowed off the leash and all run around together. I guess they would get used to living inside and going outside at the same time every day, and they would have plenty of company.
I would really love a dog of my own, but it's obviously not practical at the moment or for the forseeable future since I'm going to be travelling. Our golden labrador, Monty, is the happiest and most laidback animal I've ever met, and all he asks for is your company and food. Before I left I was hanging out on the lawn with him, and he let me use him as a pillow when I fell alseep in the sun. One day I'd like to have a few dogs, maybe instead of children.

So we walked around the Central Park reservoir, one of the several bodies of water there. The running track has great views over the lake and across town, and the whole park is very picturesque. Bizarre to think you are only 5 minutes away from busy Manhattan.

There are statues and monuments everywhere in this city, and several in Central Park. There is an ancient Egyptian obelisk which was a gift to the city from an overseas ambassador, as many of them are. There are huge bronze scupltures that are very old and historic:

That's Theodore Roosevelt, not sure who his friend is.

They have Shakespeare in the Park during summer, and theaters set up for it. There's a big ice skating rink down the other end, sledding areas, and on snow days

 if you know where to go there is free hot chocolate. Again, the city and it's people are well aware of what a great resource this is, and want everyone to enjoy it.

We kept winding round the paths which seemed to go on forever. Finally we got to Strawberry Fields, a garden memorial for John Lennon. It's just across the road from where he was shot outside the Dakota apartment building, where Yoko Ono still lives today. Trees and funding were donated from dozens of countries, and after walking through a small garden over the path you get to the mosiac centerpiece which simply says 'Imagine'. People decorate it with tributes and flowers every day, and even though signs prohibit it a man plays a guitar and sings Beatles songs. Less poignant for me since it was all before my time, but still a good thing to see and experience.

It's quite nice, and the tourists stand in silence. We walk across the road to the Dakota, which is a very luxurious and desirable building on Central Park West. Next to that is the American Museum of Natural History, which is a huge building completed in 1929. The massive marble entrance hall features a dinosaur skeleton and is dedicated to Roosevelt. There are these quotes carved into the walls, about 5 meters high:

We only had 2 hours and the museum is 4 giant floors, plus special exhibitions which you would need a whole day to see. What we did go to was very impressive. The Halls of African and North American mammals featured amazing lifelike and lifesize dioramas, with taxidermy animal families sharing the space with plants. Fascinating seeing all these animals up close, knowing this is exactly what they look like.

They all had detailed information on the species and a map of distribution, and some scenes featured multiple species. The Hall of Ocean Life featured ecosystem displays, and a life size model of a blue whale diving down from the ceiling and occupying the central space between the two-level rings of displays. A big screen played footage of sea life, and again I was so impressed with how well it was done.

The Biodiversity Room was fantastic, showing a big range of each main family of animals on a big wall. They had a glass case containing endangered species, and the kiwi and tuatara were in there under the beautiful tiger models. There was a really informative and interactive section on conservation, and you came out of there with a renewed appreciation for Earth and all the life it supports.

My favourite sections were the Human Evolution and the Dinosaur Wing. The evolution exhibit is internationally renowned and contains casts from the complete collection of early human remains. They are presented in groups, with diagrams showing timelines and basic information. I had seen most of the skulls before but it was really cool to see them like this:

There were parts about language evolution, the human brain and DNA, FAQs, the migration theory and also very interesting footage about research primates and their intelligence and ability to understand logic and language. I find it astonishing that Congress had to pass a new law allowing this exhibition, and somewhere there is a video of a man talking about intelligent design and God. I didn't see it anywhere.

The dinosaur skeleton models were obviously massive, and took up whole rooms. They also had different skulls, limbs and teeth arranged in cabinets for comparison which was really cool. It was awesome to stand beside a T-Rex. Predictably there was a gift shop on each floor, and special ones for the space and dinosaur sections. Museum gift shops always have the coolest stuff.

That evening we went to John's Pizzeria, the oldest pizza restaurant in Manhattan established in the 1920's. The pizzas were huge, very fresh, smothered with toppings and absolutely delicious, I don't know how I will be able to eat Domino's ever again.

That night we did the top of the Rockefeller observation deck on top of the GE building, 10th tallest in the city at 859m. It's very nice up the top of the building, all marble and light displays and information videos, including a particularly cheesy one about the Rockefeller Christmas tree. It is about 50 feet high and erected by cranes, and they have a big ceremony lighting it and installing a huge Christmas display in the plaza which is a big tourist drawcard. Buildings downtown all compete with each other for the most extravagant and expensive display of their Christmas spirit.

