New York - The city that never sleeps...

(Post by Kizzy)

New York, New York!

We arrived to Port Authority bus terminal around 1530 and made our way to 34th and Broadway, where we would meet with Rommel after work. He's my cousin's Lilia husband and we stayed with them during our stay here.

Lilia and Rommel

and their son Bryan

It was a long walk, backpacks in tow, hot day, tiredness. All the bad elements were there. The streets were jam packed with people - think Oxford Circus on a sale day. Much worst. Col who usually slides in the streets of London - blessed with his good heights - was being pushed around and having to fight for his own space in the streets of New York. We finally reached our destination and parked ourselves in Starbucks whilst killing time waiting for Rommel - probably the only Starbucks in N.Y without wi-fi. 

I should mention that during this trip Col took the assignment of giving up smoking. It didn't go to well in Oakville, and it didn't really work in Montreal either. But we were beginning to see some progress in Boston.

This introduction was needed to bring you to this point - whilst we were waiting in Starbucks, Col went for a 'wander around' and came back with a very guilty look. He had a cigarette.

We met Lilia and Rommel at Penn station and headed straight to the trains. Lilia and Rommel live outside New York in Westbury, on Long Island - a daily commute of 45 minutes. It is a pretty big Island that has residential areas, not dissimilar to East Dulwich in the sense that you can imagine that it is one of the places that those wanting to  get out of the city and raise a family might come. All the amenities near by so that you don't have to travel far.  Having said that  - this is also the area of beaches, multi millionaires and celebs.  The famed Hamptons is on Long Island.. This was a   welcomed break.

Lilia's mum is one of my dad's sisters, and I've known Lilia since we were kids. I can generally say that we grew up together, the distance increased when she moved to New York and it's been four years or more since I last saw her. I jumped at the opportunity of coming to New York and seeing Lilia again. She was  equally pleased.

Me and Lilia

Lilia, Rommel and Bryan were great hosts and had a bundle of surprises in store for us. On our first night we had a Maxwell special: a barbecue dinner - just what the doctor ordered.

The day was not over yet so Rommel took us out to enjoy a typical night out in Westbury at one of the local clubs: Sugar. The scene here was something else. There was considerable cash flow - you could check the caliber of the cars parked outside - and the ladies: heels as high as the Empire State building, hair extensions and dresses as short as they can be. Think botox, think implants, think everything: they are real living Barbie dolls.It was good fun but we could only extend our expectancy to midnight. We were ready for bed.

Outside the club

Vruuum

In da club

Col also has a childhood friend in New York: Pat Coll, they go back to Col's school years in Edinburgh. and have kept in touch over the years.

Col and Pat

We met up with Pat the following day in Grand Central Park -  the lungs of Manhattan. A massive park, 834 acres large, it boasts several lakes, theaters, ice rinks, fountains, tennis courts, baseball fields, many playgrounds and other facilities. It is also home to the Central Park Zoo and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's a hilly park so you never know what's around the corner. You have your traditional cyclists, joggers, dog walkers, but here, something new is happening every minute. There was even someone playing the pipes, to which Pat jokingly commented 'Didn't know Malcolm had joined us'; there were also some kids at the one of the park's entrances hustling a bike rental business; further along there a man playing traditional Chinese music. It felt like a circus.

Pat Coll

Grand Central Park

The view from Grand Central Park

Time flew by and we said our goodbyes to Pat, who was by then meeting up with another friend to cycle around Brooklyn. Simple pleasures. 

Pat saying goodbye

On Pat's advice we took the subway and made our way to Greenwich Village and Soho - some of the cool/ artier districts of New York. We got a table for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Greenwich, where we had an animated chat about our trip so far. Completely immersed in the environment, different people out and about, very individual in their styles. The streets, the buzz, the atmosphere: wow, we're in New York!

In Greenwich village we came across this tribute wall to 9 11 victims

A close up of one of the tiles

One of the buildings in Greenwich

We got back late to Westbury but the Maxwell's weren't sleeping, so we played a bit of Wii bowling and Col got something like 5 strikes in a row ! I didn't do badly myself with 3 strikes in a row !

On Saturday we drove to one of the local beaches for a picnic. It was great, Rommel had grilled some meats, Lilia prepared mussels, drinks, the lot. We got there shortly after 1300. Not sure if it's common practice here but we had to pay a fee to enter the beach, $12 per person.

Getting things ready

We had a really good and relaxing time here, chatting, playing and watching people. Bryan loves the water and was keen to get his feet wet, had his parents allowed him, he would have swam. Let me tell you a bit about Bryan, he is 4 1/2 years old and is full of energy. Col was much better at keeping up with his energy, I liked to wind him up a bit because he is so competitive. He is a chatter box, there's no ending to him talking but luckily for us  - Col taught him a new game - the 'silence game'. Who can stay silent the longest..  His competitive streak meant he wanted to win this too - so every now and we got a bit of piece and quiet.

Col and Bryan

Lilia and Rommel

Bryan, Col and me

The other thing that amazed me about Bryan is that  he loves spicy sauces. I watched him with Col and Rommel as they ate the barbecued ribs with this really spicy sauce and he'd say 'Uncle Colin this one is really hot!'. Lol, there were many occasions like that. He is also fascinated with his father's parking , the one that always gets him talking is when Rommel goes over the pavement to park the car or when he parks it on the grass. Simple pleasures.

Bryan doing his thing

The way they've done things in Westbury is so that residents have all the amenities they need in the vicinity of their home, so they get the full experience of clubs, shops, festivals and entertainment. So for Sunday we went to the park and had a game of mini-golf, where Bryan revealed Tiger Woods like mastery of the game and we played Frisbee.

A family affair

Tiger Bryan

Playing Frisbee

Before the day was over we returned to the park to watch a concert in the park as part of an International festival celebrating diversity - on this occasion, it was the Chinese Community Day.

Our time in New York was coming to a close, and Col did not want me to leave without seeing the statue of Liberty. So we boarded the Staten Island Ferry to see the lady. I was feeling a bit tired and didn't give all the attention it deserved. I've seen it so many times in movies, that seeing the real thing lost some of the magic that would've perhaps had, had I not seen so many movies. The experience is not comparable, but something was missing for me.

View from the ferry

The French lady

Me and the lady

We met up with Pat after the ride and had a stroll about the city, a mini tour of New York courtesy of Pat. We went past the site where the twin towers collapsed - ground zero - after much debate the city of New York is building again in the area. During our walk, we spotted a celebrity: Georgia Jagger (Mick's daughter) on a photo shoot.

Not the best shot, but rest assured it is Georgia

Wall street station

Chinatown

Graffiti

Street basketball

I'm not sure how I feel about New York, the high rise buildings don't let much light get into the streets. It's overcrowded, I found it hard to take stock of what was happening around me, I couldn't really capture what was going on. Suppose London feels the same for someone who is visiting. There's definitely  a vibrancy about the place. Everyone is up to something but if you're visiting I don't know how much of the action you can get into.

The family

A few thoughts

Towards the end of our stay Col successfully managed to put the cigarettes to one side. It's been a journey for both of us, as a couple. When we started this trip I thought this was something Col had to do on his own, at his own pace and that I didn't play a role. I realise now that it is much more complex, this addiction, this habit. I do have a role to play, encouraging him as much as I can to stay on this path and to remind him every now and then why he is doing it. And if for some reason he smokes one or two, I can hlep him start again. I found in this a metaphor for relationships, for marriages, for a lot of things. Not so much the stop and start again, but the work, love we need to invest to make things work, to commit to something, someone and go all the way...