New York City smells like pee...

Growing up watching tv shows (friends, sex and the city, how I met your mother, Seinfeld, Mad about you, Beck... to name a few) situated in NYC, you can imagine the image I have in my mind of how NYC look, dirty, messy, cloudy, gritty and unpleasant, filled with pretentious people.

Still, it is a place I want to visit, not only it is the heart of the world economy, it is also the place that is "always happening", been to London, HK, and grew up in Taipei, I am not too sure what to expect.

The recent visit to NYC was very interesting to say the least. The first impression was the subway stations, it smells like pee, similar to London's underground system, it is centuries old, but it is bigger, less depressing than London, but smells lot worse. To be fair, most railway systems have similar smells, I know that because my father used to work in the railway field, and all railways smell like pee, probably because of the metal and the heat.

NYC is everything I expected it to be and more, the food, the people, the buildings, every little bit like the big apple I saw on tv.

However, I didn't expect to learn more about the Americans, they are loud, narcissistic and nosy, but also proud, optimistic and friendly. Do I have doubts that they will rise from the slump, not at all...

The trip was filled with desserts, fine dining, culture, arts and history, the only thing I didn't like about visiting NYC is that there were too many tourists (just like London), they crowded the streets, looking overweight and lost, blended in with the local crowds in their business suits near the financial district, very interesting sight, but it also takes away some of the experience.

Can't really blame the tourists, I am just like one of them, taken in by the big city, where dreams are created and destroyed.