On the upper decks it was freezing cold, but the panoramic views were pretty spectacular. The giant billboards of Times Square were clearly visible even from 70 floors up, and it was quite cool seeing the Empire State and Chrysler buildings from a closer angle.

Empire State building in the middle

Times Square on the right

Manhattan is not actually a massive area, travelling by subway it only takes about 30 minutes to cover half its length. From up there we could see the Hudson and East rivers clearly, out to sea and over Jersey. It is really the city that never sleeps though, traffic and city lights and noises continue 24/7.

Ready, set, shop

This morning I was politely asked to leave the hotel breakfast room because I was not wearing shoes. It's a health and safety hazard, you see. Even though all the plates and cups are disposable and there is no glass in sight. I had to go back up the lift and put some on before I could eat, slightly bemused.

Then we went to see the iconic department store, Bloomingdale's. There is a doorman in a suit who greets you in the marble foyer and shows you around, they check your coat and give visitors a discount voucher. Everything is white, shiny, impeccable and expensive. The street level is all women's accessories, handbags at the front and shoes at the back. They are organised into open plan mini-stores - Fendi, Ralph Lauren, Marc by Marc Jacobs- staffed by attendants in suits and women wearing a lot of makeup. They are all incredibly helpful and the shops are amazing, the smell of leather and perfume is everywhere and the bags are works of art. The Louis Vuitton store is two levels, with softly lit cubby holes in the walls - one item in each, no prices on anything.
There was a sale section where I eyed up a few wallets, but I'll definitely wait and see what else is around.
 the second floor, womens clothing, had some really nice things and some were reasonably priced. There is massive selection here, from designers that we see rarely at home.

I went to Daffy's after that, which is a big discount designer store. The shopping experience was miles away from Blomingdale's - the racks were disorganised, it was hot and too brightly lit and had a very cheap feel. The staff and clientele were all middle aged Italian women, and the clothing selection definitely catered to that market. It was mostly Italian and French designers that I hadn't heard of, and there was some really ugly and over the top stuff. They had some really nice shoes, but nothing here comes in my size - American shoes are narrow, and it's hard to find anything relatively big.

It rained heavily in the morning but as I walked home down Broadway blue sky was showing and the sun was glinting off the Chrysler building. It's not hard to find nice things to look at in this city, if you only know where to look.

For dinner we went down to Chinatown, and had very authentic Vietnamese in a little place with broken English on the menus. I had a spicy soup with various vegetables and mussels floating in it, which was fairly nice in a strange way. We walked home through the fish markets, hard to believe this chaos and dirtiness and haggling is only two blocks from the groomed, upmarket shops and people of Soho. Some of them had live fish swimming in containers, and all manner of huge eels. There are street stalls selling knock-off fakes of the bags, watches and belts which you can buy from the genuine retailer in 10 minutes walk. Fantastic.

People of New York

This city is home to 8 million people, and already I have seen so much diversity in the population. Everywhere we go there are Italians, Asians, Latinos, African Americans and Russians. In fact, there have been many times on the subway or in the street when I have felt in the minority as a white European which i think is really cool.
It's not uncommon to hear people speaking different languages or in strange accents. Everywhere you go there are corporate suits, skinny mile-high legs on Louis Vuitton heels, hipsters, gangsters, plastic surgery faces, old, young, rich, poor. All jammed together in a subway train or on the street. Of course certain areas are mostly inhabited by certain types of people, it seems to be a real melting pot around the whole city.

The subway is not too different to the systems in any other big cities. The underground stations are grimy and smelly, the cars are lit with blinding florescents which sometimes flicker. The subway system is over 100 years old and they are constantly trying to fix it, never able to keep up with the wear as millions of people use it every day. It's pretty easy to navigate, I have pretty much mastered the grid system and it's fairly hassle-free finding your way around in the main areas. It doesn't take long to get around either, Manhattan is actually not a huge area and it's all flat so walking or biking is easy and often quicker than waiting for a train. I can't imagine why anyone would want to sit in one of the many cars that are constantly backed up in traffic jams and having to stop for pedestrians, trucks, police and roadworks.

In the subways and the stations there is always music, and not the recorded kind. There are so many buskers and performers, such as these young men from the Bronx who put on a jaw-dropping show of break dancing.

