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Since leaving Boston on April 11th I stopped a night in Newport, Rhode Island and saw where the rich go to go yachting. The hostel there was really cosy - the guys' dorm had three beds and the girls' dorm had two. The owner was incredibly nice and helpful and she took us (the three of us who were staying there) on a night walk around town. There is a lot more history in Newport than I would have guessed.
From there I spent a day on buses as I got a morning bus up to Providence. The only thing remarkable about that was that it is a good 35 miles taking a little under 90 minutes by bus and it cost me a massive $1.50. That's 75p to you Brits back home. Out of Providence I went to New Haven, Connecticut and had just over an hour to walk downtown, walk around Yale and walk back again. I liked the look of Yale - I could see myself going there but didn't get the same feeling from Harvard back in Boston.
I completed my day of busing by getting into New York at 8pm. I stayed in the HI hostel in the upper west side at 103rd Street. It has 650 beds and is the largest hostel in the world, according to what I read. That is evident from the vast feel of the place and the fact that they are understaffed for something that size. I didn't much like the hostel and would not go back there. For one thing the corridors are long and echoey and when you have scores of French schoolkids being kids all night it gets tiring.
That having been said I loved New York. I think I wore my feet out walking around it for three days. In just the first day I walked across Central Park and got my first view of Manhattan as I came up the ridge side on the north side of the Jackie Onassis reservoir whilst dodging the literally hundreds of joggers and cyclists. I went down to the Met which surprised me by charging me money to see stuff - not like the good ol' British Museum back home. I had a pretzel for breakfast and a hot dog for lunch so the food wagons did well out of me.
I wandered down Fifth Avenue, not shopping in all the fancy boutiques and around the New York Public Library, which was an impressive structure.
I headed down 42nd Street and caught sight of the Chrysler building and I absolutely loved it. I think it's my favourite building ever. I went inside the lobby the next day and it was even better inside than out
In contract Grand Central Terminal wasn't as great as I had expected though it is still very impressive and I wouldn't mind commuting through that as much as London Euston. My legs were telling me to stop at this point so I gave in and got the subway down to Brooklyn Bridge. My feet grumbled slightly as I walked over it but my eyes told them the view was worth it once I got to the other side. I went off the map on the Brooklyn side because I absolutely had to get that view of the lower Manhattan skyline framed by the bridge, as in the opening credits of Friends.
I was delighted by it when I saw it. If it had been a little less chilly I could have stayed there all afternoon looking at it. Instead I walked back and had a look at the former site of the World Trade Center. To be honest there wasn't a lot of activity going on. Considering the Empire State Building was build in 460 days they sure are taking their time over the new Freedom Tower.
After wondering why people would pose for a photo in front of it (does that count as macabre?) I explored some more on foot through the neighbourhoods of Tribeca, Soho and Greenwich Village, which looked very funky. By the time I reached Washington Square my feet were almost going on strike so I got the subway back to the hostel and allowed them a rest during the hostel's movie night. It was Maid In Manhattan and it was cool seeing places in the movie that I had been to.
On my second day I started off at the south end and wandered around the financial district, looking at the tight security around the stock exchange. Then I explored on foot around Chinatown. I was the only white person in the crowd for many minutes and it was like entering another world for a while. It doesn't have quite the same close feel of the Chinatown in London or San Francisco because it's based on wide avenues. However I was blown away when I turned a corner and found a narrow street filled end to end with Chinese signs. I just had to walk down it. This is one of the best things I found about exploring Manhattan - I loved finding things randomly by just walking semi-aimlessly around. And I never felt threatened anywhere I went.
I passed through the small Little Italy district and got the subway back up to 42nd from where I walked down to the East river and to the UN headquarters. I got a guided tour around it and it was pretty interesting. It gave me a better understanding of what the UN is and how it works. I won't tell you though because I'm not a teacher. We got to see the Security Council and General Assembly on the tour too, but they wouldn't let me take the UK's place at any of the talks.
I'd been advised by the Aussies in my dorm room that the best time to go up Empire State was 6pm so you can see the views during daytime and then at dusk too, if you wait. So to kill time I walked around the neighbourhood and went into Macy's, which claimed to be the "world's largest store". It had nine floors and was a whole block wide, so I can believe that claim. It also gave me the opportunity to buy a new day bag because now that I'm a laptop owner the perfectly sized one I bought at home doesn't fit the laptop. I've kept the original one because it's still easiest to carry around when I don't need the laptop.
The views from the Empire State were great and it allowed me to review everywhere I'd been and everywhere I'd walked. However the sun didn't set until 7:50 so I had a long wait and they don't put seats up there because they want a good turnover of people. It was totally worth it though because the city lit up in an array of lights. Even my favourite Chrysler Building looked better with its stainless steel roof illuminated.
Once I'd enjoyed it for long enough (and I'd spent two and a half hours up there by that point!) I came down and walked up to Times Square which brought to mind images of Tokyo with all its illuminated displays. There were a good dozen police around which both made me feel secure and made me wonder why there needs to be a dozen police there.
On my final day I got up early and took the ferry trip out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I got the audio tour for both and learnt a lot about the statue's history, including the fact that the French people (not just the rich but ordinary folk too) paid for the whole statue and the American people paid for the base. Nowadays I don't think the two nations would spit on each other if they were on fire, or join in each other's wars in the Middle East.
Ellis Island was fascinating to me. Standing in the main hall I tried to imagine milions of people passing through it during its years of operation and contrasted that period of America's history when it actively recruited immigrants with the tighter policies of today and the hard time they give me personally every time I vacation here. In the 1920s if I could afford a first or second class ticket I would have been given citizenship automatically without even going through Ellis Island.
Also I'd like to point out the incredible irony in the fact that people can no longer climb to the crown of Liberty since 9/11. The statue stands for liberty and freedom and yet it's restricted. I guess the authorities are worried about the symbolism of the statue being blown up (assuming the terrorist gets through the two security screens) but there's symbolism in the current situation.
The only other major thing of note on my third day was my walking through Central Park at dusk to get a view of midtown Manhattan after the sun set. I was aware of the warnings not to be in Central park after dark but I felt safe as long as joggers were still going around the reservoir where I was photographing from. It was well worth it because the view was beautiful and it brought my Manhattan experience full circle because that was the first sight I had of it on my first day.
In conclusion I would agree with the thousands of T-shirts I did not buy and I would say "I heart NY". I would definitely come back again. I also love the fact that the subway is $2 per ride (one British pound) compared to London's $8-$10 equivalent. However I've never been through so many security checks in three days in my life!
There are a hundred things I could write about New York. This has been about half of them. The long and varied nature of this blog matches my time in New York.
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