"This is nothing, you should see around the corner" the cabbie quipped, and then asked for a tip.
It was midnight in New York as we arrived, after extended delays at JFK, and it was essentially 6 o'clock in the morning to us as we were experiencing the time delay between UK and the US.
"I think I've got a second wind coming on" I stated, not referring to a gastric movement but more an energy terminology. Pom agreed. We all hauled ass down to the corner where this hint of something more was waiting patiently just around it.
It was a surreal moment as we stepped foot into Times Square and looked around. The lights, the people, the excitement all added together into this concentrated dosage of awesomeness. I instantly regretted leaving my camera in the hotel room.
We found a convenient bar nearby and bought drinks, balking at the $3 change we got back from a crisp $20 (per 2 drinks that is!). Thats what you pay for convenience. The NBA All Star weekend was on so we perched on the bar and watched that till our eyelids drooped.
The team was myself and Renee along with Pom and Bridget
For our first morning, we took a stroll through a huge park, located in the center of the city; right in the middle. I called it - 'The Park in the Center of the City' - an apt name.
I dont know what the locals call it.
The wind was freezing. I had to put a hood on over my beanie, with sunglasses on and my scarf over my mouth. People seemed threatened by my guise.
The park had a museum in it, an ice skating rink, a zoo, and a lake bigger than New Zealand.
Squirrels jumped out at you.
Apparently the racoons have rabies there.
We strolled, ran and played. I did a jump kick for a Renee photo shoot and split my jeans, in two separate locations at the same time, thus is my power. Renee would say that the crotch area was already worn through due to my constant bottom coughs, but I beg to differ. After the 'Park in the Center of the City' we attacked the Apple Store so Pom and I could make changes to our fantasy Cricket team (this became a regular occurrence) and we munched some lunch at a Macca's - which was a huge meal and .......... OK. Not great, just OK.
That arvo we went up the Rockefeller Centre to catch the Birdseye views of the city. Sweet view too. B-b-b-b-b-baller!
Sunday night it snowed and Renee was amazed. Everyone else seemed miserable.
On the Monday, amidst snow, we decided to head South through Manhattan. We hiked past the Flatiron building, past numerous shops all offering amazing sales, and down to Crif Dogs - a hotdog joint which served incredible hot dogs. We got a bacon wrapped hotdog with sour cream and avocado, and Tatter Tots. Pom put some in his pocket, and I said,
"Pom give me some tatter tots"
"No, get your own"
.... and I mashed his jeans pocket.
Haha. Just kidding.
We took the DODGY subway to Wall Street. I simply cannot emphasize that 'Dodgy' word enough - it was 'stare at your feet' stuff for the whole journey. Wall Street was aight and the nearby Ground Zero (location of those big towers that fell) was cool too. Nice to see what is going on for the memorial.
Tuesday was Guggenheim museum day. It is an incredible building. The artwork in it was great too - alot of Kandinsky, Picasso, Chagall etc. We had been recommended a burger bar to check out around that area, and we found it, hidden behind curtains in a Mariott Hotel. Random spot - it seemed to be one of those 'word of mouth' kind of places, and it seemed like a lot of people had been secretly blabbing
"The first rule of hidden burger bar is: you dont talk about hidden burger bar"
The burger was great.
Alot of shopping later and we retired to the hotel, sinking some beers in the process.
Wednesday, we were meant to get to the Statue of Liberty but the line just to get on the boat was 2 hours long. There was also the line to get tickets. We got tickets for early on the Thursday and skipped off to the Chelsea Highline.
The Chelsea highline is an old above ground and above road railway track that has been redeveloped into the pedestrian walkway, equipped with flowers, seating and artwork, all located about 10m in the air. It was a sweet little journey, even if it was a short one.
This dude in the streets of Times Square tried hawking comedy tickets to us, giving us this spiel about how awesome the night is.
So, we brought them.
Thursday morning - our tickets to the statue finally gained us access to the island and we piled onto an overcrowded boat along with the rest of Harlem, and checked the big lady out. Quite an impressive effort, I must say. We walked through the pedestal of it and jumped off around lunchtime so we could run over the Brooklyn bridge and into the heart of Brooklyn itself.
We didnt stay there too long.
The comedy night, that we had already brought tickets for came around, and we headed to the Upper East side to watch it. The comedy club was well known and had previously spawned the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Adam Sandler among a lot more others. It was a crack up. We had a special guest drop by - Judah Friedlander, who stars in hit TV series: 30 Rock. He was awesome
"Its raining outside guys" he said. Everyone moaned "Im sorry, its because I just karate kicked a cloud" he followed up
Brilliant.
On the Friday, it was pouring down and we were all dead on our feet. We got to MOMA and saw some Warhols, Van Goghs, Pollocks and more Picasso's and Monets. Shopping ensued not long after. Clothes were so cheap. I brought myself a few pairs of jeans, some dress pants, a jersey and a Calvin Klein overcoat (not to name drop).
We hit the town on the last night (for the fifth and final time) and got relatively tipsy. John Leguizamo was signing autographs and we pushed Renee towards him to get a photo
"Get a photo of the chick in red. THE CHICK IN RED!" Pom yelled.
"Damn, thats a big Australian" John said and went back to take the photo.
It was an incredible trip and definitely a place I would like to go back to. Not too much on the adventure horizon now, and this is mainly due to the impending summer and future plans for more adventures. Remember to check out all my photos by clicking on the United States tab to the right of the screen here. Some good shots in there, hidden away.
Stay tuned.