Simply New York

We leave our home while it is still night to arrive in New York at about 4 p.m. on any given Saturday afternoon. The flight was smooth even though the start was not the most promising. Ready on the runway to take off, it returned to the gate to 'repair' a wheel. The entry procedures are always boring and long! While we were in line for customs we noticed that the infamous form to fill out also exists in Italian, however.. In line with us we also see a Black mom with her child of about 3-4 years old, walking around the room calm and carefree. He looks like a miniature little man, dressed in a white shirt, classically cut pinstriped trousers and a little vest. Completing this miniature little man's outfit is a pair of black patent leather loafers.

He is as funny as he is adorable! From the airport, to reach the center of Manhattan you can choose from a wide range of means, more or less like in many Italian airports where you can pretty much only choose your own car. Anyway, you can choose to use one of those yellow taxis that always appear in movies, a bus, or a combination of train and subway. We opt for the latter. The line that connects the nine terminals of Kennedy Airport, the AirTrain, takes you to the Howard Beach station and the Sutphin Blvd station; from both stations it is then possible to take the subway. We choose the Howard Beach station, from which we will take the A line to arrive directly in the heart of Manhattan. The train that connects the terminal is free if you use it to move from one terminal to another, while you pay if you get off at one of its stations; payment occurs on exit, when you leave the station.

You can pay in cash or with a credit card using an automated system; with this same system you can also buy the MetroCard. A sort of prepaid card to use every time you take the subway. Each swipe of the MetroCard decreases the balance by $2 (the cost of each ride). When the credit runs out it can be recharged or you can buy a new one. The train ride, on the other hand, is $5.

Our subway stop is at 23rd Street, one block before our hotel: The Leo House (The Leo House – 332 W. 23RD ST – New York – Tel. 001-212-929-1010 – Fax 001-212-366-6801), where we booked some time ago by fax. The facility is run by Catholic nuns, and the religious imprint can be noticed already in the lobby. We chose this hotel because it presented itself as a very quiet and silent place, exactly what we look for in a hotel. I detest places that are too noisy and too big! Our room is tiny but it has everything we might need, including the bathroom in the room. Once we've settled our things, we decide to go for a little stroll around the neighborhood, thus beginning our discovery of this magnificent city and its shops! The cold is biting, but we knew that in winter New York has a rather harsh climate. At the street corners there are some piles of frozen snow.

We wander around the area a bit, peek at shop windows and observe busy passersby moving quickly along the sidewalks. At a street corner we see one of those characteristic flower and grocery shops that often appear in films. One of those shops open almost all night, with a sort of veranda that extends onto the sidewalk. There are so many of them all over New York, with their baskets of fruit and buckets full of colorful flowers.

A few blocks from our hotel we find a supermarket, one of those belonging to an organic food chain (Whole Foods), or at least that's what I read. America too is becoming more aware of food culture: fat-free, natural, organic foods; despite burgers and fries, something is moving. Among the fruit I spot grapefruits as big as melons. And thank goodness they're organic, otherwise they'd be as big as watermelons! Their checkout line management system really amuses me. Oh yes.. a real hoot… there are about twenty checkouts but only three lines; at the head of each one is a display showing a vegetable or fruit; when it's your line's turn, it shows the number of the assigned checkout. Truly a hoot! And if the lines get too long, a supermarket employee comes around offering cookies to the people in line.

I wonder what would become of this system in a small provincial reality where shoppers have long since passed retirement age and already consider the ATM something alien and too modern.

Among the things we set out to do in New York was to go listen to Gospel choirs in a church in Harlem: the city's Black neighborhood. So since today is Sunday morning we take the subway toward Harlem; whether because it's a holiday or because it has just past eight o'clock, the trains are rather deserted. Harlem's origins date back to around the 1920s, and since then it has always been the hub of the African culture of this city. Once out of the subway we wander a bit through its deserted and silent streets until we reach the Abyssinian Baptist Church. Like many other tourists we chose what the guidebook calls the church with the best Gospel choir, so there is a frightening line to get in! We get in line and time passes very slowly. The line is longer than a block and moves along very slowly. It's Sunday morning and the Harlem neighborhood seems to doze.

