It was an early start, as we got up and ready, and made our way to Manhattan to catch a Greyhound bus to Philadelphia, known as the “Birthplace of America”, as it is the place where the Declaration of Independance was signed. On our arrival, the overwhelming feeling was how totally different it was to New York. Only two hours away, but so much more tranquil, relaxed, and slower. Having said that, Erin reminded us that it also has the highest murder rate in North America? Do I have that right Erin?

Alex and I spent the early hours of the afternoon doing the usual touristy stuff, like the Declaration of Independance Tour, which included the place where the final declaration was signed, as well as going to see the famous Liberty Bell. That is another story unto itself, but over time has come to represent freedom. I am sure a google search will give you greater insight.

The highlight of our day, was definitely meeting up with our beautiful friend Erin, whom I had the opportunity of meeting in 1999, in Bariloche, Argentina. As any fellow traveller would know, with travelling comes a lot of opportunities to meet a plethora of people, but there are always some who simply stand out, for whatever reason. Erin is one of those people! I was inspired by Erin’s love of life, and zest from the day I met her, as well as her ability to just “follow your heart”. Besides being a highly efficient and prolific business woman, Erin also makes spectacular jewellery, which she also teaches how to make, in classes all over the USA. Take a look at her web site, www.mateharidesigns.com

On top of all this, (to all you Aussies out there….yes, 5 more steak knives!!!) Erin is also involved in a project called Beads For Education, which helps young Maasai woman become literate, through education. I will be devoting an entire blog entry to this soon, but in the meantime, please take a look at the web site: www.beadsforeducation.org I cannot possibly stress or overemphasise the power of education, as it is ultimately what gives each and every human being power. We have all seen, on a day to day basis, how ignorance breeds fear. I truly beleive that education can overcome this. The flip side is, we all know how so many groups and governments like to keep people uneducated, and thus ignorant, and the fear that this breeds……..surprise, surprise, leads to the increased power by the very people who supress them! Alex, and I have made a steadfast resolve that on this trip we will be “conscientous travellers” – to give something back to the world, which by simply travelling it for a year, we are taking so much from!

We did have some great food in Philly, and met some wonderful people. Friday night at “La Vez”, a contemporary Mexican restaurant was great, as was the company of Brandon and Rosae, as well as Erin, of course! Hey Rosae, you keep in touch girl, your exuberance blew me away! We can change the world yet!

On Friday night we caught the train out to Chester Springs, where Erin lives. What a breath of fresh air – now this indeed was relaxing. Chester Springs really is deer country, and not very populated. Nothing like a good night sleep in the country! We packed lots of things into our weekend, including a trip to the Longwood Gardens (www.longwoodgardens.org), a huge area where we could walk around a number of differently manicured gardens, glasshouses and see some amazing flowers. The day was delightful, and perfect for a stroll.

On Sunday we visited the Brandywine River Museum, in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania (www.brandywinemuseum.org). Beautifully set on a river, it had several paintings from various members of the Wyeth family, probably the most famous being N.C. Wyeth, whose illustrations are famous for children’s classics such as “Treaure Island”. There was another temporary dispaly on the works of another famous character in the world of Modern American Art, Andy Warhol.

Back in Philly late Sunday afternoon, and sharing another great meal with Erin, at a place called “Pietro’s Restaurant”. The pizza was great and the eggplant parma better! A walk to the train station, and we all bid each other farewell!

We felt very sad seeing you walk off Erin! Please know that you have two special friends in Alex and I, and that no matter what, we will always be here for you. Thanks for being part of our most special University of Life!

“As you walk, eat and travel, be where you are otherwise you will miss most of your life” – Buddha.

Ombi

Another big day in New York City, and another early start! We got up quite early and made our way to La Guradia Airport, which luckily is very close to where Alex’s mum lives, and only a 10 minute bus ride away. Moz and Bianca were flying on to Houston, and we wanted to fare them well. As brief as it was, it was wonderful, and it was so good to see my cousins so relaxed and happy, if not tired and overwhelmed! Now you get some of what my travel passion is all about Moz!

We had a fun day with Alex’s mum, taking her out for breakfast (loved those buttermilk pancakes!), and then on to Manhattan, to do a bit of shopping.

Finally, the highlight of the day: Our trip to the “Top of the Rock”. With an open-air observation deck on the 7oth floor, at the top of the newly renovated Rockefeller Plaza, in downtown Manhattan, the views can only be described as spectacular! Take a look at the website, www.topoftherocknyc.com . Yes, much better than the views from the from the Empire State Building. We arrived at 5.30pm and did not leave until 8.00pm. The 360 degree views were breathtaking, and as we walked around and ummed and aaahed at the breadth, depth and size of the city before us, we were also afforded the views of sunset, and late afternoon turning into dusk. And one by one, all those lights, of all colours, sizes and description, started to go on, whilst more followed in succession. And the city seemed bigger! Brighter! More explosive!

