In the early hours, Boltbus leaft Washington for New York. The trip - through uninspiring landscape - takes less than 4 hours and there we are in downtown Manhattan. The hotel was in between China Town and Little Italy. At the Italian bakery, I bought a nice chocolate eclair and was told to pay 3 dollars. No price displayed, not the impression of being charged for taxes (the final price would have not been so round). I was wondering how much more cliche things could be.
First stop, Time Square with its huge billboards. Good to notice the excellent product placement by Swatch ! Later, while queuing to get ticket for an evening show, it was good to have all these flashy ads to look at. Unfortunately, the shows were full or still really expensive. Instead, we decided to go for drinks at the top of one of Manhattans' skyscraper for the best city views, including over the Empire State Building and the Crysler Building! Thanks to another great tip by one of my colleague, we also enjoyed a great supper, including an excellent rhubarb cake.
Further south, the "Ground Zero" area. It has changed a lot since last time (see entry from July 2009). Two big new towers are being erected, as well as a memorial in the form of two basins surrounded by trees. There is a sense that "progress" wants to be achieved here. Two years ago, it was still much more chaotic.
A few blocks down, Wall Street. The sign is right - anyway it could not have read: "The best currencies: the dollar and the pound" ! How the world has changed. Or is it back to basics.
After having used the bus, the metro, and our own feet, we took the ferry to Staten Island.
We passed by the statue of Liberty.
The final stop was at Central Park. Thousands of people there, mostly to enjoy outdoor activities such as biking, jogging, playing baseball, throwing freesbee, or simply sunbathing.
Finally, I was very surprised to hear so many people talk French in the Big Apple. I am still trying to figure out what is the right explanation for this? 1) the dollar is so low that it is cheap to travel to New York, 2) I am almost French and did what the French do in New York, thus repeatedly bumping into them, 3) the French are deserting Sarkozy for Strauss-Kahn, ...
The visit of Gettysburg starts with a presentation via a 360 degrees cyclorama painting (with sound) of the battle. Quite impressive, especially since it dates back more than a century. Then, it is time to drive through the battlefield. There are towers to have a view over the fields and the army's positions. Some places have terrible names, like Cemetery Ridge or Devil's Den. At each station, it is explained what the happened there and which side was holding the position. It gives an idea of the changes in fortune over the three days. Still I do not know how the Union managed to emerge as the winner. Was it the bravery of their troops? Was it the tactics and strategy? Was it the better knowledge of the area? Was it the better starting positions? It seemed rather that it was more the failure by the Confederates to win that settled the argument. Sometimes, losing a battle is losing the war...
I must say that driving through the fields and the forests, it gives a sense of the (small) space where the battle was fought. Every year, there is a reenactment of the battle. It must be quite impressive, but also very patriotic. 
In the end, the number of casualties was very high on both sides. Around 8000 died and a far larger number was injured, captured or counted as missing. The number of tombstones dotting the drive through Gettysburg is testimony to this. The largest one is the one from Pennsylvania. 
The highlight of the day was when I spotted a group of around twenty dolphins swimming close to the shore. Glad to see that my talents as an animal spotter apply not only in Africa but also in America. The whole crowd was then alerted. Unfortunately, the pictures are not so good, but you can trust me that this is the dorsal fin of a dolphin.
