Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Big Apple and its Tiny Nuances

My first trip to the US was absolutely fabulous, as much as i always said the US would be one of the last places I'd visit I actually found the change from Europe refreshing in a way. NY is everything a Big City should be and just being part of the Buzz and in a city that literally doesn't sleep is just amazing !! I did come away with a few interesting observations or so I think .. quirky little things that will always remind me of NY .. so here goes the list

1. There are 3 standard signs you see everywhere you go - they amused me because 2 of 3 were so obvious...
- Above the bar - 'Pregnant Women Should Not drink' (followed by the Hazards of Drinking During Pregnancy)
- In the Restrooms - 'All Employees must wash their hands before returning to work'
- At the Entrance of an Establishment - 'The Cpr Kit is Located Above the Bar'

2. New York is ALL about BRUNCH - yes every restaurant has a brunch menu, brunch specials, peoples lives revolve around Weekend Brunch Plans

3. There is a Minimum of a 1 hour wait for ANYTHING in New York be it to Enter the Abercrombie & Fitch store, Get an Apple Ipad 2 (this can go into many hours)or to get into a restaurant

4. Every Address in New York has a way of sounding Posh be 84th on Fifth or 192 on 17th (second one is made up .. but get my point !)

5. For the visitor, Address in New York are just difficult & unfathomable - Period !

6. You Can Never be Overdressed in New York ..

7. Women in NY seemed to have a certain belly dance style or step .. saw it everywhere .. maybe a fad ?!

8. Yellow Cabs and their In-Cab Entertainment Tv's (Note Kiran Managed to mess every tv in every cab we got into)

9. New York is ALL about Niche Specializations - A Pancakes Restaurant, A Crepe's restaurant, A Ramen restaurant not to forget the pediatric dentist and the salon that Only does and specializes in short haircuts for women

10. Clearance Sales are very Dramatic with Store Windows plastered with big signs reading ' EVERYTHING MUST GO'

11. THE TIP - they have a set of permutations and combinations that arrive at the right amount you should tip .. double the tax, 10% , 20%, amount of the tax etc even a week later i was never sure how much was right !

12. Every 'chatty' cab driver we encountered turned out to be Egyptian .. Hmmm :)

13. To qualify being a New Yorker you need to live in Manhanttan .. anywhere else is well up for debate

14. Cupcakes are the NY thing, with a cupcake van almost everywhere !

15. You Can be sure to find 2 things on every street corner - A Nail Bar & A Psychic

And that's my two cents on the subject ;)

** some of these could be generic to the US but i experienced them first in the NY ..

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