29/10/2008, 01:18 PM
there is only one way to describe NYC:
EPICALLY AWESOME.
The non-NYC resident human mind cannot comprehend how insane, how exciting, how belly-busting NYC is. There isn't enough space here to document even half-fully my experience but that won't stop me trying.
Day 1
I was part of a group of about 60 people from my school. Wee left school in 2 buses for Heathrow Airport, 4 hours later wee arrive. wee all pile out the buses into the terminal. There's a mad scramble for check-in desks but within 30 minutes wee were all checked in and all our bags had gone off into the mysterious network of baggage conveyors.
Wee all go through passport control without a hitch, apart from the guy behind the desk laughing at my photo. Through wee go into the departure lounge where wee gather, drooling, around displays of sunglasses, electronic appliances and cheap vodka.
Boarding the plane was interesting, seeing as i didn't know whether wee were allowed to use the bar midway down the plane. unfortunately wee weren't. At least drinks with our meals were free and had unlimited (within reason) refills. The food was alright. It didn't look too appetising but tasted pretty good. a friend of mine described its appearance as 'beef a la swamp'. Many people were put off and i ended up with 4.5 meals to finish. needless to say, they only lasted a few minutes.
Wee got to Newark at about 10pm. wee all piled into 2 retired blue school buses. As wee were traveling along the New Jersey Turnpike wee caught a glimpse of the NY skyline. Wee were all taken aback by just how big it was. Wee drove through the Lincoln Tunnel and appeared in Hells Kitchen. Wee were enjoying the scenery when all of a sudden the heavens opened with a vengeance. On arrival at Days Inn, during the 30-ish seconds it took to pick up our bags and run into the lobby wee were soaked to the skin.
Wee were all too tired out to want to do anything but sleep. wee all crammed into the painfully slow elevators and dragged our bags to our rooms. I was the only one with a bag not blessed with wheels, so I had to carry mine. I suppose I'm also lucky that I had the lightest.
I'll finish off tomorrow probably. I'm tired and a little jetlagged.
As you wish.
Day 2
Finished off the night before's pizza for breakfast. (forgot to mention that wee went and bough a 'medium' pizza and came back with a 17" one.) Went down to the lobby to discover that wee were then going out to Euro Pan for pancakes. Man, i can understand now why you Americans love them so much. They really fill you up. And Snapple as well, especially the Orangeade version, simply delish.
Wee then got onto a tour bus and were taken around a tour of the city by a very funny tour guide. 'Observe,' he says, 'The New Yorker in its natural habitat.' [points at taxi]. Wee stopped at Saint Thomas' Church, the largest in the city. Wee went inside just as the service was starting, and were all struck in awe as to just how huge it is. The bass notes of the organ reverberated around inside making it seem even bigger. And they've not even finished building it! Wee stopped off at a few other churches and at Grants Tomb ("Hey, who here likes dead people? 'Cause I love 'em!") before finally getting off at Central Park. Wee walked over to Strawberry Fields where the John Lennon memorial is. After that our tour guide left us and wee walked over to the Metropolitan Art Museum. Wee spent a few hours there, went up to the rooftop garden to see the view over Central Park and generally had a good look around.
* PSPkiller stops typing for a second to take a sip of beer. typing sure is hard work.
Once wee were done with the museum wee went over to the Empire State Building, which to be honest was a bit of a disappointment. They're renovating the interior so it's a bit of a mess. Wee were queuing for ages on the 2nd floor and on the 80th. The view was good, although i didn't have a camera with me ('tis dead). Got back down and took the subway over to the Brooklyn bridge where, once again, i wished i had a camera with me. After walking to the viewpoint halfway across wee walked back to the subway and went to Times Square where i bought a camera (YAY!). Since the shop was in Times Square they had a rather alarming markup on their prices. ($220 more than Circuit City for the camera i wanted. Sony Cybershot H-10) I only had $300 on me and could borrow $70 from a friend. I managed to haggle the price, including a 256mb Memory stick, down to $370. Awesome! Except that the battery didn't come charged so i couldn't use it. It was an ex-display with soiled packaging, a slight scratch inside the battery cover and the lens adapter missing. (allows you to put an SLR lens on it. Its built in lens is fine for regular use though). The salesman looked Indian, (trying not to be racy here) had a think Russian accent and claimed he was from Birmingham (UK not Alabama). He was nice enough except that he kept trying to sell me a different camera that was in fact cheaper but for the same price. And he forgot to give me a recipt after. Me and a friend took up free running for a few minutes while wee ran back to the shop to get said recipt.
