Pedalling Photos, Parents & Prizes (Part II)

Now for the second installment!

PART II: Parents

Its true what they say, and there is no rest for the wicked, so after a short lie in on Monday morning I sat in lectures slightly distracted and waiting for a text which came around 3pm - Mum & Dad had landed!

Just like myself 3 months ago, Mum & Dad have never visited the States before, so we organized this trip so that they could see where I live, where I study and the country I live in. Then we were heading to the Big Apple for some shopping and sightseeing.

Due to my crummy lecture schedule I had to wait until around 7pm to see them, but they assured me they would just get settled in to the hotel, and maybe even try to sleep off some of the jet lag.

I had decided to get Mum some flowers and Dad some wine for when they arrived, a little thank you to them for visiting, so I headed to the only flower shop I know of in New Brunswick. A few minutes later I emerged with a Fall-themed arrangement and headed for the only wine and liquor store I knew of to get Dad's wine - only to find it shut... bugger...

I seemed to remember another shop the other end of town, and couldn't really give Mum a present and not Dad, so set off while texting them saying my bus had been delayed (a little white lie, but I really wanted it to be a surprise). Needless to say, the liquor store was a lot further than I remembered, and had a very limited selection of wines, but I managed to find a nice Californian Red for him to enjoy - if only I had remembered a corkscrew! As it was, it was 5 days later in NYC before we could finally open the wine - but I think me and Dad agree it was worth the wait.

So I arrived at the hotel 20 mins late with flowers and wine in hand to be greeted by such a big hug from Mum I was nearly knocked to the floor. I didn't mind in the slightest though, and sat down on the bed for a good catch up.

It was great to see them again and they presented me with a small suitcase of stuff I had asked them to bring over. In it included text books, music books, my Bose speakers, some clothes and reading books, as well as some things I wasn't expecting - my Brit's survival kit. I was ecstatic to find everything from Marmite to Bisto to Suet and, most importantly - Mum's homemade raspberry jam. It's strange how you miss little things, and I never though that I would ever miss gravy granules - but after only finding jars of ready made gravy at the local supermarket, I was ridiculously happy to get some Bisto!

We headed out to dinner and stumbled upon a fantastic restaurant called Due Mari. It specialises in Italian & fish, and it is definitely the best meal I've had in America so far - Duck Confit & Pumpkin Nudi to start followed by pan seared cod on butternut squash and brussel sprouts. Pair this with a nice New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and along with fantastic service and pretty reasonable prices made it a exceptional restaurant.

Leaving Mum & Dad I headed back to the apartment to unpack my goodies before an early night followed by lectures the following morning. That afternoon though I got to show Mum & Dad a bit of New Brunswick, the math department, Busch campus and my apartment. It was nice for them to see all the places I'm constantly babbling on to them about on Skype.

This was followed by a trip to Highland Park, dinner at a Steakhouse followed by a much needed supermarket trip. The Steakhouse was great, although neither me nor Dad were brave enough to go for the 32 oz Porterhouse, and I'm pretty sure mum would have been content with just the salad bar!

Princeton was the plan for Wednesday, and after a short train journey we arrived at a ghost town. Walking through the university we saw a grand total of 2 students and got slightly worried that there had been a mass evacuation of the area... It turns out it was their fall break during which most students leave town - so we didn't have to worry about a flu epidemix or nuclear fallout after all.

Brunch was traditional american pancakes, with maple syrup of course, and we started to explore. Princeton is a lovely town and there are some great shops - highlights include a massive book shop, homemade chocolate shop, hand-blown glass shop and the Bent Spoon - an amazing ice cream/sorbet shop that even gives G&Ds a run for their money!

That night was Due Mari again for another fantastic meal, and I briefed Mum & Dad on getting to Philly - I had lectures all day on Thursday and so I was sending them to see the Liberty Bell, reenact Rocky and try a Cheesesteak. unfortunately, I hadn't counted on the Philly train service going on strike, so I was a little surprised the next afternoon to get a text saying "we're in NYC instead!"

