Thursday 12 March 2009

Please stand clear of the doors

"Please stand clear of the doors" or so says the London Underground. Maybe the DART also says that. But the New York subway does not for sure. I had the pleasure to ride the Subway last week. It was an experience. My first encounter involved a large man and a small latino lady having a blazing row in the queue for the tickets about who was next in line. I did not want to point out that it was in fact ME. They both skipped me. The Large black man, jumped the queue first, but i let him do so, as he was in a hurry to go home. The latino lady however, came out of nowhere at the last minute and so it kicked off. Contrary to the normal reaction, I loved this. I said to myself "I have landed, this is the big apple" Alas, the rest of my subway experience was very uneventful. I was told to try and watch out for rats, as they don't make them like that anywhere else. I seen one, who looked more like a mouse.
The subway was jut one of the many new experiences I want to share with the world. I had an amazing time, and my week in NY has ignited a desire to more my life to such a place. While I did the tourist things such as gawk 'open mouthed' at the size of the buildings, get dizzy at the top of the empire state building, pay my respects at the WTC site, and eat a ht dog off a grubby street vendor. I also like to think I lived the life of a New Yorker. I ate in the places the locals eat. I went to the local places, and steered clear of the tourist trap restaurants, bars, and sites such as madam tausads.
I did however, do a lot of photography, there really is some great shots to be taken there. I am torn about whether this is a touristy thing or not. I view it as artistic, however, the shots may not be up to that standard.
All in all the whole Big Apple experience was amazing, so much so that I can not settle back down into Irish PhD life.

Till next time