#the climax takes place in front of the church whose parking lot i used to park in illegally so i wouldnt have to pay for parking in red bank

[knife-em0ji]

Every once in a while I remember the movie dogma exists and I have to think long and hard about it

[shakesonaplane]

Being A Tourist For A Day In New York City

Happy New Year! As the holiday season has wound down and the 12 days of Christmas have come to an end here in London, I am finding myself getting back into the swing of everyday life. To start off the New Year, I thought I’d look back on my last “trip” of 2017. I say trip in quotes because before I went home for the holidays (and tried to get everyone in my house drunk on Christmas cocktails) I spent a few days working in New York. If you’re like me, you’ve visited NYC a lot but never really did the tourist thing bc, let’s face it, how terribly uncool would that be. Well, as part of this “moved across the world” bit that I’m doing, I figured I should take advantage of traveling to a new place and the relative freeness the time zone difference and holidays afforded me. What this meant was a day off tour of some of the more popular attractions in New York City that I had never seen. Having visited New York since I was 23 with regularity, I was embarrassed at how little of the city’s sights I had seen. So with that and my intrepid NYC friend Neel as my guide, I set off on what can only be described as “a day where I didn’t sit in a chair from 11am till 7pm” (honestly couldn’t think of a better name but that was an actual fact of our day).

Views like this can only be captured when your younger brother wants to walk you around his Google NYC office instead of getting any work done

Her Majesty, The Statue of Liberty

When Neel asked me what I wanted to do with my time in New York, I can almost guarantee he did not expect me to say “Let’s go to The Statue of Liberty”. That’s not exactly something a friend who has been sleeping on your couch for 1-2 weeks every year would chime in with. But, with incredibly vigor (and only two “are you sure?” questions), Neel made the arrangements for us to see Laboulaye’s masterpiece up close and personal. The ticket for the ferry to The Statue of Liberty includes a stop at Ellis Island, which I’ll cover in a bit, can be purchased for less than $20. This cost, after the experience was absolutely worth it, given the amazing experience, views and general serenity you’ll find in the midst of this massive metropolis. Upon catching the ferry at Battery Park, we were whisked away from the honking horns and tall buildings to catch a beautiful skyline view of New York and then, obviously, Lady Liberty. The ride over was short, enjoyable, scenic, and was accompanied by tourists feeding seagulls as they flocked over us (note: please don’t do this). 

Neither of us could believe how utterly beautifully and aggressively American this picture turned out Upon landing on Liberty Island, a quick stroll (and for us, our first meal of the day) led us to some of the most enjoyable facts and scenes about the statue. For example, the forefinger holding the torch is only about 4 feet in diameter, which led us to the question: were either of us flexible enough to actually wrap ourselves around it? We never did find this out, but if you’ve managed to pull this feat off, please let me (and the local authorities) know. As you can imagine, this area was chock full of hundreds of (mostly international) tourists, so I felt right at home as we navigated the droves of selfie sticks and families posing with babies. There’s a lot to take in without heading to the base and crown tour (which is sold out months in advance), so after our views and photos, we ventured forth to catch the Immigration Museum at Ellis Island. 

Shot with Neel’s incredibly superior iPhone X camera that also seems to shed 10lbs instead of adding them

Immigration: The Same Now as Then

Only a short ride from the Statue of Liberty is Ellis Island, a famous home of US immigration in the early 20th century. While you might recognize it from movies such at Hitch and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Ellis Island houses a fascinating US Immigration museum that, after a stroll through, left both of us feeling a little less cheery than before. What you can see after a quick read through of the exhibits is that, in the history of the US, immigration has never been an easy topic. The amount of times we read that the “home” team was less than excited about the new breed of immigrants arriving was astounding. It really put into perspective the current climate in the US around immigration, in that as a country, we’ve never really warmed up to outsiders, though the country is one of outsiders. I tend to avoid politics in these posts, but this was one of the few times I sat there and realized that open-mindedness is not a majority sentiment in the world today. That fact, and what I saw at that museum, made me sad. As a child of immigrants and as an expat, I’ve seen several sides of the process, from the acceptance to the bigotry. I just wonder, when, if ever, will we be happy when a group of people crosses one of these arbitrary lines we drew on the map.

Inside the Reconstructed Ellis Island Immigration Hall there are plaques that show various lineages of employees of this museum which I thought was wonderful

I didn’t mean for that last paragraph to get so pointed, but as I reminisce about day walking around these New York sights, I realized it was something important to put down somewhere, even if I’m the only one to read it in the future

Moving right along, after our jaunt to these beautiful sights, Neel and I figured we could do with some mainland-Manhattan exploration. Being so far south is rare for the both of us, so we checked out what was nearby and realized, wow, a whole lot. So, off we went to some more major New York landmarks.