Day 3
Went to a place off Ground Zero for breakfast and visited the chapel there.
Wee went to 5th Avenue to go shopping (I didn't spend a penny) and then back to Times Square where it was fudgeing freezing. Wee all made use of the grilles in the sidewalk out of which great waves of warm air would rush every time a train went past underneath. After spending a few hours there and the last of my money wee went to see Phantom of the Opera. It was all very good apart from the fact i was desperatley tired and needed sleep. Need i go on on?
Afterwards wee were told there was a surprise waiting for us, and indeed there was. Limos to take us back to the oh so glamorous Days Inn.
Day 4
* PSPkiller takes another sip of beer.
Stayed in the hotel for a bit to avoid hitting the New York rush hour on the subway. Wee went over to the South Ferry and Battery Park. Spoon was the sea rough! The waves were washing up onto the dock and wee were all scrabbling onto the metal barriers to avoid getting wet feet. Needless to say, wee failed. Wee went through security that put Heathrow airport to shame. Once through wee got onto a worryingly rusty boat/ship that took us over to Ellis Island.
Wee lunched there and a few of us had a look through their database to see if any ancestors of ours had come through oh so long ago. I found a possible relation who came through in 1919. After that wee started towards Liberty Island but the sea was so rough the captain refused to dock there. Instead wee went back to Manhattan and took a walk through Battery Park. Wee saw the sculpture that used to be outside the World Trade Center, now mangled and broken with an eternal flame in front.
After that wee took the subway over to Chinatown and were surprised once more. Wee had a Chinese buffet which was again, delish. Once again wee got on the subway, and for want of something better to do wee went back to Times Square. Its surprising just how many of the signs crash. Fore something as public as that you'd expect them to use an OS a little more stable than Windows. The people with a little money left went to Madame Tussaudes and those of us with loads or no money left went shopping and window shopping respectively. I fell into the latter group and tagged along with a few friends and took a look around such shops as Levi, MTV and Virgin Megastores.
After that wee got onto the subway for the last time and went back to the hotel to pick up our bags. Wee then immediately went back to Newark, saying goodbye to the New York skyline on the way. Check in at Newark was fine and wee all sat down and had a good McDonalds. Except one who had lost their bag containing their passport.
Wee alerted a security guard who put the whole airport on alert in case someone was seen leaving with it. Wee went around immigration, check in and all the shops to see if anyone had handed it in. nothing. but then the security guard got a call saying one of our group had picked it up but not told anyone. thanks.
Anyway, wee didn't miss the flight because it was delayed, but wee still got back on time because of a strong tailwind. About halfway through the flight most people were asleep but i was awake, watching Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay (Very Funny), I heard a shout from behind. i looked around to see what it was and saw a load of people crowding around the windows.
Thinking UFO as i walked over i asked someone and they said they'd seen the Northern lights. I went back to my seat and pulled up the map, and lo and behold, wee were only just off Greenland. I went back to the window with my camera to see just how good it was. Not very it turns out but you can just about see the famous red and green belts in the photos.
Once wee got to Heathrow wee all piled out the terminal and into 2 buses. wee were meant to have 2 from the same company but one had broken down on the way to the airport. So wee called another nearby company who turned up quickly. There wee were driving back along the motorway when that bus broke down as well! Wee waited a few minutes wondering what to do when another bus that just happened to be driving past spotted us and pulled over, offering us a lift to the next service station. wee then spent an 2 hours there getting bored while our baggage was transferred to yet another bus by the side of the motorway, and then drove down to pick us up. wee then had a rather uneventful trip back home.
There wee are, I've regurgitated all my boggled mind can recall.
* PSPkiller finishes beer.
If you want I'll put up a few pics.