On the streets few cars and a few elegantly dressed families hurrying to the service.

Although there is a warm sun, the wait in line seems eternal; it's cold and my poor little feet start to freeze. The line is as long as a block and I wonder what the point of all this is. At a certain point, tired of this line, of this wait, we say to ourselves 'to hell with this Gospel choir, let's go look for another one somewhere else', and so, to the astonishment of the French people behind us, we leave our place in line and walk along Seventh Avenue. There are many other churches; in some we go in but the services haven't started yet. In one, a very intimate ceremony is underway; there are about ten people and the pastor, there are no choirs or anything, and although they kindly invite us to stay, the ceremony seems to us a bit too intimate to intrude on or take part in. The church is very beautiful, unusual; behind the altar many colored flags flutter.

Walking and walking, we land at the Canaan Baptist Church. From the outside it doesn't even look like a church; it looks like the entrance lobby of a hotel. At the reception they welcome us kindly; the ceremony has just begun. After handing over our little backpacks at the reception, we go up a staircase that leads to the seating area, the area reserved for visitors. Another attendant welcomes us, hands us a little booklet with the hymns and the program of the service, and assigns us two small seats in the second row. Singing is underway; the splendid voices of the choir members echo through the church, along with the clapping of the congregation, some of whom occupy the first row of the seating area.

When we had thought to dedicate half an hour to this type of visit, we had miscalculated. It's hard to describe, but the ceremony, with its songs, its speeches, its choreography, its colors and its moments of shared joy and celebration, is something that takes hold, involves you even if you are not part of this congregation, this world. Their way of celebrating, the joy of their songs, the beauty of these moments not only capture you but catapult you into this world; it's impossible to remain indifferent or merely spectators, impossible not to take part. Almost all the people in the seating area were visitors, but they were all equally involved and absorbed by this ceremony. I greatly appreciated their ability to make all of us curious onlookers not feel like mere visitors, but part of this rite, this ceremony. Excellent choir, fantastic ceremony.

Truly a unique experience! When we came out, more than an hour and a half after we had entered, Marco, who had been the more skeptical of the two about going to see this ceremony, says to me, 'Too bad there isn't one tomorrow too!'

Since we're in the area, we move on to visit the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine. In theory, if they ever finish it, it will be the largest church not only in New York but in all the United States and the third largest in the world by size, but… it still isn't finished, despite its construction having begun in 1892. Inside, a pamphlet distributed at the entrance describes the interiors of the church; there is even a corner dedicated to the great American poets or writers such as Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway and others.

Having left the cathedral with its immense interior, we move on to see the Columbia University area, one of the oldest universities in the United States, known for its law, journalism and medicine programs. When it was founded in 1754 it was in the World Trade Center area; it was moved to its current site in 1897. Among its students was also Isaac Asimov. The enormous rectangular plaza onto which the university buildings face was the scene of many student demonstrations. A man of Asian appearance equipped with serious lenses and a serious camera is trying to photograph a red tailed hawk, a bird of prey, perched at the edge of the Low Library, which retains only the name of a library since it is currently home to offices. Marco also tries to photograph the raptor, but then the raptor flies toward the chapel of Saint Paul. Central Park is not far from here, so we head in that direction.

It is an immense park, a green corner of peace and silence in the middle of a metropolis. There are roads and paths, kilometers of paths. Central Park, more than 340 hectares with a beautiful 93 kilometers of paths, is a green paradise in the middle of the city. In certain corners you can't even hear the noises of the city; the silence, the tranquility, the quiet dozing of nature in winter make this park a place of immense charm. I remind Marco that there's no respectable mystery film without a corpse in Central Park! Will we find one too? There are many artificial ponds, bridges, baseball fields, avenues and paths. There is even a climbing wall, and in winter, when it is covered with snow, some people go cross-country skiing.

