From snapshot to slapshot

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Is it possible to take things easy in this place?
It's as if the constant droning outside the apartment is the sound of a million worker bees and as soon as we step outside the apartment we too are caught up in the frantic activity of the city. Today was as exhilirating as it was exhausting but we will have to try to do less tomorrow or else tempers might fray, especially during the morning homework sessions!

We emerged above ground downtown into the unusual space of a big hole in the skyline ... Ground Zero and the reconstruction of what was the site of the Twin Towers. Although the contructors' fences prevented us from seeing the site up-close, the posters on them did show us that what is due to serve as a memorial to those who lost their lives on September 11th will be both a poignant plaza and a powerful and graceful new skyscraper. The decade's wrangling and delays might have been worth it after all.

William's dismay at catching sight of the world's longest queue to catch the boat to the Statue of Liberty soon turned to joy when he realised that our CityPass tickets allowed us to go pretty much to the front of the line ... worth the investment for this fact alone! The 'green lady' shone a beautiful copper green in the sun allowing for some great photo opportunities but also led the boat to lurch over to one side as all the passengers crammed onto starboard-side to get a better view. It would be pretentious to draw parallels between this symbol of liberty and the symbol of terror represented by the gaping hole in the skyline behind ... so I won't do it!

Chinatown was a very real working community - far less touristy than the one in London. The busy streets, the noise and the crowds took their toll and we fell exhausted into a lovely little restaurant off the main drag called 4,5,6 Rest. Emily discovered that she loves green tea, we all remembered how much we love Beijing (Peking) Duck and we left refreshed and ready to rejoin the swarm outside.

An hour to kill before the ice hockey at Madison Square Garden was spent in FAO Schwartz (giant toy shop), windowshopping along 5th Avenue which was sparkling in Christmas lights, and watching the skaters at the Rockerfeller Center.
The hockey match was a real eye-opener ... booing during the national anthems (this was a Canada vs US fixture!), fights on the ice (with the referees only seeming to intervene when the combatants went to ground) and the entertainment coming as much from audience participation in the crowd (middle aged dancers!!!) as from the game itself. Our cheap seats were great seats and this was great entertainment ... brash? Yes ... but great fun - exciting, funny and the home-team won!
Who'd be a New-Yorker?
Well, I think that the foot-long hotdogs may have won William and Emily over ...

(PS For those of you who were confused after yesterday's entry - you may be wondering who the fat middle-aged Russian was in the photograph - just one of many friendly tourists we have met!)

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Photos

Madison Square Garden
NY Rangers vs Calgary Flames

Comments

[Lisa]

Wow!
Very, very jealous! Looks like you're all having a great time!