Further to my slagging-off of Atlanta, I should add that we went to visit some old friends out in Roswell, in the suburbs, and the area was beautiful and lovely, as was practically every inch of the drive out there. From my brief and limited experience of the city, it appears that it's only the city centre that's shit. Oh yes it is.
We're now in New York, New York, and it is pretty damn good. But it's not up to Chicago's standards. The people are nice and friendly, but not as friendly as in Chicago. The architecture is impressive, but not a patch on Chicago — and, interestingly enough, you can photograph it properly: film footage of New York does capture the city as it really is. Bloomingdale's is much overrated — it's just a department store, much like any other — whereas Marshall Field's is utterly astounding. Oh, but the food here is fantastic. New York wins the culinary battle, I reckon.
This will come as a surprise to no-one, but Irish Americans can be a total pain in the arse if you're from the North. As an acquaintance of mine said yesterday, the trouble with Americans is that they don't even know they're insulting you. Saw Jim Sheridan, the film director, give a speech yesterday, and he was entertaining and hilarious and entirely non-political, then spoilt it all by ending with "Up the rebels!" We weren't exactly surprised, but he can still fuck off.
One other thing about America: their GPRS reception is extremely unreliable. Which is a bugger when you're trying to blog from your phone.
Bye for now.
Of course, in Texas, 'up the rebels' has an entirely different context...as far as we're concerned, all those outside our borders are Yankees, and the only ones insulted are the Mexicans who forget that a good many of their own helped in the Texan fight for independence. I think any Irish American who says that here would get laughed at.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, hope you make it to Texas. Austin is beautiful as well, and if you make it outside its limits, hope you get to see the Hill Country...infinitely photographic in nature.
Houston's just one big old swamp, but Galveston is nice. Not sure what you like to photograph. If its historical buildings, Galveston and Austin definitely have them. Houston's is more spread out and tucked away in the Museum district.
Anyway, may your tour be a good one!
Sharon Ferguson
Houston, Texas