A new sun rises on New York City

I don't know what people do on hurricane days. I cook tacos.

I woke up this morning and I was in a different city. I'm not sure I'll be able to explain myself. You just have to see it. You have to see the streets of New York City suddenly empty:

And trees standing on sidewalks that areactually not trees, but huge branches that were torn apart and flew on the streets until the wind let them fall and lean on something:

And then the crane on 57th:

We were so lucky here, but Downtown is a mess. I couldn't go and check by myself cause the subway is flooded. I could walk just till Times Square and there were people on the red stairs over TKTS singing "New York New York" and raising money for the Red Cross.
It was moving. And very American. 

This is exactly what I love about the US. Ok, this is also what leads to a lot of flaws. I mean this strong patriotism, when declined in other situations, is what makes them think they have this duty to rule the world.

But in different times, like today, it makes you feel part of something special. It makes you feel connected to all these people, in the very heart of this beautiful city.

We saw dramatic pictures on TV last night and more today. But nobody is really worried about New York, nobody raised a doubt about its strenght. 

Still:

This was Ground Zero. 

Quite impressive.

Scary Face

When I wrote about New Yorkers who wouldn't give up on their usual morning coffee, I was actually talking about me.
Every morning I wake up craving for coffee. Something that I never experienced before. I guess that after years of fake Italian Caffè Americano where they just add hot water to a regular espresso, I'm now in my personal American Coffee Heaven.
What a blasphemy, I can hear all of you thinking this right now.

So I barely had time to put on some clothes and glasses and then I adventured on the street. I felt like a modern Indiana Jones. I also left my window open because the wind was so strong I was curious to see if some kind of birds would fall inside.
Actually I wasn't alone, even if people around looked all kind of "out of place". I don't know if that makes sense. For example: I was walking behind a guy, he heard my footsteps and turned around, with a very scared face.
Calm down dude, I'm not the hurricane.

World War Sandy

Guys,
I hate telling you this, but you're totally overreacting. Jeez, you're stocking up on water and beer like you're supposed to pee all together non-stop for a week to fight this hurricane!.
I mean, there are neverending lines outside every single store! You're never gonna eat that stuff, in a week you're throwing away everything because you always eat outside, you're not gonna learn how to cook in one night. You are newyorkers, for God's sake, no matter what, tomorrow morning you'll be in line at Starbucks like today you were lining up at the grocery store. No hurricane is gonna prevent you from getting your usual skinny pumpkin latte half and half with just a hint of cinnamon.

Me? It was quite clear after the fire alarm that I'm not very good in emergency situation. I get super confused. I just got back from the grocery store and this is what I bought:
-a bottle of water
-2 eggplants
-1 onion
-grapes
-1 box of taco shells
-refried beans
-1 chocolate muffin
-and one candle.
I bought one freekin' green candle. What's wrong with me?

The wind outside is pretty scary at the moment, now I'm listening to the news on TV and there's the Governor of New Jersey saying we still have from 4 to 5 hours to get prepared and then nobody has to go out on the streets. The worst is gonna be tomorrow, which is just a bummer cause I had a ticket for the show Chicago on Broadway for tomorrow night.

Public transports are shutting down in 10 minutes and seeing images of Times Square completely empty is impressive. Mitt Romney is asking everybody to say a prayer for those living on the East Coast. Wow.

We'll see what happens.

Tacos and Weirdos

Yesterday night Patricia and I went to the place where the cool kids hang out: the Meatpacking District.
Since we didn't think about booking a table in any club and we weren't in Halloween costumes, we just went for a drink in a beer garden. Unfortunately it seems like having an accent means attracting every desperate guy who wants to start a conversation.
After meeting a few of them we now have a set of answers ready to go: yes, we're not from New York, Australian, Italian, I hate flying, she likes it, both Catholics, but I'm not. We work in the same place. No, we're not giving you any phone number because, let's be honest, we're never gonna answer. Oh and did I mention I have a Russian boyfriend?

There was this weird Oklahoma guy who was very disappointed by the fact that I'm not married yet, the classic Catholic who went to Medjugorje but doesn't know that the Pope lives in Italy. As I said: classic.
So this champion was asking me how I'm going to survive when I'll be back in Italy. So I said: it's not a jungle, you know, it's a Country. Oh, and did I mention I have a Russian boyfriend who's very aggressive?

