A New-York Christmas (7): Crépuscule à Central Park

L'amie qui m'hébergeait durant mon week-end à New-York habitant à moins de 200 mètres de Central Park, nous sommes naturellement allées y faire un tour au crépuscule. Le coucher desoleil sur fond d'arbres et gratte-ciels était magnifique.

My New-York host lives 2 minutes away from Central Park, so we enjoyed a stroll at dusk.

Warning: all the pictures on this post can never re-transcribe the coldest cold "so cold it stopped snowing" we endured. And yet I have a feeling I haven't seen anything yet. -17°C felt temperature because of the wind? Meh. Bring it, Boston!

Le lendemain après-midi, nous sommes retournées à Central Park, où nous avons retrouvé Maylis, qui elle aussi s'était échappée de Boston pour le week-end. Après avoir chacunes visitées le musée de notre choix dans la matinée, nosun ous étions donén rendez-vous à la statue d'Alice au Pays des Merveilles. 

Oh the irony...
We went back to Central Park the next day, as the Alice in Wonderland statue was our meeting point with my Versailles/Bostonian friend Maylis, also in New-York for the week-end.

To Do List
 215. Me promener dans Central Park

A New-York Christmas (6): Cheese cake quest at Columbia University

Après notre déjeuner, Catherine m'a fait visiter un peu son unviersité, Columbia University, en plein coeur de New York. Nous avons cherché dans tout le quartier le fameux cheesecake new-yorkais, si facile à dégoter à Boston mais bien caché en sa propre patrie (j'en ai finalement trouvé le lendemain).

My friend Catherine guided me through Columbia university's campus.

A New-York Christmas (5): Dragons dans la cathédrale

Tout d'abord une petite photo prise dans le centre commerciale dans les sous-sols du Rockfeller Center : des hommes d'affaire faisant la queue pour faire cirer leurs chaussures, un spectacle pour le moins pittoresque.

These businessmen waiting in line to get their shoes shined at the Rockfeller Center made me stop and smile. Such a picturesque scene!

Lors de mon deuxième jour à New-York, j'ai le bonheur de retrouver mon amie Catherine de Sciences Po Reims, qui fait le double diplôme avec Columbia University. Après un long déjeuner qu'elle a eut la gentillesse de m'offrir, passé à rattrapper six mois de bavardages itnerrompus, elle m'a fait visité son quartier et son université. Premier arrêt à la cathédrale de New-York, qui accueillait des dragons géants en matériaux de récupération, oeuvre d'un artiste chinois en exil.

During my second day in New York, I met again with my good friend Catherine, who is currently studying at Columbia! It was awesome to see her again and after lunch, she guided me through her neighbourhood. We stopped at the New York Cathedral to admire the giant Chinese dragons on a temporary exhibit.

So I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly from a Cathedral constructed way after the European ones. I was excited to maybe see the evolutions of religious architecture, but instead discovered the New-York interpretation of Gothic style: pretty much eager to imitate traditional European style, but looking newer, less aged by time (like, less ex votos on the walls, less tomb stones on the floor...). So close and yet ever so slightly different from the real thing, it was both familiar and the tiniest weird.

One of the big differences with, say, the Reims Cathedral (Reims is where I studied for two years; its cathedral is where almost all French Kings were crowned, thus it very special) was the light (NY definitely felt lighter) and the folding chairs everywhere in lieu of the wooden prie-dieu.

Catherine showed me the Poets' Corner, the occasion to discuss her favourite American authors. I have quite a lot of American literature catch-up to do, but I have to admit it is hard to read poetry not in your native language. I can enjoy a little Keats, but I can't pretend I have the vocabulary necessary to understand it all. (It's a good thing poetry's interest also is in feelings and general impressions). Anyway, when I go back to Boston, I think my next catch-up will be The Scarlet Letter. After all, I visited Hawthorne's house in Salem and plan to see his one in Concord, so it will be settings-appropriate.

A New-York Christmas (4): City of Blinding Lights

Quand je suis arrivée à New-York, je suis restée bouche bée le nez en l'air face aux publicités géantes qui clignotent sur les gratte-ciels. Je suis partie juste à la bonne période, quand tout s'illumine encore plus le soir grâce aux décorations de Noël.

The NYC bus station was all lit up.

 En route pour la mythique 5ème Avenue. NYC est la première ville américaine que je visite avec des rues en grille parfaite (Washington D.C. a un système de numérotation circulaire qui complique tout, et à Boston, c'est juste le bazar). JE NE ME SUIS PAS PERDUE !!!

I love looking at the buildings' facades. Fire escapes are very picturesque. It's like the stairs are alive and crawling everywhere.

IN YOUR FACE. Giant flashing adds everywhere.

Not sure I actually had a picture of the yellow school buses on this blog before. So here's three.

Pour voir les illuminations de Noël, Rockfelelr Center est "the place to be". Je voulais grimper tout en haut et voir la ville mais les délais d'attente en décembre sont juste foufous. je reviendrais plus tard, cette fois en prenant soin d'acheter mon bilelt à l'avance sur Internet.

Rockefeller Center is the place to be if you want to see pretty Christmas lights in New York, or so everybody told me. Here's their giant Christmas tree.

I took this pic especially for my French friend Marie, a minions and Frozen fan.

 Mais tout est encore plus impressionnant la nuit !

The giant Christmas light garland looks like giant lipsticks, doesn't it?

I love the "fairy trees", when trees are wired with tiny lights and shine like ghosts of pure light in the night. Their sight just makes me happy.

Back to Rockfeller Center!

"Oh my, a real life size American Girl City Carriage!" ;)

Pisa Tower style Rockfeller Center. Sorry for the tipsy feeling. It was just hard to have to darn whole building fit in a normal picture, because it is so tall!

Forget Paris' Boulevard Haussmann's Christmas shop windows. I don't remember the name of this shop but they had beautiful and witty fairy-tale themed windows. Here's Cinderella trying her glass slipper.

American Girl's Kit and Rebecca wish you happy holidays!

211. Voir les illuminations de Noël New-yorkaises.