Empire State of Mind
Trip Start
Jun 29, 2010
1
4
28
Trip End
Ongoing
New York City, New York
Saturday, July 10, 2010
On my continuing quest to become a proper tourist I went off in the direction of the Empire State Building. On the way inside there were line after line of roped off lines, luckily without people filling them. I'd hate to visit there when all those lines were full as I think you would be there for several hours before even getting on the lift up to the top.
The views from the top were better than I expected considering it had been threatening to rain but it was possible to see for quite a distance. Last time I was in New York I was looking at the Empire State Building from the top of the World Trade Centre, so it was interesting to see the view from the opposite direction towards ground zero. On the way up the lift I received an SMS from a friend in NYC but by the time I got to the top I couldn't reply since there was no coverage, it's strange they don't put a few mobile antennas up there considering it's one of the most popular tourist attractions. Anyway I made my way up to the 108th floor for higher views which weren't that different from the standard viewing level on the 96th floor. Anyway, another sight crossed off the list.
That evening I met up with a friend Nick who I know from when I lived in Canada. He also came to visit me in Munich during Oktoberfest so now it was my turn to do the visiting. We went to some of the southern districts in Manhattan. In the first bar there was some cider promotion going on and we got some free cider from the cider girls :-). We moved over to the south east side and went to the oldest bar in New York. I liked the way they never clean the place and the dust which had accumulated on the lights must be a hundred years old. The bar staff are also delightfully grumpy which adds to the unique atmosphere. We ended up in another bar somewhere I don't recall. It was great night to catch up on everything that has been happening and see some parts of NYC that I may have otherwise missed.
One thing which I still can't get my head around is the size of the portions in the restaurants and snack bars. I don't really like eating huge portions and usually a US small size is more than enough. Sometimes I forget where I am and accidentally order a medium or large size menu upon where I hear a forklift truck revving up ready to deliver my customary vat of soft drink and trough of fries. At least the food is cheap over in the States.
The subway system in New York is generally quite easy to get around if a bit old and dirty, but I do like viewing the local underground wildlife and patting the cats - oh wait that's a rat :-O. At least it's safer than it used to be after Mayor Giuliani cleaned things up. I got a weekly pass therefore was able to jump on and off the subway at random stations which is a great way to experience the city, even if I did end up in some areas with a little more "character". I found that the further uptown I visited the more of an authentic New York experience I got with not many tourists there, sometimes for good reason.
Comments
steve, c'mon, as a network guy I'm surprised you didn't work it out; there's plenty of coverage at the top of the skyscrapers, the problem is,actually too much coverage - the phone gets confused, as it sees too many base stations (=loads of interference) , and gives up!
Yeah perhaps it can see more masts from up there, but anyway I've wiped all telecoms knowledge from my brain while travelling so am only capable of thinking about where I'm going next or where to get beer (oh and planning skiing of course) :-).