Busy 59th St. with Time & Warner buildings in the background
Anyone ready for a ride in Central Park?
Just as relaxing a few minutes of sun bathing at the base of the statue at Grand Army Plaza, right at the entrance of the park.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
New York, New York.....
It's midday in midtown Manhattan. While waiting for the bus I need to take to reach my destination, I'm observing the huge traffic, and have a chat with a couple of tourists from Norway. Meantime, I'm rediscovering this city: the sun is hot, the vehicular movement noisy, and the number of sightseers incredible!
Busy 59th St. with Time & Warner buildings in the background
Anyone ready for a ride in Central Park?
Just as relaxing a few minutes of sun bathing at the base of the statue at Grand Army Plaza, right at the entrance of the park.
Busy 59th St. with Time & Warner buildings in the backgroundAnyone ready for a ride in Central Park?Just as relaxing a few minutes of sun bathing at the base of the statue at Grand Army Plaza, right at the entrance of the park.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Tirana - New York
As I was leaving my apartment in Tirana it started to rain again. As much as I hate carrying additional stuff I decided that an umbrella was a must if I didn’t want to get soaked to the bone, a condition that could not be afforded with a 16 hour trip ahead. The half hour car ride to Rinas (“Mother Theresa”) airport was uneventful, with my usual, careful driver skillfully avoiding the many huge potholes in certain areas that turn into small lakes when it rains.
At the airport I found new pleasant surprises.....
First of all, there is no longer an exit fee, I was informed with a smile. From the new monitor displaying the departure schedule, I can see that in the space of 3 hours there will be over 10 flights to a variety of destinations that I never expected to see.
Austrian Airlines was, as expected, very efficient and prompt for the checking process, with a fully functioning computerized system. The security screening as an outgoing passenger, for the first time, was up to par with the rest of the other world airports: thoroughly and efficiently carried out. Inside the departure area, there are now 3 main gates, a larger number of shops, fully stacked with souvenirs, duty free items, newspapers from all over the world, and a wonderful collection of books, especially about and on Albania, including dictionaries, and language learning courses with cds. The bar was doing a booming business and was also equipped to sell a variety of sandwiches. It was a pleasure to see all these new activities, which include also the ongoing construction of a huge, modern style new terminal right next door to the present building.
The rain magically stopped when I boarded the bus that would take me to the plane, but I noticed that the airline I was taking even had a “covered” staircase!
The Tirana-Vienna leg of the trip is short and food is served only if purchased on board (this is apparently a standard in continental flights). The connection in Vienna for NY was as easy as the one which I experienced in reverse when I went to Tirana. The distance between the transit gates was very short, the checking in for the transatlantic flight extremely efficient, and the departure pretty much on time. The 10 minutes delay was caused by the need to fix a malfunctioning overhead bin, which was promptly handled.
While this was going on and I was watching the seemingly never ending care with which the stewards were accommodating passengers, I again had an extraordinary experience.
I was sitting on an aisle (in a 2 seats row) and the fellow passenger of my left was just as stocky and wide shouldered person as I am. I was resigned to spent the next 10 hours squeezing myself in the space that these days have shrunk on all long distance carriers of 767 type of aircrafts…..when a watchful steward offered me to move a couple of rows back where the 2 seats there had become available. I was extremely pleased to accept such a stroke of luck, especially since I had not asked for anything!
The food on this leg of the flight was of top quality and delicious, and the service on board never stopped! Austrain Airlines gets a A+ from me, and I’ll certainly fly them again whenever possible. Meantime, would you believe that the rain followed me all the way to NY?
At the airport I found new pleasant surprises.....
First of all, there is no longer an exit fee, I was informed with a smile. From the new monitor displaying the departure schedule, I can see that in the space of 3 hours there will be over 10 flights to a variety of destinations that I never expected to see.
Austrian Airlines was, as expected, very efficient and prompt for the checking process, with a fully functioning computerized system. The security screening as an outgoing passenger, for the first time, was up to par with the rest of the other world airports: thoroughly and efficiently carried out. Inside the departure area, there are now 3 main gates, a larger number of shops, fully stacked with souvenirs, duty free items, newspapers from all over the world, and a wonderful collection of books, especially about and on Albania, including dictionaries, and language learning courses with cds. The bar was doing a booming business and was also equipped to sell a variety of sandwiches. It was a pleasure to see all these new activities, which include also the ongoing construction of a huge, modern style new terminal right next door to the present building.
