New York New York

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Isn't everything they say.....

According to Huey Lewis, but what the heck would he know. He reckons the Heart of Rock and Roll is in Cleveland. Cleveland? Nah.

We rolled into New York by way of Baltimore, Philly and New Jersey and boy does the railway show you the uglier side of cities. Ick. Penn Station, at 5pm on a Monday, is a practical demonstration of what Pete Curry calls New Yorker's unique sense of personal space and boy is it hot. There's something about descending into the ground and the temperature going up that is mildly unsettling. Subways here are hot. Really hot. But, they run quickly and frequently, and it wasn't long before we heaved our bags to 330 W 95th Street to the Continental Hostel. It's a partially converted apartment building and well located, a block from Broadway and the subway station. However, the desk clerks were all thick as short planks and the room, while comfy, was a little sterile. It seems the way with private hostel rooms. Oh, and it used to be someone's kitchen. Weird? I thought so. Highlight of the day? Finding a pizza joint across Broadway that did only organic vegetarian pizza. And it was good.

We slept a tad late on Tuesday, so decided to use the day for finding our feet. We trained down to Times Square and yowzers! Upon exiting the subway we were assailed by sights, smells and hordes of people! HORDES! And the Naked Cowboy, but you've probably all seen him. We basically spent the day wandering around, looking at all those places you only see on TV. It's a garish monument to consumerism and the US Armed Forces Recruiting Centre seems woefully out of place, but it was an interesting walk. We were both quite knackered, so after a stop at *gosh* Borders, we adjourned to the park in the sun and read, accompanied by a jazz playing busker, whose Watermelon Man was most excellent. We walked the 40 odd blocks north to the hostel through the peaceful woodland of the park. I can understand why New Yorkers go there, and why they need it there. It's an incredible escape from the bustle of the city. And it's quiet, even over the through roads.

Wednesday was designated NYC Culture Day, so we crossed the park to the Guggenheim to kick the day off. Firstly, it wasn't worth the $18 we paid to get in. The building is magnificent, and the spiral is a great gallery space, but it was taken up with an exhibit of the art and architecture of Zahi Hadid who is interesting, but not captivating. So, with lighter wallets, we moved south to the Met, expecting, and getting more bang. While it cost $20 each to get in, it was worth every penny. Their Egyptian and Greek collections were incredible, the highlight being the entire Temple of Dendur - flogged from Egypt late in the 1800s and reassembled here for our pleasure. The paintings and heiroglyphs were astonishing. We wandered through to the collection of Arms and Armour, of course, and I was amazed by the comprehensive collection of German and Italian medieval plate and horse armour - rare outside Europe. It was beautiful work, and quite incredible in the detail. There was also a stunning collection of Samurai swords and armour, and a recreated Sassanid cataphract. Heaven! We were denied our El Greco fix for this gallery, but enjoyed some pleasant works from Europe and America, culminating in the picture of 'Washington Crossing the Delaware.' It's a huge canvas and wow! What a painting. It's very impressive and effective.

We left the museum to discover our lovely day had been doused in water and members of the NYPD were screaming up Park Avenue at a rate of knots. We got wet waiting for the bus and it wasn't until we returned to the hostel that we discovered Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle had crashed his plane into an apartment block in 72nd Street. It made for an engaging evening of television and we were glad to not be going outside.

Thursday dawned cold and threatening, so we packed our jackets and headed downtown with the intention of visiting some of NYs more colourful neighbourhoods. We hopped off the train at Canal Street, between Tribeca (Hippieville) and Chinatown. Chinatown here is like Chinatowns everywhere, but this one is huge and it reeked of food. The smells were almost overwhelming, as was the profusion of stalls selling tat. We wandered past a few local landmarks and then across the road into Little Italy. Oh the joy! Lots of Italians - it sounded like the set of the Sopranos! Again, we mainly just wandered and looked, listening to the music and reading the menus. We had lunch in a fantastic little restaurant (oh the gorgonzola gnocchi, yum!) and watched the world go by. SoHo came next, and it was quite charming. The architecture was lovely and the hippie/student feel of the place gave it a relaxed kind of feel. And it didn't smell, which always helps!

On our way uptown, the weather cleared so we thought we'd stop at the Empire State and go up. Outside, they tell you it's a 20 minute wait. No biggie, we thought, and wandered in. Inside, it turns out it's a 90 minute wait. Liars. So we wasted half an hour and then gave up, wandering our way through the streets to the corner of E 59th St and Park Ave - the home of FAO Schwartz - the greatest toy shop in the world. It doesn't have a ferris wheel like Toys R Us in Time Square, but I can forgive that for the giant piano! You all remember 'Big' right? So much cool stuff in such a small place. The lobby, which I shall call 'A Room with a Moose' had a lifesize plush moose. It was $1200! But it was a moose! It also had a giant Lego Darth Vader. Bonus points there. Upon abandoning the store disappointed in being unable to buy anything, we went downstairs to the Apple store and abuse their free internet access. We looked at many many pointless iPod related accessories, and vowed to purchase them one day! We did too much walking and standing, so were both glad to sit down to a delicious Sicilian place around the corner from the hostel and have a glass or two of vino and a peaceful dinner.