Meeting in NYC we headed to B&H - the biggest photography store I've ever seen - Dad has been looking at getting a wide angle lens for his SLR for quite a while now, so he was rather pleased at both getting it, and saving a good $200/300 from what he would pay in the UK.

It was a bit of a pain having to head back that night, but at 10am on Friday morning we were back on the NJ Transit heading to New York, and soon arrived at the Sofitel - our hotel for the weekend. The Sofitel was the definition of grandeur and sophistication. From the classy art deco bar to the widescreen HDTV in each room to the ridiculously comfy beds (which you could actually buy for $5000!). This hotel was pretty amazing!

The weekend flew by in a flash, but was so unforgettable. We found a Christmas market in Bryant Park, saw Times Square by night, went up the Rockerfeller center and simultaneously froze and took amazing photos, shopped on 5th Ave, went to a Broadway show, visited Ground Zero, walked down Wall St, tookt eh Staten Island ferry pas Ms Liberty herself and much more!

Highlights are definitely the Rockerfeller, Broadway and Ground Zero. I wasn't sure we were going to get Mum up the Rockerfeller (especially after she struggled with the church tower in Oxford) but she made it right up to the 69th floor, and eventually even cam outside to admire the view. I would definitely recommend heading to the top on a clear night - the views are spell binding and if you are taking a camera, remember a tripod!

Me & Jame shad been trying to get Mum & Dad tickets to a Broadway show for their Christmas box but without much success, so on Saturday morning we asked the Concierge if he could get us any. His first offer was tickets to most shows worth $100 for the paltry price of $250 each... I think not! He then mentioned that the less famous shows often sell remaining tickets on teh day of the performance, and told us that Memphis was meant to be both good, and reasonably easy to get tickets for.

Sure enough, arriving at the Shubert that afternoon we offered tickets for the top level, center and 4 rows from the front. We said yes straight away and returned at 8pm with no knowledge or expectations of the musical.

First off, let me just say that the musical was amazing - and possibly the best show I've seen on the West End or Broadway. It is in essence a love story between a black female singer trying to make it big, and a white local radio DJ trying to promote soul music during the 1950's in Memphis amid segregation and racism.

The play was at times quite shocking, and has a really unexpected ending (I won't spoil it for anyone) but it was truly the music that made the show. Between soul, RnB, rock & roll and gospel the music was stunning and the singing even more so. The leads (Montego Glover & Chad Kimball) stole the show, but that wasn't to say the rest of the cast weren't great. My two favorite songs were the 'showstoppers' - Glover's 1st act belter "Colored Women", and Kimball's 2nd act soulful "Memphis Lives in Me." I've put clips of both of these below:

The trip to Ground Zero was understandable a lot more subdued and sombre - and it really moved me. The site itself is mainly conspicuous by the absence of anything other than a construction site but the memorial center was what really brought home the scale of what happened.

It was while watching videos of survivors & relations of the dead I started to really understand the scale of this thing. This wasn't a couple of hundred people, this affected thousands upon thousands and really shocked America. Suddenly I understood the passion and patriotism Americans feel regarding the war on terror. I felt that America had lost more than just the Two Towers that day; they had been personally violated on their home soil - a horrific experience for any country. The memorial is due to be completed before I leave, and I certainly want to revisit, as the plans look like a fantastic tribute to those that lost their lives, as well as proof that America, although hurt by these events, will keep fighting and stay proud.

Oh, and I've got to say that I was a bit disappointed by the Statue of Liberty - I suppose after spending so much time in Manhattan surrounded by ridiculously tall buildings I was expecting something bigger... maybe France should offer to upgrade it?

Leaving Mum & Dad in New York was hard. I had had an amazing week and knew I was going to miss them when they went - but unfortunately life had to go back to normality, I could be on a permanent vacation (although that would be nice!). I left Mum in tears and me on the verge, and headed back on the good ol' NJ Transit (I'm getting to know those trains far to well...) to New Brunswick.

That's the end of Part II - the final installment brings us up to date - including embarassment at the Gym, more photography and my streak of luck at the KEEN fundraiser...