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July 21st 2008
Published: July 24th 2008
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After deciding to leave Sir Paul who would have thought that after getting to Montreal airport that my flight to New York would be canceled. Was this a sign that I should have stayed in Quebec City? Fortunately the airline was "kind" enough to book me on an early flight the next day. Given my limited time frame I explained that that may not be the best option and is it possible to find another flight. Luckily Air Canada had a seat with my name on it so NYC here I come.

Before this quick jaunt to the large pomaceous city I asked around those who had been before, the native New Yorker, the trendy inner city dweller and the many visited north-sider for their tips on what to see and do. Fortunately they all came up with the goods. Do the Circle Tour, go to the top of the Empire State Building, MoMa and have a beer at some old Irish ale house. So I did all that was suggested and managed to squeeze a little bit too much into the days. Fortunately this time around I had done a little planning on what to see and where it
Part of the waterfalls art projectPart of the waterfalls art projectPart of the waterfalls art project

There are four temporary art installations in the form of waterfalls along the Hudson
was and how to get there. Talk about being organised!!

Doing a lap of the island (Manhattan) by boat is an excellent way to take in the sites of New York. A nice cruise along the waterfront under the bridges and over all the tunnels. For an island there's a lot of connections to the land! MoMA ended up being a pleasant surprise with Warhol, Matisse, Dali and a few of their mates' paintings as far as the eye could see over six floors. The Empire State Building while being iconic has a few too many people trying to sell you add-ons as you walk the gauntlet to the lift. Due to a few reno's the foyer was covered in scaffolding which was a little disappointing. But the iconic building that I really came to see was the flatiron building. It's one of those ones that has been in many many photos and had intrigued me, then I realised it was in New York conveniently located just down the road from the Empire State Building.

McSorleys Ale House is a pub in New York that's been around for about as long as the Europeans have been in Australia. It has a drinks menu that sets it apart from every other pub around. You have a choice of dark or light beer served in two mugs at a time or a soft drink. That's it, oh and don't ask for ice as they don't do that either, but there's sawdust on the floor and chunky furniture. In contrast to McSorleys is Abercrombie and Fitch's shop, four floors of shopping pleasure that you could easily confuse for a nightclub, with throbbing music and muted lighting. Not bad for a place whose main line of clothing is a polo shirt.

Two nights in New York means two nights at the theatre with half price tickets bought on the day of the show. Having done a bit of research I decided that the two shows I wanted to see were Rent, which is set in New York in alphabet city and Boeing Boeing set in Paris. Given that SD told me under no circumstances was I to go wondering the streets of Alphabet City I thought that watching Rent was the next best option. It turned out to be a great choice, but not as good as my decision to see Boeing Boeing. Boeing Boeing is set in Paris and centres around the relationships between an architect and his three fiancees who all work for different airlines and jet in at different times, all unaware of each other. All is good until the jet age arrives and the layover times become shorter and timetables clash. Which all led to a very very amusing evening. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far.

But overall New York didn't really stand up to it's hype, it's just a big city like many other big cities around the world. It's not really one of those places that I'd rush back to in a hurry, but if I was passing I'd drop in for a little while.

Next stop it's back to the French speaking Canadians and Montreal.


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View out my window at the YView out my window at the Y
View out my window at the Y

How good is the view, straight across to Central Park
It's a shop not a nightclubIt's a shop not a nightclub
It's a shop not a nightclub

Abercrombie and Fitch on 5th Ave, they were lined up out the door and around the corner just to get in to buy something!!
I didn't find SallyI didn't find Sally
I didn't find Sally

Top of the Empire State Building


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