found on http://www.atomicantiques.com/2010/02/03/german-racers To learn more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_New_York_to_Paris_Race
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
New York to Paris Race of 1908 (The Great Race), the German entry drivers in the top photo
found on http://www.atomicantiques.com/2010/02/03/german-racers To learn more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_New_York_to_Paris_RaceThis one's for Jason.
"You just have to be there 20 minutes before departure," said Kingston. "I don't like reaching early because I feel stupid wasting time in the airport."
"So let me get this straight. You'd rather miss your flight than feel stupid?"
"Yup pretty much." With this seemingly innocuous ending to our conversation, we bade each other goodnight and goodbye. I was to leave early in the morning so he wouldn't be able to send me off then.
Kingston and I had not met for about two years, but we clicked immediately, as evident from our endless conversations on his couch that I claimed as mine in New York. I was sorry that I had to leave, but San Francisco was waiting. My flight was at 7am this morning. The plan was to get out the house at 5am, and with any luck I would reach the airport by 6:30am.
When I said "with any luck" I did not foresee that I would actually need it. The first thing that went wrong was me waking up late, and after double and triple checking that I did not leave anything behind, I left the house 15 minutes off schedule. I reached the subway station, huffing and puffing with my ridiculously heavy trolley bag in tow. It was 5:30am. Seemed like I could still make it.
I waited at the subway station until about 5:55am, when I felt that something was terribly wrong. At first I persuaded myself that it was just a normal occurrence for the train to be late for ten minutes. With every passing minute I grew more and more fidgety. But when someone actually went and queried the station master, it turned out that someone had pulled the emergency brake at one of the prior stations. The whole track was at a standstill. This did not look good at all.
One of the waiting passengers, after he learned about my dire situation, proposed that we share a cab to the airport. Apparently he was working in the JFK airport at one of the control stations. So off we went. At this time I was rather relieved that the cab solution presented itself. I still had about 40 minutes till 6:40. Once we boarded the cab (which he had to run into the middle of the road to flag down), I relaxed and felt that I would make it after all. Thus I started making small talk and learned that my saviour's name was Jason.
In contrast with my chilled attitude, Jason still seemed highly strung. When he started to check my flight number and making calls to his colleague - "I can't promise you anything, but we'll try to get you through" - I realized that I was totally oblivious to the fact that I was still in high risk of missing my plane. Delta had a 30-minute check-in policy. It was 6:10am and we were still on the highway. It was probably a good time to start panicking.
When we finally reached Terminal 2, it was about 6:20am. Jason took care of the taxi bill by credit card and wouldn't accept anything from me except a $2 to get a coffee later. Plus tip it was almost a $40 ride. I was quite overwhelmed with gratitude but there was no time for that. We broke into a sprint once we got off the taxi. Jason cut me through all the queues with his work badge and outraged "someone pulled the subway brakes today, we were both fucked" pitch, and got me successfully to the security check. It was 6:40am. There was no time to check in my luggage. We had to dispose of all my toiletries above 100ml (T_T mahalnya) to put everything in as hand luggage.
Jason left me at the security gates with a hurried goodbye and good luck. He was also late for work, and I could only thank his fleeting silhouette as he bounded off towards another direction. His random act of kindness saved me at least $150. Pity I don't even know his last name.
The plane left the dock at 6:55am. I had scraped through, just barely. In the plane one of the stewards approached me to ask me if I had any problems "on the ground". After a moment of puzzlement and checking my feet out, I realized that he was asking me about my almost missing the flight back in New York. Looks like Jason's phone call did get through to someone.
So this one's for the great guy Jason who was originally from LA, who's working at the control station of Terminal 2, JFK International Airport, New York. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank another kind old lady who I met in Nelson, NZ, whom I desperately flagged down with my thumb to get me to the bus station for the bus to Greymouth. She managed to stop the moving bus by pulling over right in front of its path, so that I could get on it. The feat was ever more daring when we consider that the kind old lady was probably at least 65 years old and logically would not have much practical bus-stopping experiences as such.
