Wednesday, 19 August 2015

USA: Part III

New York City
As our bus approached the Big Apple, the heavens opened, and it poured down. Luke, at this point suggested a walk through Central Park when we got there this afternoon, saying it would be less crowded…yes, there’s a reason for that!
But as soon as we stepped off the bus, the rains stopped and we were enveloped in a humid NYC. It was sticky and muggy, but it was New York.
We thought we’d make the most of the late afternoon we had, so dropped our bags off and went for a walk. Starting up at Times Square, we gazed up at the big bright ads surrounding us. Then onto the Rockefeller centre where I distinctly remember being shat on by a pigeon when I came over 10 years ago with my dad and sister.
 
We walked further up past Saxs 5th Avenue, and onto Central Park. It was beautiful, and even though it was hot, it was a nice stroll. We went down the Mall (the only straight road in the park) to find salsa dancers practicing amongst these Frisbee throwers- I’ve never seen anything like it, with them doing all of these interesting tricks.

Imagine @ Central Park


We walked past water fountains, bridges and great big meadows and lakes before reaching the spot dedicated to John Lennon from his wife – a small tiled circle in the floor reading ‘Imagine.’
Central park has a very different feel when it’s colder, and I remember going ice skating with Natalie when we were here last.
After picking up our bags, we headed to Grand Central Station where we gazed up at the bright blue ceiling and it’s grandeur. It was stunning…but we had to catch a train and we were in a rush. We grabbed our tickets to Fleetwood, a suburb about half an hour away and jumped on the train.
We arrived at the house just before our host, Janis, a 61 year old lady born and bred in NYC. She was lovely, and you could tell just from looking at her home that she was well travelled. As a teacher, she spent every summer getting out of the city and exploring, a luxury it seems not many have in the States with their 10 day holiday limit each year! Her house was covered in artefacts, little souvenirs, and clothing from all over the world. Her most interesting trip of all was her Mongolia one where she helped teach teenagers who had previously worked in the sex slave industry.
She was a great host, and told us all about the best spots in NYC to visit. We settled in for the night on this massive king size bed…and I haven’t slept so well since we were in Dallas!

We woke up a bit later than expected and set out to see the sights. The first day we took a subway over to Brooklyn and strolled around Brooklyn heights, apparently an up and coming area which was starting to fill up with young, artistic people.

Brooklyn bridge

We then did one of the obvious tourist things and walked across Brooklyn bridge. It was a beautiful day and the view of the city was amazing as you walked across and different skyscrapers were revealed, hiding behind the next.

We walked down to South Street Seaport, where the old fish market used to be, now filled with cute restaurants and bars and walked along the dock to see some old ships.



NY Stock exchange
 
It was Wall Street after that, just in time for the end of the day on a Friday- seeing all these happy faces escape for the weekend as they exited their buildings.
 


9/11 Memorial and new tower
Not far from there, we came across the Twin Towers 9/11 memorial site. The last time I was here, construction was still going on and all that stood firm was a cross made out of some of the steel framework that used to hold up the building.
Now there stands two cut outs, the width of the twin towers with waterfalls in each. Names are engraved across the outside, and it was shocking how many service men and women died in the fight to rescue the victims of the attack.
It was really moving, and as we looked up at the new world trade centre, it was just really difficult to imagine what people were feeling when they were that high up and stranded, feeling helpless. Janis told us more of that horrific day when we got back, having known people who died, and some who had watched as they fell were severely affected.
We decided to carry on, and took a walk around the nearby district of Tribeca. It was a lovely little area, and we even walked past Robert de Niro’s restaurant.
The following day we headed straight to the NY public library. It was grand and beautiful and each room was different to the next- the maps room, the jewish room and more distinct little corners of the building. Unfortunately the main reading room was closed for refurbishment, but the rest of it was definitely worth our time!
Next was the inevitable…Empire State building! Lucky for us, there wasn’t much of a queue considering it was Saturday, so we kept on going up and up without much disruption.
We finally made it to the top and the view was spectacular. So many more skyscrapers had popped up since I was last there, but it was just amazing how built up the island was and how densely populated it looked.
We walked further south to Madison Square Park and Union Square, before passing through Greenwich. It was getting dark at this point, but Washington Square was alive with people making the most of the cooler weather whilst performance acts were going on and music was playing.
Further on we went down Mulberry Street to Little Italy where this little road was packed with outside seating, gelato stands and happy diners sipping on wine and eating massive pizzas or fresh pasta. Delicious!



Miss Liberty's close up
The following day was an early one as we set out for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The queue was massive and we were waiting in the sun for a good hour- baking away and turning into giant lobsters. But as we finally got through security, we squeezed ourselves onto a boat and were off! The boat ride was pretty quick, and Lady Liberty just got bigger and bigger until we landed on her little island. We took in this giant statue from all sides, and she didn’t look happy from any angle…figures…the French made her!
On boarding the next ferry, we arrived at Ellis Island, the docking port for immigrants across the world that came to see America’s roads paved with gold. As one new arrival put it- ‘I came because I heard America’s streets were paved with gold. I learnt 3 things on arriving. 1- The streets were not paved with gold, 2- The roads were not paved at all, 3- I was expected to pave them.’
People came hearing great things about America and the chance of a job and a new future. Ellis island dealt with the large influx that kept on coming into the state and travelling onwards through America. Ships unloaded and people were questioned, given a quick medical check and assessed on their trade. Only a few were turned away, mostly for illnesses and crime, but for those who got separated from their families and sent back home, it was devastating. One child recalls being split from her grandmother due to a blackened finger nail and she was sent back to Italy, for the child and family to never see her again.
The registration hall was beautiful, but information around the room recalled the crammed conditions and anxiety that filled the room as people waited their turn to be checked and let into the States.
We queued up for the ferry, and as one was unloading passengers, a guard was shouting, ‘this is not New York, this is Ellis Island,’ and we thought who would be so stupid to make that mistake. Low and behold, 2 guys asked the same woman where the subway was when the boat had gone!



