New York New York

Walking the Brooklyn bridge...
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One of the main challenges for me on any trip is finding something sufficiently original to say in a blog. Sometimes the experiences are so unique that I find I don't have to work too hard to come up with something. Other times, I find that a little artistry helps to turn a mundane experience (such as dropping a laptop into the ocean) into something with a little flair - something of more interest to people out there. 

Felicity pauses at Wall street in front of a bloody big flag...
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Everywhere you turn, there is simply a dizzying array of options with subliminal bursts of "try me!" "choose me!" or "eat me!"

The problem with New York is perhaps best summed up by U2 in their track "New York," where "freedom looks like too many choices..." Everywhere you turn, there is simply a dizzying array of options with subliminal bursts of "try me!" "choose me!" or "eat me!" Everything seems so rich - so excessive. Above all, everything seems so extreme and opting for moderation doesn't cut it here, does it? 

Felicity in front of a colourful mural near the Apollo Theatre, Harlem...
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Suffice it to say, the past week we have seen most of the conventional sights, which are all very accessible and, for a city where it seems easy enough to haemorrhage cash at the best of times, relatively affordable. For someone looking to climb the Empire State, dine on bagels and maybe see a broadway show or two, you don't have to be made of money to enjoy a few guilty pleasures.

Showtime at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem...
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In the end, though, the really eye-opening experiences here are the ones that take place in the corner of your eye and almost always when you least expect it. Such "corner-eye" experiences might include the old man who sits on a park bench at 11 pm remonstrating the pitfalls his existence to a bleary eyed party-going teenager whilst wolfing down an oversized pastrami sandwich. Or they might be the verbal slinging match between an affronted pedestrian and a cab driver with "I'm walking here!" and "It's Noooyaaawk buddy - deal with it!" the stock-standard ammunition.

IMG_0554
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Somehow I always new that New York was going to be one sensory-overload after the next. Time to reflect and process are in short supply here. Just as well I'm finally heading home and have a little time and space to marvel at the wonder of this experience.