Sunny in Seattle

  11^th till the 14^th of April, the last days in New York City and the first weekend with my host family.

The first thing on our program was the National Museum of the American Indian. It is a free museum and it’s very beautiful, on the in- and outside. We learned about how the tribes used to life and how they adapted to the surroundings. We saw old artifacts that wear made by different tribes and read about what they mean. We listened to music that was made by Amerindians, old and modern. Did you know that Jimi Hendrix was an Amerindian? Neither did I. After spending quite some time at the museum we took a break in the park. There we decided on further plans. I wanted to go back to fifth avenue, and spend some time in a lovely store that I saw.

But first we went to another park: Gramercy Park. The Gramercy Park Historic District provides an early example of creative town planning. The area was developed in 1831 by Samual B. Ruggles who laid out lots around New York City’s only surviving private park. Buyers of the lots became joint owners of the park and each received a key to the gate. Original townhouses in Greek Revival, Italianate, Gothic Revival and Victorian Gothic styles still line the south and west sides of the square. The friends Meeting House of the 1850’s and one of the city’s earliest apartment houses, built in 1883, are at the southeast corner.  So, just as in the past; it’s a private park and we couldn’t get in. Only those who have keys are allowed to enter. We continued our last day towards Fifth Avenue, I bought the dress that I saw and we decided to meet up with the others at Times Square to have our last dinner together. 9 out of 12 showed up, which I thought was pretty good for such a large group. Again we had a lovely dinner at the Irish Pub. Together we traveled back to the hotel and went to bed early.

On the 12^th of April we flew from Newark (New York) to Seattle (Washington). It was a long flight. I was squeezed in between two really big guys. So I had a lovely six hours on the plane. We arrived around 12:30 in Seattle, our shuttle picked us up around 15:00. After having lost some time in a traffic-jam we arrived at the pick-up spot around 18:00. The mother, Michelle, picked me up and we went toward the house. The road we took was amazing, all those hills, it was a lovely view. The house is at Lake Whatcom. The surroundings magnificent. I met Scott, the father, at the house. With the three of us we went to have dinner in downtown Bellingham. Shortly after our dinner I met Hattie, their youngest daughter. She’s a very witty girl and we get along quite well. Everybody went to bed early, we were all worn-out.

On Saturday the weekend started. After sleeping-in, and having a real American breakfast: eggs, bacon, pancakes with maple syrup, we went downtown and headed towards Creativitea. It a place where you can paint pottery and have a cup of tea and eat some scones. It was an adorable place. When we finished painting we went to get some cupcakes, I had a dark chocolate peanut-butter marshmallow cupcake. It was delicious! Then we took a stroll along the lake, that eventually flows into the sea. It was a magnificent sight to see! We met Scott at the coffeshop and had a drink. We continued our little trip by car. In the morning Scott asked what I had to do for school, so I told them about the Photo Challenge. We immediately found the first picture. It’s a Theatre Guild. The second picture was harder to find. It’s an airplane next to a dock. The lakes are really big here, so finding the right dock is quite hard. Definitely when the planes aren’t out. For dinner we had fish, and it was fantastic!

On Sunday we left early for Seattle, Hattie had a soccer game and I really wanted to cheer her on. They won of course. The first half was great; there was sun and everybody participated well in the game. The second half was a disaster. Not because they played so bad, but the weather was horrible. It started to hail and rain. The girls were soaked after the game. We quickly left so that Hattie could warm and dry up in the car. Luckily, the weather in Seattle was perfect. It was sunny and warm. We went to the Farmers Market. It was amazing to see how people did their jobs there and seeing what they sold. They threw fish, made beautiful bouquets and there were lots of crafted jewelry. I had a great time. We also saw the gum-wall. And yes, that is a wall; completely filled with gum. Years ago someone thought ‘He, I should stick a piece of gum on that wall’. And then everybody did it. It sounds really gross, it kind off was. Of course, I put some gum on it too. Scott, Michelle and Hattie also did it. Then we went down, heading towards the sea. We saw the ferriswheel and the ferries that go to Alaska. We continued our little tour to the Space Needle. Hattie and I went up and enjoyed the view. We read about the history as well. They use to set off fireworks on the Space Needle for New Years Eve and other events. I bet it looks fantastic! Also, the designer made his first draft on a napkin, and called it spaceship on a stick. It was hilarious. After half an hour or so we went down with the elevator again. We took a quick ride to the Chocolate Museum: bought chocolate, of course and had a burger at Dick’s. It’s a very famous place to eat burgers and drink shakes. According to Scott it’s been there since forever. On the way back Hattie and I fell asleep. We’re back home now. Scott is picking up their son from Canada, he’s coming home early. I wonder what kind of person he is!

Enough blogging. I’m going to take a bath.

Sore feet, but satisfied.

The 9th and 10th of April, day 3 and 4.

