New York

[Better late than never... I am starting this post on August 6th, 2008. In order for you to measure my current apathetic inertia and/or to give myself a good kick in there, I will not change the final posting date.]

In September 2007 I was like a cat on a hot tin roof: after a nice warm-up in the beer-sausage paradise country, I flew to New York City and set foot upon the US territory for the real first time. No (more) american dream to make come true, just a double purpose : visit Anne, a.k.a. Cataldette (yes, she is the one fan of Philippe Cataldo, RIP) and visit the city that never sleeps. So I spent 10 days over there, visiting, walking, shopping, walking, enjoying... Manhattan and Brooklyn only. And partly, of course !

Here are the impressions of a newbie in NYC :

- I found it difficult to identify the tourists out of the permanent NY crowd. Of course if you wander around Rockefeller Center or Wall Street at lunch time, you will immediately spot the yuppies and not mix them up with potential tourists... but still... where are the herds of Japanese ??

- the (few) cyclists are mad. I did not see - maybe missed - any bicycle lane (except on the Brooklyn Bridge) so they ride with the rest of the traffic. No lights, no bright safety jacket, sometimes no helmet. No sense of any rule, not even for the way to follow or the traffic lights colour. Pedestrians ? Where, what, how ? No care, they just ride on. And wild.

- one day I was walking around in Brooklyn. On my way back from Prospect Park to Brooklyn Heights, 2 young guys dressed up with black suits, ties and hats came to me and asked me : "Hello miss, are you Jewish ?" A bit surprised, I said that I am not and they wished me a nice day. 10 minutes later, again, 2 young guys, same look, same question, same answer. I noticed that not everyone in the street was being asked. I asked the third pair of guys why they were asking this to me and they explained that had I said 'yes', they would have played a sort of little trumpet for me, to wish me a happy Rosh Hashana, the jewish New Year.

- this is not a legend and everyone knows that the US is a giant fridge. Wherever you go, the AC is on, set to -18 degrees. And however they always serve glasses of water with ice. I'm chilling just thinking about it.

- everyone wears Converse shoes... but so does everyone here now

- I have seen quite a few ever since but I spotted my first 'mini-skirt + Uggs' girls in the streets of NYC. It was 32 degrees celsius and 90% humidity.

- In Manhattan, I just loved Lower East Side and East Village.

- I had a big crush on rain boots. You already know Anne's beautiful pair (of boots, hey !) and whenever I could I pictured nice ones.

                     

- Storms are just like in films : bucketing down for a short lapse and leaving the ground more than soaked. Hence the rain boots.

- I totally fell in love with the Brooklyn Bridge...

A few piccies in the album.
Some more to come.

Comments

[nine]

> Nanou : moui, j'ai l'impression que c'est comme ça pour tous les pays de l'UE, pas possible de cumuler 2 nationalités.
Eh bien, non, ma chère Simone, il ne s'agit pas des chiottes du Guggenheim mais c'est bien vu, c'est le seul musée de NY où j'ai mis les pieds !

[Nanou]

a)Ma meilleure amie est née en France de parents espagnol et à 18 ans elle a choisi sa nationalité (si ça peut aider)
b) Les photos de NY sont superbes, et bien que je n'aie pas le fric pour te payer un an de concerts je tente ma chance: les chiottes du Guggenheim.

[nine]

> pas si sure ! les anglais et les ecossais ont la meme nationalite, britannique, non ? enfin bon... des rangers roses a paillettes et des tagadas dans les rations aussi ?... mouais... elle y est pas encore alors (et tant mieux)

[cahuette]

je pense qu'elle aurait eu les 3 nationalites...
une amie, anglaise et son mari ecossais ont une fille nee ici et je crois bien qu'elle a les 3 nationalites....

ma Fiiiiiiiiiillle ne fera carriere dans l'armee le jour ou il y aura des rangers roses a paillettes , c'est une ricaine qd meme !!!

[nine]

> et si elle etait nee aux us de mere francaise et de pere argentin par exemple ? elle aurait droit aux 3 nationalites ? sans doute que ca depend des accords entre la france et l'argentine, non ?
et je suppose que si ta poupette veut faire une carriere militaire il faudra qu'elle choisisse aussi