Well here I am finally sitting inside the New York Public Library and admiring the amazing works on the roof, the walls the floors - everywhere you look there is beauty. Today is raining so I am trying to do things that do not need going outside, you can definately pick a local on days like today, they all wear gumboots and judging by the stare of my wet socks and shoes, its a very sensible trend lol. Today I have also been to Grand Central station - another mesmorising building inside and out and now I am here and enjoying the quiet solitude.
It has certainly been a whirlwind ride since arriving by train at Penn station only 5 days ago - seems like I have been here forever as we have crammed so much into those days. The highlights of New York for me have been the intricate workmanship you see on the buildings of this old city and I have wondered who designed them & who worked on them, they truly are splendid pieces in their own right. PlOf course the most special of them all has to be the Brooklyn Bridge - it is truly spectacular and I hope that I have taken some wonderful shots for you Bill that we can display in our home. I feel truly blessed to have had the chance to walk it. Aside from this you must give special mention to the Empire State and the glamorous art deco Chrysler building, also just amazing to look at. And again this afternoon I have
spent a wonderful time walking around Grand Central station & the New York Public Library.
There are so many people around at any one time that it is difficult to just stand and take it all in as Manhattan is a city on the move and if you dont move along with it, you will be knocked over as I have found out! Aside from the beauty I have also found it at times dirty and smelly in some areas and the noise of this city is relentless. If its not sirens blaring day and night its New Yorkers just having a go at anyone and everyone in their way or not doing what they want. Sometimes I have found this amusing but after 5 days I am becoming tired of it and long for my serenity of my little life.
Its not until you move away from your own that you truly do appreciate what you have, I know I am returning home with a longing for my peaceful existance even though I am blessed to have experienced this ride, I wouldnt give up my own life for all the money in the world.
I think I have learned many things on this trip, New Yorkers dont particularly strike me as a happy lot - perhaps its because they have to push and shove their way through their lives, or perhaps they are so sick of tourists like me they just cant be bothered to help. The sevice people are clearly not interested in their jobs and I find that sad.
I have also had to turn a blind eye both here and in Boston to the clear distinction between those with money and those with out. It is so apparant over here. The homeless and those riding the buses home at night who are on crack or something else are just so sad. In Boston I passed a bundle with long blonde hair sticking out which appeared to be a female young teen no older than 12 or 13 lying on a bench. That haunted me for a few nights as all I could do was walk past into my warm hotel which was not cheap on our last night in Boston. I know we have this problem in Australia as well, it just isnt in my face so you tend to forget it exists, but here in America there seems to be so much more poverty and elderly who have disabilities and are trying to get onto buses and survive the streets of New York with no one to help them but themselves - yes they certainly are a tough lot because they need to be.
Then you look around at streets like 5th Avenue - this street has all the money and glitz in the world with men and women dressed to the nines coming out of stores like Armani, Tiffany,
Dolce and Gabbana, every equisite brand you can think of is there with queues of women lining up to swipe their credit cards many times over.
Anyone who knows me knows I am not a brand girl - I am far too practicle to spend a fortune on any one item, and as much as it is lovely looking at these amazing shops and clothes and shoes, I wont spend my hard earned money on items which only seem terribly overpriced to me. Thats not to say I havent been spending, oh yes I have and have managed to buy some lovely things. I have bought some jewelry from a native New York designer, cheap boots for $99 small gifts for myself along the way and of course lots of goodies for those at home :) It certainly has been a lot of fun and the prices on regular items do seem a lot cheaper than we pay in Australia so you really can get some great deals over here. I guess I just find it amazing to see all the women standing in queues to be let into a designer shop (10 at a time), I'd rather just walk on by and go into the next shop - surely the items they are buying cannot possibly be that wonderful??
I guess in closing I can say - New York is an amazing experience, culturally and socially. It is just so big and overwhelming at the same time that for me its a little too much all at once. Perhaps living here and taking in all the sights with time to ponder would suit me better. While rushing in and out while trying to not be stepped over in the process is a little daunting for my liking, I have no doubt been in awe of the most magnificent sights I have seen and have certainly be blessed to see them I do know that but am happily returning to my home country knowing that without a doubt we do live in the best country in the world.
Just one more thing, I went down to the memorial of 9/11 yesterday and was moved to tears at the displays and stories you read while there. I couldnt help but notice though as I had to compose myself and get out of there that hundreds of people were normally just rushing past this enormous site and it was only the tourists that seemed to be stopping to pay any attention to where we were. It is still all cornered off but you can see the gaping hole amongst the building site of what was. We did not reside that you needed to register on line to visit the new memorial so we were not able to go into the site the day we were there. I guess I was surprised to see everyone just rushing past on their way home, taxis and buses hooting their horns and people just yelling out for others to move along as if this was an ordinary street. Life does go on and I know that it should, but a little part of me felt that there should have been a part of that area where no one could tread...the new memorial is set up as we discovered you needed to book online the night before to visit this and we did not have time to go back to. Again I left feeling very privaleged of my lucky life which I would soon return home to.
Lets see, its Wed afternoon and we are leaving on Sat morning. The next coulple of days will be a lot slower now that we have raced around to see all the sights that both Rima and I wanted to see. Tomorrow I must find some time to just sort out my packing and work out if there is anything else I would like to do before I leave other than that perhaps spend some more time in the park.
Thank Goodness I have had Rima with me - her knowledge of New York and sense of direction has made travelling around a lot easier - had I not had her by my side my experiences would not have been the same and most likely I would not have travelled as far.
We realise that our location on the Upper West, although houses some beautiful brownstones which I adore, it really is not practical in terms of travelling to and fro each day. Manhattan is just so big and to get from the top to bottom on buses as I have prefered to do has been time consuming and tiring even though it was my choice to do so and I believe a safer option at night for the two of us.
I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts on all of my travels, it has been theraputic writing all of these experiences actually so has helped me to gather my thoughts and acknowlege what I liked or didnt like about each area we visited.
The next time I will be speaking with you all will be in my home country. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me, its has been a pleasure to be able to tell you my perceptions, the highs and the lows of a trip which was definately worth venturing out for.
All my love,
Janine xx
