The Heart of Love River in Kaohsiung is located in Sanmin Parent/Child Park (intersection of Bo-Ai 1st rd and Tongmeng 1st rd; take the red line MRT to Hou-Yi (R12) or Ao-Zi-Di(R13) stations). Two artifical lakes were built at each side of Bo-Ai 1st Rd: the west lake was designed as a return point for love river cruise boats to maneuver which extended the voyage from 4.6km to 6km; the east lake was a bio-ecofriendly lake. The 3 section of bridges design that connects the two lakes including a skywalk that crosses the bustling Bo-Ai 1st rd makes the heart of love river a lovely place to take a break from a boat cruise and walk around. You can also rent a bicycle here with credit/membership card and ride along the love river and the Hanshin Department store and Kaohsiung Arena nearby.
Love river cruise sechedule on weekend: (boats depart every 30 mins) True love pier to Hear of love river: 09:00-15:00 Heart of love river to True love pier: 10:00-16:00 Price:NT$50 for adults; NT$25 for elders over than 65
Love River penetrates the industrial city, Kaohsiung. In recent years, the revitalization of the Love River has turned the river banks and its adjacent land from urban run-down area to popular recreation and tourist attractions. The project “Heart of Love River” is the key element of this important environmental revolution. Its importance is three-fold: bringing the river cruise to the geometric center of the city and allow the cruises to make 360 degree turn; improving the flood detention capacity of the river; and marking the entering image of northern Kaohsiung.
By creating three bridges plus two lakes, this project defines cruise and pedestrian circulation, and various activities by multiple layers of sectional divisions. The boundaries of fields such as grass, water, and paving are implied by floating bridges and extending decks. The bridges form a fashionable urban catwalk, hovering the busy artery. Perforated metal cladding filters light from within, and renders the whole field a blurry and mysterious aura. By Arch Daily
"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco", I was skeptical about this quote. From above, as my plane was landing I glanced over the city through the window, it was like watching a 10 times fast-forwarded movie: the mist from the sunny Pacific Ocean becoming a thick condensed fog pouring into the city. Apparently, the elevating high heat air of the California mainland sucks in the cold ocean air in the summer, as a result San Francisco's characteristic fog that can cover the western half of the city all day and create an unique climate: summer is actually colder than the winter.
After a roadtrip to New York and Montreal, my baggage was full of crap, so I took a small bag and checked my luggage in the Airport Travel Agency which is the only place one can store baggage in San Francisco Airport because of the security regulations (all baggage is x-rayed prior to storage). The Airport Travel Agency (opening hours: 7:00-23:00; contact: 650.877.0422 or CF.Airport@gmail.com), is located on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal, near the entrance to Gates G91-G102.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is the subway system that serves of the Bay Area, it has a direct connection to San Francisco airport. A single ride from the airport to Powell station which is the center of downtown San Francisco is $8.25. However, moving around the city of San Francisco, BART is not a good choice as it only has 4 stations in the area. San Francisco Municiple Railway (Muni), on the other hand, has 54 bus lines, 17 trolley bus lines, 7 light rail lines (known as the Muni Metro), 3 cable car lines, and a heritage streetcar line known as the F Market & Wharves that covers the whole city and county of San Francisco (system maps). Fares are $2 for adults and $0.75 for seniors over 65, youth aged 5-17 and disabled persons, except for the cable car lines which require a $5.00 one-way fare. I bought a 3 days Muni pass for $18 at a tourist information counter in the airport (not all tourist information counters sell the pass though, you can buy it at the tourist information center of Powell station as well) that gave me unlimited rides on all lines of the Muni system from 12:00 of the date being scratched off to mid-night of the third day by showing the pass to drivers.
