acatofimpossiblecolour blog: New York: Day Two

We actually got back from New York on Sunday, but I'm bed-bound with 'flu and taking the opportunity to record our trip a day at a time!

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We were so lucky to be in New York while the snow was still thick and pristine - by the time we left, it was almost all gone, revealing that the big drifts on the sidewalks were actually big drifts of garbage bags covered in snow, and the little powder that was left had turned black from traffic fumes. When we went to Central Park on Friday morning, however, it was still a picture-perfect winter wonderland. Making a snowman (or snowcat) was the first order of the day, naturally, and we ambled about the park for hours enjoying the beautiful landscapes of frozen ponds and swathes of powder.

We spent the afternoon in the Museum of Natural History, which was just fantastic, if insanely crowded. I should stop saying that things were insanely crowded, because it sort of goes without saying. Just imagine huge crowds wherever we are (except for in Central Park, which is big and peaceful enough to give at least the illusion of being deserted). As naive hayseeds, we only wandered down to Times Square at about 5pm, at which point it was already completely packed. We gave up on getting too close to the Time Ball (the police had barricaded off the nearest streets, anyway), and had a romantic three-course dinner in Pigalle, a French restaurant a few blocks away. Once we were warmed with sufficient quantities of rich food and wine, we had enough stamina left to stand for three hours as close as we could get to Times Square, waiting for the ball to drop. There were about a million people crammed into four blocks - the population of Auckland. It was impossible to move, but the sheer volume of people kept us all (mostly) warm as we waited.

Then the countdown! It was very cool. I don't think I could bring myself to stand in the cold and the crowds for that long ever again, but it was a great experience.