New York New York

untitled

Vagabond		The Big Apple - New York City!

New York New York!!!

Incroyable mais vrai, avant 2006, je n'avais jamais réellement mis les pieds à New York! Et depuis février 2006, j'y suis allé deux fois!

J'avais «vu» New York des airs, je l'avais aussi vu en profil, lors d'un passage au New Jersey, mais jamais je n'avais pris le temps de m'y balader, de découvrir New York de l'intérieur, de vivre New York.

Voici quelques impressions écrites à chaud après mes premiers jours passés dans... the city that never sleeps... le tout est évidement suivi de photos!

Wow!
Pour un amateur de grandes villes, de villes vivantes, de villes animées, avec une certaines histoire architecturale, et beaucoup d'activités à offrir, New York est un petit paradis sur terre.
Tout y est totalement disproportionné; les activités, la hauteur des édifices, la densité de population, l'activité urbaine, le trafic, tout!
Voici donc New York City, définitivement une de mes villes préférées au monde.
--
Premier soir à New York, arrivée en début de soirée, check in à l'auberge, puis marche dans Chelsea vers le nord sur la septième avenue (fashion avenue). Arrêt au Madison Square Garden, démesuré, à l'image de tout ce que je verrai dans NYC pendant les trois jours qui suivront.
Puis, c'est le choc: Times Square de soir, où il fait plus clair que le jour tellement il y a des sources de lumières. Les tableaux d'affichages, les publicités, l'animation, tout y est incroyable, totalement hors de proportion, les affichages gros comme la façade des édifices, les vidéos, les cotes de la bourse, des extraits des olympiques, la musique, le bruit de la circulation, les taxis par dizaines, les bus de touristes, les klaxons, wow, j'adore New York, déjà. Et je n'y suis que depuis quelques heures.
L'Empire State Building, très élégant édifice art déco se dresse, tout vêtu d'orange et de vert (pour une raison que j'apprendrai le lendemain; un weekend dominicain à souligner) à quelques coins de rues de Times Square. Je me promets une visite du célèbre édifice dans les jours suivants.
Arrivé à Times Square, nous prenons Broadway, aussi célèbre avenue, où les marquises de célèbres théâtres affichent d'aussi célèbres musical; Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Rent, Chicago, Cabaret, Beauty and the beast... plus loin, des studios de télé affichent les émissions vedettes de la soirée (Late nite with David Lettterman, Saturday night live)...
Il y a tellement à regarder, à écouter, à admirer, c'est renversant comment tous les sens sont débordés! On pourrait rester des heures à Times Square le soir sans bouger avant d'avoir réellement pu voir tout ce qui s'y passe. Sérieusement, je n'ai jamais rien vu de tel de toute ma vie. Yé!
Le plus étrange pour moi qui ai visité certaines capitales latino-américaines, c'est que toute cette animation est très ordonnée, pas du tout chaotique, malgré la densité des activités en cours.
Tiens, parlant latino, un groupe de musique traditionnel bolivien (!) se produit au coin de Broadway entre la septième et la huitième avenue... Ces gars-là ont certainement capoté de voir une telle place après être sortie de Bolivie.
OK, ok, il fait froid, et il vente beaucoup, mais tout ça est débordant et on en oublie la morsure du froid.
On imagine une minute que pour le film Vanilla Sky, ils avaient barré tout le secteur pour y tourner une scène dans laquelle Times Square est désertée. Incroyable.
Plusieurs photos plus tard, retour vers l'auberge, tard en soirée, pour se reposer et être prêt à attaquer New York tôt le lendemain matin.

New York. La ville des films de Woody Allen, de Friends, de Sex and the city, de la chanson de Sinatra, de King Kong, de Sleepless in Seatle, des romans de Lawrence Block... New York c'est tout pleins d'univers déjà...

