New York, by Tom Francis

New York

Restaurant at London Heathrow misunderstands the relationship between round pegs and square holes with their Asian menu.

In the seven years since I was last at Ground Zero, they have put up a banner with a link to a website where you can read about the progress you’re not seeing.

A melted girder from the World Trade Center at the memorial museum.

A thousand paper cranes.

Kim and I wandered into this weird, twisting, faintly industrial shopping center somewhere in the meatpacking district.

A Mexican Day of the Dead vignette (I think) in a shop window.

This is where you start in Deus Ex.

This is me playing Deus Ex near where you start in Deus Ex.

Manhattan seen from Liberty Island.

A statue seen on Liberty Island.

Kim and the jellies of the aquarium on Coney Island.

Pink tendrils.

Even for a shark, this guy was kind of a creep.

He made this sonorous blooping noise as he gnawed his flipper.

Everything North of the Empire State.

Everything South of the Empire State.

God-rays over Jersey City.

Their dad was taking the real photo from the tunnel below me at Grand Central.

The whole of 4th Avenue was closed for the longest and thinnest market I’ve seen in my life. No-one we asked about it anywhere else in New York had ever heard of this phenomenon.

Kim and I both bought hats.

Chocolate bars at Dylan’s Candy Bar.

Gumballs at Dylan’s Candy Bar.

Times Square on a sunny day.

The gloom of Times Square on a sunny day.

I was as sad as Kim looks to find that Max Brenner the Chocolate Man, a hot chocolate emporium beyond compare, has closed down.

Even death turtles are pretty okay with.

The Rivington, which we splashed out on for our final night, is the only hotel I’ve stayed in to combine apartment-sized rooms, monochrome decor and a transformative shower.

Kim flew back to London and I flew on to Los Gatos for a press trip. We stayed at this Greek hotel.

Bag of feed spotted in San Francisco, the day I left.

I took so many photos of the obscene food we ate that I put them all in a separate set. Part of me wants to review them. The other New York ones are here.

Comment

25 comments

The_B: How many guards around the Statue of Liberty did you kill?

bbot: That Times Square photo reminds me of some turn of the century polemic where it was direly predicted that this whole skyscaper fad that the kids were so fond of would result in the street level being reduced to grim, lightless canyons.

Tah dah!

cixelsyD: The "progress" at Ground Zero is appalling. I've been following it for awhile, and they've really pretty much just started construction around a year and a half ago, 6 years after 9/11. Good news is that they're starting to look like they're making progress.

It will be interesting to see whether Tower 4 managed by private contracters will go up before 1 world trade center, built by the port authority.

PS, Bank of America tower on left side in picture of things north of empire state. Apparently the "greenest" or one of the greenest buildings in the world.

EGTF: Did you see if they had a GEP gun at the Liberty Island gift shop?

Jazmeister: Ed, remember that we're police. Stick with the prod.

Under my marital vows, I am contractually obliged to assert whenever appropriate that Liberty Island is in New Jersey, although the wikipedia article clears it up a little bit - it's still owned by New York, NJ provide all the utilities, and interestingly, NJ actually own the "submerged mass" of the island. Sure, until they try to remove it.

Lack_26: I demand you fly back, and recreate Deus Ex by having to walk, laptop in hand, and recreate every step possible as you play.

Also, aww, I want to go to New York. I hope you had fun.

Nano: @Lack_26 Believe me, he pretty much tried to do this when we were there. I tried to look as though I wasn't with him. Wasn't helped by him going 'Kim, this is where I meet Jaime. Hey, come back!'

Little Green Man: @Lack_26/Nano
That sounds like the best thing EVER. I do feel sorry for you to have to actually be with him at the time though...

Nano: @Little Green Man It was mostly pretty funny. Until he asked me if I could act like Jaime and teach him how to pick locks.

AlexW: When I saw the Deus Ex pic I laughed.
When I saw the 'chocolate' (butyric acid added to make it as rubbish as Hershey's is naturally), I wasn't so amused any more.
And when I saw the last few comments I laughed again.

Congrats on the trip. Did you get vertigo from the top of the Empire State Building? It's really, really tall. And also the elevator doesn't go all the way up, which seems inconsiderate to me.

Nicomallo: I like a man who never goes sightseeing without a mouse. Who wants to be stuck up Mount Everest playing an FPS with a touchpad?

Jazmeister: AlexW: It's actually only half as tall as the PCG office.

Ludo: Great pics, especially excellent hats.

ZomBuster: I'll trade my Ushanka for that Tyrolean!

And did you had to take pictures of all your food? Makes me hungry..

Dr. Nerfball: Those hats are awesome. However they certainly cannot be described as foppish. Therefore they plae in comparison to the mighty: http://z.about.com/d... ...athers.jpg

Tremble in fear! Because as we all now, hat awesomeitude shows status. Also if you look up feathered hats in google you get some really trippy responses.
(gee I hope that link posted properly)

Bret: What is the death turtle okay with?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Also:
When due process fails us, we really do live in a world of terror.

Rei Onryou: @Nano: At last, we finally meet the brains behind the legend. Keep doing whatever it is that you do. And at least he didn't ask you to be Gunther.

J-Man: I remember last time I was in Manhattan I visited Battery Park. Not like Deus Ex at all :(

Nano: @Rei_Onryou Aw, thanks! I'm not sure what exactly I'm a legend of...anyway, next time, I get to choose the game to roleplay. And I'm a BIG fan of J-RPGs...

skizelo: Bret! I can't tell if you know this already, but since the syntax threw me the first pass at it, I'll err on the side of caution: the caption can be rephrased as "Turtles are ok with many things, even death, as demonstrated by how happy this skeletal turtle appears."
Also, I was wondering why the site went down but now I know. Don't put hats on beds Tom, haven't you seen Drugstore Cowboy?

Walternat0r: Nice pics, especially the Manatee that's so hungry its gorging on itself.

Quick Q, what is that first pic in your NY Food group? It has banana and strawberries on so i'd have though its a pancake type thing, only its massive, like an oversized slice of bread.


	Pentadact: The first pic is a ricotta and pear polenta waffle from Locanda Verde, but I guess you mean the big one? That's The Rivington's french toast with fresh fruit and maple and vanilla syrup.