I wasn't expecting to see so many Asian looking people in SF, it was like being in an Asian country but there was something peculiar about it: how people speak fluent English without accents. It's confusing to see the "Whites" were more like tourists here and the oxymoron term "minority-majority" (a term used to describe a U.S. state or other jurisdiction whose racial composition is less than 50% white. 'White' in this context almost always includes "Non-Hispanics and Whites", excerpted from wikipedia) discribes it all. It is very interesting to study the history and the demographics of SF: Spanish street/town names such as Sausalito were legacies that could be dated back to the land was claimed by Spain since the early 16th centry and became part of Mexico upon the independence from Spain in 1812. Russian hill and Russian river were named after the trace of Russian's settlement; being one of the first ports to dock when sailing east from Asia created a gaint Asian community and the oldest and one the the largest Chinatowns in North America. The California Gold Rush drew people from all over the world, Italian, Germans, etc. set foot on this land and brought in exotic flavors to the city; to live in a life that Havey Milk promised to homosexual, SF has the highest percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S cities; and for some reason (some say it's because SF is a liberal city with more programs to help the homeless and destitute than most cities and the steady wheather) SF is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city... all in all, it gives you a glance at San Francisco.
I don't know how to categorize those who ask for money from anybody who walks by, only for beers. They seemed to be everywhere (they could be found in NYC and Montreal as well, but not as many as in SF) and an encounter with one of them was inevitable especially when walking around the city in the afternoon. I didn't find them intimidating or annoying though, actually I liked the way they made their requests bluntly, at least they wouldn't pretend to be sick or disable to earn my sympathy. I saw a man with a board written "Why lie, I need money for beer" and a quite creative guy had "Smile, if you masturbate and want to give me money"(Photo from onVertigo), the bottom line is they wouldn't harass even if you didn't give them a cent. How long does it take for them to collect enough money to buy a can of beer? Is life easier and happier this way? I wonder.
I took a bus to the west tip of the city where the Cliff House is located and had breakfast in the bistro. Go and visit their website and don't skip the intro as you can see the change of the place chronologically since 1863. Each window is a painting that changes views from time to time: sometimes rays from the sky unveiled the 3 reefs from the mist and one minute later swirling fog covers it all, leaving a mysterious blank in the frame. Photos of celebrities who have dined here were hung on the wall telling me that it wouldn't be cheap to have a breakfast here. The food was great and it was a good way to start the journey.
I then took a bus to the Legion of Honor which is a fine art museum in SF collecting mainly European art. A big fountain in front and one of Auguste Rodin's famous sculptures "The Thinker" was meditating alone in the forecourt of the empty plaza, a good way to create an atmosphere that matches the thinker. Simplicity was the feeling I got from the museum and I didn't just mean the plaza itself but also its collections. Nevertherless, Legion of Honor was a great connecting point to take a trekk down to the Golden Gate Bridge. I took the EL Camino del Mar through the Lincoln Park Golf Course then took a bus #29 at the intersection of the 25th Ave. and the EL Camino del Mar to the Golden Gate Bridge (bus #29 takes two routes, ask the driver to make sure you get on the one that goes to Golden Gate Bridge).
The view on the way was stupendous, greenish grass on the ground of the golf course with dark green pine trees as foreground; different blue hues from the ocean and the sky together with white mist hightlight the color red of the bridge. I waited for both piers to clear up, but it got worse. By the time I arrived the terminal of the bridge it was all covered in the fog so I moved to my next destination: the Palace of Fine Arts. It was built for Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Colonnades surrounding a rotunda with figures of Greek myths sculptured on the frieze, it looked like a miniature renovated forum in Rome. Images reflected in the water of the lagoon, it's not only a great location for photographing but also a lovely picknick spot. The adjecent exploratorium is now a experimental, hands-on museum of science.
I jumped on a bus wandering the city and was attracted by the colors of the Haight. Graffiti, long hair hippie looking guys, stores that sell pipes, it was the famous hippie street in 60's and it still is the focus point for hippies if you ask me. I went to the Red Victorian for a cup of coffee, the truth was I wanted to pee so badly, but the only rest room was locked from inside for at least a half hour! I was cursing whoever had stayed inside while lining up with other customers, and somehow a girl realized the door was unlocked, but no one saw anyone get out! I wonder if they added something in my coffee? Did I get high in the Haight?
