Ithaca by air

Thanks to Jean-Baptiste and his passion for flying, that refreshing morning at -12 degrees C we left the ground at the Ithaca Tompkins Airport for a short panoramic flight. All around snow storms, but over Ithaca the weather was windy, shaky, but still permissive. Great end of holiday!

Taughannock Falls

Cayuga Lake

Cornell Central campus

Cornell campus with Beebe Lake

Schoellkopf Field

Cornell Central campus

Maplewood

Ithaca with Cayuga Lake

Landing with strong side wind

NY-26 E, I-81 S, NY-17 E, I-87 S, NJ-208 S, NJ-4 E, I-95 N. 250 miles to you...

Driving also this time, alone, just the faithful GPS named Lola and a G'n'R cd for company, to finally end a long wait. The crazy NY traffic didn't seem to be real and the run among the terminals seeking the redirected Delta flight and the delay at the security check felt like eternity. But it disappeared in a fraction of moment, leaving the floor to a coast to coast adventure, which would end four weeks later at the same airport, at the same terminal.

New York Public Library

Central Station

After a detailed safety check, waiting like a herd for the boat for Ellis Island.... cynic?

Lower Manhattan

Liberty Island with the French madame

Ellis Island, Island of Tears; the gate to America for 16 million immigrants

Registry room. Half the population of the United States can trace their roots to an Ellis Island immigrant

Perhaps a member of my family took one of those ships and went to seek a better life, never returning to see his home...

New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street

Rebuilding Ground Zero

Fish market in China Town

Little Italy

Little Italy

Panem et circenses

I had to see a football game, I'm in the States, afterall. Done.
We had to see an NHL game. Pick up at the airport, quick check in at the motel and a cab to the New York Islanders against Phoenix Coyotes game at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, NY. The Coyotes went home howling after a victory gained with final shootings.
We've seen an Ivy League Basketball Game, Cornell vs. Bucknell. But also an NBA game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, LA Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns 108:103. Tight result and exciting.
A common denominator of all these games was the entertainment of the people, if we don't consider the friendly game in Newman Hall at Cornell. The game is great, sure, but there have to be lost of games, music, entertainments etc. during the game, during the breaks. And it is perfectly normal for spectators to come to see the game only at the end. Let's admit it, the tickets are not that cheap, but still queuing at the food stand is not lessened by the fight for the last points in the arena. The whole rhythm of the event is completely different from the one we are used to at home. Where the play is the reason you are sitting there.

Apps for the spectators
NY Islanders vs. PHX Coyotes, Nassau Coliseum NY

Cornell vs. Bucknell

Nein! We are loosing...... argh!

Staples Center L.A., home of L.A. Lakers

LA Clipers vs. PHX Suns, Staples Center LA

Act weirdly and you'll go live...

"Family business" or "Trip from coast to coast"

Thanksgiving. The Turkeyfest with fridges full of abnormally huge turkeys, waiting to be defrost, stuffed, marinated, baked, eaten. A sad period from the point of view of a turkey. But an occasion for families to gather. Also this adventure started with an electronic ticket for a round-trip Rochester NY - Los Angeles CA sent me by Janice, mom's cousin. The most difficult thing to do was not to cross the country, but to get out of Ithaca to Rochester! The incompatibility of the bus schedules with the flight made me spend the night at Motel 6 in Rochester. A motel chain I was very pleased to discover, as I'd learn 3 weeks later.
The vibe in Southern California is sparkling. I left a gray sky with some snow coming for a blue sunny sky. And enjoyed every moment. Rediscovering your family's roots, knowing people friendly gathering around delicious dishes. Spending a lazy afternoon sipping wine in Santa Monica talking about this and that. I brought Mateja on my side on that occasion. The kind of moment I'd love to share with her. The glitter of the City of Angels. The run up to the Mulholland Drive. The walk and the glimpse into the CA wild side. The vagabond sleeping with all his belongings on a bench near the endless beach in Santa Monica where Baywatch was shot. An oddity in a perfect world, a reminder that there is also another reality, even if it is a completely different world. Two parallel universes politely ignoring each other, just to keep it painless.

Baxter, my roomie

Stuffed and ready to go

The famous cranberry sauce

The Chef

Stuffing and yams

Mackenzie and Janice

The man with the turkey

 And Black Friday started.... the shopping frenzy the morning, or even night, after Thanksgiving. We got in the shop at 10 and most of the items of sale were already sold or at least they went through hundreds of careful selections. I never saw so many incredibly expensive shoes just thrown on the floor. Louboutin, Choo, Blahnik, Gucci, Prada etc. Young men aware of their appearance, ageless mothers with their daughters, which will soon look older than their mother, nervously driving their big cars or flat coupes from shop to shop, waiting for the doors to get unlocked, exchanging coordinates of sale shelves, hoping to lay their hands on the object of their desire. An amusing fake world. I had to try how does it feel to wear a pair of boots for 1500$.
Luckily in another building, which was apparently not enough interesting for the sale-hawks. The calm stroll around the shops could begin.

She was just sitting there and waiting for almost half an hour, nervously looking at her wristwatch, with a serious yet floating face. She just needed her friend to light her face up.

My birthday cake!

Sammy

Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood

Janice Joplin

Jimmy Page's guitar

My first burger with fries in the USA. Seriously. I've thought that the place was appropriate for it.

The volcano :)

Ted Danson's shop

New haircut