After Thursday's failure, we had another go at the Empire State at 9.30am Friday. It was worth the short wait to get to the top. There's something satisfying when your ears pop in an elevator! The views from 86 floors up are.....stunning. NYC stretches miles in every direction. One can really appreciate Manhattan and it's architecture from there. It's hard to describe. I'll show you the photos.

We came down, and jumped the subway to South Ferry, intending to visit Liberty and Ellis Islands. The queues were ridiculous, so we quickly abandoned that idea, and took the Staten Island ferry instead. That's free, which is always good, and afforded a fantastic view of the downtown skyline. The hole left by the World Trade Centre is quite visible, and quite obvious. It's odd, one forgets that the body of water you're crossing is a river, and it was only as we viewed NYs famous garbage scows tied up against the current, that I was reminded. The views of Liberty, Ellis and Governers Islands were most pleasant. All in all, a nice cheap hours entertainment. We headed around downtown for a bit of building spotting, and visited Wall St, the Woolworth building (Pete says "What someone in the 11th Century would build if you asked for a skyscraper!") and the site of the former World Trade Centre. It's a mighty big hole, but work on the Freedom Tower continues apace. Already the subways are rebuilt and the foundation work is well underway. The memorial is cheapened by people trying to sell you books of photos despite the city's best efforts which is sad.

Lesson for Friday: never go to MOMA on free night. NEVER. Pay the $20 - it's gotta be worth it. Having to crane over 25 other people trying to see a Dali with drooping clocks is not fun, and listening to American's characterising Henri Matisse as "more colourful" than Pablo Picasso is annoying in extremis. They have the most amazing modern art collection I've ever seen. So many beautiful masterpieces. Pardon me while I gush and drop names. I saw:

• The Dream, by Rousseau, and it was as beautiful as I expected.
  
• The Persistence of Memory, by Dali, and when I got to see it (it's small) it was magnificent.
  
• The False Mirror, by Magritte, was weird. Just weird.
  
• Gas, by Hopper, which is my second favourite of all his paintings. It was amazing.
  
• Personage Throwing Stone at Bird, by Miro, which is a long standing McEwen family joke. I loved it!
  

We were glad to get away from the crowds, but I intend to return and study these works, and others, with the effort they richly deserve. Glad to get home to rest, I can tell you.

Saturday rolled around, and I decided to have another go at Liberty while Jen went shopping in Chelsea. Wouldn't you know it though - there was construction on the subway and a 15 minute trip took five times that. By the time I got down there, the tourbusses had arrived and there were the best part of several hundred people trying to get on the boat. I abandoned that idea in fairly short order and went a-wandering until I found myself at the Brooklyn Bridge and decided to walk up it. The views were magnificent. It's a great bridge, what can I say. I headed back uptown, where we met Pete and Mary before they went off to Avenue Q and had a last lunch while we were all still here. (Finally got my NYC sub, and boy was it good!) A most entertaining conversation as we pondered the oddity that is New York. They went off to Broadway and we went off and found the truly garish Rockefeller Plaza, with it's infamous skating rink. I was tempted to go, but soundly put off by the cost. Maybe another day. We ambled downtown a little, and then decided to go out to the UN. Pete and Mary managed to go in and see the swearing in of the new Secretary General yesterday, and we arrived about an hour after the Security Council sanctioned North Korea. Momentous times, people. Momentous. After a brief stop in a midtown comic shop, we headed home once more and out for pizza one last time. Will be glad to sleep tonight, I'm well tired.

Tomorrow? Well, aside from packing and making our way to Newark, we're thinking a brisk walk through the middle of Central Park would be nice and a last meal of sorts before we head for Britain. Nothing terribly exciting, but I promise to tell you all about it anyway.

Hope you're all well,
Take care,
Talk soon,
Al and Jen

PS - TO THE HOME COUNTRY BATMAN!

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Photos

Chrysler!
From the steps of the NYC Public Library

COPS!
The FAO Schwartz Welcoming Committee

NYC
from atop the Empire State

NYC again
from atop the Empire State

Lady Liberty
from the blessedly free Staten Island Ferry

Wall Street
That's one big flag!

Ground Zero
That's one big hole!

Brooklyn Bridge
I don't think you ever realise the East is a river till you're over it!

Rockefeller Centre
Once we found it!

One Last Laugh
courtesy of Chinatown!