With snow, I tell myself, it can't be bad… On the waters of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir a few little ducks swim calmly; in the background you can see the skyscrapers. We then leave Central Park to wander among the streets of the Upper East Side. We pass in front of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and I remember S. Kinsella's novel "I Love New York", when the protagonist, Becky Bloomwood, visits only the museum shop, making everyone believe she has visited the entire museum. Very funny! The museum's ultra-modern facade is partly under renovation; inside is one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary art the world can boast.

Continuing on, we arrive in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; founded in 1870, it is one of the most important museums in New York, with its collections of artworks from all over the world and its hordes of tourists hungry for culture or simply intending to be able to say "I've been there." To visit museums without going bankrupt, it's possible to get a sort of pass, which provides entry to some museums and other attractions at a more advantageous price—otherwise there would be no point in doing it—compared to the sum of the individual entrance tickets.

Tonight the Empire State Building is illuminated with three colors: the tip is blue, then white and finally red. Evocative! And it is with this last image that this city gives us that we enter our hotel and go to sleep.

This morning the sky is overcast and perhaps for this reason the temperatures seem less harsh. Among the tall skyscrapers the sun can't manage to penetrate down to the street, and there is always a light breeze blowing that many times turns into freezing wind. Walking among all these skyscrapers, raising your gaze toward that little square of blue (or gray) that you see up there, looking around in this vertical vastness has a certain effect; you feel very, very small before all this triumph of modernity and technology.

The day's program calls for reaching Central Park again, passing through the neighborhoods of Chelsea, the Theater District and the Upper Midtown, names that even if you've never been there you know, because there are films, TV series and books that have always helped us know them, locate them and make them our own. We set off on foot, pass in front of the headquarters of the New York central post office, an austere building, and the Madison Square Garden, the most famous arena in the world. We go in to find out about the sports events scheduled for this week. The Garden can be visited, but why go visit it empty when you can go to a game? Exactly.. may as well go to the game. I'd like to see hockey but there are no games on the days we're in the city, while there is a Wednesday evening basketball game between university teams. Perfect..

we'll come back Wednesday evening! For the record, it doesn't host only sports events but also concerts and shows.

The verb "to stroll" in English means 'to walk', and that's a bit what we do in this city: we stroll, we wander the streets enjoying the atmosphere of this place. Strolling, we thus arrive at what is called the Theater District and on the famous Broadway: with its theaters, its illuminated signs, the enormous posters and its vivid colors. There are these wide sidewalks, with lots of people hurrying busily, businessmen in dark suits, women in elegant dresses, people talking on cell phones (many, too many), kids with iPods and the inevitable earphones in their ears, little dogs (and big dogs) on leashes, people coming and going, tourists wandering, in short, a great confusion. Times Square, where Broadway and Seventh Avenue meet, is a 'truly vital' place.

Moving along the street, wandering, perhaps without a precise destination but only with a direction, is almost a way to feel part of this world, part of this city, of this place. Having reached the Grand Central Terminal on Park Avenue, we enter its vast main hall. It's the first time we enter this train station, but we've already been there many, many other times, to catch a train, to chase after a loved one who was leaving; we've already seen its row of ticket windows, the clock above the information office and the grand staircase leading to the trains. It was built in 1913 and still today represents an icon of this city.

One could make a list of the buildings we have seen, photographed; one could talk about the verticality of these skyscrapers, their shapes, sometimes unusual, their height, their uniqueness; one could say many things: the Chrysler Building with its decorations made of real cars and its golden spire visible from afar, the Chanin Building and so many, many others… We arrive as far as the headquarters of the United Nations, which was founded in 1945 right after the end of World War II with the aim of safeguarding world peace, something there is still a great need for today. Currently 188 nations have joined the United Nations. No flag is flying on the flagpoles—what a shame! The sky, now blue, with a few white clouds convinces us that it's the right day for a nice view of the city from above.