Herre at the Wall, Gonads and Fearlessness

I wonder what really lies beneath Paddington Lane… Just a quick stroll from where the ferry dropped us off is Wall Street and the heart of the New York Financial district. In this area we caught three fairly awesome sites, some for the movie buff in me, like Trinity Church, the site of the climax of the movie National Treasure. Trinity Church is a beautiful site in the midst of the concrete jungle all around you, as it affords a little “lowness” to the rest of the enclosed feeling of this section of New York. A lovely old church, it warrants a walkthrough for a glimpse. Just a few steps from there is the famous Charging Bull of Wall Street. Completely covered by tourists and a queue to take a photo with it (and it’s incredibly unnecessary gonads), the bull represents…uh…actually I’m not sure? Maybe something about raging hormones or perseverance through obstacles or something? Fun fact, it was originally Guerilla artwork when it was installed in 1989 that got a permanent place bc the public enjoyed it so much.

Ugly holiday sweater day for the charging bull

Just in front of the bull is what I would deem an appropriate response in our times to this charging animal depiction: the fearless girl. While this artwork was actually commissioned by a fund who wanted to call out it’s gender diversity (less “from the people” and more “for advertising purposes”), the meaning and symbolism in our time is something I can appreciate. When you come by this area in New York, take a gander at both of these sculptures, as now neither can really be important without the other.

I don’t have anything really witty to say here, my apologies, I wrote this on a Monday

World Trade Center Memorial

When I was a kid and saw what happened on 9/11, New York felt incredibly far away. I’d never been and couldn’t relate to the city, though I knew the gravity of the situation that unfolded that Tuesday morning. Now having visited New York on so many occasions, I felt a strong desire to see the memorial that sits where the twin towers used to stand. Walking from Wall Street to the memorial is a short jaunt but a somber one, since you know years ago you’d see towering structures in the skyline guiding your way. Now, though Freedom Tower is there and a lovely, enormous reminder to the resilience of a city, you’ll find a lovely memorial to those whose lives were lost that day. This is a site that I feel is a perfect memoriam and a real, honest tribute; very few other places in downtown New York will you get such an awesome calm and near silence, generated out of a due respect from everyone visiting. 

Lining the edges of the memorial are the names of the people who lost their lives on or due to 9/11 and if you spot a white flower, the day you’re there is that person’s birthday

Just next to the memorial is the most confusing addition to me for this area in New York. The Occulus, aka the World Trade Center Subway Station, is a $4 billion building that looks as though an evil sci-fi villains lair was turned into a Westfield. I stood in awe of this structure only to nearly lose it when walking inside to see the mass of shops, insane architecture and general sense of “so this is what living in an accordion would look like”. After a stop at the Apple store and a roam about the Holiday Market here, Neel and I were ventured forth.

Walking, The Best Grandma Slice, and Cookies x2

With that, our sight seeing tour of New York came to an end. Instead of hitting any particular tourist spots like the High Line or Chelsea Market or Times Square (all spots I’d seen earlier), we ventured through the neighborhoods around us, seeing a swath Tribeca and SoHo. Notable stops if you’re around SoHo (and highlights of my 2017 because I’m a fat person stuck in a skinny man’s body) were Prince Street Pizza (best grandma slice I’ve ever had) and Momofuku Milk Bar (cornflakes in a cookie!?). Also on the list of stops was a SoHo sample sale and Young Artists Market . Basically, if you’re ever bored when walking around New York, you’re doing it wrong.

Best place to buy cozy socks, beard wax, bow ties, totes bags, jewelry and…well, everything in between? As we left the lower side of Manhattan in search of more cookies (LeVain Bakery stole my heart this time round), I remembered why I missed New York so much. Like London, there’s always something to stumble upon in this bustling city, maybe more so here than anywhere in the world (though I can’t be sure). I always genuinely enjoy my time in New York, and this was no exception, but as an expat visiting the US after months away, this might’ve been my favorite trip. The friends, the activities, the food, the people…all these things bring a smile to my face as I write this sentence. Thanks a million to everyone I saw in NYC, but special shoutout to Neel, Such, Neha, Anjali and Aarti for opening their homes and schedules to me. If you find yourself in New York and are wondering, well, what else did I do there, you’re in luck! I put together a quick map below of all the spots I visited with my friends and family that I felt were worthy of note, including the stops on a raucous night in Brooklyn with my old college roommates. And, as always, here���s an album of the worthy photos I took on that trip

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But What About 2018…

Without diving into every other New Years Resolution on my list this year, travel (and subsequently this blog) are going to stay a big priority in life. What that means is that my travel dance card is slowly filling up with amazing trips to look forward to this year. So stay tuned as 2018 takes the travel of 2017 and turns it up to 11.

Until next time! Abhishek