EPICALLY AWESOME.
period
The non-NYC resident human mind cannot comprehend how insane, how exciting, how belly-busting NYC is. There isn't enough space here to document even half-fully my experience but that won't stop me trying.
Day 1
I was part of a group of about 60 people from my school. Wee left school in 2 buses for Heathrow Airport, 4 hours later wee arrive. wee all pile out the buses into the terminal. There's a mad scramble for check-in desks but within 30 minutes wee were all checked in and all our bags had gone off into the mysterious network of baggage conveyors.
Wee all go through passport control without a hitch, apart from the guy behind the desk laughing at my photo. Through wee go into the departure lounge where wee gather, drooling, around displays of sunglasses, electronic appliances and cheap vodka.
Boarding the plane was interesting, seeing as i didn't know whether wee were allowed to use the bar midway down the plane. unfortunately wee weren't. At least drinks with our meals were free and had unlimited (within reason) refills. The food was alright. It didn't look too appetising but tasted pretty good. a friend of mine described its appearance as 'beef a la swamp'. Many people were put off and i ended up with 4.5 meals to finish. needless to say, they only lasted a few minutes.
Wee got to Newark at about 10pm. wee all piled into 2 retired blue school buses. As wee were traveling along the New Jersey Turnpike wee caught a glimpse of the NY skyline. Wee were all taken aback by just how big it was. Wee drove through the Lincoln Tunnel and appeared in Hells Kitchen. Wee were enjoying the scenery when all of a sudden the heavens opened with a vengeance. On arrival at Days Inn, during the 30-ish seconds it took to pick up our bags and run into the lobby wee were soaked to the skin.
Wee were all too tired out to want to do anything but sleep. wee all crammed into the painfully slow elevators and dragged our bags to our rooms. I was the only one with a bag not blessed with wheels, so I had to carry mine. I suppose I'm also lucky that I had the lightest.
I'll finish off tomorrow probably. I'm tired and a little jetlagged.
demonchild Wrote:Looks like you had fun. Finish the story so I can relate, and see if you lost any things :P
As you wish.
Day 2
Finished off the night before's pizza for breakfast. (forgot to mention that wee went and bough a 'medium' pizza and came back with a 17" one.) Went down to the lobby to discover that wee were then going out to Euro Pan for pancakes. Man, i can understand now why you Americans love them so much. They really fill you up. And Snapple as well, especially the Orangeade version, simply delish.
Wee then got onto a tour bus and were taken around a tour of the city by a very funny tour guide. 'Observe,' he says, 'The New Yorker in its natural habitat.' [points at taxi]. Wee stopped at Saint Thomas' Church, the largest in the city. Wee went inside just as the service was starting, and were all struck in awe as to just how huge it is. The bass notes of the organ reverberated around inside making it seem even bigger. And they've not even finished building it! Wee stopped off at a few other churches and at Grants Tomb ("Hey, who here likes dead people? 'Cause I love 'em!") before finally getting off at Central Park. Wee walked over to Strawberry Fields where the John Lennon memorial is. After that our tour guide left us and wee walked over to the Metropolitan Art Museum. Wee spent a few hours there, went up to the rooftop garden to see the view over Central Park and generally had a good look around.
* PSPkiller stops typing for a second to take a sip of beer. typing sure is hard work.
Once wee were done with the museum wee went over to the Empire State Building, which to be honest was a bit of a disappointment. They're renovating the interior so it's a bit of a mess. Wee were queuing for ages on the 2nd floor and on the 80th. The view was good, although i didn't have a camera with me ('tis dead). Got back down and took the subway over to the Brooklyn bridge where, once again, i wished i had a camera with me. After walking to the viewpoint halfway across wee walked back to the subway and went to Times Square where i bought a camera (YAY!). Since the shop was in Times Square they had a rather alarming markup on their prices. ($220 more than Circuit City for the camera i wanted. Sony Cybershot H-10) I only had $300 on me and could borrow $70 from a friend. I managed to haggle the price, including a 256mb Memory stick, down to $370. Awesome! Except that the battery didn't come charged so i couldn't use it. It was an ex-display with soiled packaging, a slight scratch inside the battery cover and the lens adapter missing. (allows you to put an SLR lens on it. Its built in lens is fine for regular use though). The salesman looked Indian, (trying not to be racy here) had a think Russian accent and claimed he was from Birmingham (UK not Alabama). He was nice enough except that he kept trying to sell me a different camera that was in fact cheaper but for the same price. And he forgot to give me a recipt after. Me and a friend took up free running for a few minutes while wee ran back to the shop to get said recipt.
