New York, New York, It's a Hell of a Town

After Boston we came down to New York city by train, staying in a little two-bedroom apartment just off Times Square (on 48th St between 8th and 9th Ave). It's certainly an overwhelming place. Not because of the tall buildings, I've spent enough time in downtown Sydney (and now Montreal) to be used to getting around a big city. The thing that struck me was the people. All the caricatures you hear about obnoxious New Yorkers are really quite accurate. The drivers are all insane, especially the taxi drivers, and the pedestrians are just as pushy. Erin was particularly appalled when she overheard a mother instructing her children to push and shove!

Erin and Mum are disappointed that it's not snowing and there's none forecast before we head down to Florida. (Erin is particularly sour, saying a White Xmas is the only reason she came all this way!)

The first day there we saw the American Museum of Natural History together then I went over to The Met by myself. The dinosaurs were very impressive, so many huge fossils! The Met also had tons of famous works but my favourite part was when I overheard an American badly mispronouncing French names, saying "My favorites are Monnett and Rennoyer."! Both museums were far too big to see all of. The walk back to the subway station through Central Park was a little scary as it was getting dark and I was by myself but I was fine. I think the danger might be a little exaggerated.

Christmas Eve we went to see the Empire State Building; the 3rd tallest building in the world, now that the World Trade centre is no more. Dad and I went all the way to the 102nd floor. It was VERY windy! That night we had dinner at a very expensive restaurant on Central Park, The Tavern on the Green, and then took a carriage ride through the park.

Boxing Day we toured the UN building in the morning and saw Little Italy and China Town in the arvo.

On our last day in New York we caught the ferry out to La liberté éclairant le monde. Dad and I went inside but you can't walk up into her head anymore, we could only go to the viewing platform at the top of the pedestal. Still, it was interesting to see such a famous landmark up close.

On our last night we had dinner in a Puerto Rican restaurant, just as appropriate to New York as our lunch in Little Italy the day before. One of the sides offerred was plantains (a word I recognised from a conversation I had with a couple of Latino friends who were patiently explaining to me the differences between Mexican and Puerto Rican cuisine). So I tried the green ones and Mum tried the sweet ones. The sweet ones were too much like bananas for my liking but the green ones were very starchy and, fried up, tasted much like potato scallops.