So we head toward the Rockefeller Center, which someone has called "the heart of New York." Although it is a private complex, it's possible to go up to its panoramic terrace and enjoy the view of Manhattan from above. In the hotel we found a little brochure with which to get a bit of discount on the ticket, so why not take advantage of it. And here we are in one of those other places where every year at Christmas we are catapulted without leaving our favorite armchair. The Rockefeller Center skating rink is right there in front of us, swarming with skaters, with music spreading through the air. After buying our tickets for "Top of the Rock," the panoramic terrace of the Rockefeller Center, we head toward the elevator. What a spectacle! It rises at an impressive speed. The elevator ceiling is transparent and the entire elevator shaft is dotted with bright lights.

The ride up in the elevator is very striking, but the view from its balconies is stupendous. Although it is slightly lower than the Empire State Building, the view you enjoy from its three terraces, located on three different levels, is spectacular. It is a bit less crowded than the Empire, and for this reason perhaps more livable and enjoyable. You grasp the immensity of Central Park, the streets with the cars, the tiny yellow

Today there are no clouds in the sky but a strong wind that contributes considerably to keeping temperatures low. On the street, a few puddles at the edge of the sidewalk are completely frozen. Brrr how cold it is! Today's program again includes a good number of steps to take. We will visit the area around Herald Square and then move on to the Gramercy District and, walking and walking, we will get all the way to Little Italy and China Town passing through the East Village, finally we will take a nice walk on the Brooklyn Bridge, do a bit of shopping and come back by subway; everything has a limit!

First of all we head towards the Empire State Building. It is the tallest building in the city; from its top you enjoy a beautiful 360° view over the city. Its construction began shortly before the 1929 crisis and ended in 1931; it was in the midst of the economic crisis, so renting the properties inside was practically difficult, so much so that someone renamed the skyscraper the Empty State Building. It is precisely the existence of its two observation terraces that made its fortune and therefore made it one of the symbols of the city. The checks at the entrance remind one a little too much of airport checks. From the observation terrace the view is superb and the wind is tremendous. A freezing cold wind is blowing! I can think of at least two films where the protagonists had arranged to meet on the Empire State Building, obviously two lovey-dovey films.

The first is "An Affair to Remember"... with Warren Beattu and Annette Benino, it is the remake of an old film ("Love Affair"), where the two fall in love elsewhere and arrange to meet on the Empire after some time, just the time needed to sort out their respective lives. Misfortune, or irony of fate (or of the screenwriter), has it that while he is on the terrace waiting, she runs across the street and zot... ends up under a car, missing the meeting. Of course, of course, there's no need to go further and tell the ending of the film. The other one that comes to mind is "Sleepless in Seattle" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, they too met on the terrace of the Empire. At a certain point a peregrine falcon happily circles around the spire, but since apart from Marco no one deigns to consider it, after a while it gets tired of circling and goes on its way.

It is possible to go up, paying an additional ticket, to the observatory on the 102nd floor but I am more than satisfied with the view from the 86th, so we take the elevator down. There is a running race called the "Empire State Run-Up" in which the competitors climb the 1575 (sigh!) steps up to the 86th floor running; obviously whoever takes the least time wins. It seems that the best runners take 10 minutes.. meh... if you have forgotten something downstairs you can always ask these people to go and get it for you! The most famous cinematic reference featuring the Empire immortalized on film is King Kong, the enormous gorilla that squirmed on the spire. Today there is a bit too much wind; if there had been [King Kong] we would have noticed because he would have fluttered like a flag on a pole. Poor King Kong!

Having come down from the Empire we move towards the Madison Square area. We have already been there one of these evenings because there is a sporting goods store we wanted to stick our noses into. What a difference seeing the same area in the sunlight. In the evening, with its signs and its shops, it made another impression; even the people seemed to be strolling, whereas now they all seem busy and headed somewhere. So we photograph the Flatiron Building with its strange cheese-slice shape; it was built in 1903 and was then the tallest building. We then walk along the stretch of Broadway that was called Ladies Mile because it was indeed a very fashionable area full of shops where ladies could go shopping.

