New York, New York!

Ahh, New York. I now understand why they call it the city that never sleeps, though it does definitely have a bit of a lie down on Thanksgiving Day!

I arrived in NYC on Thanksgiving Eve and was totally buggared. So after an early night I woke up before dawn to go the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with a friend and her fiance`. Now I hadn't seen this friend for around 12 years when she was an exchange student in Canberra, so talk about catching up with a long lost friend. It was fantastic to catch up and relive old times (and we did so multiple times over the following 10 days) The parade itself was lots of fun - definitely something amazing for kids, but also quite nice for adults. If only from the point of view of seeing so many thousands of people out enjoying themselves (sans alcohol and drugs). We joined the throngs of people on Central Park West and watched the spectacular floats sail by, intermixed with some pretty funky marching bands (which to me really typifies America), lots of baton twirling, and a random sprinkling of celebrities.

 

The marching band in the video above were pretty cool - they were pizza throwers!

Despite the chilly weather and the sprinkles later on, I spent a good couple of hours that afternoon wondering around Central Park and enjoying its sights. Quite impressive to have such a lovely park in the heart of such a bustling city.

Anyway, for Thanksgiving dinner I went off to celebrate the festivities with another long lost friend. This time someone I hadn't seen for nearly 13 years! And then, only for a very short time. We knew each other from primary/junior high. Talk about a long time ago! Again, we had a great time catching up and I got to experience my very first Thanksgiving Day dinner whipped up in fantastic style. When festivities revolve around food it isn't hard to enjoy them, and this was no exception. I became and American for an evening.

Apart from the 5 days of work which provided the basis for my trip, I managed to pack quite a lot into my time there. I did many of the touristy things such as the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty (I really just wanted to go to Ellis Island, but since the ticket included the Statue as well, I figured there's no point skipping it). While the audio tour on Liberty Island was a little bit of "America is so great, yadda yadda yadda", Ellis Island was fascinating and the museum really brings to life the mass immigration to the US of the late 19th/early 20th centuries.

Instead of going up the Empire State building, I headed to the top of the Rockefeller Centre as has been recommended (since that way you get to see the Empire State building) - and wow, what a view! Definitely a worthwhile dime to spend, and again, seeing Central Park stuck in the middle of the concrete jungle is quite a sight.

Of course I also spent a lot of time just wondering around - I checked out the Financial District on Black Friday (the big shopping day after Thanksgiving) and it was unusually quiet. But it was an unusual feeling standing outside the New York Stock Exchange knowing that what happens inside there affects just about everyone in the Western World, every day, whether we like it or not. Kinda frightening actually.

There were also the two Broadway shows I went to (and have already written about), which I can see are definitely a highlight of the city. Then there was the ice hockey game - at which I felt like a real American yet again. Beer in one hand, hot dog in the other, followed by crackerjacks (sickly sweet caramlised popcorn and peanuts) for dessert. And most importantly, enjoying the game most when the fights start - especially when they involve removal of helmets. On the other hand, I really still don't understand when violence is within the rules, and when it becomes a penalty. Oh well....

Then there was more time catching up with old friends. Dinners, drinks, breakfasts and lots and lots of talking. What an amazing opportunity. Of course all this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for work and even that was remarkably productive. Not perfect by any means, but for a skeptical person such as myself it wasn't hard to surpass expectations. Most importantly, it's great to be able to put faces to names and voices and know that people know who I am now. Now we just wait and see what impact that has work-wise.

I have uploaded a bunch of the photos to an album, which was easier than posting all in the blog post. So enjoy.

I left Copenhagen to a very light dusting of snow. While away it snowed almost every day and I came back to a magical city of white. Definitely quite beautiful and I am sure there is more to come. I'm also sure that at some point in the not too distant future I'll get sick and tired of it and decide that I don't like muddy slush any more (not to mention the fact that in less than 24 hours I've already almost slipped on the ice 3 times!)