On june 1st 2011 myself and Lar boarded an Aer Lingus flight on the trip of a lifetime.We had planned to travel from Dublin to New York staying with my brother and his girlfriend for 5 days before continuing on to Sacramento,California.Four months previously we had become friends with Natalie,an American girl living in Sligo.She was traveling Ireland for a year and some friends had met her by chance on a surfing trip when the heavens opened up and decided to stay in a local hostel.Soon after, I met Natalie at a superbowl party in Dublin and we hit it off straight away.She had offered us an amazing opportunity to go work and live on her parents ranch in a small town in north California called Willows which we greatfully accepted.
We landed in JFK airport at around 10.30pm that Wednesday and made our way by cab to Astoria where my brother had a place.We stayed up for a few hours catching up with Colin and Marisa and went to bed.We woke very early Thursday morning and made our way down to Astoria boulevard and caught the N train to Manhatten.It was finally happening,as we stood on the crowded train it began to dip down beneath the ground and as it turned to the right I caught a glimpse of the skyscrapers and i knew the next time i saw daylight I would be among the buildings i had been waiting months to see.We got off the subway near Central park and made our way there,it was the one thing I had not seen in my two previous visits to the city.
From Central park we made our way to fifth avenue.Lar is in the business of buying and selling clothing worn by famous people and had been in touch with a guy who made hats for Michael Jackson,We eventually found the place,where buzzed in and got an elevator to the fifth floor.People where spending ridiculous amounts of money on hats in a shop on one of the most expensive streets to rent in the world and even though we where specifically looking for it we walked by it 4 times!
may not be actual hat
We then made our way up towards Union square to meet Colin but we had 2 hours to kill.We came across the museum of sex which was ideal with my interest in museums and Lars interest in sex so we decided to do the tour.As you walk in there was a book on the basics of sex,if you need to purchase this book then you probably should not be in the museum in the first place.We purchased tickets for the tour and made our way through the various rooms.It was quite sleazy,rubber mannequins of women in different positions,colin farrells homemade sex tape on repeat and porn movies on the big screen from every decade.If i felt uncomfortable in the hat shop then watching this with couples id never met was taking the piss.Prostitution is the oldest profession in the world,i beg to differ,i mean Adam and Eve would have had to be farmers of some sort or we would not be here,what did they wear in the winter? Eve was the Dolce and Gabana of the old days,just sayin...
Moving swiftly on we made our way to meet Colin,the directions where simple,when you get of the train come out of the station and head west.Being European I had no idea which way was west.'Follow the f***ing sun'.....he said,problem solved.We then went to my favourite bar in all of New York,the surf bar.I love it here,theres sand on the floor and its a really cool place to eat or have a drink,just not the bloody Mary that is just wrong on so many levels.Quick fill,few minutes to rest our legs and off we went again.
me and Colin in the surf bar
brooklyn bridge
little Italy
I was told that the firestation used in the movie Ghostbusters is just around the corner from us and that its still a functioning firestation so we make the small trek around to check it out.After this we call it a day and head home,that was a lot of walking.
The next day Colin decided to bring us to his favourite places and it was arguably the best day we had over there.Myself and Lar had already decided that we had both been to New York before and had already done the tourist trails and both wanted to see the other side to the place,what do New Yorkers do on their days off? He took us to a place called '5 points'.This is where graffiti artists come and vandalise an old abandoned wharehouse legally,it was such a cool place and these guys are so talented.
Colin tried to stay serious as long as he could,7 minutes ,a new record for him.
We spotted the Moma museum across the road so decided to go in and check it out,i really enjoyed that and found myself trying take in as much as i could before somebody attempted to make a move to leave.The theme again was sex but it was not the sleaze we had been made enjure in the museum of sex.We then got a cab back to Astoria where Colin wanted to take us to a museum he often goes in his spare time,it was called the Noguchi musuem.I was very impressed with the stuff in there,and walked around for over an hour.I could see why he liked it so much.Some of the detail on the stone was unbelievable.
Noguchi museum
We left and walked around by Astoria park and i took some more pictures to remind me of my time here.Sometimes its only when you look back you realise how much of a good time you had but i knew then and there that i was and made sure I was taking it all in.
view from Astoria park
By this time we had worked up an appetite and walked home picking up some beers on the way.Marisa made homemade pizza and we chilled for a while.We grabbed a beer and sat on the balcony,there are 2 seats out there one of which is a mix between a garden chair and a hammock.I sat in the hammock chair,Colin sat in the other and we talked for hours.It was a beautifull clear night,the wind chimes where only slightly moving and the bars of the balcony where just the right distance to rest your feet on.There are 2 pots by the edge,1 basil and 1 pesto and the more beer he has the more he waters them.We listened to chill out music and I wasn't going anywhere.
my happy place
That balcony is my happy place and it was nice to sit and talk with my brother about things you cant on the phone or skype,it was a great way to end a very hectic 5 days in New York although.We had a flight to catch at 3.30am to California but i didn't care,I knew i had the trip of a lifetime ahead of me but i also knew that it had already started so i sat back looked up at the stars and smiled.
Excellent, love this one. It was so great having here.
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