New York (not only for the US Open)

Back in New York, first things first, a stop at the 9/11 square. The Freedom Tower is almost complete, and the memorial site. Unfortunately, it is a very cumbersome procedure to be allowed into the memorial site. A closer look at the two pools will be for next time.

Of course, each time you go to New York, there are new things to see and to discover. This time, the highlight was the high line. It is a disused metro line, which runs above ground on the western side. It has been transformed in a pedestrian path, with gardens and stands. It runs through old and modern buildings, and it has certainly become a draw card. Indeed, neighboring apartment blocks mention that they are close to the high line. Furthermore, while walking there, we got to see a guy getting on his knees and asking his girl to marry him. Finally, we were interviewed by students from NYCU, who were doing a study on what locals and tourists thought about it. All in all, I have to admit that I still prefer the "ligne verte" in Paris.

The other visit was the Metropolitan museum. Of course, the arts, paintings, and pieces were very interesting and of high quality. The clearly chose quality over quantity, but it also meant that each section did not have much depth. Fortunately, there was also the bar on top of the museum, with a fantastic view of Central Park.

This year's US Open was a rollercoster: high up with the release of Monday's program, according to which Federer was planned to plan his fourth round match, and then down down, when it was announced that his opponent would not be playing after all. We were joking that this American tennis player was chickening out, but then we learnt that it was due to cardiac problems. It is difficult to accept, but indeed there are things more important than tennis. Since I could not take any picture of Federer, I hesitated who to put here. I opted for the eventual winner, Serena over Sharapova. And you should thank me that I am putting a picture and not a sound bite.

The second time at the US Open and there are still things to discover. One the ground, instead of the Hollywood stars, commemorative plaques for previous winners. It was easy to find the best one! And it seems that he could even get a new one with the mention of Trainer.

Canada

The first stop in Canada was Toronto, mostly for the tennis tournament. The most interesting picture is neither one of the winner nor of the finalist, but rather of the army of people trying to dry the court. This is a labor- and time-intensive process. Maybe they should think about investing in a cover... Otherwise, Toronto gave the impression of a huge city, with many distinct neighborhoods where immigrants would congregate by origin. There is China-town, Brazil-town, Italy-town, ... Very multi-cultural but no specific "Toronto" character. 

Second stop was the Niagara Falls. It is the third big falls that I visit after the Victoria Falls (see entry from November 2009) and the Iguazu Falls. While they were the ones with the most water volume, the main characteristic of the Niagara Falls is their over-exploitation as a touristic center. In that sense, they were less majestic than the others.

The third stop was in Canada's capital Ottawa. A small town with a very British looking Parliament building. There was a light-and-sound show but it was cancelled due to equipment problem and a change of the guard that took place much earlier than I anticipated. What we did not miss though, was the yoga and hula-hoop classes taking place on the lawn right there. I guess it is the way for Canadians to show that they are not so British after all...

Next stop, Montreal. Of course, this city is very welcoming since it is a mostly French-speaking. Talking about language, I should still acknowledge that their accent is not too bad, whereas some of their words are really funny - for my french-speaking readers, try to guess what the following words mean : un char, un chum, un breuvage. Montreal is a very pleasant European/French mix. Many pedestrian streets, many outdoor restaurants and bars, excellent bakeries. It also hosted the Olympics in 1976. The stadium (see below) must have looked quite futuristic then. And guess who opened the Games? Yes, Queen Elizabeth, as she is also head of state in Canada.

Driving further, two things struck me: 1) the state of the roads and of infrastructure is more similar to the US than to Europe, and 2) there are so many towns that are called "Saint-...". Thankfully, the GPS helped us find our way among all these saints.


Last stop, Quebec. It is probably the most charming city in North America, with cobble-stone streets, historical houses, as well as an upper and a lower town by the Saint Laurent river. It feels a bit like in Venice, with tourists representing 99 percent of the people.

Some tourists end up staying in this huge 681-rooms hotel, that can be seen in-between the two flags of the Quebec province. Actually, I might have to stay the "nation", since the Parliament in Quebec is called the "national" Parliament, and not the "provincial" one.

To finish, a little political note. The elections in Quebec are due to take place on the 4th of September, and the campaign was starting. There were posters all over the place, including this one with the chef of the Party Quebecois, the leading candidate according to the polls. 

Independence Day

What can be more patriotic than a 4th of July in the nations' capital city? Nothing! So here it goes. First, the parade (actually, first might have been to go to church early in the morning...). A lot of American flags, small and huge ones.