We move on to Gramercy Park and then cross the East Village and, walking and walking, we arrive at Little Italy and China Town; the two little worlds have almost overlapped. Little Italy, once inhabited by thousands of Italian immigrants, today occupies a few blocks and is clearly recognizable by the signs and names of the restaurants that follow one after another along the streets. As characteristic features I notice a pole painted with the Italian tricolor and one of those fire extinguishers or hydrant attachments, also tricolor. As annoying features there are the waiters who absolutely want to get you into the place for lunch. China Town, on the other hand, really seems like a piece of China taken and planted in Manhattan.

Signs in Chinese, or Mandarin or whatever else, it doesn't matter since I can't read them, typical shops with the colors and flavors of the East, fruit and vegetable stores with vegetables of unknown shapes and scents, icons, objects typical of this land, such as dragons and robes in colored silk.

Today it is truly cold and after warming up well and resting for lunch we resume our tour. We pass in front of the austere buildings of the United States Court and of New York to arrive at City Hall Park right in front of the tiny building of the city hall. The City Hall, an enormous building, but then again the city is enormous, was built in 1914; on its facade the name New Amsterdam can still be read, the name that in 1625 the Dutch West India Company gave to the settlement it founded in this area (lower Manhattan). Before that there were only forests here and the settlements of the Algonquin Indians. The Algonquin Indians were thus the first inhabitants of New York and perhaps also the first evicted. Just to stay on theme, Broadway originates from the Dutch name Breede Wegh and follows what was the path of an Indian trail: the Weekquaesgeek trail.

Lucky they preferred to choose a slightly more pronounceable name, otherwise today we would find ourselves saying "Today I'm going to do some shopping on the Weekquaesgeek," which is not quite the same as saying "Today I'm going to do some shopping on Broadway," which indeed is a whole different tune! For the record, the Dutch's business did not go too well so they abandoned the city in 1664 to the English who of course immediately changed its name to New York, just to dot the i's. After this dive into history we return to the present day and, since it is exactly in front of us, we cannot pretend nothing is there and turn our backs on it! So despite the strong wind we treat ourselves to a nice walk on the most famous bridge of the city, the Brooklyn Bridge.

The bridge is equipped with a wide pedestrian walkway, with a relative lane for cyclists, from which you enjoy a beautiful view of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Construction ended in 1883 and it was a true example of engineering; it was in fact not only the first bridge built in steel but the largest suspension bridge ever made until then. It took 16 years to build it and it was designed by a German, one John A. Roebling, who however was injured shortly before the start of the works and died. His son took his place, but he did not have a better fate either because following an accident he was left paralyzed.

The works therefore continued under the supervision of his wife, who at this point I hope died of old age! Otherwise for this family it would have been better to do something else! What a view from the bridge and what cold it is! What wind! But we stoically endure and make it to the other side in Brooklyn, as was easy to guess. Apart from enjoying the view of Manhattan, we do not go deeper into visiting Brooklyn, it will be for another time, time is short and shopping [awaits us]

Today is my birthday and it is also our wedding anniversary. Yeah.. I have been merciful with my dear husband, so he only has one date to remember! This is the second time we celebrate my birthday and our anniversary so far from home. The first time was in 2002 and we were in New Zealand; of that day I remember that we had gone to a beach where penguins nest and that was the first time I saw these adorable birds. So, today New York, to be up to New Zealand's level, has to give me something unique, something grand... we'll see... I doubt I'll meet a penguin on the street... but.. who knows..

The program for the day is quite full: by subway we will go to what is called Lower Manhattan, the tip of the island, then we will go to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and then return to Lower Manhattan to wander around the Wall Street area. We will conclude the evening at Madison Square Garden.

We immediately take the subway to reach the pier where the ferries depart. We arrive with a good amount of time before boarding, so we treat ourselves to a quiet visit of the bay. We had bought the ferry tickets and the pass to enter inside the Statue of Liberty directly from the internet from home. The ferry ticket can be bought directly at the counter shortly before departure, while the pass that entitles you to enter the Statue of Liberty is sold in a limited number; the best solution is to book it in advance. The ferry ticket office is located in the center of Castle Clinton, a fort built in 1811, then closed a few years later. It was used as a reception center for immigrants in 1855, thus preceding Ellis Island. It is currently the site of the National Park Service visitor center.