I purchased a ticket online for Beach Blanket Babylon, a musical extravaganza that is now celebrating its 35th anniversary. Casts wearing grandiose wigs/costumes on their heads are the signature of the show, a model wearing the theme costume of this year in the SFO airport was a successful propaganda. A seat at the side/center Boxes where the best seats for the show are reserved, to get a ticket there one must call 415-421-4222 for availability. I got a seat at the rear balcony ($37), as it was an unnumbered seat I went to the theatre (678 Beach Blanket Babylon Boulevard) around 17:00 to pick up my ticket and the staff told me that the queue usually starts at 18:00 even though the show wouldn't start until 20:00. I had an entree calamari for dinner in a bistro nearby, by the time I went back to the theatre, around 19:00, there was a big line ahead, luckily I was ushered to a seat that still had a panorama view of the stage (well, the theatre wasn't that big). Ushers took orders and sent them to your seat before the show started. The story was about snow white was looking for her true love, and she traveled the world looking for a perfect man to be her prince... Well, I know it sounds boring but the way they did it was a combination of immitation, exaggeration, sarcasm, grandiose costumes and powerful vocals. I enjoyed it very much and the laughing through out the show was proof of its popularity. The only thing I didn't understand was how could they wear the whole city on their head and why the show was restricted for adults only?
The whole San Francisco City was built in between hills as a result some of the streets were so steep and driving there tests brakes and gas pedals. To reduce the slope of Lombard St on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth streets section, 8 switchbacks were introcuded making the section of the street the crookedest street in the world. The landscape was added by the property owners later on and this street has become one of the must "drive" streets in SF for tourists. Cars lined up on Hyde waiting to drive down the hill; cameras, videos sticking out from the sky or door windows of cars, these people were fully equipted and I couldn't help laughing inside as it reminded me the parody by Bill Cosby: "They built a street up there called Lombard Street that goes straight down, and they're not satisfied with you killing yourself that way—they put grooves and curves and everything in it, and they put flowers there where they've buried the people that have killed themselves."
My original plan was to take public transportation to Guerneville on the Russian River for a horseback overnight riding tour (organized by Armstrong Woods Pack Station) in the Armstrong Redwoods State National Reserve. I had the schedule made using the Public Transit Trip Planner on 511.org, however, with the waiting experiences for buses (expecially the cable cars) to arrive I wasn't brave enough to do it because I had to catch my flight back to Taiwan the next day.
An introduction of its official website: Grace Cathedral is a house of prayer for all people, without exception. It has no breath taking interior design as in the Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, nor vivid sculptures that create the atmosphere of reverence, but there is something about the Grace Cathedral that makes it a place that resonates with some parts of anyone's heart. Another great feature is that their Sunday service is streamed online. An AIDS Interfaith Chapel at the right as a memorial to the nearly 20,000 San Franciscans and many others who have died of AIDS, as a place of meditation, healing and remembrance for caregivers and those who are still fighting against the disease; the indoor and ourdoor labyrinths are symbolic diagram of the pilgrim's journey and a walking meditation; stained glass windows not only tell stories of Christianity but also leave spaces for science (Einstein window, E=MC2) and galaxy (the gift window) etc; a fresco on the wall of the right entrance records the founding of United Nations in 1945 in San Francisco (notice the Republic of China flag on the 3rd from left)..., all the highlights of the Grace Gathedral make it one of a kind.
I couldn't shake the wonderful Armstrong Woods itinerary that I gave up out of my head so I booked a tour to Muir wood National Monument and Sausalito ($48, duration 3.5-4 hours) via my hotel. A bus picked me up at my hotel at 13:30, after about a 40mins ride with the driver picking up the other tourists from different hotels all over the SF city, I ended up at the Fisherman's Wharf and the driver told us to pay our trip at a booth that is located in the first floor of the Franciscan Crab Restaurant. Apparently, travel agencies that provide similar services all set office at Pier 43 1/2, Fisherman's Wharf. I didn't know if they were all affiliated to each other or not, but it seemed the journey all departed from Fisherman's Wharf. You can google it and find lots of agencies that have this service (usually twice a day, departing time from 09:00-09:15 in the morning and 14:00-14:15 in the afternoon). My advice is don't use the free hotel pick up unless you need it, which may save you 30 mins for other sightseeing, and book the trip in advance.
