New York, New York--Finally!

"Start spreadin' the news..."

I finally made it to New York City!! I have been to so many places in the world, it was starting to become ridiculous that I had yet to see NYC...

In comes Jiri. Mr. Shy and Unassertive--Mr. Timid Mc Passive-- comes up with the GREAT IDEA: "Why don't we meet in New York before I leave the US?" Of course he was not that direct. He had to beat around the bush, telling me a story about his plane ticket and how he could change it for another city...blah blah blah...and it all become clear. New York City, here I (we) come!!!!

Seriously, it was really a fantastic trip. I don't know if we were JUST lucky or if there was some magic in the Fulbright match-making bag (at least for our exchange), but I cannot imagine another person in CZ or in any of the other participating countries that I would have gotten along with better than my partner. Not only were you the perfect partner for me, but you are truly an awesome fella, Jirka--even if you do need a BIG, healthy dose of assertiveness. Haha =). I am not kidding, though, (about any of what I say here. Do I ever really say things I don't mean?? Don't think so.=))

Anyway, back to the trip! It seems Jiri is all grown up now! He spent four whole days alone in LA, before coming to meet me at NYC's JFK. All I had to do was get off my plane and wait. Cool! Then the adventures began. (You can read about the taxi ride on Jiri's blog.)

Since neither of us had been to New York before, neither of us could assume the role of tourguide (something we both like to do, albeit ONE of us more than the other. =) Guess Who?) Each day, we had to work together (and lead each other) to plan whatever we would do and see. We got along extremely well (not unusual for us), and managed to see just about everything we wanted (except a Broadway show) without a single FIGHT! Pretty amazing.

Overall, we had a very calm and casual way of exploring THE CITY. A perfect first bite of the Big Apple!

So...WHAT DID WE SEE??

Boat and skyline--beautiful view. On our way to Liberty and Ellis Islands.


Trump Tower--I HAD to go here. I am a little Donald-Trump-crazy right now. I had just been reading his book Think Like a Billionaire on my way to New York, and in it, he says if you are in New York you MUST see Trump Tower. So I (we)did. It was alright. =)


Check me out.


Ellis island--we were hoping to find some evidence of the passage of Jiri's Great-Grandfather here. His grandfather was actually BORN here, in Pittsburg, PA. But we took the tour first, and by the time we got to search computers, we had run out of time. Bummer.


Empire State lobby. Gorgeous, really.


World sculpture near USTC--Jiri and I both are IN LOVE with tennis, we had to go to the site of the US Open. Unfortunately it was not open to the public on that day, so all we could do was to walk around--ALL the way around; it's HUGE and the stadiums are enormous!-- and take pictures of whatever we could see. It was still nice to be there though. (And that's 3 of 4 for me. The only Grand Slam venue I haven't visited is Melbourne Park.)






From Liberty Island--WOW! Spectacular view.

PORT MONMOUTH, NJ



Srdjan and Sasha (and Apollo) were kind enough to host us on our first visit to THE CITY. We camped out across the...river?? Bay?? Delta?? Strip of sea??...from NYC in their little piece of New Jersey. AND without ruining the suspense, I can tell you it was the nicest of the three places we stayed during the whole trip.


ON THE JERSEY SHORE...

...WHERE WE DISCOVERED A FEW NEW SEA CREATURES (FOR US).

THE POOL area was quite lovely and enjoyable. I think it was Jirka's favorite spot. He loved Srdjan's place and the pool and the weightroom. I think he was in his own heaven here. =)




One of our MUST SEE spots was the site of the WTC. Even not having been to NYC before, it was still strange not to see the twin towers in the skyline, and when we got close to the site (ground zero), it still had a solemn feel about it, but...


There was also the positive feeling connected to rebuilding, to not letting destructive, death-worshipping individuals have the final word--or act.


To the future...





Srdjan--OUR HERO. Thanks a bunch Srdjy!! Hope to see you again soon out on the West Coast.

KM