The rain magically stopped when I boarded the bus that would take me to the plane, but I noticed that the airline I was taking even had a “covered” staircase!
The Tirana-Vienna leg of the trip is short and food is served only if purchased on board (this is apparently a standard in continental flights). The connection in Vienna for NY was as easy as the one which I experienced in reverse when I went to Tirana. The distance between the transit gates was very short, the checking in for the transatlantic flight extremely efficient, and the departure pretty much on time. The 10 minutes delay was caused by the need to fix a malfunctioning overhead bin, which was promptly handled.
While this was going on and I was watching the seemingly never ending care with which the stewards were accommodating passengers, I again had an extraordinary experience.
I was sitting on an aisle (in a 2 seats row) and the fellow passenger of my left was just as stocky and wide shouldered person as I am. I was resigned to spent the next 10 hours squeezing myself in the space that these days have shrunk on all long distance carriers of 767 type of aircrafts…..when a watchful steward offered me to move a couple of rows back where the 2 seats there had become available. I was extremely pleased to accept such a stroke of luck, especially since I had not asked for anything!
The food on this leg of the flight was of top quality and delicious, and the service on board never stopped! Austrain Airlines gets a A+ from me, and I’ll certainly fly them again whenever possible. Meantime, would you believe that the rain followed me all the way to NY?
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Goodbyes
I hate goodbyes and I should be used to them by now, after so many travels abroad, but it's always a sad time for me when I have to leave friends and relatives to hop onto another plane.
For two days now I've received email from the US, Italy, and Albania wishing me a trouble free and safe return to NY. Some of the Tirana friends have squeezed in brief visits at all hours, and now I am ready to move on. They surely enjoy a good conversation, and so do I. For me it's also a continuous learning experience talking with them.
The weather has changed drastically in the past two days with temperature dipping in the teens (C.) and outburst of rain especially at night. Right now, as I am writing, the sky has darkened, and thunder sounds really menacing....I better close this session, otherwise I might loose the connection!
For two days now I've received email from the US, Italy, and Albania wishing me a trouble free and safe return to NY. Some of the Tirana friends have squeezed in brief visits at all hours, and now I am ready to move on. They surely enjoy a good conversation, and so do I. For me it's also a continuous learning experience talking with them.
The weather has changed drastically in the past two days with temperature dipping in the teens (C.) and outburst of rain especially at night. Right now, as I am writing, the sky has darkened, and thunder sounds really menacing....I better close this session, otherwise I might loose the connection!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Wasteful time....
My stay is Tirana is winding down, and, as usual, the last few days here are always hectic.
All the things that were postponed because .... “oh, there is plenty of time ahead”, as they say here, must be crunched in at the last minute. I am much happier planning ahead, and I always try, although I know that is not always possible to do so here. I am forced to wing it to adapt to this trend of life, but the results frustrate me because I don’t accomplish as much as I want, and I am used to otherwise.
This afternoon I had booked an appointment for a hair cut, and I had the full attention of the hairdresser that gave me also an invigorating head massage while washing my hair. It was an unexpected, but welcome treatment that totally relaxed me, and I certainly needed it. This soothing time was briefly interrupted by two different appearances of other customers, who just dropped in and were expecting to be taken care of immediately. The owner of the shop calmly refused and after they made their exits, she felt obliged to explain, with a smile, that was not unusual here because most people do not make appointments ahead of time.
All the things that were postponed because .... “oh, there is plenty of time ahead”, as they say here, must be crunched in at the last minute. I am much happier planning ahead, and I always try, although I know that is not always possible to do so here. I am forced to wing it to adapt to this trend of life, but the results frustrate me because I don’t accomplish as much as I want, and I am used to otherwise.
This afternoon I had booked an appointment for a hair cut, and I had the full attention of the hairdresser that gave me also an invigorating head massage while washing my hair. It was an unexpected, but welcome treatment that totally relaxed me, and I certainly needed it. This soothing time was briefly interrupted by two different appearances of other customers, who just dropped in and were expecting to be taken care of immediately. The owner of the shop calmly refused and after they made their exits, she felt obliged to explain, with a smile, that was not unusual here because most people do not make appointments ahead of time.
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