When we'd had enough of this pointless conversation (actually I was enjoying myself by shocking this weirdo saying I don't believe in marriage and I don't think being 24 and not married is a shame) we stopped at an ATM and Patricia was asking me to tell her a random Russian name to make up a fake boyfriend for future harassers. Guess what: the guys who were using the ATM turn around and say: what a strange accent, where are you from?
Oh my God, really?
Australian, Italian, we were talking about my Russian, aggressive boyfriend who used to be a Hooligan.

Labels

Come on Hurricane Sandy, let's see what you can do.
I was born and raised in Val Seriana. Do your best.

(I'll just write here in brackets that today was one of those days, you know, when the last thing you wanna do is shopping cause the idea of dressing up and down just makes your body hurt. That's why I was able to spend just 80$ at Urban Outfitters and 20 more at H&M)

halloween, cakes and hurricanes

Newyorkers are very serious when it comes to Halloween. The whole city looks like a giant spiderweb and there are more pumpkins than people on the street. I swear I'm not gonna waste money on a costume.
I'll just put on excessive makeup and be like:
-you don't recognise me? I'm that character from that movie which you probably don't know because it's very independent and yes, I'm that kind of cool, intellectual girl.
Anyway people are already walking around in their costumes and for girls this basically means pulling out their inner prostitute.
Tonight I overheard a conversation:
-blablabla...the more I drink the less I'll care
-that's good, cause then the pain goes away
And I'm a hundred percent positive they were talking about those killer high heels they were wearing.
Girls are just girls.
Everywhere.
But going back to serious matters, I've been to Magnolia Bakery already twice and I feel like I need to give my opinion about this place: totally overrated.
I mean, the cupcake was just fine and the banana cake was so heavy I couldn't even eat a half of it. And that was my dinner. And I had had just a salad for lunch.  I left aside all the chocolate cream...I think this is enough to give a clear picture of the situation.

Oh, quick note: we are waiting for hurricane Sandy to hit New York City this weekend and I'm supposed to "make sure that my emergency plans are up to date" and "be ready to go".

Skinny muffin

Random thought: I never loved muffins.
I mean, I ate them, but I wasn't a fan.
That's because I never tried American muffin. And it's not like I don't know the trick, the secret weapon: butter.
In a muffin they put the same amount of butter that an Italian mum would use for two Christmas meals. For an army of relatives.
Still, I'm actually getting skinnier. God knows how. God bless America.

The outlaw

Yesterday morning I witnessed my first arrest.
I just got out of Starbucks like every morning and I was at the entrance of the subway when I saw a woman brought to a police car by two cops. With real handcuffs!
That wasn't very dramatic because one cop was still trying to get in the car when the driver decided it was time lo leave. So the cop was half-running after the car, still holding the open door.
Come on.
Not great experiences with NY cops so far. This is not the first lack of professionality I happen to notice. Actually the other cop I had to deal with was pretending to have an orgasm while I was talking to him.
I mean, what?

Central Park - Strawberry Fields

fireman

Just a proof of the fire madness going on in this hotel:

Mickey, brunch and walks

Today I met a real rude Mickey Mouse who wouldn't give me directions unless I paid him a dollar. I mean, come on Mickey, where's the magic and the wonder? You're not supposed to have a latino accent and you're certainly not sticking to Mr Walt Disney's last willings by begging dollars on the street.

I also had my first New York brunch, which was awesome but heavy, I'm not even having dinner and totally not because I'm too lazy to cook (by the way, I should consider doing something of those baby carrots I bought ages ago. Soon enough they're gonna be grown up women and walk out of my fridge to graduate). Anyway, these are Benedict Eggs with bacon:

Can you believe I still haven't done any shopping? There are so many things to do in the city I just feel 2 months won't even be enough! After brunch I checked out the Chelsea Market which was filled with Halloween decorations, there were some amazing vintage clothes, too bad they were crazy expensive.

Then I took a long, slow walk on the Highline. Loved it. I think it's a must-see in New York. Later on I also enjoyed a 2-hour cruise on a ferry boat.

But again, the high point of the weekend was walking in Central Park, I ended up in Strawberry Fields and right next to the John Lennon Memorial there were three men playing Beatles' song.
Enough for today. Weekend is over. Time to go back to reality I guess.

bad days, movies and yogurt

All in all yesterday had been an awful day.
Moreover, the girl I had to go out with, got stuck at work at the last minute and I had no back-up plans.
So I decided to go seeing this movie I had been dying to see for a long time, but wasn't out in Italy yet: The Perks of being a wallflower.
I don't know how to describe it if not like this: awesome.
Apart from the ticket price (14$) and the girl next to me who was really.......participating to the emotions, this movie was great.
I will write down the final speech cause I find it very true and inspirational and I was crying like a monkey at that point so I couldn't get everything:

"Because I know there are people who say all these things don’t happen. And there are people who forget what it’s like to be 16 when they turn 17. I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We’ll all become somebody’s mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories. This is happening, I am here and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song and that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear, we are infinite.”