On the way, our driver introduced the history of the Muir Wood National Monument which can be found in the official website. We got an hour in the forest, despite the fact that the accessibility of the main trekk was easy, I could only take a glance on these colossal natural monuments in the first 1/3 of the trekk before heading back to the bus. Surrounded by these giant cypress, bathed in the rarely seen warm sunshine, I felt safe and peaceful.
Sausalito is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, it is interesting to see how the bridge seperates a foggy and sunny sky in San Francisco and the adjacent Sausalito respectively. Standing in the sun at the port of Sausalito watching the tumultuous mist cascading from the hill on the back, Sausalito looked like a promised land of Sun.
We had the choice of returning by ferry from Sausalito but the time was too early to see San Francisco city lights from the ferry so I took the bus back and used the time to tour Pier 39. I don't care if people say it's a tourist trap, it's a great area full of interesting shops including a Buba Gump Shrimp restaurant. Just on the side you can see many sea lions resting on floating decks relaxing without worry as its a protected area.
After a wonderful steak experience in Montreal (prepared by chef Andre), it was a dilemma to decide on either going back to the hotel and eating a steak at Mortons or trying the famous red lobster. I decided to go to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner, it was fun, great music, very nice staff. It was a little expensive but a very enjoyable dinner environment and a great treat to end the journey.
My first stop in Monteal was Saint Joseph's Oratory, one of the National Historic sites of Canada. It all started with André Bessette who built a small chapel (now known as the Chapel of Brother André) on the side of a mountain near Notre Dame College. After a few enlargements, Saint Joseph's Oratory had become a complex that consists of a Crypt Church and Votive Chapel on the 1st level, the Exhibition on Brother André with a big terrace on the 2nd level, and the basilica on the 3rd level (take a 360 virtual tour to get to know each part and their relative locations). As the name indicated, the Oratory is delicated to Saint Joseph, Jesus's father, a patron saint of workers, which is relatively rare to see when many others are delicated to Notre Dame, the Holy Mother. The basilica that stands today was completed in 1967 and its dome is the third-largest in the world of its kind after the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro and Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. From a small chapel to nowaday the largest church in Canada, it was the healing power of Brother André that poured many pilgrims (handicapped, blind, ill, etc) in to his basilica. In the Votive Chapel, there is a wall covered with thousands of crutches from those who came to the basilica and were healed. Pope John Paul II deemed the miracles to be authentic and beatified Brother André in 1982.
I like the fact that everyone can find a shrine that is delicated to a Patron Saint/gardian of workers, the afflicted, etc to pray to in the Votive Chapel, otherwise God would be too busy to listen and to answer to every prayer. This Oratory used to be packed with pilgrims who were sick searching for a miracle recovery and now is packed with tourists who come for its magnificence. Despite the fact that the wooden stairs, from the parking area to the Crypt Church for pilgrims to kneel and pray, were preserved, it's rare to see one kneeling down and praying. On my way out, I saw a man kneeling on the wooden stairs, step by step, he prayed sincerely. A young man dressed nicely, healthy and handsome looking, had a great profile, drove an expensive car... it seemed he had it all and I wondered under what circumstances a man like him would pray in such devotion. It seems people in desperation no mater what they believe in, they all end up doing one thing: physically torturing themselves. I am not a religious person and not trying to blasphemy, but I don't know if such acts are specifically required by Christianity, Buddhism, Lamaism or any religions to make the prayers heard or it's just a consolation, a final resort the pilgrims try because they can't know for sure if God really hears them.
