Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Big Apple


Last Monday, I had to attend some business at the consulate in New York and so we flew there in the early morning. The day began with an amazing experience at home when we saw a deer in our backyard, which then walked down our suburban street.
By 10:30, I had already concluded my business at the consulate and we had the rest of the day to act like regular tourists. Being in the heart of Manhattan, our first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was truly awesome and can rival the many cathedrals and churches I have seen in Europe. After warming up at a cafe, we headed to Rockefeller Center where we had no trouble finding the iceskating rink (it was still closed to skaters, though) and the famous Christmas tree. There were tourists from all over the world, despite a freezing 19 degrees Fahrenheit. We then went to the Top of the Rock where I detected German tongues everywhere. Luckily, we experienced the only sunny day recently and it was actually warmer up there than it was at street level. Unfortunately, the sun was directly behind the Empire State Building and I couldn't take any photos in that direction. The clear day provided a terrific view in all directions, though. Back on the ground, we walked around in circles, seeing the tree from all directions, until we found a place to eat. After that, it was time to hail a taxi to the airport. Luckily, the first taxi we approached just became available and we left Manhattan before rush hour. We were beat by the time we arrived back in Pittsburgh and concluded that our airport is nicer than New York's.

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