Return to Escape from New York City
As this is my third time in the US, I feel like I should be in a position to make some sweeping generalisations or insightful observations. I still find I'm left with just scattered observations. The toilet bowls have more water in (but smaller pipes?). There are more independent shops - independent delis rather than a tesco metro on every block. Almost no-one drives a hatchback. I'm unable to get over how sales tax is done, adding it on to the posted price at the cash register. It means unless you add 8 1/4 per cent (or whatever your state rate is) you never know exactly how much things are going to cost, you can't prepare the right change, and things don't cost a neat amount. I understand the advantages, like it's easy to change, but it's persistently odd to me.
One thing I do know for sure is that Americans love to honk their car horns. Maybe not as much as some nations, but a lot more than Britons. When one person honks, another person always has to copy. I think this is because honking is a constitutional right, inserted by Thomas Jefferson. Everyone knows that when you have a constitutional right, you should exert it at every opportunity, regardless of whether it is appropriate or not.
I couldn't find my camera charger, so I've been carrying a notebook as a kind of alternative. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't.
I got in on Sunday, to a rainy New Jersey. After that, the weather brightened to what in the UK would be warm to hot summer weather. Only once did a cloud burst hit, sending New York into a sudden panic mode.
On Tuesday I got up with Amy at 6:30, and was in NY by 8. Spent the day wandering around with no particular purpose, stopping every now and then to write some notes.
One thing I do know for sure is that Americans love to honk their car horns. Maybe not as much as some nations, but a lot more than Britons. When one person honks, another person always has to copy. I think this is because honking is a constitutional right, inserted by Thomas Jefferson. Everyone knows that when you have a constitutional right, you should exert it at every opportunity, regardless of whether it is appropriate or not.
I couldn't find my camera charger, so I've been carrying a notebook as a kind of alternative. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't.
I got in on Sunday, to a rainy New Jersey. After that, the weather brightened to what in the UK would be warm to hot summer weather. Only once did a cloud burst hit, sending New York into a sudden panic mode.
On Tuesday I got up with Amy at 6:30, and was in NY by 8. Spent the day wandering around with no particular purpose, stopping every now and then to write some notes.