Notre Dame Basilica is by far the most beautiful church I've ever seen. From outside, the Gothic exterior of the basilica is average so I wasn't sure that I wanted to pay CAD$5 to get in at first but I did. My stereotype on most basilicas is that they are usually dark, colorless, white marble columns, majestic but stern and the only color inside seems coming from the stained glass windows. I was blown away by the colors and details of the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal. The stunning wood carving pulpit, gilded columns and the altar, all bathed in lights that sifted through stained glass windows from the ceiling and the side; dim fluorescent lights and warm candle lights flatters the hues of cobalt blue, green, red, and gold of the sanctuary. The cobalt blue ceiling and countless gilded stars create an illusion of a stary night sky at the moment when the sun has just set and the shining gold hues faded away leaving the blue blending into the dark. The heavenly glow sapphire blue in the background of the altar, where sculptures for the Eucharistic theme can be found is the highlight of the sanctuary that you'll have to see for yourself to believe how much detail there is.
In the back 0f the basilica, the Chapel of Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur gives a totally different atmosphere. If the basilica is an illusion of early stary night fall, the chapel will be the break of dawn. Brighter, but no stained glass windows that I could find, the natural light comes from the vaulted ceiling and the 2 levels crafted linden wood reflects the light on sculptures and vivifys them that makes the chapel look more like a modern gallery. The Notre-Dame Basilica de Montréal has more to offer, a wedding, concert (Pavarotti had a concert there in 1980) and sound and light show, visit their website for more info. I didn't have enough time to stay longer for its sound and light show. Instead, I went to Just for Laughs Comedy Festival at the St Denis theatre on St Denis Street with the St Denis family.
I enjoy the Just for Laughs TV show, yes we got them in Taiwan too, they always put the green monster crying " mommy, it's over!" at the end of the show and I feel the same way, it's too short and I want some more! But after watching the same seriers over and over again on TV, I just want to pick up the phone and call the producer to file a complain: it's supposed to be Just for Laughs not Just for Yawns, can't you guys come up with some other ideas? and then call the cable company threaten them that I am going to cut the cable if they are going to play the same show for the next 3 months. I was hoping to see them making some kind of jokes some where in Montréal when I found out the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival was held in Rue St-Denis on July 3-26. Rue St-Denis was closed for the event, bright color painted stilt walkers, musical performances, men made up as devils were wandering in the streets at night, etc, it was more like a carnival to me. I went for a comedy gala that was hosted by Lewis Black with the St-Denis family. I didn't get the jokes sometimes because of language barriers and cultural differences, and I was truely sorry for that I kept bothering my friend with the question "who is that guy they are making fun of?" It seemed to me that sarcasm was the only way the comedians could do to make people laugh in the gala. I don't know since when sarcasm has become a form of humor and has been practiced worldwide. I guess it's just like the funny clips they made in the streets, watching people embarrassing themselves is funny; I wonder would the term Schadenfreude and Sarcasm be catagorized into those happy words or they've already in that category?
Parking in downtown Montréal was a nightmare! The street parking with coin operated meters were money suckers, it's a design to evict cars from the city and to increase revenue of the government exponentially as the ticket for an expired parking could be outrageous. It's difficult for me to estimate exactly how long I would stay and tour around an area, given the fact that I could only pay my parking at the exact block where my car was parked, so I fed the machine as much as possible before leaving and kept watching my time anxiously. A friend of mine gave me his parking spot on Rue de Bullion where parking is free for those who live there. I parked my rental car there overnight anxiously because of the notorious car vandalism stories in downtown Montréal. The next morning I went to my car, from far away it looked still intact, a good sign, but soon I saw ticket on my windshield, a CAD$42 ticket for parking there after 9:00AM on Saturday! I was only about 30 mins late and I had a New Jersey plate on my car, come on gave me a break! I wish I had found this great article regarding parking in downtown Montreal on trip advisor earlier.
I went to the Biodome but it was full of kids lining up to get inside, so I gave up and walked toward my car then I realized that I'd just paid CAD$ 10 for parking and it's good until midnight, it would be a great change to experience the metro system in Montréal. I bought a one day pass from a ticket booth, CAD$ 9, a single ride $2.75. Unlike the one day pass in NYC, the man gave me a paper that had the month and date of purchase scraped off. By showing the ticket to the staff in booths , they would open the gate for you to get in or out. The metro system in Montréal is a modern, artistic underground city, shopping malls built just above the railway, you can buy almost anything you want without stepping out of stations. I can see how people move in this underground city in a harsh long winter.