There were three guys playing the saxophone, violin and singing on a train, not asking for any money. I have heard several people break into unabashed song in the stations, and most of them have incredible voices. People here definitely aren't shy, which I think is cool.

I've been approached by several people in the street. One was a very well-spoken young man collecting funds for his basketball team in the Bronx. One was a doorman who greeted me and told me I was beautiful. And another was an old drunk guy who smelt terrible and wanted to shake my hand and introduce himself. They say New Yorkers are often abrupt and short tempered, but I have found many people here to be very friendly and helpful. Locals and tourists alike commonly ask each other for directions or subway stops, and everyone is very willing to help and gives you specific directions. I think it wouldn't be so bad after all to live here.

Day 16: SoHo

This morning we caught the subway downtown to Bleecker Street where the Soho district officially begins. I had three hours before meeting the family for lunch, and only made it to three shops in this time. They are massive, in size and selection. Slightly overwhelming. I bought a few things in American Eagle, where the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful. In fact, everywhere I've been I have had fantastic service, staff taking my coat, helping me pick things out, giving me tips on the best deals and sharing their extensive product knowledge. Most of the stores have multiple levels and are really nice inside. The Hollister store is absolutely incredible - a nondescript doorway leads into a California beach house, organised into fully enclosed little rooms with wardrobe-style shelves, colourcoded and folded. Soft lighting, pot plants, sofas with blankets and magazines, and the staff going around spritzing everything with their house perfume. The stairs are styled as a pier, with huge screens covering the walls playing videos of the Cali surf. The epitome of cool.

My next stop was Desigual, a Spanish chain. Their clothes are incredible:
http://www.desigual.com/desigual/browse/category.jsp?categoryId=cat1110046&isCategoryPage=true&categoryNavIds=cat930047%3Acat930049%3Acat1110046
I bought a fabulous coat, completely unique to anything you would see at home. There were several I wanted. All the stores have security guards, usually imposing black men. This one, however, started picking out coats for me and came over to help me. He told me I was 'killin' it' and it was 'fabulous, girl!'. I had to buy it.

Then we went over to the Rockefeller Center to have lunch and meet Deborah. It is a huge complex of buildings with a ridiculous statue and an ice skating rink in the middle with every country's flag around the edges.

There was an amazing Lego shop next door to this, with several incredible models including one of the center itself:

This is the new 'Friends' girls Lego I was reading about. The sets include a teahouse, a dog show and a hair salon. Give me the Hogwarts castle set any day.

My aunt is a deputy managing editor on the Wall Street Journal, so we got to go into the News Corp building to see her. Apparently there are sometimes Fox protesters outside, and the editor arrives with bodyguards. Him and Rupert Murdoch himself work here but are currently in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum. To get in we had to show ID and get passes, then go through a security barrier. The rooms were massive, with hundreds of journalists and computers organised into sections. Screens everywhere streamed live exchange rates and stock news, and they were filming an interview for the webcast and recording radio broadcasts too. Even relatively empty it was a hive of activity, and a completely different world to what I've heard and seen of how NZ press operates.

We picked up my cousin Charlie from his school, which is 12 storeys high and has a playground on the roof. Very different to the primary schools we know.

Dinner was at a nearby Italian place, again very authentic. I had pumpkin ravioli with cinnamon and walnut sauce which was incredible, quite sweet for a main meal, but delicious. They gave us complimetary deep fried olives which were amazing, and a glass of very sweet moscato. We also had a really nice Italian wine.

Mum, Deborah and I went to a Broadway show, Memphis. See it if you ever get the chance!

http://www.memphisthemusical.com/

The theater district is busy and thriving, and shows often run for years in their own theater. This one was quite small, but was a lovely old building with ornate frescoes on the walls. The show was absolutely incredible; I can't really describe it. The quality of singing and dancing in all the cast members, not just the leads. The costumes, the set, the music were all fantastic and the play itself was really good. It followed a white man trying to expose Memphis to r'n'b or 'race music' as it was called, in the 1960s at the height of racial discrimination in the South. He falls in love with a black singer and they face many problems and cannot be together in public without getting beaten. I have heard there are some areas in the 'deep South' states like Georgia and Alabama which are still very old-fashioned and unofficially uphold things like the Mason-Dixon line. I really hope that isn't true.

After the show we had a drink at a tiny bar called Jimmy's, which was small and dimly lit and filled with photos of Muhammad Ali. The bartender is an elderly, grumpy Russian woman who tells everyone what to do and where to sit in an abrupt manner, and made me an extremely strong and syrupy Midori and lemonade. Hilarious.

