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Paris left me feeling hollowed out a bit. Like looking at a beautiful apple and biting into it and it’s not bad, per se… it’s just a little floury and every fourth bite has a couple of seeds in it. As some had warned me, gay Paris isn’t the glazed cherry some make it out to be, so I’ll save that kind of savouring for the South. So, a little irritated and a little sad leaving my family for the final time before settling in Vancouver, Jian and I hit Iceland like we were the Titanic, only we never had the intention to swerve. We loved that place, we’re welcomingly warmed by the 23 hour light and swept up by my cousins who fed and treated us with stunning hospitality. They waved us farewell as we set off for The States, beaming and a little unsure as to what to expect. I think that the U.S reputation within Australia has always been hot and cold- and I’m talking hard generalisations here. I think our former Prime Minister’s relationship with the former USA President left a sour taste in the mouths of many Australians, who felt like they were being forced to
fight an alliance rather than uphold it. We were more or less living in the shadow of something larger and our little attempts at being heard in the great scheme of politics and warfare were realistically embarrassing. There was a strong ‘why would you want to go to America?’ mentality in Australia, as though it represented all things corporate, evil and coated in melted cheese. This in and of itself was embarrassing. Trumped only by a renewed appreciation of the States when President Obama was elected. All of a sudden America was cool again, they had somehow proved themselves worthy in the small squinting eyes of this tiny country on the other side of the planet. Yes, we Aussies with our bad international travel reputations and our blasphemous ability to cut down the tallest of poppies- gave the big old USA the Australian Heart Tick of approval.
Sigh.
Well, we are here. New York- the city so nice they named it twice. And what do I have to say about it? I say it with Randy Newman’s lyrics in mind…
“Just a few words in defence of our country
Whose time at the top
Could be coming
puerta rican day
we happened to be in NYC for their paradeto an end
Now we don’t want their love
And respect at this point is pretty much out of the question
But in times like these
We sure could use a friend”
Well Randy, you got a friend in me. I think America, as represented by New York, Washington and a bit of Virginia (but we will get to those in good time) is great. I think New Yorkers like to think of themselves as the hardest noses on the block, but we can see straight through it. There is kindness on the streets, colour that you don’t see anywhere. There is religion oozing from the homeless, subway prophets, multiculturalism, elitism and nostalgia at every turn. That is not to say that New York is not hard-hitting. You do get the impression that it takes the naïve and grinds them up into butter, but I would say the same of Sydney and certainly of Paris. The difference between Paris and NY is that in Paris there is pride that comes at the cost of others, but here there is pride that comes with welcoming. I like that, I respect that.
New York is all that we have heard
about. Noisy, dirty. But it is also stunningly beautiful and yes, there is STILL a hollow ringing of falling buildings in this city. I think some still have dust in their hair, by choice. I have never been here before, but you do get the feeling that this is a city changed. Or forced into retrospection. It’s a vibe I’m riding on here… just as it was a vibe that say permeated through Germany (for me, not Jian though)- only in Germany it was a sense of unease. This is not to say that New York is all we see in Woody Allen comedies. It can by scary. As we saw when we visited our first hostel in Harlem. This area, though we personally did not come to any harm- WAS a place we were uncomfortable. This had zero to do with race, but both Jian and I feel intimidated by anyone who hangs in large groups on street corners, regardless of creed or race. It also didn’t help that our hostel was an absolute shocker… recently opened and honestly not ready for business. Three showers and three toilet bowls for approximately seventy people plus. The thing I feared most
was not being mobbed on the street, but diseases passed on through filthy toilets and scummy tinea baths (picture yourself grinding up grapes in a wooden bucket with your feet- only the grapes are not grapes, they are noticible fuzz-balls of other peoples hair and toe-jam… that’s what putting your feet inside that shower recess was like). Assured, we did not stay there for long.
