So long NY....

We went back and caught a meeting at John and Frances' cong in Fresh Pond. We had a chance to meet some of the friends and also Johns parents after the meeting. Frank and Lydia were kind enough to have us over for a bbq which was great! Oneal and Anthony even took us out to Times Square to check it out at night.



As you can see Times Square is pretty crazy at night. You've never seen so many lights on at once. The whole place transforms and looks totally different when there are a million watts pumping through all the neon lights and the billboards which plaster every corner of this square. Something definately worth checking out. There are heaps of people around and all the shops are open too until very late.

We had a great time in NY. Jay and Aubrey certainly gave us a treat to have us over. It was great to stay in Brooklyn and we had great tours of the complex. John and Frances also took great care of us and were very hospitable. Hope you guys can come to Australia one day :) Many, many thanks to these guys for making NY very enjoyable. Thanks to Andy and Marilyn for breakfast and taking us to the airport :)

Next: Back to California and time see the family :)

Central Park

Central Park attracts over 5 million visitors every year and is larger than you might expect. Lots of walking paths, ponds, fountains and statues will keep you interested as you stroll though this urban park. You sort of forget you are in the middle of the city because of all the trees which help you escape the hustle and bustle of thousands of cars and people.



You'll even find some local wildlife (if squirrels count).

Occasionally you'll get a glimps over the top of the trees, a view of some of the many buildings which surround the park.

Food watch: Hotdogs for $1 on most street corners in NY city. Not the greatest meal you'll ever have but not bad for a dollar.

Liberty Enlightening the World

NY was experiencing a record month of rain while we were there and there was no respite for our visit to the Statue of Liberty.



Officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World, the lady has welcomed visitors and immigrants to the United States since 1886. It was a present from the French to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independance.

Did you know: There is a miniature Eiffel Tower inside as the internal structure. The thickness of the copper itself is only 2 coins stuck together but it is so deeply rooted to the ground that there is no chance of it toppling over in the crazy NY harbour breeze. Since 9/11 the climb to the top of the torch has been closed but is set to reopen for July 4. Apparently its not a climb for unfit or people with claustrophobia.

There is alot of detail in the statue that many (like I) never would have noticed if not for the friendly park ranger.

Her raised right foot is on the move. This symbol of Liberty and Freedom is not standing still or at attention in the harbor, it is moving forward, as her left foot tramples broken shackles at her feet, in symbolism of the United States' wish to be free. The seven spikes on the crown epitomize the seven continents. Her torch signifies enlightenment. The tablet in her hand represents knowledge and shows the date of the United States Declaration of Independence, in roman numerals, July IV, MDCCLXXVI. The statue, also known affectionately as "Miss Liberty" (and "Lady Liberty"), has become a symbol of freedom and republicanism. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi also created another "Lady Liberty" which is displayed in Paris, France.

We also visited Ellis Island. We actually spent more time here because there are more exibits and quite alot of history associated with not only the immigration facilities but also the history of the island as a fort in NY harbour. Very interesting step back in time to an older world. The ferry ride includes a trip to both Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Well worth a trip to both.

More in NY and something in New Jersey

The Stanley theatre in Jersey City was opened in 1928 and featured music, live performances of many popular artists and movies until 1978 when it was closed down. It was run down until it was bought and renovated into an Assembly Hall in 1983-85. The copper facade had been covered in many layers of thick paint which was stripped down to reveal the stunning font awning as shown below. Unfortunately we couldnt really have a good look inside since there was a convention in progress.



The following photos are of Grand Central Station in NY. When you look from the top of the stairs it just looks like a mass of ants hurriedly looking to reach their destinations. Security at a place like this is always to the forefront with Marines wielding automatic rifles patrolling the station.

The 44 platforms are the most of any station in the world.

The Bridges

We took a tour with Aubrey of the Adams St complex at Bethel. We also went up to the top of Towers residence where we were able to stay for two nights and the views are absolutely spectacular. You can see Brookyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge span across to Manhattan Island.



The view. Wow.

Adams St complex.

We went for a walk around DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) and got some nice views of the two bridges connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan. It took about 20-30 minutes to walk across to the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan. Watch the bicycyles. One of them nearly collected a couple of walkers while we were there.

Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn Heights. If you like chocolate you should stop in at the Jacques Torres chocolate shop near here. Its kinda like Max Brenner. Chocoholics: need I say any more?

Brooklyn Bridge up close.

NY Trademarks

What does this look like?



If you guessed: 'a hole in the ground' you'd be right. A hole at Ground Zero in fact. Its been almost 8 years now and so far theyve managed to dig a very large hole in the ground. The cranes make it look like they are working though. They moved them a few times back and forth to prove they are real.

Everywhere you go in the city you find these stone/brick buildings with fire escapes. Its a trademark of most moderately tall buildings in NY. Somehow they managed to turn potentially dirty looking steelwork into a 'feature' of the buildings.

