24/11/2009
In one of the stops of the New York subway I discovered a big art project. The artist is called Tom Otterness and the tile of this project is Life Underground. What it consists of is a huge collection of bronze little statues in various poses and everyday life moments.
I will not show you every single one, as there are too many, but a collection of my favourite ones instead. If you wish to see it, all you have to do is go to New York and take the subway to 8th Avenue stop. :)







M.
24/11/2009
After a short stop at Cornelius, North Carolina where I visited C. and J. for a relaxing few days, I moved on to New York, or as it's commonly known, the Big Apple. Once again, boy was I taken by surprise!
During my ten days in the city, although I was trying to insert my own, slow and relaxed pace of living every day, the amount of things I crammed in there is simply unreal. To get an idea of how those days felt for me, try to read the following paragraph in one breath and as fast as you can.
Arrive, make monocle and dress up as the combination of a drug lord/professor/duke, go to indian-themed party, convince everyone your name is Socrates and that you lived in a bathtub, go to brooklyn, go to party involving kiddie-pools, movies and beer, walk up all 5th avenue and hate it, meet your mom for lunch, visit statue of liberty, meet annoying greeks and remember why you fled the country, walk around more, view crazy streets performances, scare the locals, do a photo project in the subway, look for the perfect burger, walk all the way to times square (they do not show the time anywhere), go to burner happy hour (yeay), find secret underground bars, have an international food tour all around New York, learn how to walk and jump on stilts, look for the perfect bagel, get served chocolate wine (horrible) by a hyperactive bartender high on cocaine, be an extra in a burning man filming (don't wash the playa dust off), walk up 5th avenue (again), explore central park, look for the perfect pizza, meet your friend from Colombia, get in to the museum of modern art for free and watch the Tim Burton exhibition, look for the perfect cheesecake.
The duke! (?)
A very morbid image
Eastern Manhattan by night
The Brooklyn bridge (and again below)

The lady herself
The Manhattan skyline

Burning Man filming
http://www.tilesforamerica.com/
Times Square (Am I the only one thinking that it's so bizarre that they do not show the time anywhere?)
Delicacies in Chinatown
Central Park
At the Tim Burton Exhibition
Are you still alive? Coz I barely made it... New York is a very fast-paced city. Lots of things happening all the time, lots of things to do, lots of people to meet, streets to walk, experiences to try, neighborhoods to explore. Everyone is always in a hurry and if you're walking slowly, it feels as if you're in a completely different dimension. The world around you is passing by in ridiculous speeds and you're observing it as everyone is getting so stressed out.
Despite all that, ten days in New York are far from sufficient! I could have easily spent as much more (and more and more) and would have still been discovering hidden little corners and gems.
As someone very correctly pointed out to me, in order to live in New York, you need to be determined and have a purpose. You would need to make a lot of sacrifices, so you better be ready to be fully committed to what you want to achieve, otherwise you'll never enjoy yourself. Personally, as a tourist, I enjoyed myself to the max! Let's see if my path brings me here for a more temporary visit next time. :)
M.