And yes, I should really learn from my near misses by now.
I'm typing this in Berkeley now, where I'm just hanging out in a cafe that has free wifi, until my host returns from work. I'm pretty tired, having slept for only 2 hours yesterday night. And today's going to be longer because there is a 3-hour time difference between the east coast and the west coast. It's 5:45pm at New York/Boston now but only 2:45pm at San Francisco.I think I might still have time to do another post with pictures. Taking that back. Too lazy.
"So let me get this straight. You'd rather miss your flight than feel stupid?"
"Yup pretty much." With this seemingly innocuous ending to our conversation, we bade each other goodnight and goodbye. I was to leave early in the morning so he wouldn't be able to send me off then.
Kingston and I had not met for about two years, but we clicked immediately, as evident from our endless conversations on his couch that I claimed as mine in New York. I was sorry that I had to leave, but San Francisco was waiting. My flight was at 7am this morning. The plan was to get out the house at 5am, and with any luck I would reach the airport by 6:30am.
When I said "with any luck" I did not foresee that I would actually need it. The first thing that went wrong was me waking up late, and after double and triple checking that I did not leave anything behind, I left the house 15 minutes off schedule. I reached the subway station, huffing and puffing with my ridiculously heavy trolley bag in tow. It was 5:30am. Seemed like I could still make it.
I waited at the subway station until about 5:55am, when I felt that something was terribly wrong. At first I persuaded myself that it was just a normal occurrence for the train to be late for ten minutes. With every passing minute I grew more and more fidgety. But when someone actually went and queried the station master, it turned out that someone had pulled the emergency brake at one of the prior stations. The whole track was at a standstill. This did not look good at all.
One of the waiting passengers, after he learned about my dire situation, proposed that we share a cab to the airport. Apparently he was working in the JFK airport at one of the control stations. So off we went. At this time I was rather relieved that the cab solution presented itself. I still had about 40 minutes till 6:40. Once we boarded the cab (which he had to run into the middle of the road to flag down), I relaxed and felt that I would make it after all. Thus I started making small talk and learned that my saviour's name was Jason.
In contrast with my chilled attitude, Jason still seemed highly strung. When he started to check my flight number and making calls to his colleague - "I can't promise you anything, but we'll try to get you through" - I realized that I was totally oblivious to the fact that I was still in high risk of missing my plane. Delta had a 30-minute check-in policy. It was 6:10am and we were still on the highway. It was probably a good time to start panicking.
When we finally reached Terminal 2, it was about 6:20am. Jason took care of the taxi bill by credit card and wouldn't accept anything from me except a $2 to get a coffee later. Plus tip it was almost a $40 ride. I was quite overwhelmed with gratitude but there was no time for that. We broke into a sprint once we got off the taxi. Jason cut me through all the queues with his work badge and outraged "someone pulled the subway brakes today, we were both fucked" pitch, and got me successfully to the security check. It was 6:40am. There was no time to check in my luggage. We had to dispose of all my toiletries above 100ml (T_T mahalnya) to put everything in as hand luggage.
Jason left me at the security gates with a hurried goodbye and good luck. He was also late for work, and I could only thank his fleeting silhouette as he bounded off towards another direction. His random act of kindness saved me at least $150. Pity I don't even know his last name.
The plane left the dock at 6:55am. I had scraped through, just barely. In the plane one of the stewards approached me to ask me if I had any problems "on the ground". After a moment of puzzlement and checking my feet out, I realized that he was asking me about my almost missing the flight back in New York. Looks like Jason's phone call did get through to someone.
So this one's for the great guy Jason who was originally from LA, who's working at the control station of Terminal 2, JFK International Airport, New York. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank another kind old lady who I met in Nelson, NZ, whom I desperately flagged down with my thumb to get me to the bus station for the bus to Greymouth. She managed to stop the moving bus by pulling over right in front of its path, so that I could get on it. The feat was ever more daring when we consider that the kind old lady was probably at least 65 years old and logically would not have much practical bus-stopping experiences as such.