To get home we walked through Times Sqaure, which was ridiculous. There are a few shops and restuarants around but I'm not entirely sure what the attraction really is. The billboards completely covered several storeys of the skyscrapers, lighs flashed in every direction and the whole place buzzed. It was really surreal and quite overwhelming, just the sheer size of everything. This must be the prime advertising space in the world, I can't even imagine how much a commercial on the big screens or a 5-storey LED billboard must cost. 

There were thousands of people milling around, a lot of them tourists like us taking photos. But I'm not sure what everyone else was doing. There were also police everywhere. I didn't want to hang around there for too long for fear of brain implosion from sensory overload, so we went home.

Day 15: Part 2

So the Brooklyn Bridge is a massive structure with car lanes and a walkway/bike path on top. It was quite a climb to the top but was worth it for the view of downtown Manhattan, and over the other side to the Manhattan Bridge and midtown. Empire State and Chrysler buildings:

We stayed up there for a while, taking photos with lots of other tourists. Then down again into Brooklyn, which was filled with trees and lovely old houses which are apparently the most desirable in the city. I can see why:

These houses, converted from 19th-Century stables, even had the rare luxury of garages. Again, upwards of $20,000 per month in rent.

We stopped for lunch in downtown Brooklyn, at a pizza place owned and staffed by Italian men. All the global food here is very authentic, and the pizza was amazing. So was this view of the Manhattan Bridge and Empire State Building:

Very surreal seeing all these much-mediated things in 'real life'. They look exactly like they do in the movies. The buildings are huge but no bigger than you would expect, but it is a lot cleaner and clearer than I thought it would be for a city of 8 million in a small area. Blue sky, although you can't see stars at night.

We went back over the Manhattan bridge, coming back downtown just on sunset. 

I have never been much of a city person but I have to say it was stunning. New York really is a shrine to humanity, to capitalism, a bizarre postmodern mix of the old and new. The old buildings are very well preserved, and there are entire museums dedicated to the city's history. I didn't realise that this city was a major immigration port, and that's why it's people are still so diverse. There were wars fought here, and some of history's big names lived and worked here. Every year hundreds of thousands of people give up their lives to move to New York; any fashion designer, musician or artist wanting to make it big comes here for a chance. It has a seemingly irresistible charm, and I am already seeing how so.

We passed through Chinatown, which felt exactly like an Asian city until you looked up and glimpsed the  shiny temples of consumerism reaching into the sky. Two blocks over and you're in Little Italy, a street of Italian restaurants which are very touristy. Outside one sat a Godfather-esque gentleman wearing a fabulous fur coat, who called out to us in Italian. Just beyond that is Soho, named for its location south of Houston street. It is one of the fashion centers of the world, and all the big fashion houses dominate the streets along with the chain stores and tiny, exclusive boutiques. An art gallery had this installation with free entry:

The space was transformed into a park, complete with a mini golf hole, ornate fountain, picnic rugs and benches, fake grass and trees. And heating and wi-fi. Awesome.

After the bike tour we went to my aunt's apartment on the Upper East Side, which is incredibly spacious and located in a lovely 100 year old building. We had dinner and caught the subway home, getting out at Grand Central Station which is very grand indeed, a stark contrast to the grimy underground stops. There are big chandeliers and marble tiling everywhere, and it is surprisingly hushed and not echo-ey at all even though there are thousands of people in there. This is the famous roof in the main concourse:

So that was the main attractions of Manhattan and Brooklyn in a nutshell. I will add some feature posts later on the people and lifestyles here.

Day 15: Bike the Big Apple

Today was our bike tour, starting with a 40 minute walk downtown. The city streets were crowded, and people move very quickly and you have to keep up or get pushed out of the way. No one obeys the pedestrian  lights, and about 80 percent of them are talking on iPhones or headsets. I haven't seen a huge amount of homeless people here, but a lot of them rant loudly in disjointed sentences about religion, the government and mankind.

