Live from NYC it's the Foggy Dew.
Yep, in the Big Apple for a little work thing, but it's been forever and a day since I've been here - last time I spent the night in the 212 was, I think, October 2002. But that's neither here nor there...well, it is here but you know what I mean.
Impressions so far: People in NYC have just as much a clue about walking as D.C. folks. Notice I didn't say New Yorkers, just the people in the city. They could be tourists just as much as the folks who walk around Washington four abreast on a sidewalk that would be lucky to hold three of them. Also, they seem to walk slower. Don't know why I think that, but it could be because while I was hauling a computer bag and a one-suiter, it seemed like everyone else was c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g.
The streets of NYC seem to always be in the shade, I'm guessing it has something to do with the buildings looming on all sides. I sometime hear complaints about how D.C. is a low city with no majestic buildings, but the streets get sun throughout the day.
We definitely need more high(er)-speed trains here in the good ol' U.S. of A. I took the Acela up here. While my actual time on the train was longer than it would have been on a plane, those Amtrak ads don't lie. It was so, so, soooo much more relaxing. D.C. to Boston is probably the longest route a high-speed train makes sense, unless you can get a train going 300 mph non-stop from D.C. to LA in 10 or 12 hours. I'd probably do that too.
Oh, and first impression of the city coming out of Penn Station: Some guy walking right up to me and asking, "Can I have a minute of your time?" What the Hell? Was I wearing a sign? Probably wasn't that hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure I don't exude a "Random strangers are welcome to walk up to me" vibe.
I'm heading out to find something to eat. I've heard there might be a place or two around where I am on Broadway that makes a decent meal.
More on the great NYC adventure later.
5 comments:
i am SO with you on the train thing! i love taking amtrak when i go home, even if it's just between BWI and union station or new carrollton. it's SO convenient, and so much more pleasant than air travel. if it didn't take 25,000 years to get between where i am and the mid-atlantic, i'd take the train back and forth.
You have to look grumpy and unapproachable. Then you won't get the street askers.
Also, I always feel like I don't get enough oxygen in NY. All those tall buildings contributing to your shade and my lack of air.
Such an amazing city, though. Enjoy!
mags - I'm so, so never flying to NYC ever again. There's just no reason to put yourself through the terrors of the unfriendly skies. As for longer trips, maybe every once in a while. Isaac Asimov was terrified of flying and often crossed the country by train. Of course, he was a rich writer and could do that.
Lemon G - Boy, if I were to look any grumpier that'd be interesting. I'll work on it though. The tall buildings are an interesting change for the D.C. person. Times Square was interesting, but so, so many signs. Like H and 7th times, like, a billion or two.
It's been entirely too long since I've made my way up there, but I'm with you -- I wouldn't fly ever again.
And I think your observation was dead on. Tourists are tourists, no matter where they tour. :) And they're always going to be in your way.
gow - Truth about tourists but, because of the open spaces and narrow sidewalks we have here in D.C., I think our herds are bigger.
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