And yes, I should really learn from my near misses by now.
I'm typing this in Berkeley now, where I'm just hanging out in a cafe that has free wifi, until my host returns from work. I'm pretty tired, having slept for only 2 hours yesterday night. And today's going to be longer because there is a 3-hour time difference between the east coast and the west coast. It's 5:45pm at New York/Boston now but only 2:45pm at San Francisco.
Meltdown sikit
OK We're finally in July. I'm finally in the battle zone that I've been looking at afar from June, speculating about the craziness but never actually registering that with every passing day, the dates come closer. I am at the point where I finally see, that I am going to be the person carrying out my haphazardly engineered back-to-back schedule for the following three months - and it is not going to be pretty.
Right now you're looking at a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming truck named Self-Inflicted Stress.
There's so many thoughts in my head, all not related to each other, some research, some travel, some homelessness, a fair bit of homelessness actually, and all the hell that is spawned from these sources. OK to put it in perspective:
July
7/7
Leave Singapore for KL after putting my whole room into boxes. Which is something that I should do from right now.
8/7 - 11/7
In KL. Running errands (India visa, ISIC card, shopping for formal wear, somehow fix my hair), multiple gatherings (Asa, LL, XiaoCi, my NZ Aunt).
12/7
Return to Singapore with my World's Greatest Parents and move everything to Jia Ling's place.
13/7 - 17/7
Some graduate forum. Whole-day affairs. I'm presenting a paper. Which means that I need to prepare for my paper as well.
17/7 - 25/7
India. Haven't got CSers for Bangalore yet. I am nervous. Also I think India's going to be really intense, and at this point it looks intimidating. Thanks to my mum who was collecting horror stories in attempt to dissuade me from going. We'll be covering Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai and Pondicherry.
27/7 - 31/7
Some course for graduate students. Also whole-day affairs. Right after India. Have to adjust my mind straight after I come back.
August
1/8 - 3/8
Prep for US
4/8
Flight to Boston. Reach Boston at 10:30pm.
5/8 - 8/8
Conference. Presenting paper on the 6th. Need to prepare some kind of poster session. Have no idea how it's going to be like.
9/8 - 13/8
Bus to New York from Boston. Bunk at Kingston's, meet up with XC and Jian Hui. Probably the only relaxed part of my trip to the US.
13/8 - 20/8
Research week at San Francisco where I try to talk to people. I haven't planned it yet. My theoretical framework, my interview questions, my EVERYTHING. Kill me now please.
21/8 - 30/8
Camping Part 1 - Going with the Green Tortoise for its Canyons of the West trip, covering Las Vegas, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon NP.
September
1/9 - 7/9
Camping Part 2 - Burning Man. Also going with Green Tortoise. Intense desert camping, but at least I'll have someone to take care of my food and water and transport. Highlight of my trip. And I am still bloody scared.
9/9
Arrive in Singapore. Back. Finally. Start to look for a new room. Move house from Jia Ling's, as soon as possible. This will take me at least 2 weeks. At least. But can't mooch off Jia Ling's hospitality too much.
OK Siao onot. Two months, four countries. (And check all that KL-Singapore-India-Singapore action.) The panic has kicked in, and according to past experience, action will kick in soon after, but I'm at that paralyzed stage where I need extra push from panic to get away from the inertia, and then the two months will fly by. The details of the plans still have to be executed, and I have to come up with some extensive to-do list, extensive packing list, extensive people-to-bother list.
I like lists. I now have a list of lists. This should be heaven for me. AAAARrrrggggh the truck's gonna hit me!!!!
Adrenaline rush, danger danger danger. Then after moving have to get my confirmation report ready, as my goal is to complete it by the end of this year. October, November, December. 2009 will then be gone, we'll be one decade into the 2000's, and climate change effects are going to happen even more frequently, and we're all going to die!!!!!!!
Shhhhh. Everything's going to be ok. Shhhhhh.
Right now you're looking at a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming truck named Self-Inflicted Stress.