So I saved my night, ans decided to reward myself with this beauty: It's raspberry and mango frozen yogurt with Oreos, pineapples, strawberries and some creamy chocolate cereals....whaaaat?

Fire, stairs and bad choices

What about a fire alarm that breaks out in the middle of the night?
I woke up after nearly ten minutes that this sound was disturbing my sleep, and I realizaed I was sweating like a pig. So I imagined there actually was some fire, from a bonfire to some fireworks. Something that could explain all of that sweat.
I opened my bedroom door and there were surprised people staring at each other, trying to understand if it was really the case to run down 7 floors.
I didn't hesitate, I prefer some jogging to burning flesh.

Now, you know how you always give perfectly reasonable answers when they ask you: -What would you save from your burning house?
Yeah, forget it. You're lying. I, for instance, just had the inspiration to put on pants and take the room key. That's it. I would love to say I saved my pc, or my iPad or some romantic photographies or at least take a blanket not to get frozen in the night like Leonardo Di Caprio in the ocean.

So I followed everybody down the stairs just to reach the lobby and find out there was actually no fire. I was still half asleep, but awake enough to complain about the false alarm: -are you kidding me?   Just tell me there were at least some students baking marshmallows under the smoke detecting device.

No way. I just climbed back those seven floors (nobody really felt safe enough to use the elevator) and heard a guy saying: I took my Passport with me, at least I could have stayed in the US.

Right. The Passport next time, Chiara.

Rain and bags

It is raining in New York.
And of course I didn't bring the umbrella with me at work.
And of course if you're smoking you can't walk by the buildings in search of some roof shelter (not that there are so many roofs anyways).
But at some point I'm just so wet that I think: come on, it's not that they're gonna kill you!
.......................
At least not for this.

But the fun part is that nobody knows me here, so, hypothetically speaking, I could walk around with a plastic bag on my head with just two holes on the front to see where I'm going and be just fine. Just like a real business girl.
Hypothetically speaking.

The outfit

So I had dinner in my room this evening, (baby carrots, a bagel and blueberries) and I wanted to smoke a cigarette afterwards.
But to do that I need to go 7 floors down and exit the hotel. I didn't want to dress up, so I just put a sweatshirt over my pyjamas, put on Ugg boots and a scarf and I was ready to go.
Damn. I barely met two people since I'm here, of course I was gonna bump into every single guest of this shitty hotel just at that moment.
I counted 11 people, a whole Peruvian family included.
Plus an awkward moment when a guy stepped into the elevator in 4th floor.
I will never make friends in here.

Hello New York

A blog.
Lame.
Who writes a blog anymore? It's just me and the girl from Awkard.
But I figured one day I would have been happy to read about this time in New York City, and I didn't want to be "the-sad-girl-who-writes-in-her-diary", so instead everybody will see me touching my iPad and think I'm doing something cool.
Which I'm not.

Everything started with a scary flight. Of course. I will avoid comments on the useleseness of a drug called Lexotan and jump right to the fun part when I was finally able to see holy land from the plane window. I confess two tears fell down my eyes as I first saw New York down there.
Just two. Cause then a doubt hit me. Maybe I was just staring at freakin' New Jersey.
So maybe I was wasting all these emotions on "pretty much New York" (right, I'm quoting Ted Mosby".

I will try to sum up my first two days in New York. I've already seen a bunch of things (and spent a shitload of money) but the one thing that I instantly loved was Central Park. It's the first place I visited yesterday morning cause I live quite next to it. I was actually the only one who wasn't running or taking a dog out, I was just the smiling one. I couldn't stop doing it. So the first official words I got from a New Yorker were: -Morning gorgeous. And I'm pretty satisfied about that. :)

Last night I went up to the Top of the Rocks but I forgot my camera home so  I've got nothing to show here. And today I climbed the Empire State Building and visited the Moma. All by myself (thanks Celine Dion). Everybody is really surprised that I'm alone here cause when I do touristic stuff nobody expects a young girl to travel by herself.
Today I had lunch at Bryant Park and it was lovely, I bought some food around and put together a 9  Euros meal which was really good.