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Published: September 16th 2010
Friday, July 2nd The first half of today was spent flying. Oh how I wish I hadn't seen the first episode of Lost on tv yesterday. So superstitious about stuff like that. How much worse it got when the book I am reading stated "the more safe flights I have, statistically the closer I am to a crash." Read that on the plane. When the hour long bumps started and he spotted the lightning over Venezuela, resignation just sat in.
That was the first flight. The second was bumpier. But we made it.
Into JFK. The turbulence robbed of us sleep and we were irritable with a capital F**K. Literally the sight of South Americans was winding us up, and the customs queue was 90 minutes. What a ridiculous joke America can be. 15,000 more security checks and we were on the subway. Here all walks of life surrounded us making New York uniquely what it is. An old Chinese man read his book over his billy goat beard and thought about mogwai. The comic book geek delicately turned the pages of the latest Justice League. The Mexican gang-banger rolled his baby's buggy back and forth and the black
nurse read her bible. All heads down, together on the train but in separate worlds.
40 minutes and we were into the West Village where our hosts Amy (Hayley's friend from uni) and Mike awaited. Well, Mike was out playing ratrace on Wall Street but his awesome flat with roof terrace was waiting. Amy welcomed us with a little walking tour of the surrounding area, taking in such important sights as the Friends building, the house from Sex & the Sh*tty and the Magnolia Bakery. We also trekked across the high line, a former railway now transformed into a pleasant little garden. For the record, it's sweltering.
After a German-themed lunch with staggering $8 beers (put that in context - Hostel La Torre $4 a night, football tickets $2) we headed back through Chelsea market. Seemingly designed solely for picnics selling everything but anti-Yogi bear spray the clientele are exclusively young mothers and homosexuals. Why aren't the homosexuals at work? The theatre opens in the day right? Shop names like "Fat Witch" and "The Big Retardation Company est. 1961" with $12 loaves of bread did little to attract our custom.
A walk down the Hudson River continued
Night-time shooting
With a case of the jittersthe theme. Men in speedos, men carrying dogs, men in tight shirts. Hmmm, is this gay district? Unlike South America what few women were here seemed to appreciate the sun and did not dress in winter clothes. Rotating to civilisation is proving difficult. Being able to cross the road seems strange and unusual. Watching tv without subtitles in Spanish shows a whole new world at the bottom of the screen. We both have used 'gracias'.
It's not home but it's respite.
Saturday, 3rd July On a Saturday morning in the First World (does that term still exist?) what better to do than get a full English breakfast (albeit masqueraded as an Irish one) and watch your two mortal enemies battle it out in a World Cup quarter final? Answer - nothing. The Irish pub waiter apologised for giving us the wrong menu; he brought out a new one exactly the same but $2 more expensive. See, you greedy f**ks can make money from the beautiful game it's okay to embrace it. It seems at least some of the country has as the place is packed out. The support is vehement, but no fights. Interesting. It could be New
Our generous host
And a cheap advert for Grolsch York's cosmopolitain nature that makes it an exception in the US. The sheer volume of statistics, the shocking commentary and complete lack of original chants demonstrates they still haven't quite grasped it. Maybe it's for the best, they'd only ruin it (see: Liverpool). Germany 4 Argentina 0!
With the afternoon we hit Independence weekend sales, still so far out of the backpacker price range they might as well have been trying to get us to buy Jesus' original crucifiction sandals in mint condition. A lady in Bloomingdales stopped me:
"What do you use on your eyes?" she inquired. What the hell? Why we should lead with the implication I already use something?
It was one of those moments where you think of an answer two seconds after your mouth does.
"Nothing," I replied. I wish I was witty. Mashed up panda pen*s would have been a better answer than that.
With the late afternoon and the sun still boring its way into our subconscious we headed to Central Park. Everybody in New York is seemingly here, the grass is covered with bodies like Omaha Beach. The four of us hit the lake for beers and kabobs (what is it with these Americans and their pronunciation?). $60 for 2 drinks and 2 sticks. It's been a whole month since the Bolivian bus nightmare and the feeling has kind of left us but did we just get robbed again? At least the free entertainment of the street performers kind of made up for it.
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Bloomer
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Statistics
"the more safe flights I have, statistically the closer I am to a crash." Isn't that guff? Like saying that the more times I toss a coin and get only heads, the closer I am to getting a tails in the future! Unless there's some kooky causation going on....