There's so many thoughts in my head, all not related to each other, some research, some travel, some homelessness, a fair bit of homelessness actually, and all the hell that is spawned from these sources. OK to put it in perspective:
July
7/7
Leave Singapore for KL after putting my whole room into boxes. Which is something that I should do from right now.
8/7 - 11/7
In KL. Running errands (India visa, ISIC card, shopping for formal wear, somehow fix my hair), multiple gatherings (Asa, LL, XiaoCi, my NZ Aunt).
12/7
Return to Singapore with my World's Greatest Parents and move everything to Jia Ling's place.
13/7 - 17/7
Some graduate forum. Whole-day affairs. I'm presenting a paper. Which means that I need to prepare for my paper as well.
17/7 - 25/7
India. Haven't got CSers for Bangalore yet. I am nervous. Also I think India's going to be really intense, and at this point it looks intimidating. Thanks to my mum who was collecting horror stories in attempt to dissuade me from going. We'll be covering Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai and Pondicherry.
27/7 - 31/7
Some course for graduate students. Also whole-day affairs. Right after India. Have to adjust my mind straight after I come back.
August
1/8 - 3/8
Prep for US
4/8
Flight to Boston. Reach Boston at 10:30pm.
5/8 - 8/8
Conference. Presenting paper on the 6th. Need to prepare some kind of poster session. Have no idea how it's going to be like.
9/8 - 13/8
Bus to New York from Boston. Bunk at Kingston's, meet up with XC and Jian Hui. Probably the only relaxed part of my trip to the US.
13/8 - 20/8
Research week at San Francisco where I try to talk to people. I haven't planned it yet. My theoretical framework, my interview questions, my EVERYTHING. Kill me now please.
21/8 - 30/8
Camping Part 1 - Going with the Green Tortoise for its Canyons of the West trip, covering Las Vegas, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon NP, Arches NP, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon NP.
September
1/9 - 7/9
Camping Part 2 - Burning Man. Also going with Green Tortoise. Intense desert camping, but at least I'll have someone to take care of my food and water and transport. Highlight of my trip. And I am still bloody scared.
9/9
Arrive in Singapore. Back. Finally. Start to look for a new room. Move house from Jia Ling's, as soon as possible. This will take me at least 2 weeks. At least. But can't mooch off Jia Ling's hospitality too much.
OK Siao onot. Two months, four countries. (And check all that KL-Singapore-India-Singapore action.) The panic has kicked in, and according to past experience, action will kick in soon after, but I'm at that paralyzed stage where I need extra push from panic to get away from the inertia, and then the two months will fly by. The details of the plans still have to be executed, and I have to come up with some extensive to-do list, extensive packing list, extensive people-to-bother list.
I like lists. I now have a list of lists. This should be heaven for me. AAAARrrrggggh the truck's gonna hit me!!!!
Adrenaline rush, danger danger danger. Then after moving have to get my confirmation report ready, as my goal is to complete it by the end of this year. October, November, December. 2009 will then be gone, we'll be one decade into the 2000's, and climate change effects are going to happen even more frequently, and we're all going to die!!!!!!!
Shhhhh. Everything's going to be ok. Shhhhhh.
New York, New York
Greetings!
Finally back from my trip stateside and have four great guides to bring you about the American east coast cities of New York, Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Lets start with the big apple. This was my first trip to New York though the city is familiar to everyone from film, television and photographs. It's Christmas time so lets plan for a great time in New York, the January Sales and the Valentines period.
New York- the QT
New York, the world's most famous city, doesn't need much introduction. The home of US big business, high fashion, the best in new music, theatre and shopping New York is the first city in the world richest country. New York has gone through a massive transition in the past 20 years. What used to be a filthy, crime ridden and dangerous city; New York has cleaned up its act.
Today New York is a living city, families with babies continue to stay in the city, it's sanitized, safe and suburban. This is great for people visiting New York to see the sights, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Rockerfeller Center but there are those who miss the old New York. The New York that didn't have a Starbucks on every corner, where graffiti artists shook their cans creating a colourful and exuberant city. New York has lost its graffiti and its edge but is still the worlds most exiting city.