And just as dusk arrived, I witnessed a truly beautiful and magical moment; A profession of love, as Chris pulled out a ring and asked Maria to marry him! No, I do not know this couple, I was simply standing infront of them, and so my hearing ears could not help but hear! I had tears in my eyes, and as most of you know I am so un-romantic, in the traditional sense of the word. I felt touched, by the magic of the moment and, as I later stood back and observed, the magic in Maria and Chris’s eyes, as they looked into each others’ eyes! I couldn’t help myself, I went over and introduced myself, and asked if Alex could take a photo so that we could put it on our blog. Coincidentally, Maria has a similar background to mine, being of Italian parents, and Chris is Colombian. I revel in those moments, where I am able to meet someone new, and this case, wish them all the best. It is what makes travel so special for me!

Chris and Maria, this is our wish to you: That you live an amazing and happy life together. That you love and respect each other, and that you stay together as long as it is your destiny to stay together. That you find in each other your best friend and soul mate. Yes, it is possible, so when it happens treasure it!

Off to Philadephia tomorrow morning. It’s midnight and I need to pack!

Ombi

Well, I don’t know about hating it! That’s a pretty severe word with lots of negative undertones. Not even dislike sits with me, but I must say, that despite the amount of time I spend here, the various things I do, and the many things I experience, it just doesn’t float the proverbial boat for me! It’s not so much what I DON’T like about it, as much as there’s not much that I DO like about it! It’s hard to explain. I must say though, that people watching has been fantabulous! The pressure to conform in this huge metropolis is overwhelming…and on all levels. EVERYONE is targetted!

I popped in to McDonald’s briefly this morning (you’d be horrified Harry!)….to go to the toilet (most of you would know how I feel about this conglomerate, capitalist , brain washing giant) and……………I was mortified to see that they had a new marketing campaign. Not only do they still have the “You better buy me a Happy Meal WITH a toy mum or you’re a bitch” deal still going on, but now there’s a new range of “cuddly” toys for the consumer aged under 3 years of age!!!! Does that come with a french fries smoothie, or a mashed Big Mac? Breathe in, breathe out!

Then there are the infamous Madison and 5th Avenues. These streets are basically door to door of designer label wear and accessories. So, there we were, Alex and I looking EVERY part the tourists; shirts, t-shirt, shorts, hiking shoes, backpack, when I decided that we just HAD to walk into the Versace store. (That was just after having walked past a store called H&M, who not only had Madonna plastered all over the facade, but which had accompanying commentaries to the tune of if you were anything even remotely resembling cool, you’ d be in that store and buyin’ some booty!) So, in we walk, and we were flabergasted! Again, I beleive that fashion, like beauty, is subjective, but then who and what decides what is beautiful? And so there we had it, a lot of tacky, ostentatious, overpriced and tasteless pieces which WERE none-the-less, Versace pieces. I understand that people buy designer wear due to a number of different reasons and factors, but I could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of sadness for those whom have become the victims of “life sculpting” ( Let me dictate what, how and why you should dress and act in a certian manner) whilst also feeling overwhelmigly happy that neither Alex nor I are part of this merry-go-round.

I picked up a little badge at a little street stall last Sunday, and have pinned it to my bag. It reads, ” Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups”. It made me think in depth, which is what I would like to keep doing every second of this trip. It is about awareness! This does not necessarily relate to anything I have written above, but it’s some food for thought.

Ombi

(Images Top: Brazilian Festival on 6th Av. Manhattan Centre: Wanderers on 5th Av. Bottom: Ground Zero memorial.)

Since our last two entries, we have done so much that I don’t even know where to start! It has been go, go, go…..and quite honestly, I feel exhausted! We were all up at 4.30am this morning, as Karen (Alex’s siter and neice and nephew, Denisse and Axel) were flying back to Ecuador today. It has been a fun filled week and a half, so I will re-cap some of the “highlights”!

On the 2nd September, we all went to a theme park, called Dorney Park, in Philadelphia. It was a combination ride and water park. The kids thought it was great, and I………greater! Water is my thing, so I must have gone on every slide possible. As for the rides, I normally get motion sickness, but I just went hammer and tongs…….the last one Alex and I went on (nobody else was game!!!!) was like a roller coaster on a “trip”, pardon the pun…we are talking a serious 90 degree drop, and my lunch almost became my dinner! To add to the excitement we hired a car for the day, and I drove up and back, as I was not the only one who could drive, but the only one with a license! Taking traffic into consideration, 3 hours up and 3 hours back plus lots of hours in the park. A great day was had by all, but we all got home exhausted…and then there was returning the car! I actually got to drive through the centre of Noo Yorrk (as they would say here), and may I say that it wasn’t that terrifying.

