New York trip, May 2006

New York, 2006

In May 2006, my mother and her new husband took me, my sister and his 3 adult children on a 4 day trip to New York!! Instead of a honeymoon for themselves, awwww. It was fab. I had had an IPL treatment with Dr. Peter Crouch only a few months prior, which gave me 3 weeks of post treatment (severe) flaring and inflammation, enough to call the whole IPL thing off forever, but luckily my skin hadn't endured any long term damage and was still able to make the 8 hour flight from Amsterdam and those days in the Big Apple. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. I was still taking diclofenac 100 mg, three times a day at this point, as part of the post treatment anti inflammatory protocol (as I had such a bad inflammatory skin reaction to the IPL). I had been a little bit worried about the long plane trip, but luckily the airplane had small fresh air vents above the chairs. and I was also surprised how chilly they keep the temperature high up in the air. I mean, I've taken short haul flights before within Europe and they can crank the temperature right up then, especially in winter. But my sister, a travel agent, had already told me that she always needs extra blankets on long haul flights, so not to worry. I had to use all my self restraint and determination not to eat the food they offered in the air.. I just reminded myself to stick to this one mission; avoid full blown flushing attacks. I am really sensitive to.. well basically everything, but ALSO to food with preservatives and spices like pepper. I couldn't risk it, but it was hard saying no to the nice meals that everyone around me was eating. When we arrived at Newark airport, we had to stand in a long line for several hours to get past custom security. I was a bit shocked to see so many militant looking security army personal there, with kalashnikovs, but we had the 9/11 attacks still freshly in our minds, so no complaining from us of course. Unfortunately I did get red and a bit flushed during this long waiting in a warm airport. When we finally got out, we took a cab to Manhattan and of course the whole trip to this iconic city was already very exciting. We all know New York from the countless movies that have been shot there and I know about American architecture, including the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and the whole New York grid street system, as well as high rising buildings like the Empire State Building. I was cooing with joy when we saw the Manhattan skyline from our cab window. My sister was also jumping in her seat from anticipation. It turned out she found New York too crowded, too busy, too "big town'ish" and prefers Washington. Not me! 

My mother had arranged a hotel at Broadway, a nice retro looking hotel where the workers were sharp witted and a bit brass, which we loved. It was called Milford Plaza, and nowadays doesn't seem to exist anymore in its old form. We all had our own rooms and when we walked out we were right into the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. I had to go out right away to look for a ventilator, as I didn't think a European style fan with different socket and possibly different voltage system would be of any use. It was after 6 PM by then and my farmers mind was stressing out already, worried that all the shops would be closed by now. Haha, not in New York, baby. Everything seemed open forever, and I only had to walk one block to find a convenience type of store with fans available. Sorted! We went out for dinner and had really been looking forward to a gigantic American style meal, so there was no discussion about it being a hamburger joint. Meals weren't thát gigantic, but more than enough and we just loved seeing American faces and hearing American (well, New York) accents. 

Touring bus

The next day we decided to act like forthright tourists and to get on an open rood touring bus. Hans, my mothers husband, has knee issues and walking through the whole of Manhattan, just to get some first impressions, seemed silly. I also really liked the cool air on my skin in the bus. I had been lucky with the weather, as it was dry and not too sunny, yet comfortable around 18-21 degrees or so all week. My skin had been OK during the night; I had windows open and used my fan. I was relieved that my skin was only mildly pink. We took the usual touristic route, but managed to also see parts of The Village, Soho and even Harlem. We went full out as tourists, making photos of pretty much every crossroad, even though at some point the buildings weren't that spectacular. I even have stacks of photos (all analogue still) of American flags waving left, right and center. Anything American, and we wanted to record it. We had lunch close by the hotel and decided to split up, allowing each of us to do different things. My sister and I wanted to pass the MoMa museum, eat as many types of cheese cake as we could find, and we also wanted to get on top of the Empire State building and see the 9/11 site, which was at that time still a black construction site-hole in the ground. When we arrived at the Empire State building, there was actually a line of people waiting. Knowing what sort of lines are daily business as usual in Amsterdam (think the Anne Frank house for instance), it beats me now why we had casually expected that we could just hop in the elevator and get to the top without delay :) Soooo we had to wait a good half hour. The lift was already exciting, golden, decadent with lots of mirrors. When we made it to the top it was pleasantly windy and I was mesmerized by the view. My sister however took a few looks left and right and declared, in typical tour operator style: "So, we've seen it (check), lets go down again". I said No way, I want another 15 minutes at least to just absorb the views thank you. It was something I had never seen before, as Manhattan in general was something entirely new. Europe is all quaint and old and all that, but I had never been in a city where the eye is drawn vertically, upwards, instead of horizontally. It felt like being hugged and tugged tight by all these buildings. And on a practical not: shade everywhere! Wind too. The buzz I felt there was exciting. So many people, everybody so busy, shops open all hours of the day and night, the sounds, the ever sounding sirens of police or ambulances, it all gave an urgent sort of thrill that you won't get in European cities in my experience. So viewing the city from above was pretty breathtaking. 

I tried to pinpoint the different neighborhoods. Central park was easy and again, this whole grid business was so new, European cities aren't built that way (although Paris / Haussmann got renovated in a neat, non-organic way and ok ok, Barcelona has a grid system in some parts of the center).  From above, I could see the true beauty of this impeccably designed city. Then we took the subway to the former World Trade center site. The sheer size of the spots where the two towers had once stood was very profound to see. We took our time thinking about the events and what had happened there 5 years prior. Then we wanted to go to Coney island, but found out we needed to take a train to get there and that it was actually a bit of a ride.... And we had a dinner 'date' set, so unfortunately had to skip the beach. Shame. 