Who flies to New York?
What hotel deals can you offer me?
Hotels in New York are notoriously expensive. The weak dollar means it is the best time to go to New York and stay in some kind of luxury. Any hotel with 3 stars+ should be very comfortable although New York's accommodation is famous for being a little hit and miss. Here are our recommendations based on price, location and our customers own reviews. Prices are based on two sharing a double or a twin room for 4 nights from the 8th of February 2008 taxes included.
Manhattan - the cultural, financial and fashion centre of the world, Manhattan is the world in miniature. The world's rich and poor live here, nationalities from every country of the world can be counted among the 1.5 million Manhattanites currently on the Island. Manhattan is anything you want it to be and has a niche for everyone, no matter what your flavour you will find it has a home in Manhattan. Filled with trips, tours, museums, shops, galleries, events, theatres, restaurants, it's a tourist paradise, whatever you are in Manhattan you are not bored.
The Museums and Galleries of New York are wonderfully thorough and perfectly maintained, interesting and appreciated. The most famous museums and galleries, the Natural History Museum, Moving Image Museum, Ellis Island Museum, Frick Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Television and Radio and the Museum of Modern Art are all world class museums that you can not possibly visit all in one trip.
If electricals and laptops are more your thing, try going into the East Village and Soho where there are some great low cost stockists.
In Chinatown you can pick up many a cheap fake item head into China town via Broadway and you'll be amazed at the amount of street vendors asking "Gucci, Fendi, Prada, you buy?"
Finally back from my trip stateside and have four great guides to bring you about the American east coast cities of New York, Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Lets start with the big apple. This was my first trip to New York though the city is familiar to everyone from film, television and photographs. It's Christmas time so lets plan for a great time in New York, the January Sales and the Valentines period.
New York- the QT
New York, the world's most famous city, doesn't need much introduction. The home of US big business, high fashion, the best in new music, theatre and shopping New York is the first city in the world richest country. New York has gone through a massive transition in the past 20 years. What used to be a filthy, crime ridden and dangerous city; New York has cleaned up its act. Today New York is a living city, families with babies continue to stay in the city, it's sanitized, safe and suburban. This is great for people visiting New York to see the sights, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Rockerfeller Center but there are those who miss the old New York. The New York that didn't have a Starbucks on every corner, where graffiti artists shook their cans creating a colourful and exuberant city. New York has lost its graffiti and its edge but is still the worlds most exiting city.
Who flies to New York?
- Silverjet low priced luxury flights from London's Luton to Newark Airport.
- Delta, US Airways, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Continental and American Airlines all from the London Airports to New York Airports.
- Delta, Aer Lingus, Continental and Delta fly from Manchester to New York Airports.
- Continental and Aer Lingus fly from Glasgow to New York Airports.
- Continental fly from Birmingham to New York Airports.
- Air France, United Airlines, Continental, American Airlines fly from Paris to New York Airports.
- Continental, Alitalia and Delta fly from Rome to New York Airports.
- Continental, Delta, Air Berlin, Lufthansa, fly from Berlin to New York Airports.
What hotel deals can you offer me?
Hotels in New York are notoriously expensive. The weak dollar means it is the best time to go to New York and stay in some kind of luxury. Any hotel with 3 stars+ should be very comfortable although New York's accommodation is famous for being a little hit and miss. Here are our recommendations based on price, location and our customers own reviews. Prices are based on two sharing a double or a twin room for 4 nights from the 8th of February 2008 taxes included.
- 3* GERSHWIN- Central Manhattan- £348.00
- 4* RADISSON LEXINGTON - East side Manhattan - £456.00
- 5* PALACE - in MidTown East- £724.00
Click to see all NEW YORK HOTELS
What can I see and do in New York?