On one of our several trips to Manhattan we took the kids to the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, an interactive space where kids can try their hand at all things technical – creating scenes in a movie, being part of virtual games, creating music, to only name a few. It was a hands on attraction, which of course always rates highly amongst children of all ages.

Alex and I also visited the Museum of Modern Art. There were various interesting displays. I am always fascinated by the more “modern” section of Modern Art Museums…and as we looked at such paintings as the big square black canvas, and the black square canvas with concentric white lines, we both could not help but think why we had not thought of it first! Art is a little like beauty…oh so very subjective!

On Friday we are off to Chester Springs, near Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, to spend a few days with our really good friend Erin. I actually met Erin in Argentina in 1999. Alex has also met her a couple of times since. We are really looking forward to catching up with her. It should also be a relaxing and peaceful break from New York.

Ombi

(Images, Top: L to R, Denisse, Alex, Rocio, Axel & Karen Centre: Angie, Denisse & Axel at Sony Wonderland Lab. Bottom: Reunion with Moz & Bianca in New York.)

La Gran Manzana

Es casi una semana en New York luego de pasar unos dias con nuestros amigos cerca a Boston. La vida y los dias vienen y van y el ritmo de esta ciudad camina tres veces mas rapido que la mente, pero como estamos en vacaciones realmente, no dejamos que nos afecte si no disfrutamos de lo que esta selva de concreto que tiene para ofrecer. Con mas de ocho millones de personas concreto y ventanales por todos lados, sin duda alguna un lugar unico y lleno de cosas por ver y aprender. Porque ensalada de frutas? Porque una simple manzana no es suficiente para describir las diferentes experiencias que se puede vivir en un lugar lleno de diferentes nacionalidades, culturas religiones, colores de tez y ojos, nos vemos diferentes, sentimos y pensamos diferente, todo un rito al ser humano…

La mejor de las experiencias hasta hoy es el compartir con mi familia, todos vivimos en lugares diferentes y el poder reunirnos en la casa de mi mami es lo mejor. Camina aqui camina alla hemos experimentado varios lugares de esta gran ensalada de frutas…fuimos al Zologico en el Bronk el cual tiene mas de dos millones de especies animales de todo el mundo , la pasamos genial. Luego a caminar y a relajarnos frente al rio Hudson al oeste de Manhattan.

Experimentamos viajar por el Subway de New York realmente una locura nuestra cabeza estaba girando en torno al UP town o Down town, Up and Down…todo el dia. Fuimos en un cruzero seis estrellas …no mentira solo era el Ferri a Staten Island solo para ver la estatua de “La Libertad” . Y tambien fuimos a ver el Ground Zero -Zona cero en donde las torres estaban. Axel, Denisse, Rocio, Angie, Ombi, Jim Karen y Yo disfrutamos de una cena Peruna..que estaba deliciosa luego de haber caminado y vitriniando (mirando tiendas) por Queens.

Mordiscos desde la gran manzana.
Alex

Alex, myself, his mum (Rocio), her partner Jim from Peru, little sister Angie (8 years old and born in the States), sister Karen from Ecuador and our neice and nephew Denisse (13) and Axel(9)….are all here in his mum’s apartment in Queens, New York. I am calling us “the international contingent”….we are from everywhere and we live everywhere! As you can imagine things are pretty full on at the moment, but Alex’s mum is overjoyed at having us all here.

Each morning seems to start so late as we seem to be going to bed way past midnight! Chatting, playing, walking the streets of Manhattan, exploring…….a couple of days ago we took the Statten Island Ferry across to Statten Island. It’s a cheap way (free) of being able to go past the Statue of Liberty. Although you don’t get to be really up close and personal, you certainly get to see what the USA’s most photographed and talked about land mark is all about.

I personally have been overwhelmed by US consumerism…….and that is not to say that we don’t have it in Australia…yesterday I found myself asking myself, “What’s worse? Not having enough, as in Ecuador, or having way too much as in the USA?” At the end of the day, here they have what we have…….but much more of each thing! I picked up some clothes and looked at one of the price tags, USD$1.99….and I asked myself how long somebody had worked to make it, and how little they had been paid! Yet we continue to buy! Someone’s enjoyment always seems to come at someone else’s pain. I won’t bore you with my philosophising, but it’s the Ombi touch and what I beleive in.

The weather has been not so hot, but extremely humid, so even when you are wearing shorts you feel a little sticky, but it sure beats hot plus humid, which we have also experienced on other trips. It does make you feel lethargic, however.

Today, we have not decided what to do yet. Actually, all are sleeping except Alex and his mum, who are cuddled up in bed. What a nice thing to see!

Besos (kisses)

Ombi