Situated between the St Lawrence river and the downtown skycrapers Old Montréal is a lovely historic tourist attraction, a picturesque area where artists are inspired to create their artworks. Restaurants, gift shops are often seen in the painting as background, it's mesmerizing by looking at the painting and the street: are those people in the street the creation come to live or they are walking into the painting.
The dome of light is the world's largest one-piece stained glass artwork, 30 meters in diameter with a coverage about 2180 meters square, that is located in the underground station--Formosa Boulevard Station of Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit system. The masterpiece was a creation of the Italian Narcissus Quagliata in cooperation with Derix Glass Studios in Germany (Jurgen Gerbig even joked about it at a media conference: "Germans have ideas, Italian know how, and Taiwanese have some money). Its 4,500 glass panels present 4 themes: water, earth, light and fireeach of these represent birth, growth, glory, destruction and rebirth respectively.
I was all ready to spend the day taking pictures and coming back to write about the Chisi Festival when I found out that all performances at the Confucious temple were cancelled; performances at other venues were also cancelled on Aug. 22 (Sat) - 24 (Mon) because of typhoon Morakot. Instead, a charity bazaar was held at the Confucious temple area to raise funds for Morakot typhoon victims.
All the works and handcrafts were made by inmates at jails all over Taiwan and donated for the typhoon relief. Here are some pictures from that generous effort. God Bless Taiwan.
The map below recorded my footsteps on a roadtrip to Canada: from JFK to woodbury outlet, Lake George, drive in at St Albans,Vermont to little towns in Lacolle and Hemmingford, Montreal and then back to JFK one week later. Click on the icons for more info of the trip.
When checking in at Kaohsiung airport (KHH), the staff told me that I would have to reclaim my checked luggage and go through the X-ray again in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) which was my first transit in the USA. I wasn't sure why I had to do that even thought the tag on the luggage was labeled JFK New York, but I didn't ask. After more than 15 hours traveling, I was ready to use my priority pass to check in an airport lounge for relaxation, then I realized here was the place that I had to go through Immigration and Customs check insead of my final destination. Everything made sense to me while I was waiting in line at the immigration check points; that's why I've been told to reclaim my checked luggage in LAX but not JFK and why I would still have to go to the AIT to apply for a C1 Visa even if I was just in transit through the USA, a story that I was skeptical about when my travel agent told me. It seems all passengers are asked to go through Immigration and Customs check points at their first landing airports which means you have entered the USA at this point even though its maybe not your final destination. For those who just transit through, then can find their way checking in and going through the whole X-ray, security check process for departure to their next destination. I didn't have time to go to a lounge after the whole process; after another 6 hour flight, I finally arrived at JFK and thank god, I didn't have to go through the Immigration and Customs again.
I booked a super shuttle service that provides door to door ground transportation between airport and hotels. Given my arrival time and the service price (US$20/person), it seemed to be a great idea so I disregarded advice from one of my friends and stuck with the plan. I was happy to see a super shuttle's blue van stopped in front of the terminal while walking out of the building, the chauffeur put my luggage in the van, found me a seat and asked my hotel address. I showed him my reservation, he took a look then asked me to get out of the van and dug my luggage out of the back and told me that I should go back to the terminal and find a phone to call super shuttle for a van. I tried to call the number, 10 mins later finally someone picked up the phone and confirmed my reservation. I waited in the terminal for another 30 mins then a man showed up trying very hard to pronounce my name. I sat in the van and spent another 30 mins visiting JFK terminals 1-8 until the van was filled with other travelers. Luckly, my hotel was the first stop, I wondered how much longer those poor guys could bear to escort passengers to their hotels with the chauffeur. So if you ever take a super shuttle, don't reserve in advance, just jump on the first one you see and you'll save a lot of time. JFK transportation options: by Airtrain(USD$5) then subway (USD$2.5/entrance, USD$2.25/entrance); take the yellow cab to your hotel, it's a flat rate $45 plus tips; or you can take the New York Airport Express Service Bus to Grand Central Station (one way ticket USD$15) and then take a taxi/metro from there to your hotel.