The City is actually 5 boroughs, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. Most visitors to New York spend the entire trip in Manhattan and only enter the other boroughs (or even New Jersey) when they catch their flight home. Manhattan is New York to many people but you should not discount Brooklyn and Queens if you are staying in New York for a longer visit. Brooklyn would be the USA's 5th most populous city were it not part of New York and offers many charming parks and river walks. Prices for accommodation, food and shopping are all cheaper outside of Manhattan. Many of the sports events also take place in Queens, the US tennis Open at Flushing Meadow, Queens and the baseball team the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
Manhattan - the cultural, financial and fashion centre of the world, Manhattan is the world in miniature. The world's rich and poor live here, nationalities from every country of the world can be counted among the 1.5 million Manhattanites currently on the Island. Manhattan is anything you want it to be and has a niche for everyone, no matter what your flavour you will find it has a home in Manhattan. Filled with trips, tours, museums, shops, galleries, events, theatres, restaurants, it's a tourist paradise, whatever you are in Manhattan you are not bored.
The Museums and Galleries of New York are wonderfully thorough and perfectly maintained, interesting and appreciated. The most famous museums and galleries, the Natural History Museum, Moving Image Museum, Ellis Island Museum, Frick Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Television and Radio and the Museum of Modern Art are all world class museums that you can not possibly visit all in one trip.More specialist museums that I enjoyed were the Museum of Jewish Heritage down by Battery Park. Spanning the last 200 years of Jewish history the museum focuses on the Holocaust and Palestine as well as documenting the rise to fame of Jewish stars and the Jewish lifestyle in America including a section dedicated to the Jewish influence in Miami and the Catskills.
The less well known, Museum of Sex is a tasteful and interesting look at how sex is portrayed, sold and played out across the states. The museum is an eye opener looking at sex and sexuality from every angle, literally!
Sports in New York get about as passionate as you can get. The cities major teams, The Mets, The Yankees, The Giants, The Jets, The Knicks, The Rangers all have a loyal and vocal following and attending a sports match is really the quintessential New York experience. Depending on the time of year there will almost certainly be a game on during your stay, Football, Hockey, Baseball or Basketball.
If you can we recommend a Baseball game at either the Yankee's up in the Bronx or the Mets in Queens to get you out of Manhattan and into real living and breathing New York and New Yorkers.
Shopping - Two dollars to the Pound and one fifty to the Euro means that your greenbacks are really stretching nicely in the States. Even in New York you're going to find yourself chuckling merrily at the prices in comparison to London.
New York's got it all, electricals, fashion items, gifts, jewellery and everything you may ever desire. The typical and famous New York shopping hot spots are Barneys, Bloomies and Saks. The ladies will enjoy countless hours in these stores but for a younger crowd looking for some lesser know designers at better prices check out the Meatpacking District.
If electricals and laptops are more your thing, try going into the East Village and Soho where there are some great low cost stockists.
In Chinatown you can pick up many a cheap fake item head into China town via Broadway and you'll be amazed at the amount of street vendors asking "Gucci, Fendi, Prada, you buy?"
Where can I eat in New York?
Certainly New York is the USA's number 1 city for dining. People from every culture came together to create New York an nowhere does this strike you as more obvious than when making a restaurant reservation. The possibilities are endless, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Hungarian, Polish, Jewish, English, Irish, Korean, Japanese, Argentinian, Cuban and even... American!
Here are some recommendations (£ - Inexpensive - under £10 for a main course - ££ - Reasonable £10-£15 for a main course - £££ - Pricey £15-£24 for a main course- ££££ - Expensive £25-£35 for a main course - £££££ - Daylight Robbery - £35+ for a main course)
- Babbo - Greenwich Village Italian food mecca, Exceptional - ££££
- Katz Deli - famous Pastrami sandwiches in this Jewish cafe. East Village - £
- Momo Fuku - Greenwich village multi cultural, Chinese meets Mexican meets ??? - ££
- Union Square Cafe - Top chef, great service and expansive wine list, class - ££££
- Sushi Yasuda - finest Sushi restaurant in New York - ££££
No one can ever wrap up New York in a few words. These are our personal recommendations for great things to do in New York. Don't forget to write to us and let us know about your own experiences in the world's favourite city.
Ciao for now HotelClickers!
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