Saturday 7 April 2007

now where was i?

hmmmmm, i think i left you all in new york when i'd just arrived.....after a very comfortable 4 hour ride on the chinatown bus. word of advice for anyone travelling between cities where this is an option - just go for it. the bus was clean, the driver seemed safe, they let me get on the bus that left an hour earlier than the one i'd booked (just cause i'd arrived 5 minutes before it left!), it was quicker than getting a plane, and it only cost $15 us....!

great value!

and, it meant that i had to learn how to catch a new york cab real quick once i got there cause that was the only way i was going to get to squad's house. as it turned out, it is fairly simple - just stand on the footpath and wave....eventually one'll stop - and in my case politely tell me i was standing on the wrong side of the road :)

but i got there after only a couple of minutes but with the overwhelming realisation that i was in this incredibly BIIIIIIIIIG city! with no real idea where i was going!!!!!

squad's apartment was on this street that just absolutely matched my image of a new york street - maybe cause it was just near the bakery and street that featured in 'sex in the city' - wow!!!!!

and that was just the first of many 'wow' moments.

once i'd met squad it was time to meet the dogs - and obviously, being australian cattle dogs, they recognised the accent. we got on immediately to the extent that they were more than happy to share the sofa with me at night :)

and of course, time to meet squad's bike, see her office and ring Al to find out where to meet him for the walking tour the next day. which was my next 'wow' moment - this time with some trepidation........it turned out that i was to meet al in times square, which meant a subway ride, all by myself.....eeeeeeeekkkkkkkk.........

and so to bed.....

the walking tour in my next post!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Just saw your NYC pics. The Rockerfeller plaza skating rink is in front of where I worked when I lived in the city. The other rink in Cenral Parke is about three blocks from where I lived in Central Park South for five years. Those rocks you were standing on, with the rink in the backgound, were our seats for countless concerts in the park. In the summer they would set up a bandstand where the rink was and the most popular American groups at the time would hold concerets for about $4.50 a ticket to help raise funds for the maintenace of Central Park. We had a lot of great times there, and some chilling ones at night in the same area.

That was the vacinity of where I did most of my bodyguard work in Manhattan, escorting women around in Central as they strolled or walked their dogs. We also did alot of martial arts training in the park as well.

Lily and I will be heading back in less than a month to see an old friend of mine still living 20 minutes from downtown Manhattan. She was my next door neighbour, a real good buddy and one of the ladies I escorted in Central Park daily. We just resumed contact after a 24 year hiatus, Should be a blast.

I'm so glad you had nothing but pleasant experiences on your journey and arrived home safely. Take care, Happy Easter and read you soon.
Ray