Wow… I can’t believe we’ve actually already left NYC. It has all gone so fast, we’ve done so much, I haven’t even had enough time to keep this weblog up to date.
Right now all my thoughts are spinning around in my head and I’m having trouble keeping it up straight, so I will come back later with more details.
For now I will just have to do my best to stay awake until it’s a normal time to go to sleep.

Put the whole Dutch population on one of it’s islands (Terschelling) and what do you get… Manhattan.
Yep, it’s definitely a crazy city. But it’s so great to be here again!

Getting here was less, but we survived. It wasn’t even such a terrible long flight, 7h 40min, but it seemed to last forever. Because we were flying in a 767, a slightly smaller plane, we had quite a bit of turbulence during lift off and the landing. The rest of the flight was very smooth though. But still for the first time I had felt air sick (or whatever it was) almost the whole time. I felt very uncomfortable. I don’t think I can ever get used to this method of traveling.

After a quick freshening up in the hotel we went out into the streets. We’re one block off Times Square in Milford Plaza. A simpel, but clean hotel with a perfect location.

I’m amazed to see how New York has recovered from the disaster it had to go through on 9/11. We were here 3 years ago – 8 months after the crash – when the impact was still clear on every street corner. Now you don’t see American flags on every car or in the shop windows anymore. No more postcards, photos, paintings or t-shirts with the Twin Towers or the fire men raising the flag on Ground Zero. The tour operator on the night loop we took last night even talked about it as if it was an event belonging to the past. And I guess in a way it is just that now. The city has recovered and is moving on. What you see now on the back of the cars are ribbons that tell us the driver is supporting ‘our troops in Iraq’.

Today we will probably be heading uptown. We already walked to and through Central Park yesterday, but now we will have a good stroll through. We’ve bought the 2 day hop-on hop-off bus tickets, so we better make good use of it. It’s nice to be here with my parents, showing someone around makes you look at things in a whole different way again.

2 nights to go….

Looks like the weather is getting great just as we get there, 21xbaC.
Perfect!!!

This time next week we will be flying across the Atlantic Ocean on our way to the States…

I’m actually starting to get nervous about it at the moment. Maybe because my spring break has already started, so now I have time to think about it. But it’s not actually myself I’m worried about. Not even about the flying (yet…). I’m feeling guilty towards Nyssa and Siv. This morning Siv looked at me a certain way, I swear she knows I will be leaving her behind for a week. They will be receiving the best possible care when we are away, in their own home, but still… What if, what if, what if…

Better not worry about it too much. When we went away for 6 weeks last year I was so incredibly worried about Nyssa, and it turned out to be a great holiday for her as well.
But then why does Siv look at me that way?!

I always forget, so here’s a handy link to a xb0F –> xb0C converter:

http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/tempfc.htm

Weer ff opnieuw, nu MET Barcelona

Because of all the contradictions in New York it has become possibly the most interesting city I’ve ever been.
The small shops packed with all sorts of curiosities in China Town as opposed to the giant buildings looming over the rest of Manhattan. The hustle and bustle in the streets and colorful neon displays at Times Square compared to the peace and quiet found in the more than 10 km2 of nature in Central Park.
Yes, !!!

But I’m wondering, is New York really so great, or is it just me?
That’s what I would like to know from you!
Please vote for your favorite city in the poll in the left column. I’d love to know why you love this place so much.
Or maybe your no.1 city isn’t in the list. In that case, let me know as well!

I’m looking forwards to your reactions!

It’s been a while, but finally here’s a fresh log again.
I’ve moved all my NZ logs to the archive, so if you want to see them, click on the months in the right column or go straight to the category on the right side of this site.

The reason why I’ve shaken this page awake again after more than a year is a nice one. After a busy 2004 with a new family member (Siv) and moving to another place (which is no where near finished, but never mind that) it is finally time for another holiday. And this time we’re going to my favorite city on this planet: NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

A bit over a month to go, but I’ve already been there several times in my dreams.
The ritual before boarding a plane has also started, which basically means I’m noticing all these plane crash documentaries and series on tv (i.e. LOST, which is actually quite an interesting one to watch). Somehow I’m less nervous then normal, though. And of course that makes me wonder whether that’s a good or a bad sign…

The worries about Nyssa and Siv have settled down today, as my little brother has taken time off from his work to look after them. A great relief!!! We also found a small kennel that looks like a nice place for them to stay for a while, but of course there’s no place like home, so I’m much more happy with this solution.

Now all we have to do is wait.

… is it time yet?

I’ve made my own Lundehund store, with lots of Lundie products: clothing (t-shirts etc.), a clock, logbook, sticker, lunchbox, mousepad, stuffed toy, mug etc.
It was actually fun to do!

Take a look if you like:

Go to the LundieShop

Also new things on the Lundiesite.