Wanting to go up after dark, we went for dinner before hand. The plan was to eat at 230 Rooftop Bar - but when we were almost there, Mum suggested we go back to Hawkers (a Malaysian place R discovered, with the best Malaysian food I have had in New York). So, in true Malaysian style, we got off the Subway and turned around and went back the way we had come from. Anything for a good meal.
Once we could eat no more, we were off to the Eiffel... I mean Empire State Building. Despite (or perhaps due to) the late hour, the queues were magnificently long. We queued and we queued and we queued. Then we jumped "online"* and queued some more. To kill the time I tried sleeping while standing upwards... but alas I failed. So I had to settle with listening to the audio tour. It was hilarious. Tony, my tour guide, was an Italian New Yorker whose father had immigrated to New York in 1933. Tony was born in Chelsea, but moved to Little Italy as a child. "See that buildin' over there? That's SoHo. That's where my father used to work."
His over enunciated vowels and thick New York accent babbled on with (what he admitted to be) hearsay about Manhattan and facts about his childhood. Dad, Mum and I had fun testing each other knowledge on Tony and sharing fun fact's about his life. I especially enjoyed trying to imitate his fabulous accent.
How to Speak Like a Native
When we finally were up at the top our wait was rewarded. The view was spectacular.
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Looking down on the city made me realize how small I am. I also saw New York in the way I had imagined it before I came - a huge city, full of life and lights.... but at the same time a tiny island. New York might be a concrete jungle, but in every way it is a beautiful city.
*American slang for "in queue"
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