First day of getting to know this isle -Manhattan.

I woke up pretty early -and i was clearly awake, not foggy as some mornings can be; the sun peeked in from the backyard throug the shutters -if you know what I mean by having this New York feeling, you'll know how it felt:) http://www.hostels.com/hostels/new-york/time-square-international-hostel/36549 Got up, picked some clean clothes from my suitcase and headed through the shower; at first I truly believed that I had to shower in cold water; there was this only-one-knob-type-of-thing, so I didn't know how to operate it; and I thought that this probably would be the way it had to be because of the-shabby-chic-standard this hostel has. So then I was showering in almost freezing water, thinking of my father who had been throug this stuff in his military service, and I thought that this was my experience with this stuff, my way of paying.

Suddenly I turned the knob further up, and then voilà! We had hot water! I was relieved...

After putting on all my stuff -and you guys know me and how much stuff I'll put on so I won't bother you with that, but after all that; I went out, and the street just hit me! I think it was around 9.30, and it was full of people, the street was filled with cars and the noise... awesome! :D

I started to walk up north, in direction of Central Park; http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Manhattan&state=NY and I felt for having some breakfast. I thought that as I'm going to stay here for three weeks I have to eat stuff that are at least some healthy! I landed on this one; http://www.freshandconyc.com/. Had a great sandwich and of course some black coffee -the lady serving me was a bit surprised that I wouldn't have some sugar or milk with it, so I jut told her that in Norway, the ones who drink black, really drink it B-L-A-C-K! She laughed... people are very openhearted here, it's like back home in Oslo, both warm and cold; some are very stressed, and seem cold, that's just beacause they're stressed. And some are really warm; they welcome you, and wish you all the best and a good day and so on... suits me fine;) I do so too...


I couldn't decide whether to go north 'gainst CP or whether to pay my respect to 9/11, so... I choosed 9/11 -or Ground Zero as it is called here; http://www.google.com/images?q=ground+zero&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:nb-NO:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=WbxaTKGKMYH88AaXnJTRAg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEMQsAQwBA&biw=1280&bih=647.

On my way down there, I went throug Chelsea, were there are some beautiful brownstones, I just felt that I was right in some episode of Sex&TheCity -fabulous! Amongst them there were some churches too -beautiful! This is a really cool mix of urban and sacred buildings -you could feel the history here -this is an Island with a lot of history, both really modern and some really old. Now the only thing that misses is something borrowed and something blue... :)

Went down against Hudson River, to 12th ave/West Side Highway and then strolled along down south with the river. Here there are some really cool office buildings and the piers are located here; I came across one special pier; pier 54 -the final destination of Titanic who never made it to it's harbour... this was also the pier were several ships with immigrants from Europe arrived; http://pier54.com/history/.

As I went further down south to the Financial District -the skyscrapers arrised yet again, making my blood just rush through- giving me a thrill!

To get over to Ground Zero, I had to cross thiss pathway-bridge, there were really much noise caused by the rebuilding of the new World Trade Center, and the memorial park and museum due to 9/11. These footsteps were taken in deepest respect, just feeling the agony of this place, remembering back to when I came from school that day back in 2001, arriving home and the 1st plane had just hit... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks.

Just nearby there's a church called St. Paul's Chapel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul%27s_Chapel_%28New_York,_New_York%29 which is located just aside Ground Zero -miraclessly, it survived the fire and the debris from the burning towers -this was a really powerful site to be on, I spent some time there, and I sat down some time in the beautiful graveyard...

As I went on my tour that day, I took a sneak peak into Little Italy http://www.littleitalynyc.com/ and had a small dinner at Parigot http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cDoqEsmfop6SlWLEphQRxQ?select=DOmPx_3c6IjMSPBJgTasBQ, the staff there was nice, talking with the guys there, they were really nice, one of them was the son of the owner, his mom, and the other one had been in New York for 11 years, had moved from Bosnia (I think) and had some relatives here. Both confirming that NYC is a beautiful place to be! :)

After having my dinner, I decided to get to Fifth Avenue, to get back up north on Manhattan -besides; this Avenue is considered NY's most fashion-focused AND Redken's Academy is located here, so I thought it would be nice to have a stroll up this site. In the very beginning of this avenue, http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/washingtonsquare.htm is located. Further up there are beautiful residents on either sides, churches, and after some walking, you'll reach more stores and boutiques. In this area of town, there are several watertanks on the roofs of the buildings http://www.fogonazos.es/2007/06/new-york-rooftop-water-tanks.html giving much of New Yorks characteristic skyline.

After some while of walking, I suddenly turned around and then boom! there was the Flatiron-building arised up behind me! Yeezz! Funny... I actually got so surprised I almost jumped making people around me probably thinking I was high on something -you know how I am guys...! ;D Haha! :D http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatiron_Building

On my way further home suddenly I saw a little church just around the corner http://www.google.com/images?q=little+church+around+the+corner&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:nb-NO:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=aNVaTMz8M4ehnQe2jJnPAg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CEoQsAQwBA&biw=1280&bih=647, it's really odd to see a small church like that just inbetween all the tall buildings!

I continued further up and just as I just looked coincidental into a window, I realized it was a vintage-store! Wohoo! :D And this was really cool! Cheap Jack's is the name! http://www.cheapjacks.com/ You guys should really check it out! And of course; I shopped! Actually, first i just shopped a pair of shirts, and then after talking to this really cool girl working there (she was amazingly clothed!) she persuaded me to rethink the other clothes I found so I had to come back the other day... she gave me some web-adresses to check out, and she has some contacts that I should check out! We'll see, she also said I would fit in here -that was nice, though... :)

Further in the evening I just got my sore feet back at home to my shabby-chiq castle, my hips even hurted after all the walking! But it really had been a great day, and I for sure now know the street-system! Pitures I've taken will for sure follow, but now I have to get going to the salon! :) Wish me luck you guys! ;)