Lucky Dog in New York

I’ve just spent a few days in New York visiting Alicia. I’ve been there once before and really didn’t enjoy it. This time, however, was different. I’ve been forced to concede that New York isn’t half bad at all and that I could almost be persuaded to live there.

I jumped into a shared taxi at the airport and very quickly realised that I was the only one not going to a large, expensive downtown hotel. After everyone else left the taxi it was still a good half an hours drive to upper East side where I was staying. The taxi driver wasn’t impressed and kept swearing underneath his breath as he drove picked his way through the manic New York traffic. Anyway, it wasn’t until I had my finger on the doorbell of apartment 27 that it dawned on me that I had actually arrived in New York. Up until that point it had all been just another long journey.

After a large, but refreshingly cheap organic lunch Alicia and I headed towards Central Park. The park is always full of people doing things. Anyone and everyone was there, from the players in a beach volleyball game to the man in a suit sat on a bench making use of the park’s wireless coverage. New Yorkers certainly know how to make use of their parks. Every few seconds we were passed by another jogger or skater and I was made to feel uneasy about my ever increasing 大肚子 (big belly).

As we left the South end of the park we passed the new Apple store on 5th Avenue. I’m sure many of you have seen the recent photos of the glass cube at the entrance to the store. In reality it is a lot smaller than the photos would suggest and, because of this, somewhat disappointing. Size of the cube aside, I still had to go inside and play with the array of toys that Apple had on display. Of particular note were the 30 inch flat screen and the 15 inch Mac Book Pro. As if in an effort to satisfy all my nerdy curiosity in one go, Alicia suggested we visit the Sony Style shop which was just down the road. All the big screens and arrays of speakers were impressive, but the only thing I remember about the store was that HD TV doesn’t appear to make much of a difference and that the decoder on Sony’s Blu Ray player occasionally skipped frames. That was the end of my nerding for the trip.

Our venture into China Town was quite an experience. It was a weekend and everywhere was packed with people. This was truly a different world. Gone were the air-conditioned minimalist shop floors that one might expect in NY. They were replaced instead with an array of market stalls and overcrowded shops. Yet strangely, amongst all this chaos, there was a sense of purpose. Everyone (except me) seemed to know where they were going and even why they were going there. Health & Safety was nonexistent. I saw a cat sleeping amongst the melons on one stall (sorry no photo), workmen using a circular saw in the middle of a crowded street and many other such situations that would turn any UK Safety officer pale with disgust. Despite the appearance of poverty, this place had real character and it was almost exciting to be part of it. If I lived in Manhattan, China Town would be my place to buy food.

As we walked further, the crowds suddenly parted and the dirty stalls vanished. In their place were an endless number of Italian style cafes and bars. Instead of fighting their way along the street, people sat under umbrellas, listened to opera, ate bread and drank red wine. We were in Little Italy. I had to turn round and look back at where we had come. The change really was as sudden as that. It was as if we had stepped across an invisible border between two countries. Granted, the opera singer was sponsored by some beer company and was there purely as a marketing gimmick, but the change was dramatic nonetheless.

In the evening we went to the Grand Sichuan restaurant. I tried pork soup dumplings and not unreasonably imagined this would be pork dumplings floating around in a bowl of soup. When a plate of dumplings arrived there was no soup in sight. I was shocked to discover that the soup was actually inside the dumplings and that you had to bite a small hole and suck the soup out. All those familiar with Chinese food will probably think nothing of this, but this was all new to me. They are definitely worth trying if you ever get the chance.

We spent Sunday on Long-beach in Long Island. In keeping with British tradition I got sunburned and spent the next two days looking like a lobster. Summer in NY is still a couple of months away and so the beach wasn’t crowded at all. It was great to just lie in the sun and forget everything for a day. I need to do this more often.

Arriving back in Midtown Manhattan, we still had an hour or so of daylight left. We decided to do the touristy thing and head up the Empire State Building. We couldn’t have picked a better time to go. The queues were almost non existent, and when we got to the observation deck on the 86th floor we were able to see Manhattan during the day, during sunset, and at night. The photos don’t do the experience justice. A city that can often feel dirty, sticky and overcrowded at street level looks almost magical when seen from the 86th floor during sunset. Just a word of advice for anyone thinking of doing the same thing, take something warm and (if you are a girl) don’t wear a skirt. It gets cold and very windy as night falls.

On my final full day in the city we took the free Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and take a look back at Manhattan Island. The strange thing about the ferry service is that despite being free, the terminals are clean, modern and spacious. This contrasts with the Subway System, which you pay for, where the stations often feel dirty and rather dingy. Despite the feel to the stations, there is something right about the NY Subway System. It is an efficient and affordable transport system which, some would argue, is more important than nice clean stations.

I had a great time in New York and would love to have stayed longer. However, I don’t think I could live in an apartment on a permanent basis. And, as there are almost no regular houses in Manhattan I can’t see myself living there. The cramped living environment and (at the risk of sounding too English) the inability to look out of the window and determine the weather would drive me crazy. I have changed my opinion of New York completely and it does feel somewhat rewarding to finally be able to share in the excitement that so many others have when they speak of their visits to Manhattan.

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