I have lived so long in one city and become so familiar with it that it has been a shock transitioning to New York. Whereas in London I understand all the transport, know how the areas connect together and have a general feel for the rythmn of the place, here I am almost literally lost.
On Boxing Day we had to pick up a few things but it was a nightmare. A dog coat for Pip was an essential but none was to be had in Bloomingdales. Then we went looking for toys but couldn't find anything suitable either. So back to the apartment to research on-line and then we headed off to Macy's. Oh for the accessible gates of the London Underground - the New York subway seems to have nothing except a few disabled gates that you require a special card to access. So we walked.
Actually, it's not really possible to get lost in Midtown because the grid system is easy enough to follow but still it's hard to know where you are in all the other senses. The shops were just packed and the store guides are frankly appalling - ok so I want to be in the seventh avenue building, just where on earth is that? Am I supposed to have a built in compass???
Macy's looked like Primark in Leytonstone - all the merchandise was scattered on the floor as the locusts swarmed over the shop looking to consume. We needed a new jacket for J and boots for Harriet because we had heard a storm was coming later that day.
We got the boots and the jacket eventually and headed back home. It had been snowing on the way here - gentle flakes that made the place look very pretty. On the return journey it was becoming much more serious and no matter which direction we walked we always seemed to be walking into the wind. It was becoming bitterly cold and we still had no dog coat for Pip.
By 4pm we had managed to get home and I got a dog coat from a local store. It was the wrong size so back I trudged to get the next size. The road surfaces had begun to disappear and visibility was a few nose lengths and not much more. Cars were getting into real difficulty and a few had been abandoned already. I got back and headed out with Pip who at least had the good sense to realise something was up and perform quickly so we could return home and lock down.
The views from our apartment literally disappeared as we became wrapped in a white cloud. The wind howled and was only drowned out by the occaisional thunder. There was lightning too but not well defined in the thick white fog. It was time to hunker down for the night and be grateful that we at least had nowhere left to go. We were in our strange, unfamiliar new home and what a welcoming party it had thrown for us.