The parade is made of an eclectic mix of traditional groups, military regimens, miss America/pom-pom girl displays, minority communities, and mostly high-school bands representing their state. Some groups were also pulling giant air-inflated dolls, in the form of the American eagle, as well as some cartoon characters. Can anyone explain to me the link between the frog below and the 4th of July?

 All these people were parading, walking, dancing, running, biking, playing music in 40 degrees heat (100 degrees here...). Kudos to the representatives of Puerto Rico, who were giving their all to the tune of fast-paced latino music.

Second, the fireworks. But what does it tell you that there were more people for the fireworks, than for the parade? For 20-minutes long fireworks, there were quite good. It also helps with the colors that the American flag has three colors.

Still, I was surprised that there were no patriotic speech, either by the President or the mayor. Not sure if I missed them, but definitely not prominent.

"Deep" South

The USA is not only the East Coast and the West Coast, but also the South. Before the hot and humid summer, it is the right time to head to South Carolina and Georgia. First stop, Charleston.

 

It was at one stage the fourth largest town in the USA, counting the slaves. It was the hub for the South as well as a booming agricultural town, producing deer-skin, rice, indigo and eventually cotton. The wealth of the town is everywhere to be seen, with many nice houses in various architectural styles. It's pleasant to walk around, and the palm trees add to the relaxed feel.

In the South, it is also a must to visit a plantation. We chose the Boone Hall plantation. It was first built in 1790, and was actually very small. Most plantation owners had their nice house in the town of Charleston. In the countryside, main houses were still in wood, and there were often many small cabins where the slaves would stay.

The most famous element of the plantation is its "Avenue of Oaks". The ads for the plantation claim that it is the most photographed tree avenue in the world. Ok, it is very nice, but still to get a title for this... These are live oaks, meaning that they always carry leaves, even in winter. Growing on it, is the "Spanish moss", which all our guides were explaining that it was neither Spanish nor a moss.

 

Next stop was Savannah, Georgia. I must admit that I likes this town. It has lots of well preserved houses, with many original features. It is spatially organized around many green squares, as planned by its founder James Oglethorpe. It has a rich history, including with the Indian Americans. It has now a completely modernized Riverfront, where it is nice to eat and drink. And at night, several of its houses are haunted...

Yet, the most well known "Savannah moment" is undoubtedly drawn from the movie "Forrest Gump", when Tom Hanks sits on a bench, a box of chocolate on its knees and says "Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get". Well, below is a picture of the park where the bench was. The bench itself had to be transferred to the local museum, as visitors were too eager to carve out a part of the bench to keep as a souvenir. 

Both Charleston and Savannah have huge new bridges.

 

USA-Brazil

 
Even though the USA is not really the land of football/soccer, an opportunity to see the Americans take on the Brazilians was not to be missed. And we were 64000 to share the same opinion. It is the biggest crowd I ever saw.

The biggest crowd yes, but not the rowdiest by far. It was a good football party, with a final victory of 4-1 for the magic Brazilians. The anecdote of the evening is that one of my friend was not allowed to bring his backpack inside the stadium (American security measures...) decided to empty it and to hide it in the nearby bushes. Well, at the end of the match, his bag was still there!

Discovery Space Shuttle

On this special day of 17th of April, the space shuttle Discovery made its historic final trip to Washington. 27 years after its first lift off! It flew over the city three times, "piggy-backing" on a Boeing 747.

 From the rooftop, we could see it pass by, accompanied by a . What a sight! Awesome to see such a technical achievement fly around. Discovery is the shuttle that flew the most in space, at 39 times.

It will now rest here. I guess this will be the next museum I will visit.

Miami - Florida

In south Florida, the must see is the Everglades National Park. Although there are turtles and many species of birds, the iconic animal is the ALLIGATOR. And there are tons of them. Good luck for counting how many are lurking in that picture.
A scary moment was to cycle around the alligators, actually not to cycle over them!
A tastier moment was to eat alligator. It is white meat, tastes a bit like chicken, but is more elastic.
Miami was a great stop. The beach is fantastic, so wide. The sea was nice to swim in. And Ocean drive, the road that runs by the beach, is the biggest open air party place I have seen. So many bars and restaurants. Great atmosphere - for example, our restaurant had a transparent open air swimming pool on top of the DJ and kitchen area. So you could see people swim in the pool above you, while sipping huge drinks, having supper and dancing.
To finish this fantastic holidays, the tennis final at the Miami Masters. Very nice setting with palm trees and the beach in the background. Beautiful stadium, and once again very well organised.
Unfortunately, the finalists were not the ones hoped one for. Still the final was a display of very competitive tennis. Amazing that these two athletes could run for one hour an a half in the midday sun, while, even seated, I was sweating. I guess it makes sense that it was not me who got the huge check!