Boarding the ferry is a bit like flying, extremely meticulous checks of bags and backpacks, an absolute ban on carrying sharp objects, just like at the airport, and endless metal detectors. The ferry crossing, despite the strong wind, is pleasant; as one moves away, the view of the Island of Manhattan becomes more and more interesting, the skyscrapers compose a homogeneous landscape and, even if it is not a wonder of nature, it is something unique. The ferry goes around the Statue to dock, and as it gets closer the statue stands in all its majesty. We have seen it thousands of times, on television, in newspapers, in books, but it is not the same thing. Having it there in front of you has a whole different effect; it's like seeing it for the first time, in all its splendor as it dominates the whole bay of New York. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French to the American people.

It is the work of the French sculptor Bartholdi, who conceived this work as a monument, a hymn to liberty, in the hope that this value would never die. Who could blame him. The construction, the subsequent transport and then the assembly in America was certainly no small matter; the statue is a good 93 meters tall (including the base). It was inaugurated in 1886. Over the course of its history it has undergone several restorations and in 1986 a nice gold-plated torch replaced the original torch, which is now visible at the entrance to the statue's museum. Before September 11, 2001 it was possible to go up to the crown of the statue; since then only the pedestals can be visited. And, very likely, since then the entrances to the statue have become real purgatories.

All these checks are not there for people's safety, that too, but they are above all for her, for the Statue, to protect a monument that is not only the icon of this city but the symbol of Liberty, of the New World, the foundation of a culture. From its pedestals you enjoy a beautiful view; you can see Manhattan, New Jersey, Ellis Island. Too bad about the strong wind! We had brought two sandwiches to eat in the park around the statue but the cold and the wind prevent us from staying outdoors longer than necessary, so we go to have lunch at the cafeteria. Later we take the ferry again in the direction of Ellis Island. It is said that half of the American people can say that their ancestors passed through here. From 1892 to 1954 all immigrant ships docked at this reception point, where immigrants were registered, checked, examined and in some cases sent back to sender.

Today it is an interesting national museum on immigration; there are numbers, statistics, data, memories and objects belonging to this not-so-distant past. There are photographs describing the life of this place, capturing the faces of these people just arrived. The museum is truly interesting and worth the visit.

Back in Manhattan we resume visiting the city. We walk among the streets of Wall Street, among austere buildings and men in jackets and ties moving about busily with the inevitable paper cup of coffee. We pass in front of the stock exchange, which can no longer be visited after September 11, in front of the small Trinity Church with its cemetery where many illustrious names are buried. It looks like a ghost cemetery with its gravestones, sometimes slightly tilted. Behind it, not far away, the site of the World Trade Center. The perimeter, completely fenced and guarded, now called Ground Zero, is what remains of what was once the site that housed the Twin Towers, the two tallest buildings in the city. I don't think there is much to say; the dramatic events that marked these places, whose images of death and terror were broadcast throughout the world, speak for themselves.

The site is now a big construction site. Opposite is the World Financial Center, an enormous complex of offices, shops and restaurants; inside it is the Winter Garden. A true garden, with real palms, indoors. A small orchestra plays live jazz music.

We leave Lower Manhattan in the direction of Madison Square Garden but we arrive about two hours before the game.

After the shopping, the time of the game finally arrives. At the entrance they provide us with a nice cap of the home team, with red and white stripes, to cheer. On the court the players are already warming up. Little by little Madison begins to fill up; it is certainly not a sold-out event, but for being a game between university teams it half filled up. Wow, what an evening! This is also something to do again... It may have been a university game, but the folklore, the organization and the approach were worthy of a major league game. At the beginning a girl sang the American anthem, the announcer, the music, the cheerleaders who appeared at every break, the cheering and everything was truly nice and fun. Even Marco got caught up in the cheering and got angry when they missed free throws. For the record, the home team, Saint John, lost! Oh well...

