"cos everyone's your friend in New York City!"
I can't get that They Might Be Giants out of my head! :D New York is fun and also rather tiring. I have done heaps of walking and feel like I've packed a lot in. Also, the homesickness is really starting to sink in. But! This entry is about all the stuff I've been doing in the last couple of days. It's a bit ranty, but I wanted to jot it all down before I forget...
Sunday, my first day in town, was very exciting. This city is so big, and lots of things seem so familiar from TV and film, it takes a while to remember that you haven't actually been here before. When people told me it feels like you're in a movie when you walk around, I didn't really think it would feel like that, but it really did! Everywhere I looked as I wandered about, reminded me of something from popular culture: fire hydrants from Sesame Street, yellow cabs and sirens from a zillion movies, streets from Sex and the City, parking stations that look like the one in Ferris Bueller, the subway and soup kitchens that remind me of Seinfeld episodes... and so on. :)
Sunday arvo, I ended up in the Lower East side, after walking all the way from my accomm on the west side (midtown). I hunted down the Bluestockings Bookshop, as recommended by Suzysiu. Thanks Suzy! It was awesome. I was in there for ages, and couldn't leave without buying at least one book (even though I wanted the entire shop!). After that I came across a little cafe/workshop/gallery space run by girlsclub.com (I will look into them more when I get home). I had a cupcake and a coffee and chatted to the girls there about what the organisation does. Sounds rather cool. Maybe I could start one in Australia. :)
Sunday evening I met up with Donny and his fiance Phoebe, which was lovely. So good to be around some friendly Australian faces. His apartment is gorgeous and they played Sarah Blasko and Bertie Blackman. (I lost my ipod somewhere in Salzburg... or it was stolen, not sure... so I have been missing my music). We wandered around East Village and looked in some of the shops. I splurged on a jacket from a vintage clothes shop, a xmas present to myself. It's by some NY designer whose name I've forgotten for the moment. She was famous in the 70s for her wrap dresses, according to the article Donny showed me in a fashion mag after I'd bought it. Fun! :)
After that (see, told you I was packing the days with stuff) I met up with Michael and Danielle for his birthday drinks. Met a bunch of Australian friends of his, including some former NSBHS boys, and a girl who Sasha went to primary school with! Craziness. It was a good night and really nice to see Michael and Dan. I shared one of those yellow cabs home to my hostel.
Yesterday I visited MoMA, which was just incredible. Beyond words for me. I was so overjoyed and overwhelmed to see some of the pieces they have in there. Hard to explain. There were a couple in particular, a Matisse and a Chagall, that had me nearly in tears because I couldn't believe I was actually seeing the real things. They let you take non-flash photos, so I took some of my favourites. :)
Last night I went to see Avenue Q on Broadway! Just bought myself a ticket on the spur of the moment (and after Michael and some of his friends had recommended it). It's odd going to something like that by yourself, but I really enjoyed it. Very funny and irreverant, and the puppeteering and performances were incredible.
Today I walked downtown and wandered around Greenwich Village and Bleeker St (where I bought some cds I have wanted for ages) and kept walking south through SoHo and Tribeca, amazed out how quickly the city changes from affluent to povvo. And eventually I also stumbled upon the WTC site. I knew I was heading towards it, but I thought it was further south than where I was walking at the time. It seems to just be a mega construction site, all fenced off. I didn't really look around too much though as I was in search of some food and the tourists taking photos of themselves in front of the WTC signs was making me cross.
This afternoon I decided to walk across Brooklyn Bridge. I was so sick of walking by then, but I'm glad I made the effort, because it was pretty exciting to see the city from a different angle. And I could see the statue of liberty in the distance. Tomorrow, after I check out the plan is to meet Michael for coffee and a bagel before I have to make my way to the airport. I'm giving myself plenty of time, even though the flight is not until 18.40.
Now I am back in the hostel, and I've packed my backpack for the final time. It now feels like ages since I left Sydney. I am really looking forward to being home.