Coast to coast: Page 9

Manhattan Bridge framing the Empire State Building, NYC

Ariane and I took a trip to New York City with Jo and Sass last weekend, and had a great time. It was my first time in the Big Apple and I was eager to explore everywhere. We stayed in the hostel and cruised around the city by foot, on the subway and in a cab. In the above picture, the Empire State Building is being framed by part of the Manhattan Bridge. The shot was taken from the Brooklyn Bridge, just after sunset.

Police presence at Times Square, NYC

Our first night in the city, we went to check out Times Square after having a great dinner at an Indian restaurant. There were lights and people everywhere! It was amazing, and reminded me of London a bit. While most tourists were enjoying the many outdoor televisions here, I saw a group of police officers carrying automatic weapons. Although I heard a few people say the guns made them feel safer, I didn't agree. While in Times Square, I felt like a bomb could go off at any moment.

Brooklyn Bridge, NYC

On our second day in the city, the four of us walked quite a lot. We trekked through Greenwich Village, through Chinatown, to the piers, across to the World Trade Center site, down to Battery Park and then across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. We were very tired at the end of the day, but we saw some great sights.

NYC skyline from Brooklyn Bridge

This shot was taken while Ariane and I were walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. There were a lot of cars, and the walkway for people was made of wood, and shook a lot! It wasn't too scary though. There were lots of people walking, biking and running across the bridge - and there were a lot of sights to check out.

Statue of Liberty silhouette

We got to Battery Park a little bit before sunset, and the light made a really nice silhouette of the Statue of Liberty. I don't know who the lady in the picture is, but she was posing perfectly for me - without knowing, of course. We didn't take the ferry to get a closer look of the statue, but seeing it from land was fine by me.

WTC site protestors

The World Trade Center site is basically a huge construction site right now, so there's not much to see. There are some photos posted, and something of a memorial. What caught my attention were these people saying 9-11 was an inside job. They were handing out fliers and trying to get people to listen to them. It's crazy, more than five years later these people are still out there doing this every day.

Crazy tower, NYC

While walking around Greenwich Village, we happened to look up and see this crazy tower made of wood and decorated with anything and everything. There's not too much more to say about it.

Central Park, NYC

Our last day in the city, we had a nice breakfast and took a stroll through Central Park. We walked for at least 1.5 hours, and didn't even see half of it - it's huge! But we saw this pretty reservoir and another small lake surrounded by Willow trees. After the stroll, we said au revoir to the city, and headed back to Montreal. There was quite a bit of traffic exiting the city, but not nearly as much when compared to people going into the city - there was something like 50 miles of traffic heading in!

Chandre and Tao

Chandre came back to Montreal for a visit during the week of Thanksgiving. We had some good fun, including going to the Biodome, which has lots of animals from different climates on display.

Chandre at the playground

Chandre has fun at the playground by Ariane's apartment in Montreal. She likes it when people watch her play - she's always trying to get somebody's attention.

Chandre's big jump

She also had fun jumping off these blocks. I made her jump several times so I could get a good picture - I don't think she minded too much!