I warmed to New York quicker than Jian, but he did come around. I consider it a place I would love to live in, maybe because I feel up to the challenges it so proudly presents. Jian considers it a fantastic place to visit. Either or, there is much to be seen and tasted and experienced. As a film nerd, there is plenty for me to relish in. For Jian, there is enough architecture to admire until the cow riding, coke-snorting UTS academics come over the mountain! But more than many other places we have visited, New York is a great place to sight-see. Just wondering the streets or getting lost can be a wonderful experience. Riding the subway here is always an adventure- but its an assured ride. Jian and I are both
in agreance, if it’s NOT raining- this is the best underground in the world. Far easier to manage than London and of course, light years more advanced than wee Sydney town. Although, if you take the subway prepare to have your eyes opened, in both positive and negative ways. There are buskers who cannot sing, there are homeless people with nowhere else to go after being forced off the streets by police- like rats down a drainpipe. But there is also this seemingly accepted soap-box quality to the subway. On our first night we were witness to a mid-twenties African American transvestite with a very loud, though poetic voice- who preached for twenty minutes to no-one and everyone about the merits of being yourself under the eyes of God. “You believe and he believes and nobody believes but I believe. Because I see! I always have and always will. I see a city whose flowers have been cut down. What else do I see? I also see roots gone to seed, oh yes I have. Deep down in the soil of this city. Beneath my feet! Nobody, no bigot, no blind faith, no Devil sent from hell will take that
away from us.”
Contrast this to the next man who boarded the train. He obviously had some level of mental illness, which I will not begrudge mis-diagnosing. He screamed up and down the length of the train, asking for money but also yelling inconsistencies and politics and of family pain… “Yes, no. Got a dollar? The bitch. The war. This fucking war. There is no war. Dirty bitch, she leave me. Got a dollar. I hate it-shit! Thankyou!’
It’s that kind of city. It’s own kind of a city. Very different from anything else we have seen. The people a polite only to a minimum- in that YES they do conduct themselves well (but only just marginally) around others (when they bump into you they say sorry but it feels more like a tick in the box than anything close to an apology). But if you even look remotely lost- all you have to do is frown before someone comes up to you and offers you help. There is a business to it all. A city on the move. It wants you to move with it. This seems to be where their generosity comes from. They don’t want
you to get left behind, but if you do- see you later!
So Jian and I are trying to keep up pace. And I think we are. We’ve done cosmopolitan and we’ve done harlem, and we are trying to fit in as many sites as we can in between. Here are a couple of things we have done…
Broadway! Yes, we saw the gayest show this side of Priscilla. Nine to Five, based on the songs of Dolly Parton and a film I haven’t seen (though I will), starring none other than the eternally awesome Allison Janney (for those who may not know- the Mum from Juno and American Beauty, who was also the sex obsessed councillor in 10 Things I Hate About You)- who I managed to meet after the show and get a photo with. Big thrill! Lots of fun. The show was obviously on Broadway, in Times Square- which is a towering lego land of neon and tourists. I said to Jian, being in Times Square is a little like being inside a light bulb full of ball-bearings that someone is shaking.
We have done Greenich. Walked up Carrie Bradshaws street and stumbled over
aaron outside carrie's door
thanks for your lonely planet notes amy!! her doorway. For me, being in places recognisable from film and television is an astounding feeling- and rare, as so much popular culture of merit is made within Australia (lets change that kids!). We also got a photo out front of the original Stonewall Bar, but were not able to get inside as they were hosting a charity event. Jian got a haircut from a scary muscle-mary who was a little too clipper-happy for my liking, sending me scurrying out into the street afraid for my split ends. Nearbye was the original Stonewall club (where it all began!), planning to get a drink there, but unfortunately couldn’t gain access as a charity event was being held there at the time we rocked up. Though the trip was not wasted as across the road is a park/sculpture/monment to same sex relationships in times of adversity featuring a male-male/female-female statuettes on benches among trees and passing children. Our day was punctuated with a detour past One Fifth Avenue, a place made famous by a Candace Bushnell novel I read back home (and have since passed around to numerous friends) and witnessing the aftermath of a car explosion. ‘They do it for the
insurance, ya know!’ said a highly accented New York grocer who stood beside me, holding up an umbrella to shield my camera from the rain. ‘Happens all the time these days.’
