Winter Break @ NYC - 2
1:01 pm
From where we parked it was a good 20 min walk to the Rockefeller center. It was a lot colder than I thought it would be, and I was wearing just my suede shoes. By the time we reached the center, I couldn't feel my feet, and we scurried for the nearest indoor spot. We went down to the basement from where we thought we could sit and watch people skate and have a look at the Christmas tree. Having heard a lot about it, and being there now, I really didn't know what all the fuss was about. Anyhow, while we were in the basement we saw a couple that seemed to be standing on a table along with their child. On closer inspection, we realised that they were not standing *on* anything, but were simply two very tall people.
Very soon two security guards arrived at the scene and shoed out almost all the ppl down at the basement out into the streets. That was something I noticed all around me at NYC. Security, security, secutrity! There were sniffer dogs. My uncle actually sneaked a photograph with one of these security men and dog, while they were not lookging. Outside one of the famous churches, there were two snipers, standing with guns at the ready. It was christmas eve and the lineups outside the churches stretched for miles. I haven't seen as many people lining up for church on christmas eve here in canada. we tried to do the same and went to find the start of the lineup to one of the churches. when we reached there, no one seemed to want to wait there in the cold for the hours it took, so we decided to turn back for home.
So the rest of christmas eve was spent driving back. all of us were sleeping, and I think we actually spent midnight asleep. when we reached home everyone wished each other a merry christmas, being half asleep. within half an hour everyone had called it a night. the next day, in keeping with my holiday sleeping habits, i woke up after 12pm. everyone else seemed to be awake. had a great christmas breakfast of chicken stew, and appam's. Appam's are "rice pancakes" an item native to the state of Kerala in India, where i'm from. Everything my aunt made was delicious, and it was strange that everyone in my mom's family teased her about not knowing how to cook.
my uncle had planned to take us all to this casino at connecticut called the Mohegan sun. But my younger cousin was 16, and we werent sure if he would be let in. So we decided to scratch the plan and go downtown to see the statue of liberty and ground zero. We took the subway from a station whose name i can't remember. the moment i walked up the stairs to the station, i was transported back to india, to some place like bombay or ahmedabad. the stairs were old and dirty. vintage new york. on the subway ride, we passed such places as the bronx, and the yankee stadium, all places i had heard so much of on tv.
it was almost an hour when we reached downtown nyc. our first stop was another church. there were so many churches all around Nyc. all of them exquisity in artistry and rich in history. it was christmas day, and it was appropriate that we start the day in a church. just down the street from the church was the New York Stock Exchange. And further down the street was the world trade center, or what was left of it. There was a sort of memorial built around it, with pictures and images of heroism and grief. The place was a busy tourist location with hundreds of people gathering around to see the site of one of the most tragic events of our time. As we walked around and I observed the people around me, I found some people posing for photographs with a smile with the WTC ruins at the background, almost as one would do with the Taj mahal or the pyramids. I found that strangely inappropriate. But anyhow, who was i to judge their intentions.
we walked along, chinese hawkers were selling dvd's for movies that had jus about released, such as meet the fockers. "5 dollaar" they said. when we reached the edge of the river or bay or whatever it is, at nyc, we finally caught a glimpse of one of the most famous women in the world. the statue of liberty. we were quite far away from it, and we had scratched our initial plan of taking the ferry since it was way too cold. thats one thing that sucked, the 2 or three days we spent there was too cold to be able to walk around the city simply enjoying the sights on offer. instead a lot of our activities had to be confined indoors.
1:21pm
From where we parked it was a good 20 min walk to the Rockefeller center. It was a lot colder than I thought it would be, and I was wearing just my suede shoes. By the time we reached the center, I couldn't feel my feet, and we scurried for the nearest indoor spot. We went down to the basement from where we thought we could sit and watch people skate and have a look at the Christmas tree. Having heard a lot about it, and being there now, I really didn't know what all the fuss was about. Anyhow, while we were in the basement we saw a couple that seemed to be standing on a table along with their child. On closer inspection, we realised that they were not standing *on* anything, but were simply two very tall people.
Very soon two security guards arrived at the scene and shoed out almost all the ppl down at the basement out into the streets. That was something I noticed all around me at NYC. Security, security, secutrity! There were sniffer dogs. My uncle actually sneaked a photograph with one of these security men and dog, while they were not lookging. Outside one of the famous churches, there were two snipers, standing with guns at the ready. It was christmas eve and the lineups outside the churches stretched for miles. I haven't seen as many people lining up for church on christmas eve here in canada. we tried to do the same and went to find the start of the lineup to one of the churches. when we reached there, no one seemed to want to wait there in the cold for the hours it took, so we decided to turn back for home.
So the rest of christmas eve was spent driving back. all of us were sleeping, and I think we actually spent midnight asleep. when we reached home everyone wished each other a merry christmas, being half asleep. within half an hour everyone had called it a night. the next day, in keeping with my holiday sleeping habits, i woke up after 12pm. everyone else seemed to be awake. had a great christmas breakfast of chicken stew, and appam's. Appam's are "rice pancakes" an item native to the state of Kerala in India, where i'm from. Everything my aunt made was delicious, and it was strange that everyone in my mom's family teased her about not knowing how to cook.
my uncle had planned to take us all to this casino at connecticut called the Mohegan sun. But my younger cousin was 16, and we werent sure if he would be let in. So we decided to scratch the plan and go downtown to see the statue of liberty and ground zero. We took the subway from a station whose name i can't remember. the moment i walked up the stairs to the station, i was transported back to india, to some place like bombay or ahmedabad. the stairs were old and dirty. vintage new york. on the subway ride, we passed such places as the bronx, and the yankee stadium, all places i had heard so much of on tv.
it was almost an hour when we reached downtown nyc. our first stop was another church. there were so many churches all around Nyc. all of them exquisity in artistry and rich in history. it was christmas day, and it was appropriate that we start the day in a church. just down the street from the church was the New York Stock Exchange. And further down the street was the world trade center, or what was left of it. There was a sort of memorial built around it, with pictures and images of heroism and grief. The place was a busy tourist location with hundreds of people gathering around to see the site of one of the most tragic events of our time. As we walked around and I observed the people around me, I found some people posing for photographs with a smile with the WTC ruins at the background, almost as one would do with the Taj mahal or the pyramids. I found that strangely inappropriate. But anyhow, who was i to judge their intentions.
we walked along, chinese hawkers were selling dvd's for movies that had jus about released, such as meet the fockers. "5 dollaar" they said. when we reached the edge of the river or bay or whatever it is, at nyc, we finally caught a glimpse of one of the most famous women in the world. the statue of liberty. we were quite far away from it, and we had scratched our initial plan of taking the ferry since it was way too cold. thats one thing that sucked, the 2 or three days we spent there was too cold to be able to walk around the city simply enjoying the sights on offer. instead a lot of our activities had to be confined indoors.
1:21pm
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