We met our guide Jesse who was incredible, unapologetically un-PC, wearing pants he had cut off at the ankle for cycling and riding a bike with duct tape around the seat. We were the only ones on the tour apart from a woman from Panama, and a second guide who took up the rear. Apparantely cars in NY are 'used to things getting in their way' and move very slowly down the narrow one-way streets which are often blocked by delivery trucks. In the busy parts we had to follow Jesse between the stationary cars, but a lot of the major streets had bike lanes. The city is very bike friendly, and the city administration have introduced bike lanes and paths everywhere. I highly recommend these guys:
 http://bikethebigapple.com/

First stop was Union Square, home to an extensive fresh local produce market right in the middle of the city. Apparently it has grown a lot and farmers from all over the state, New Jersey and Connecticut bring their goods. We also saw a big LED number ticker on the side of a building, counting up and up every second. Apparently this is a real-time counter of the national debt, I'm not sure who runs it but it seems you can do that sort of thing here quite easily and free speech is very much accepted. On the TV at the moment there are political campaign ads calling their opposition all manner of things, and it's the same on talk shows.
The we went through to the East Village, which is a very old and now very fashionable residential area. The streets are narrow and winding, and the houses are amazing:

This is the famous 'skinniest house in Manhattan' (in the middle) and reportedly sold recently for $5 million.

Washington Sqaure is a big park and public space through the Washington Arch. It's where they used to hang and bury criminals hundreds of years ago, and was also a favourite hangout of the beatniks of the 70s, Bob Dylan and other musicians. There is a great view of the Empire State Building too. 

The NYU buildings are mostly in this area, and look very big and impressive. The wealthy homes of the 1830s are now offices and lecture halls. Columbia and NYU are the two biggest owners of real estate in Manhattan, and these are the NYU student dorms on the side of Washington Sqaure:

This real estate is worth hundreds of millions, and these four buildings have penthouses and rooftop gardens. Locals struggle to find accommodation downtown (vacany rate is 1%) but NYU freshmen get to live in multi-million dollar apartments in the center of Lower Manhattan. I can see why the locals are a bit miffed about this. Apparantely the area up around Columbia is also very nice, but no one can live there because the university owns all the buildings - 6 blocks worth.

Also near here is the famous Stonewall Inn, site of the 1969 riots which were a central part of the gay liberation movement. The story goes that the fights started when a drag queen hit a policemen with his high heel. There is a little park and some statues across the road to commemorate this revolution, which are a favourite photo subject and often get dressed up in lipstick and necklaces.

New York has always been a pretty liberal place, and the recent gay marriage bill was a huge cause for celebration. I really like that there are seemingly no complaints or homophobic reactions to things like this:

Then it was over to the Hudson waterfront, another green space and bike path, and views of the Jersey City skyline, where a lot of big companies moved their headquarters after 9/11. Jesse took us up onto the roof of a pier building, space they have ingeniously used to build parking lots and soccer fields. From there we could see the Statue of Liberty across the water, Jersey, and Lower Manhattan and the former site of the Twin Towers. This is Jersey City:

And there she is.

There are many of these spaces reserved for public relaxation and enjoyment. I think it's fantastic that in a city where real estate is at an absolute prime, they are continually trying to reuse space and create green spaces. In one of these, a man sauntered around smoking and the smell of marijuana hung in the still air.

We stopped at the Winter Garden complex for morning tea, which is opposite the World Trade Center. We tied up the bikes down by the water, went inside and looked out.

Ground Zero. It is a huge gap between the skyscrapers, and at the moment it's all a constuction zone for the new WTC Freedom Tower:

The building is going to be the tallest downtown, covered in mirrored glass and a futuristic curving shape. there has been huge controversy over what to do with the rest of the space, which is still ongoing. But in the footprints of the twin towers there are two fountain memorials, which we will go and see later.

The Sphere was a sculpture that was a meeting place in the World Trade center for decades, and was miraculously recovered with minimal damage. It has now been erected in nearby Battery Park as a temporary memorial.

Battery park and Battery Park City are reclaimed areas where they have built accommodation and park spaces. At the moment all the trees are bare, but they are everywhere and apparently the city is quite green in spring. So cool.

On our bikes again we rode into the heart of the financial district, the seat of modern capitalism. Lots of people in suits, walking very fast and talking on cellphones, but a lot of ordinary people too on their way to work or the subway. Any cars or trucks going into the World Trade Center are screened and bomb checked, and there are armed guards everywhere. More police presence on Wall Street, which was no different to any of the surrounding streets as far as I could tell. Because of the Occupy movement the big pedestrian concourse is fenced off and heavily guarded, as is the Stock Exchange entrance. 

Near here was a good view of the Woolworth Building. I didn't realise that many of the buildings here are hundreds of years old, and the architecture is stunning. 

Oh yeah, the top two sections of this building are penthouses which are probably worth $20 million each.

Next we went over the Brooklyn Bridge, which will require a new entry.