Friday, May 29, 2009

Getting acquainted with Manhattan - NYC Day 2


"Is it true that NIKE is almost bankrupt???"...
....I ask the young salesman in the NIKE shop on 5th avenue in an attempt to make conversation with a "real" New Yorker. He just came back from wherever they store their shoes, with an armful of runningshoe-boxes. He looks very embarrassed and one of my inner voices yells at me:"Are you nuts????? How can you ask him that? This guy works here, is very happy to have a job, and what do you know about this anyway???"......I blush and awkwardly try to explain that this is just a vage rumour I heard a couple of days ago in Germany. What I don't tell him is that I heard it from my mother who is certainly NOT the greatest international economy-observer, and that I forgot to ask where she got this information from in the first place. So much about Andrea and smalltalk.

We do not dwell on the subject. Among several pair of shoes I chose one of the less expensive and flashy pairs, leave them on my feet, meet my husband at the cash register, he too has new shoes. We pay. We came in worn-out tennis shoes (which we leave in the fancy Nike shop, no regrets). Now we are ready for the streets of New York.

Later we catch the bus on 5th avenue, not far from Central Park, at a bus stop at Bergdorf/Goodman. I should have taken a picture of their windows full of wonder (=designer clothes...). No price tags visible, so not to put fear into the potential customer (not me:).

I did take a picture of a TIFFANY window, attracted by a collection of keys. They say:
"Tiffany Keys. A magical collection of key pendants brimming with intrigue and allure..."
Some are brimming with what looks like diamonds, but I'm more interested in the effect "key-abundance" mixed with the reflections in the window.

The bus n° M5 takes us down 5th avenue, and we get off somewhere near Washington Square. I'd like to see the Arc de Triomphe which I often glimpsed in movies set in NYC. It looks just like the "little" Arc de Triomphes in Paris! Makes me feel at home:).

...Below now you find a condensed description of our day. Yes I know, these posts are "huge sandwiches", (quote Klaproos). But I feel that I have to write it all down and give it some time and space before it can be reshaped by my visual mind into something else than words...

I don't know, this is probably too much. I mean too many pictures.

Perhaps you are not as interested in seeing:

me tired and excited at once, buttering toast on Monday morning in the Edison Café, or fire escape ladders, sheriffs' cars, hot-dog-stand-operators putting the American flag up in the morning.

Colorful fruit-trucks standing under this typically American red light in front of this incredibly curved skyscraper reflecting buildings in a completely different architechtural style...

The windowcleaners high up there cleaning window n° 105, the Tiffany-Window with yellow keys and cabs, our new shoes against asphalt, the corner of 5th Ave and 32 street, the Arc de Triomphe on Washington Square.

The empty bar in Greenwich Village where they serve wonderful Espresso, the cozy shops, streets and house-entrances there, more fire-escape ladders (I admit, this must be an obsession of mine as are the yellow American school buses which I just looooooooooooooooooooove!) and....

Times Square, again, there's always something on Times Square catching your eye or your camera-lens...
(coming soon: The story about how I met Kim)

Oh and one last thing: I got bored putting my watermark in the right bottom corner of each picture, so I just melted it in, my way of digesting New York City, hope you don't mind:)

Click to enlarge (with some it works, with others not, will try to be more professional about it next time:)















































11 comments:

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

I could only just now get onto blogger. It wouldnt let me on all morning. Love the story and the photos. so keep them coming. Love how you first thing bought new shoes and left old shoes behind. :)) Was fun seeing your name in signs along the Streets. I will go back and reread again when I get caught up.

Lynn Cohen said...

Love it, love it , love it. All of it, from tennis shoes to tired you...I think i would have taken all the same photos perhaps other than the yellow school bus, as those I take for granted.
Red double decker buses however get shot! LOL
Justlove seeing NY through your eyes and words. Thanks for sharing. Keep 'em coming!

Cathie said...

Aaaaah those old shoes may just be a collector's item one day -- as the shoes the famous "artist" and her companion wore when they first discovered the streets of NYC!
Am so enjoying your visual diary of your trip.
We are taking Sabrina to NYC on June 26th for her birthday (which is June 1st). I am NOT looking forward to it much (as I am a country girl) but she is sooooo excited. I do want to see Strawberry Fields and the Dakota (where John Lennon lived)
But other than that - the crowds, the traffic, the yucky air - I'd rather stay home and watch movies with Gizmo!

Martine said...

Oh Andrea, your photo's and story's just are too much for now, i'm taking my time on these and come back, okay?
You must be overwhelmed. Take it slow hon!
XXXm

Mim said...

Great photos! makes me miss the bustle of the city - hope you had a WONDERFUl time and look forward to seeing more pictures and stories

Andrea and Kim said...

Oh Andrea, I love this day-by-day of seeing New York City through your eyes! It is funny, because I noted things in Paris which must seem every day to you. Like the way the police travel in groups, those amazing large doors which open onto the street, the way the banks of the river are turned into a beach just below the street, the wanting to make small talk with people and me feeling proud when I could successfully get them to understand my very poor French and the wonder of all the beautiful gardens within the city.

I also remember being completely amazed there were no school buses in Europe and how taxis were not as prevalent in Paris as in NY or other major US cities...but just about everyone had a scooter.

I never thought about how someone else might view what is so common here...yet you are giving me such a lovely glimpse!

Thank you so much for your wonderful details and your great photos! One thing is for sure...in Paris, the nights are a lot quieter and the lights not so blaring!

sukipoet said...

wonderful to see NYC through your eyes. So funny abt the sneakers. I do not own a pair of any kind of sneaker/running shoes myself. My feet feel so tight and sweaty inside them. Love the way you melded your name on the side of the bus, on the store fronts and hotels. very funny. you have left your mark in NYCity.

Katiejane said...

So glad you enjoyed your NYC trip. It is a visual delight. I especially love the little settee with the table and chairs. I love the city and since I live in a rural area this is lots of fun to see.

Mirela said...

Hey Andrea, love the photos, please visit all those great art museums of NY and dont forget to post about! :)

Jess said...

Hi Andrea, I'm really enjoying your trip! I look forward to you meeting Kim :)x

Lynette said...

Wow Andrea, I'm seeing New York City through your eyes and photos and it's pretty amazing!! I was in NYC one time, way back in the 1970's and I remember it as...miles and miles. street after street of skyscrapers, such an exciting and crazy place!