That evening we went to a broadway show; The Phantom of the Opera. We had all had a say in the choice of show and I was happy that the phantom had won it, I really like some of the music from it. This one in particular:

By then I had been pigging out, simply put, on all sorts of foods, because New York tempts you with it around every corner. Cheesecake was a complete hit with my sister and me, although she had a lot more restraint with it haha, I ate 3 different ones a day and honestly gained a few kilo's during my stay. When we got back from the Phantom, I was a bit flushed, and had my colitis play up. I don't tolerate gluten well, get a very swollen cramped digestive tract from it, so that evening was more or less spent on my hotel room while the rest went out for drinks later on. Still, nothing bad enough to keep me away from cheese cake the days after :D Third day my sister, mother and new stepdad went to Soho and Chinatown. We took our time to walk around these neighborhoods and also visited Little Italy, which turned out to be a few streets only (or as far as we could tell). It was a lovely day, not too warm, and we had lunch in Soho and just strolled around. We also went to the Wall Street area and to some sort of harbour. That evening my mother had arranged for all of us to go on a boat cruise sort of thing, with entertainment and a buffet. I loved having fresh air there and being able to pick my own menu. The entertainment was good and at some point many guests made it to the dance floor. I especially remember some song being played, which was en vogue at the time, and everyone doing this choreographed dance routine! I only know of the Macarena over here where everyone joined in to do the same dance moves, (and more recently the gangnam style) but this dance routine involved everyone dancing in a line and wiggling, using hands and also jumping in different positions. 'Very American', we concluded. I'm not a dancing queen so my efforts to join in were pretty dorky. With regards to the gangnam style song I have such fond memories; I helped out running a B&B at the time, hosting long term holidays for handicapped adults (I think I have to say physically and mentally challenged people nowadays), and they had the mental capacities of 12 year olds mostly, sometimes younger, but when this song was put on, the whole group came to life, jumped up, and ferociously did their version of the gangnam style dance, sometimes even recognizable. Hilarious, we had a lot of fun organizing disco evenings and karaoke competitions with them). So that boat trip was a hit as well with everybody and I loved seeing the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline again but now from the water perspective. 

Our last day was spent in Central Park and walking around the fancy shops in that part of town. We had lunch at Katz delicatessen (very good). But my sister is also a proud Mc Donalds client, priding herself on always eating at least once in whatever town or country she visits (and she went all over the planet for her work), and New York has the biggest Mc Donalds store she knew to tell me, so off we went after that. I ordered absolutely nothing there as I had lunched nciely at Katz and was otherwise still stuck on my cheesecake diet and had seen one in a fancy pastry shop around the corner. But I sat down with her in a monstrously big building with several floors, hearing her judge if the Big Mac was or wasn't exactly the same as it is at home. (I think it was). These days flew by and we all wished we could stay a week at least longer. We still wanted to see Brooklyn, Coney island, the statue of Liberty, many museums we missed, tours we wanted to see, jazz clubs we never saw and I bet there is enough to do there for every hour of every day of the whole year. But we had to go back again. At Newark we saw a Jewish convention arrive to meet some high rabbi who had just landed, and hundreds of chassidic looking jews were waiting and praying and reading their little books, which I found fascinating to see. The trip back was fine and I only was a little bit flushed from it. I was sorry I couldn't take New York with me in my suitcase. I took some of her along though; photos, some memories, some artifacts.. Tribal men in Papua New Guinea think that when you take a photo of them, you steal their soul. I hope I stole New Yorks soul with my photos and took her with me. I doubt it however, considering the abominable quality of most photos haha, New York unworthy! Luckily I wasn't the only one carrying a camera and was there a better one to use. But I loved the atmosphere of the city, the beauty of red bricks, metal and concrete. 

The distinct own 'look' of everything, the aloof attitude of the people. I like being left alone, walking around unwatched and New York did just that. She gave me a "Welcome" greeting when I arrived, just, and left me alone further. It is a city of big contrasts though, as all big cities are, and we only saw the sparkle and bustle of Manhattan mainly. Not the outer neighborhoods, not the graffiti filled school yards outside of the Upper East Side. Just a tourist, just a snapshot. But it made me understand why some people want to put up with the smog, the dirt, the hectic lifestyle, the tired eyes, ears and other senses, just to be able to daily walk through this city. Get charged by its energy, distracted by its liveliness. I particularly liked walking through areas of town where locals did their usual business. Walking in and out of Laundromats and Dry Cleaners, deli shops, the restaurants from all directions of the wind, people (still at the time) smoking in the street, always seemingly in a hurry. The iconic yellow cabs everywhere, making every photo by default more iconic instantly. Smart shops next to garbage bins that pile over. Priceless high rising apartments and then taking the cold dirty noisy subway. And of course; NEW YORK CHEESECAKE :)  Henry Miller had another take on this city however: 

“New York is cold, glittering, malign. The buildings dominate. There is a sort of atomic frenzy to the activity going on; the more furious the pace, the more diminished the spirit. A constant ferment, but it might just as well be going on in a test tube. Nobody knows what it’s all about. Nobody directs the energy. Stupendous. Bizarre. Baffling. A tremendous reactive urge, but absolutely uncoordinated.”