After checking in at the Wall Street Inn, I collapsed on the bed thinking now I can relax but that was only to last about 2 hours when a kock at the door woke me. I didn't answer, then another kock. I thought they gave up and I could go back to sleep but then my locked door opened this time, and I saw a man looking in, and he saw me lying in the bed naked. The next thing I heard was sorry and the door closed. So much for a peaceful nice sleep. The next morning before I could even say anything, the reception desk clerk began to apologize to me and upgraded my room for the rest of my stay.
Without people in nice suits bustling around wall street during the weekend, downtown Manhattan is a lovely quiet area where you can find bistros set tables on Stone St when night falls. Two floor stone houses on South William St emit a medieval atmosphere that makes the area an ideal scene for modeling and movies. A few blocks away, the majestic Trump Building, skyscrapers and the high security fortified stock exchange center declare their status blatantly: a center with power to shake up the world's economy. Heading south to South St on the riverbank to Battery Park, joggers brought in energy to the city early risers, the smell of the trees in the park worked as a double espresso, I felt energetic and ready for my first experience in New York.
Given homeland security implementations and being one of the must see tourist attractions, a tour to the Statue of Liberty (operated by Statue Cruises ) usually takes a few hours just for lining up and going through security checks. So I decided to take a Staten island ferry which commutes between New York and Staten Island for free, and used my camera tele-lens for an eye-tour. A 20 mins free cruise gives you a closer look of the Statue of liberty and Ellis Island, where the "Kremlin style" looking great hall was the location where millions of immigrants waited anxiously for medical and legal processing.
New York Subway is one of the oldest (first operation in 1904) and most extensive public transportation systems in the world. Given its old age, I wasn't expecting to see a modern, clean and air-conditioning station, but I wasn't expecting to see the paint peeling off from the ceillings and walls crumbling in some stations either. The daily metro card for unlimited rides on subways and buses for $8.25 is a great deal, single ride is $2.5 $2.25, if you will take more than 4 rides of subways and buses, it's worth it, however, buying it was a challenge for me. You can buy any passes from the ticket booth except for the the daily metro card which can only be purchased from the machine and no one could tell me the reason. Some machines accept only ATM or credit cards, but somehow they wouldn't accept my credit card, so I had to find a machine that accepted cash. I put 20 in the machine and selected a daily metro card, but the machine refused my purchase because the maximum change reimbursement of the machine was $6. Then I tried to purchase two tickets at one time, one for my friend, but there was no such option that allowed passengers to purchase multiple tickets, at least I didn't find it, and the man in the booth ran out of change so I had to find a store to get change. I felt retarded for the whole process and I never wanted to spend my 10 dollar bills since.
SOHO is a plate of delicately balanced ratatouille, a thriving and robust area where you can find almost anything in different corners: from art galleries that are hidden in the alleyways to little italy and Chinese communities; from street stalls to luxurious boutiques; from exotic restaurants to commonly seen salad bars in convenient stores, fusion is the spirit of the area. On Spring St, Evolution (11:00-19:00) sells all kinds of unique natural history collectibles inculding butterflies, beetles, fossils, seashells, skulls, skeletons, medical models, and tribal art etc. items that are usually only seen in museums whereas Hollister settled on Broadway have 2 half-naked men with great profiles standing in front of the gate, as fashion model advertising. The variety of SOHO makes it one of the best tourist attractions in New York.
Summer is an outdoor season for New Yorkers, street fairs are held mostly on weekends in various streets throughout April to November, if you are interested, visit Mardi Gras Productions' website for schedules. I came accross the East Side Summer Festival on Lexington Avenue, and was pulled in to the crowd by the smell of BBQ from the first stall. Most of the vendors were selling food and drinks, some were selling bags, jewelery, knick-knacks, etc. I even found the F.D.N.Y. 40 truck set a tent there selling their 100 years of service T-shirt to raise funds. A slogan from the organizer says: "N.Y.C. streets are paved with gold", the street fair was a fun outdoor activity especially if you were the one "paving it".