Tonight the Empire State Building is all lit up in white. There is a bit of fog that at times obscures the spire, giving it a certain mysterious and fascinating quality. I read that during Columbus Day, the day on which the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus is celebrated, the Empire State Building is lit with the colors of the tricolor.

This morning's program includes a visit to Greenwich Village and then returning to the Upper Midtown to visit some churches and then... we will go back to crowding the sidewalks of Broadway and Fifth Avenue. How I like these streets with all those people coming and going, with all those colors, the neon signs!

New Yorkers call Greenwich Village simply "the Village"; originally it was a country village where the inhabitants of the then city took refuge during the yellow fever epidemic of 1820. Its streets are a tangle of alleys and houses; they do not reflect at all the grid patterns of the rest of the city, Lower Manhattan excluded. In the past it was the residential neighborhood of writers and artists, then around the 1940s it became the gathering neighborhood of the city's gay community. Walking through its little streets, along the sidewalks, is a succession of houses, alleys and courtyards. There are no skyscrapers or enormous buildings, but small houses in different styles of a few stories overlooking these streets, shops and small cafes. We get as far as Sheridan Square where seven streets intersect. It is such a tangle of streets that someone nicknamed it 'mousetrap'.

This too is New York, a romantic, fascinating and silent New York. Walking through the alleys of the Village you meet few people, a passerby or two, a few cars; the noises of the city seem distant and the singing of birds in the trees vaguely recalls the countryside. And for the umpteenth time in these days, the thousand faces of New York are showing themselves. We continue our walk, arriving at Washington Square, where work is underway to redo the park. This square has a somewhat macabre past: at the end of the eighteenth century this area was used as a cemetery; in fact, when the work to fix up the park began, a great many skeletons were exhumed. But if many were, luckily for them, dead of natural causes, others died right in this park. Until 1819 public hangings were held in this square! It seems that the elm used for this terrible task is still there. Brrrrr...

Isn't there anything a little more cheerful to remember this square by?

In the afternoon we go wandering around the Upper Midtown again; the other day we were a bit too captivated by the skyscrapers and neglected some religious buildings. So we visit Saint Bartholomew's Church in Byzantine style and Saint Patrick's Cathedral; I read that it is the largest Catholic cathedral in the United States. In both churches we notice the presence of many homeless people, or people without a fixed abode, among the pews. Today is an extremely cold day, perhaps the coldest since we have been in the city. Life for those who have nothing, by choice or by fate, in such a lively, immense city with such a harsh climate cannot be simple.

A few streets from these churches there are boutiques, sparkling shops, women in fur accompanied by their microscopic pedigreed dogs who spend a fortune on a dress, men with ultra-technological cell phones in hand getting out of luxury cars, while in this church there are people wrapped in an old worn-out, dirty coat who have nowhere else to go to survive the cold of this city. This too is New York; these people too are part of this city, of the thousand faces of this great metropolis. We also pass in front of the Central Synagogue, but it is closed, so we cannot go and visit it. Its doors are not open either for us tourists, let alone for the poor shivering homeless.

Leafing through the guide we realize how many corners we still have to see, how many areas we still have to get to know, but our time is no longer much.

We start walking again, wandering through the shops, where consumerism is truly taken to excess. Shops for clothes, electronics, jewelry, souvenirs, candies and toys. We also go into Macy's, one of the largest department stores in the world; we wander through some floors and then get back on the main street. We pass in front of ToysRus, one of the many toy stores that would make all children happy and parents despair. We decide to go in, after all, as I rightly observe, 'there is nothing here we can buy', so we can go in without worry! Inside the store there is even a Ferris wheel occupying three floors; it is not a toy; in fact a long line of children wait their turn for a ride. There are also Lego constructions that look like true works of art: the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building with even King Kong moving his head and hand, and the characteristic ice cream cart.