We stumbled across a Puerto Rican parade and bobbed along to the salsa music pounding the streets. Our mouths dropped at the site of an indoor ferris wheel inside a kids toy store. We have been going bookstore crazy, getting giddy inside myer sized Barnes and Nobel and the intricate, rare finds within The Strand. I’ve bought a handful of hard to find horror movies (oh I’m in heaven…) and Jian has been picking up great (though heavy) architecture related material. We’ve been to the cinema a handful of times; screamed and laughed our way through Raimi’s ‘Drag Me To Hell’, swooned through the funny romance of ‘Away We Go’ (also starring Allison Janney) and slummed it through the disappointing new Terminator Movie. Jian’s neck must surely be almost at breaking point after taking in so many tall buildings- especially along Wall Street (or as I like to call it Bret Easton Ellis street).
Obviously, we went to Ground Zero. A haunted place. It holds a weird
and strong relevancy to equal any church we have been to in our travels. Near the site (which is nothing more than a boarded up excavation site) is an under-visited memorial museum to the Towers and to the memories of those who died there. A teddy bear that had been on someone’s desk, on the top floor, which was pulled from the rubble months later- INTACT- was particularily moving. How could this little stitched together memento make it home, when so many others did not. The little hopes inscribed in messy finger paints and infantile wording from children around the world also hit a rough chord. If you visit New York, this is one place you must visit.
On a lighter note, we did the Staten Island Ferry and waved to The Statue of Liberty- who is looking as Green as she did leaving France having been recently reworked within so that people can now again, walk up and peer out through her crown. I got photos out front of movie locations that have relevance to me… A cinema from Annie Hall, where Woody Allen and Diane Keaton decided it just wasn’t going to work- and went their separate
ways. Many locations used in Angels in America (perhaps the greatest mini-series/play ever created)- particularly through Central Park. The Dakota building which was used as the birthplace of Satan’s son in Rosemary’s Baby. Jian snapped a photo of me outside Elaines Restaurant from the opening scene of Allen’s Manhattan. I listened to Strawberry Fields in Strawberry Fields and listened to Aimee Mann’s ‘Colombus Ave’ on the same stretch of road. It is surreal. Like being within and exterior to your imagination and memory and those of others.
We spent some time in down-town Harlem. We didn’t stay for long… We sent a package to Canada from a post-office there (an ordeal that took an hour and a half) and the locals were … vocal throughout.
I saw the new Woody Allen movie ‘Whatever Works’ which is set in Manhattan, in Manhattan! Again I found myself spun into some sort of romanticised alternate universe and had my own little spark of patriotism when I saw that they filmed one particular scene out the front of my current hostel.
Stepping into New Yorks Chinatown is literally like stepping back into Asia, so definitively alien to its surroundings it’s offending
to the senses- though a welcome throwback to our earlier travels. Nostalgically, we ordered noodles at a corner dive frequented by Paul Giamatti and later scoured the streets for a Lonely Planet recommended gelato place. Nursing our aching stomaches we trekked back to our hostel and enjoyed a home prepared meal. Little things like this, we miss.
New York is an exciting place, though often random, unpredictable and an avid melting pot. Take our hostel for instance. There is the ex-pat, the weird older guy trying desperately to get younger tourists drunk, the woman who does not speak and the mysterious aging Rabbi who comes into our room in the middle of the night for no particular reason (!!!!) (p.s- it sounds like a joke, but it’s not). There are people who are obviously here because they have no choice, those who are here by default and even those who have come here in search for a Sex and the City inspired idealism… but whatever reason, we are here. We are reacting, we are learning. Cities can teach you about human behaviour, reveal something more about yourselves by what you see in the faces of strangers. I’m interested to
find what out what else New York has in store for us, and we for it.
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Elise
non-member comment
WOW!!! New York looks incredible!! As does your fabulous hair cut Jian!!!! xoxoxoxox