The plan to get on a hop-on-hop-off bus sounded good to a large group. Unfortunately it was around 50 dollars. We decided that a walk would be way better for us. We came across the Charging Bull that marks the beginning of Wall Street.  It’s the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity. After a mile or so we saw the new WTC rising up and knew that Ground Zero was close by. We visited the memorial to pay our respects. It was really impressive and emotional as well. Standing on the spot where something so dreadful took place felt awful. Seeing the names of the people who perished there made me feel sad. It was amazing to see though, that one tree had survived the devastation. It was still standing strong.
When we left Ground Zero we walked on Wall Street and saw the New York Stock Exchange as well as the statue of George Washington. Not far away I noticed a Tiffany and Co. This is the jewelry store that you see in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Audrey Hepburn (Holly Golightly) eats her breakfast in front of the store there. I could feel a luxurious air coming from it, so I understand why she would have breakfast there. We walked towards the end of the street and finally saw the Brooklyn Bridge. It was amazing. And I felt delighted to see it. We also spotted the Manhattan Bridge because it’s right next to it. It’s as magnificent as I thought it would be. Splendid! Shortly afterwards we took the subway to Times Square, had some dinner, went back to the hotel, got changed and five of us went to The Phantom of the Opera. I absolutely loved it. I expected it to be a tad to earnest, but I simply adored the story and the songs as well. It was fabulous.

On day 4 we did a little walking tour. We had lovely weather, just like the day before, and saw the most immense buildings we ever saw. We started at the New York Public Library, which gave me the feeling that I was the most knowledgeable person in the world. The general feel of the library is lovely. After spending way too much time in the gift shop we continued our walk. We took a stroll on Fifth Avenue and came across a Barnes and Noble. It is a pretty bookstore. I interviewed an employee for my Master Project there. He was a nice man and quite helpful as well. Very talkative and ready to answer all my questions. I never expected that New Yorkers would be like that. We continued the walk to Rockefeller Centre and the Radio City Music Hall. Then towards Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. These last three tourist spots where magnificent. I loved it. For some reason it made me feel at home, especially the Grand Central Station. I don’t know why though. We ended our walk in Madison Square Park. Which was lovely.
Then we took the sub home, put some different clothes on, and got dinner at Times Square in the Irish Pub again. After dinner we wanted to watch a film. But it started pouring and we were quite tired so we went back.

Two fantastic days! Tomorrow will be the last one. We’re leaving on Friday again, sadly enough.

Pictures: New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, New WTC, Tiffany & Co, Ground Zero, Tree that still stands, Grand Central Station, Flags on Wall Street, Clock in Grand Central Station, Ground Zero and Memorial.

The first two days in New York City.

7th and 8th of April.

For the first time in my life I have crossed the border to the United State of America. When I looked out of the window I saw the Statue of Liberty, which seemed quite smaller than I thought. After the landing we got a ride to the hotel and everybody went their separate ways. I went to Central Park together with Tina, it’s bigger than I imagined and I have not even seen all of it yet. It’s a lovely park. I liked the lake with the boats a lot. After visiting Central Park we took the sub to Times Square and walked a bit of Broadway as well. The only problem was: on Sunday the subway is a bit different than on regular days. Approximately 20 minutes later we were fed up with it and asked a nice looking elderly couple. They told us about which line to take, and the best spot to get off and see the most amazing things. We thanked them and hopped on. Times Square is a-ma-zing! It’s more than I ever expected it to be. It’s beautiful, colourful, commercially and packed with people as well. But I enjoyed it that way. We found the place where we could buy tickets with a discount (TKTS booth) and chose the play we wanted to see (the Lion King). We’ll be going there on Tuesday.

On the morning of the 8th of April I had my first breakfast in New York. We went to Bagel & Co. It was delicious. And we’ll be visiting it for the rest of our days here. We took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry. It was a nice ride. We saw the Statue of Liberty again. And it really is smaller. I know it’s bigger when you’re standing in front of it, but I thought it would be huge. We got of the ferry after 20/25 minutes and wanted to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge, only to find out (after 7 kilometres) that we walked the wrong way.. Because we were walking toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. The weather was great though and we had a nice walk so we weren’t cantankerous about it. We got back to the hotel and dressed up for America’s got Talent. It was quite a long sit, they had some nice acts, and lots of weird ones as well. So we had a laugh, but I probably wouldn’t go there again.

The program for tomorrow: Get tickets for the Lion King, shop a bit, visit the Chrysler Building, The public library of New York and see the play. If there’s time left, we’ll go to Tiffany & Co and maybe Ground Zero as well.

Central Park, view from the Ferry to Staten Island, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty.

The week before departure

On the 7th of April the adventure is starting. I’ll leave the Netherlands for New York City and Bellingham, WA! I am looking forward to the trip, but I am a tad nervous. I have never been to America before, or ever flew so far away. But I’m sure it will be fine. What I am looking forward to the most is Bellingham, WA. I am really curious about my host family. What does their house looks like? How do they do their groceries? What do they do in their spare time? And about Bellingham itself. How big it is, what the people are like and also what the school is like. I really wonder what the lessons are like. I want to know the differences between the lessons in America and in the Netherlands, as well as the differences between an American household and a Dutch one. I think we might not be that different at all, and even have similarities. I also wonder how tall the Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers really are. I am imagining that their not that tall at all, but I think I will be in for a big surprise. But before I leave: packing!