---

New York en photos - Mars 2007

The tip of the Empire State Building dominates the New York Skyline view from the other side of the Hudson River, in New Jersey.	A little crowd in front of the Nederlander Theater for the Lottery, which can give you the chance to see RENT for $ 20 for a front row seat. And that's exactly what I did.	I like the view from the Top of the Rockefeller Center. The new observatory is set in three levels with outside patios.
I had this view of an office building from my Manhattan hotel window and the office reminded me of the building where Chandler Bing is working in Friends... and I like the idea of watching these people work while being unnoticed.	My friend and eternal travel companion Suzie, waiting for the subway at Canal Street station - I actually took that picture to have one of the tiles work of the NY subway stations.	Times Square by night - My friend Daniel would say a Blade Runner picture - view from the observation deck of the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.
The arch of Washington Square Park, where we took a little break. If you look under the arch, on the background, you'll see the Empire State Building.	A street performer left his stuff in the dry fountain of Wasington Square Park. Does he know that it's New York and you're not suppose to leave your stuff like that? :-)	New York is probably the only city on the planet where you actually want to see lots of cabs passing by while taking a picture in the streets!
The famous Cotton Club, still standing beneath the bridge in Harlem, strangely trapped in a triangle of streets.	When I took this picture, there was several people in the street wondering why was I taking a picture of a puddle; not bad, uh?	I had the chance to take a stroll in Greenwich Village, which is one of the most charming area to take a walk in New York.
Hehehe... Still in Greenwich Village, I found the Friends Building at the corner of Bedford and Grove, and as a Friends fan, I couldn't resist to have my picture taken :-)	I love the style of the Flatiron Building, it's neat, original, efficient and elegant. For my first visit in NY, it was in restauration and cover with a large canvas, so I sized the opportunity to snap it this time (beside, it's the office building of the daily Buggle in the Spider-Man movies).	Central Park as you can see it from the Top of the Rock.
I don't think you can see three cops mounting horses it the busiest corner of the city, one of them drinking a Starbucks Coffee, elsewhere in the world!	Here's another building I love for its elegance; the Chrysler Building, which was a drop away from my hotel.	An upside down view or Times Square, taken from the mirror of the Toys r Us' facade.
The advantage of the Top of the Rock view over the Empire State Building view is that from the Rockefeller... you can have a New York view with the Empire State Building in it!	The New York post called Tik and Tak the best Street Show in New York. I have no doubt it's true after I had the chance to enjo their incredibly funny and amazing performance in Washington Square Park.	Tik and Tak performing the Human Helicopter while a friend is playing some drums with plastic cans.
That one is another picture of the arch in Washington Square park... taken from the observatory deck of the Empire State Building.	Speaking of the Empire State Building, here's his spire, looming in the night, as view from the 86th floor deck.	An anonymous corner north of Grand Central Station, I looked up and snapped what I saw while crossing the street
I remember not taking a picture of the Atlas in front of the Rockefeller center on my fiorst visit, cause I was unable to find the good angle... Now, I think I found the right angle with the St-Patrick Cathedral in the background.	Another picture of Times Square, from the ai and by night, just to give you a look at the incredible lights that come from this area.	As you can see, I don't think I was the only one in NY that day to take some pictures...
	This is a cliché, but it was fun to make, since it's so much easier with a digital camera than it was with regular film, we just coudn't resist.

New York en photos - Février 2006

Times Square by night, probably the only place on earth where you could see as good as by day. Picture taken without flash, of course.	I love this view of uptown Manhattan taken from the Brooklyn Bridge. You can see the Manhattan bridge as well as the Empire State and the Chrysler Building.	A small team filming (a romantic comedy I would guess) in Brooklyn, with the Bridge and Manhattan as backdrop.
The first one of a few famous corners in NYC; Broadway and Wall Street. Note that the building with the smaller flag is the New York Stock Exchange building.	Ground Zero, with its flag and the steel cross. There is nothing to see at Ground Zero, of course, but the emptyness you can feel is overwhelming and the towers are still in our mind whenever we look at the skyline from anywhere in the city.	The downtown skyline, at the south end of Manhattan Island, with a peek at Liberty Island (and the Statue) on the left. Picture taken from the Brooklyn Promenade.
Yellow cabs, huge ads on screens as tall as the buildings, lots of people, lots of traffic, there's more to see in Times Square by night then one look can embrace. Busiest street corner in the world maybe?	Two typical things that you'll find everywhere in Manhattan; the tanks over the buildings (I got eight just in that frame), and a giant ad (here with some good looking people).	Even the Toy«R»us store is listed as a sight in the New York city guide. Second floor of the store, you'll find a giant Tyranausaurus Rex and the Empire State Building (with a King Kong) made out of Lego Blocks! - Pay attention to the person to the bottom right to get a good idea of the scale of these things!
An insider's view of a street in Chinatown, taken from the interior of the chinese restaurant where we ate lunch and took a break from walking the streets.	Another famous corner; Fifth Avenue and Central Park; that's the corner from where King Kong is getting from the iced pond in Central Park to the Empire State Building in the recent Peter Jackson movie.	No way not to pay a little visit to lady Liberty when you go to NYC for the first time, uh? Here's a picture taken from a different angle that most of the tourists pics, with the empty patio (too cold right now). Taken from near the pier where the ferry leaves Liberty Island.
Ok, the real stuff, traditional picture, if you insist... but with a little twist - also kinda cliché, but, well, there's no way to avoid doing something like that in front of the Statue of Liberty :).	Charming little bridge over one of the numerous ponds and lakes of Central Park, from where you can barely hear the city in the background.	Central Park late afternoon, with its leaveless trees, which all have interesting ways of stretching their branches.
At the Metropolitan Museum of Arts (a wonderful museum!), a girl is drawing her vision of one of the numerous Degas' ballerine oils that the Met owned.	Here's another famous place, isn't it? The ice rink in Central Park is a place we can see in a lot of movies, mostly romantic comedies, such as... :)	A nice view of Manhattan taken from Liberty Island.
Times Square by night again... but this time with a twist: a traditional band from Bolivia was playing live music on Broadway! That, my friends, was really weird, but I'm sure they felt even more weird themselves the first time they saw that square.	The corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd street is famous for the high class shopping fans (or fans of the Sex and the City TV show). In the back, on the right, the Chrysler building.	The longest playing musical on Broadway; The Phantom of the opera. Of course, I saw it while I was there... How not to?
One of the most incredible view I've seen in my life so far; the south part of Manhattan - with the financial district on the far right - as viewed from the 86th story of the Empire State Building. This, my friends, is really f...ing scary high, let me tell you that.	Ok, we've got the top of the Empire State Building, the girl... so where is King Kong? :)). A note to Peter Jackson: The wind is really strong from there, and even when the pond in Central Park isn't frozen, it's really cold up there, there's not way to hang around in a pretty little dress without freezing in the minute :).	Another amazing view taken from the 86th story of the Empire State Building, this time looking north-east with the Chrysler building looking soo small from there ...