 
NYC at sunset
 
We made our way back to the mainland and walked around Greenwich village, Chinatown and the East village. The East was the most interesting part of the city in terms of living wise; with beautiful metal fire escapes, old brick buildings, cute shops and cafes lining the streets and a quirkiness to the neighbourhood. We even passed the area where P.S. I love you was filmed and the diner where the famous fake orgasm from When Harry met Sally was filmed.
And New York was over sadly! It’s a great city, and although a bit overcrowded with locals and tourists alike, it’s amazing to explore and I only wish I had more time. It’s always been one of the cities I would have liked to live in for a bit. Maybe someday, who knows!



Statue of Liberty at sunset
The following day, we took a megabus bound for Washington DC. Within 5 minutes the driver had complaints from the bottom section of the bus saying the air con wasn’t working. So we pulled over after an hour and switched to a bus. Here’s the bad logic…switch us to a bus with a cracked windscreem and after this one has been sitting in the sun all day heating up…
After half an hour she pulled up again saying that the air con wasn’t working properly and suggested ANOTHER bus…Noooooo was the general consensus. We heard her yelling down the phone saying ‘I’M STOPPING IN BALTIMORE, IT’S TOO HOT, I’M NOT GOING TO WASHINGTON,’ and hanging up. Well she managed to stick it out for the ride in the end, largely owing to her overly large iced coffee!
And we arrived in…
Washington DC
We made our way to our next and final host’s house in the States, Piotr. He was Polish and lived with 2 others that he went to college with. They were all part of a think tank here, the largest one in the world apparently!
It was interesting discussing certain topics with them such as gun crime, environmental issues and of course travels! Piotr had hitchhiked a huge distance across Europe, Asia and Central America- even through Iran and the Stans, an extremely adventurous guy.
We got up early the next day as we only had one day to take in all the sights. We planned it well and started with some off by the Capitol, having a look at the huge building, although unfortunately the dome was covered in scaffolding…always seems to be the way for me. I remember walking in pitch black to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia for sunrise and me and Debs being a little bit disappointed when the sun popped up to reveal a massive bit of blue scaffolding over half of it!!!
 


Washington monument
We went into the Library of Congress and the Senate Office before heading into the Capitol. They were all beautiful roman style buildings with really intrinsic designs and sculptures. The library was beautiful with a painted ceiling and an amazing staircase that eventually looked down on the reading room.
We walked on to the History of American Indians museum. It didn’t have as much information as expected and seemed to go off topic for me as it discussed the Inca trail. There was only a small section about how white people were buying up their land, banishing them from the areas they wanted and executing 39 at one point for an uprising.
Next door was the air and space museum which was pretty cool. With the first aircraft by the Wright Brothers to Apollo 13 pieces, it had everything and anything. The photographs from the hubble telescope were incredible and it was surprising to hear the effort that went into just the slightest mirror adjustments which, only being the width of a hair off of being perfect, had altered the pictures drastically. All these repairs had to be done in space…incredibly risky.
Next was the National archives which housed the Declaration of Independence, Bill of rights and the Constitution. They were all faded from years of exposure to the sun, but still impressive from their cases in the rotunda.

We popped into he Ford’s museum where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The woman told us the story of how it happened…how he was sitting in his booth in the theatre watching the show and the guy who killed him was an actor so that when he told the guard his name, he was let into the booth to greet the president. He then waited until a vital scene in the play where people the audience burst into laughter and applause and he then shot Lincoln in the back of the head. The bullet got lodged above his eye socket and his face started to swell. The guy jumped down onto the stage and ran off, but later he was captured. As the theatre still wasn’t seen as a high class place, the president was carried out as they didn’t want him to die there, and someone from the other side of the road told them to come into his house, where it became his final resting place after a couple of hours, with nothing anybody could do.

Reflecting pool

We went back down to the mall to tackle the natural history museum (everyone loves a dinosaur skeleton) and the American history museum. Then as the sun was setting, we arrived at the Washington monument and walked towards the fountain that showed each of the states on a pillar surrounding it. We walked down the famous reflection pool which reminds me of Forest Gump seeing Ginnie again, and up to the Lincoln memorial which looks out to the pool, where Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech was once heard resonating across the mall and people’s hearts and homes. There’s even an engraved stone with his name on it where he gave the speech so many years ago.

The spot where 'I had a dream' was spoken
We unfortunately had to leave that evening from Pasha’s house around midnight and grabbed a tube to get to the airport. It was 1am when we got there, and our check in for our flight was at 4.30am. We wanted to get to Cancun at a reasonable time, and unfortunately this meant leaving Washington at the unreasonable time of 6am.

Lincoln memorial

The States was a great journey…mostly made by the beautiful National Parks we visited and the quirky cities like New Orleans and NYC.
A huge thank you to our couchsurfing hosts through the States and Canada…David, Alex and Amelia, Brett, Manny, David G, Boz, Wes, Filip, Pasha, Philippe, Janis and Piotr.
A big thank you and hugs to Asad and his family for such a wonderful stay at their home and taking us out to a baseball game and a proper rodeo.
And of course, cheers Megabus for the cheap bus rides…couldn’t have done it without you!!!


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