The next one is for the Seinfeld fans. We went inside to Yiasou! ....it was run by Greeks :)

Bethel then a show...

We toured Brooklyn Bethel with Jay on the second day in NY. Built in Brooklyn Heights (when it wasnt so popular) there are amazing views of Manhattan across the river. The scale of the work done here is amazing. Such organisation too. Printing, cooking, cleaning, laundry, organising, writing....It never ceases to amaze how much work goes into keeping every running all around the world.

Quite a bit of nostalgia as well as many of the facilities such as the printing have been moved to farms in Wallkill. It seemsa little sad as the bulk of the work is slowly moving out from the Brooklyn location to the other locations.

After lunch we went into Manhattan to the Lincoln Center to watch a production of South Pacific. Thanks to Frances and Bill for organising the tickets for us (and doing an excellent job on the drums too).

We rushed back to catch the meeting in Hindi with Jay and Aubrey. I didnt really undstand anything but it was a nice experience to meet the friends in the Hindi congregation.

I {heart} NY

New York is something else. A commercial, financial, cultural, fashion and entertainment leader, consisting of the 5 boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island) and 8 million people....this place has a moutain of things to see and do. I bet the Dutch regret letting this one out of their grips.

The Chrysler building. Widely regarded as one of the nicest buildings in NY.

Firstly...I love the subway. Definitely not as clean or as modern as the London Underground but definitely as efficient and easy to use. US$25 will get you a unlimited metro pass for 7 days.

On the first day we checked out the Rockerfeller center (where they film all those people will placards saying "Hi Mom" on the NBC Today show), the Ed Sullivan Theatre (where they film Letterman) and some of downtown Manhattan.

Manhattan is one HUGE city and while pretty modern, still has an old world feel about it due to the style of the stone skyscrapers that line the streets. This is a genuine metrolpolis where there are skyscrapers as far as you can see in all directions.

We stayed with John, Frances and their girls who took great care of us while we were there. We met lots of friends who were a blast. Thanks for the bbqs, taking us around and a great time! Queens (more specifically Glendale) is quite a nice suburan part of New York. Many of the buildings are built as connected townhouses and look very uniform down the streets.

Red Eye to NY

We caught up with Linda, Deb and Angela again before we flew to New York! Thanks for dinner Linda! We were booked on the 11pm flight from LAX. It took an hour to checkin because some people in front of us had missed their plane (they were 2 hours late) and were furiously trying to get another flight that night (no chance...all the planes were full). After we checkin we discovered out flight was delayed half an hour, due to bad weather in NY...anyways to cut a long story short we took off from LA at 1240am. To add to that I was sat next to a particularly large man so I couldnt move (seriously...I was leaning against my window the whole flight). Good thing is I was so tired by then that I slept most of the 5 hour flight. We arrived in NY at 930am the next day.

Just a side note: I bought a ice cream cone at McDonalds. 99c. What a rip. 30c at Macca's in Australia.

Solvang

On our way back down to LA we stopped at a little town called Solvang only 30 minutes south of Santa Maria. The whole town has a Danish theme to it. Danish shops, Danish flags, Danish people, Danish bakeries and lots of danishes. You could even take horse and cart rides...I guess not exclusively Danish, but it added to the old town feel. Make sure you try some of the pastries in one of the bakeries if you go there. Thanks again...again to Uncle Erwin and Aunt Sarah for adopting us for the weekend :)

You will also find lots of wind mills in the town. Some even believe that they are there for the purpose of providing a breeze for the town :P

We hit the road again with the Sorianos up towards Santa Maria for Hubert and Anne's wedding. We stopped overnight in Ventura a hour or two away from Santa Maria.Huberts and Anne's wedding went off in typical Hubert style. Very well organised. I liked the palm trees at the hall.



The ceremony was moving, the reception was great (especially seeing all the old photos in the slide show) and the food was delicious and plentiful. Nice for me to finally meet Hubert too...and the rest of the family. Well some of them anyway...theres still more in the Philipines! But it was really nice to see some of the old friends and meet a few new ones along the way. Santa Maria are known for their strwberries apparently and we literally had a bucket load of them at the wedding.

Very nice. It always seems to take a special event like a wedding to bring everyone together like this. Allan and Christina were kind enough to organise breakfast the next morning as well so we could all catch up a little more.

Getty Villas

Take a drive up to the northern beaches of Los Angeles and you'll find famous Malibu. Something you probably wouldnt have expected is the Getty Villas. A brand new complex, it recreates what a Roman villa in its hey day would have looked like in Pompey.



Jean Paul Getty is an oil tycoon who had a lifelong interest in ancient art and the villa is packed with artworks and atifacts collected by Getty himself. The buildings and gardens too are recreated in incredible detail. Its kinda seems strange to find a Roman villa tucked into the hills in Malibu but the entire place is designed to transport you into something like an archeological site where you find yourself in another world.

It was nice to spend the day with Joy and even managed to get some great Korean food in Korea town and visit Rodney as well. Thanks Joy!