Day 3
Went to a place off Ground Zero for breakfast and visited the chapel there.
Wee went to 5th Avenue to go shopping (I didn't spend a penny) and then back to Times Square where it was fudgeing freezing. Wee all made use of the grilles in the sidewalk out of which great waves of warm air would rush every time a train went past underneath. After spending a few hours there and the last of my money wee went to see Phantom of the Opera. It was all very good apart from the fact i was desperatley tired and needed sleep. Need i go on on?
Afterwards wee were told there was a surprise waiting for us, and indeed there was. Limos to take us back to the oh so glamorous Days Inn.
Day 4
* PSPkiller takes another sip of beer.
Stayed in the hotel for a bit to avoid hitting the New York rush hour on the subway. Wee went over to the South Ferry and Battery Park. Spoon was the sea rough! The waves were washing up onto the dock and wee were all scrabbling onto the metal barriers to avoid getting wet feet. Needless to say, wee failed. Wee went through security that put Heathrow airport to shame. Once through wee got onto a worryingly rusty boat/ship that took us over to Ellis Island.
Wee lunched there and a few of us had a look through their database to see if any ancestors of ours had come through oh so long ago. I found a possible relation who came through in 1919. After that wee started towards Liberty Island but the sea was so rough the captain refused to dock there. Instead wee went back to Manhattan and took a walk through Battery Park. Wee saw the sculpture that used to be outside the World Trade Center, now mangled and broken with an eternal flame in front.
After that wee took the subway over to Chinatown and were surprised once more. Wee had a Chinese buffet which was again, delish. Once again wee got on the subway, and for want of something better to do wee went back to Times Square. Its surprising just how many of the signs crash. Fore something as public as that you'd expect them to use an OS a little more stable than Windows. The people with a little money left went to Madame Tussaudes and those of us with loads or no money left went shopping and window shopping respectively. I fell into the latter group and tagged along with a few friends and took a look around such shops as Levi, MTV and Virgin Megastores.
After that wee got onto the subway for the last time and went back to the hotel to pick up our bags. Wee then immediately went back to Newark, saying goodbye to the New York skyline on the way. Check in at Newark was fine and wee all sat down and had a good McDonalds. Except one who had lost their bag containing their passport.
Wee alerted a security guard who put the whole airport on alert in case someone was seen leaving with it. Wee went around immigration, check in and all the shops to see if anyone had handed it in. nothing. but then the security guard got a call saying one of our group had picked it up but not told anyone. thanks.
Anyway, wee didn't miss the flight because it was delayed, but wee still got back on time because of a strong tailwind. About halfway through the flight most people were asleep but i was awake, watching Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay (Very Funny), I heard a shout from behind. i looked around to see what it was and saw a load of people crowding around the windows.
Thinking UFO as i walked over i asked someone and they said they'd seen the Northern lights. I went back to my seat and pulled up the map, and lo and behold, wee were only just off Greenland. I went back to the window with my camera to see just how good it was. Not very it turns out but you can just about see the famous red and green belts in the photos.
Once wee got to Heathrow wee all piled out the terminal and into 2 buses. wee were meant to have 2 from the same company but one had broken down on the way to the airport. So wee called another nearby company who turned up quickly. There wee were driving back along the motorway when that bus broke down as well! Wee waited a few minutes wondering what to do when another bus that just happened to be driving past spotted us and pulled over, offering us a lift to the next service station. wee then spent an 2 hours there getting bored while our baggage was transferred to yet another bus by the side of the motorway, and then drove down to pick us up. wee then had a rather uneventful trip back home.
There wee are, I've regurgitated all my boggled mind can recall.
* PSPkiller finishes beer.
If you want I'll put up a few pics.