Time square is always crowded because it's the center of where all broadway theatres and TKTS are located (there is also a satellite TKTS located in the South Street Seaport). TKTS sells unsold tickets on the day of performance for many broadway shows for 20-50% off the box office price ($3 service charge per ticket will be added). An electronic sign displays what shows are available for that day. TKTS only accepts cash and traveler's cheques and they don't accept reservations, so go early as the tickets may sell out quickly. If waiting in line is not your thing, you can also google search broadway show tickets and book discout tickets online via agencies such as the BroadwayBox.com, but the real bargain is the lottery tickets of each theatre. To get one, you have to show up at the theatre that you are interested in around 17:00-18:00 and wait for staff to give you a paper to write down your name and address then put it back to a box. Theatre Staff will pick the lucky winners who can spend only about $25 for the show. The number of reserved seats (usually about 20-30 seats) for lottery and when they do the lottery (around 18:00) depends on each theatre. I went for the Hair show lottery but I wasn't in luck so I checked with TKTS but they didn't have tickets for Hair that day.
I was not ready to call it a day, so I went to one of the top 10 tourist attractions--the Empire State Building and that was a nightmare. I waited in line from the 1st floor to go to the second floor of the building where the observatory ticket was sold. I followed the line and went through the security check (tripod is not allowed, because there is no room for it, you can deposit it at the security) and back to the line again until finally I made it to the audio guide rentals where it seemed to be the end of the waiting. I asked the staff where I could buy the ticket and they pointed at the crowd about 100 meters back. I still haven't figure out how I could miss the booth by following the line? The staff showed me a fast pass to buy tickets and came back. To get to the observatory I had to queue with the crowd to go through a stage for snapshots where they took a photo of you and photoshoped it into the night view from the observatory as a souvenir before reaching the elevators that took me to the 80th floor. Again, I was back in a line at the 80th floor waiting for elevators to take me 6 more floors up to the observatory. When I finally was at the 86th, I had to fight my way out to the observatory. It wasn't anything like the movie 'Sleepless in Seattle', all I saw was skulls in the background of blurry New York City lights. I stayed for 15 mins and fought my way down. Back to 80th floor, I couldn't help feeling schadenfreude as those who took a snapshot on the 2nd floor were lining up to find and pay for their photos. I spent 4 hours in that build for a 15 mins glance over New York City in lights. I took a clip with my new DSLR Nikon D90, so enjoy it, and if you really want to see New York City from high up, a recommended alternative is the Top of the Rock.
I went to central park for Alpha Blondy and the Solar System's free concert that was held at the summer stage on July 19, from 15:00-19:00. It was Sunday, I met my friends in the Time Warner building and had lunch together at the beautiful Hudson Hotel. Before the concert started, I took a chance exploring this New Yorkers' playground. I loved the fact that every park in New York regardless of their size has the smell of florae (well, I admitted that I only went to two parks in N.Y.C.) that creates an enchantment that seperates the city from nature. After a long cold sunless winter, it's not suprising to see people turn into suntan afficionados, however, a scene of hundreds of people stripped to get suntanned in the park still amazed me. A book in hand, gentle sunlight on the skin, lying down on the soft grass, you could even smell the aroma of fresh mowed lawn, it should be a leisurable and sexy summer feast, the huge crowd in the park, however, made it feel like walking to a meat rack, there was nothing sexy about it. Roller skating, Juggling, musical performances, carriage tour, cycling, Jogging and even a carousel, these are familiar sights of the central park. Energy flowed in the park affecting everyone, I saw a granny dancing with the music that was being performed by a drum group and I thought that's the spirit to live a life by. It was a long queue to the concert, so we sat on a rock under a maple tree near the summer stage listening to Alpha Blondy's Jerusalem, I felt blessed.
Before heading to JFK to pick up my rental car, I walked across the Brooklyn bridge. Whoever designed the bride was a genius. Cars drive on 2 lines blacktop on each side whereas pedestrians and bicycles on the wooden path in center of the bridge that was elevated gradually from each end. Steel wires that hold up this suspension bridge extend from two stone towers create a beautiful geometric pattern, no wonder it is one of the popular scenes in movies.
