NY trip
Had an interview at Battery Park, NY. Combined business with pleasure :) And I fell in love with this city on my very first trip. I started not on a very good note though. Missed my flight in the morn, rescheduled my interview...the next flight was at noon, and that again got delayed due to bad weather. Finally landed at Newark at 2:40 PM. Caught the trains and reached the interview site at only 4:30! But they were very accomodating, didnt really make me feel bad on being late and all...Reached my cousin's place at about 8 or so....Her apartment is in the Jersey city along the Hudson river and she stays on the 17th floor. Can see the statue of Liberty from her bacony! Reached her place; Damn tired, had amazing home made food and hit the bed.
The next days were awesome, little did I imagine that this city would elevate my spirits to these great heights, hehe. Literally, NY is no diff from Bombay, and I felt at home. We went to Ground zero first. The historic tragedy and now a tourist spot, was quite moved by the sight...the hoardings and pictures there say it all...'No History is without a heartache' went one of the postings.
We next took a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty. And wow, I had the time of my life! The weather was terribly windy, but nothing could deter our frenzy and enthusiasm. Took a lot of snaps there. Statue of Liberty, had always read and heard about it and now here I was, facing the magnificient structure. Its made of Copper, but over time as it underwent oxidation, its green now. ..the next stop was at the Ellis island. I am not a very museum kind of person, but this one was real cool. An insight into the immigrant origin in this country was quite an eye opener. A must visit I will say. Returned back to the Battery Park, and we saw a street dance...ow, these guys could give Michael Jackson a complex :)
Dead tired, home and already planning for the next day. I could not stop raving about the city. Crowded, you never will find the streets deserted:) And the city is a melting pot, you find people from different backgrounds and that explains the wide variety of cuisines here!
The next day, we started at about 2. Had an elaborate lunch, my cousin is an awesome cook, I should learn a few tips from her some day! We headed to the Empire State building. We were hoping that we would face a smaller queue, and with the weather being that cold, not many people turned up. We went to the 86th floor, and oh God! The view was breathtaking. Took an audio tour and that explained the history of the buildings, bridges, and the rivers there. Each buiding was taller than the other. Financial center of the country, this city stands out from the rest of the other places in the country. The wind was blowing at not less than 25 miles per hour and at that height, it hit us real hard...frozen to death, but thoroughly enjoyed. Stayed for a few hours and it was 6. Now, the sun set and the city got lit. What an awesome sight!
We were now walking towards Times Square. And the streets there bring back my Bombay memories. Lights everywhere, huge hoardings, advertisements displayed all over. NYPD, ESPN center, Mc Donalds all lit up. You see the horse rides...hawkers on the road sides. I was home and this city rules! We wanted to walk to the the street where you see all the Indian restaurants, there is a Saravana bhavan too and I hear the food there is heavenly. My cousin told me there is a Chaat street as JSQ and I would have loved that. But, we were too tired to do that. Did some window shopping at Manhattan mall, before we returned home.
Home now, my holidays are never complete without some movies and I saw Aaru, a Surya starring Tamil flick. Somebody had told me that it was a hit...but not impressed at all, dry dialogues and the violence looked absolutely unwarranted. Cannot sleep over a bad movie...so washed that over with the Sylvester Stallone's The Specialist. Satisfied, dead tired and I hit the bed at 1. Back to Pittsburgh on Monday. Left home quite early, could not afford to miss the flight again!
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