In another wing of the store there is a house, dedicated to little girls, with even a balcony to lean out on; on the shelves lots of Barbies and colorful dolls. And while I wander through the store, impressed by the quantity of toys present, my gaze meets his. It's a moment, an instant, but our eyes met never to part again. He was there, motionless, among others like him, and I was there, in the aisle, caught off guard, when I least expected it. What to do? I move closer, reach him and take by the arm the most beautiful plush penguin I have ever seen. He is about 50 centimeters tall, soft and adorable.

Marco laughs! I hold my penguin tight, but then what do we do? He is not exactly small; how do we fit him in our luggage, considering everything we have bought? I think about it for a while and in the end, though reluctantly, I set the penguin down on the shelf, say goodbye to him and head down the aisle. No, no... I can't go away and leave him there. You won't believe it, but he calls me, he wants me; I absolutely cannot leave him there... A few steps and I grab my penguin and head to the checkout with no more second thoughts! "We'll manage somehow," I tell Marco, who amusedly laughs. He knew we wouldn't leave him there! Do you want to know how I managed to bring him home? Carry-on luggage... I couldn't very well abandon him all alone and defenseless in the checked luggage!

For dinner tonight I want to taste a dish that I saw many people eating in a restaurant and that made me very curious. They are pork ribs covered in a brown sauce, the waiter told me it is a dish typical of the southern United States. The dish is not bad, although it is spiced and spicy as hell! On the first bite my tongue almost caught fire! Luckily it is served with potatoes and with a strange piece of non-sweet cake whose name I don't remember.

It's snooooowing!!!!!!! Last night, when we returned, the sky was completely starry, but this morning when I move the curtain of the window the surprise is great. On the roofs and along the street about twenty centimeters of snow had already fallen and it was still snowing. Fantastic, wonderful, we could also enjoy New York under the snow! There could not have been, on the city's part, a better greeting than this, since tonight we will leave this city.

The Museum of Natural History is our destination, but since we arrive much too early we go to trample a bit of snow in Central Park. How nice it is to walk along the snowy paths, with the snow falling thickly, the mists that let the shapes of the skyscrapers show through and the noises of the city covered by the snow. We go as far as a small lake; there are geese and ducklings moving in the lake, opening a path through the snow almost as if they were icebreaker ships. Maybe it's the snow, maybe it's the bad weather, but there are lots of colorful little birds, including a splendid red cardinal. We stop under a pergola with a nice view of the lake and the skyscrapers in the background, even though today the view is a bit blurred by the fog. At a certain point a lady arrives and asks us if we were there for the wedding. We answer no and, curious, ask if there was going to be a wedding.

The lady kindly replies that she was the minister and that she was waiting for the bride and groom to celebrate the wedding. They really chose a fine day.. but don't they know that on Friday you don't buy a house and you don't get married? So says a popular saying!

The American Museum of Natural History is simply wonderful; it is also the largest natural history museum in the world. It was inaugurated in 1877. Although visitors crowd the endless halls of the museum, the visit seems never to end. You can see reconstructions of ancient peoples, scenes that seem real with stuffed animals. The dinosaur halls are crowded with hordes of ecstatic children. There is even a simulation of the big bang. In short, we spent the whole morning and most of the afternoon wandering through its countless halls. Truly a beautiful museum! Having left the museum there is not much left for us to do; in a few hours our plane will depart. We set off along Eighth Street passing through a completely white Columbus Circle. The snow has stopped falling so we decide to walk to 23rd Street where we will pick up our luggage and go, alas, to the airport.

One last walk in the heart of this city.

The guy at the hotel, when he gives us back our luggage, comments that once upon a time it was they, the Americans, who came to Europe to go shopping, whereas today, with the Euro, it is we Europeans who go shopping in America... as they say... a bit for everyone!!! Now it's our turn...

It is past 10 p.m. and finally our plane takes off and from the window you can only see many distant lights. We are leaving this magical, unique city, we are returning to our usual life, to our home. We had not planned to fall in love with this city, with its life, its streets, its colors and its thousand contrasts; we had not planned that, by leaving, a part of our heart would remain trapped in the streets of Manhattan, that the desire to return would infect us too. Also because there are still many things to see, shopping aside, and to do... Goodbye magical New York!