Fifth day - Friday already!

This trip is actually a hiking vacation! ... Every part of my body that has something to do with walking is complaining...

I know just from a couple of people that they're reading this blog, but from most I don't know if you do or not. So please let me know or leave a comment! :-)

Ok; so now I'm sitting at an Oyster-bar on 7th street right near to my hotel, a glass of red wine sitting on the table. Pretty nice atmosphere, and nicer writing the blog than on the smartphone at the hotel room...

It's amazing how fast the time passes here... already Friday is late in the night... and the day, like the last, was gone so fast!

I started going down 5th Ave. at Central Park this morning; that's where all the top stores are; you look left: Fendi, Gucci, Armani, Rolex..., you look right: Tiffany's, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana... etc. Lot's of stores so posh that I don't need to enter!

I went into Tiffany's just for the heck of it, to have an impression, and they were really very cultivated. I saw on their map that they had a "women's and men's lounge", which made me curious, and I also thought I could use a rest and a coffee. I was really amazed when I stood before the sign and the door, and found out that Tiffany's is even too "upsy" to call their toilets bathroom or restroom; no: it's a lounge!... hm...

Interestingly enough, there's always also stores like H&M or Forever21, with really cheap clothes, that make enough money to persist in these top notch locations.

Talking clothes (me being a guy and normally not very shopping-fevered...):

I liked Uniqlo, a japanese department store - incredibly good price-quality ratio. Very very good service, too.
Also, the Sale at Tommy Hilfiger was really nice, and really, really good service! So friendly and nice, and they even had a free delivery service to the hotel. Other stores don't or want $40 for that.

I also went into a men's apparel store that I don't remember the name of to look for suits. When I found out that their "junior line" starts at $1.200 (!! or !!! **breath**)... they were so nice and polite. I love service like that.

Other than at GANT, where they were really unforthcoming. It's strange how stores or companies do have their very individual atmosphere, which can vary greatly, but which is consistent for all staff in the company, good as bad.

Some of those clothes were reduced incredibly... at their original price I would never have bought them. So: if you want to shop, January seems to be the perfect month!

What else did I do? St. Pauls Cathedral is on 5th Ave. on this latitude. Quite a nice church, great organs, and I looked into it because Tiffany's made the altar.

And I went to Rockefeller Center, which is really a nice place... they have this ice-skating rink in front of the building, a tree alley lit by thousands of tiny lights, and the lighted huge Rockefeller tower... it is awesome.

It went "On Top of the Rock"(efeller Center), as they call the platform on the 70th floor. Really a great 360° view of all of Manhattan. It was so clear that night; all the buildings twinkling, ... great time to be up there.

I spent quite some time there, which was good. Because I seem to be caught by the normal New York phenomenon: they say New York is fast, and I think they are right. The last couple of days, I barely ever made a pause all day. Just so much to do and see! So the time up on "the Rock" and now in the bar really are valuable.

Interesting to me was also the languages you hear on the street. What's the second-most used language in New York? French! There are so many french people here, it amazed me. You hear it very often. Third is Russian! Many women that you can tell (for example, really by their thick fur hats! They seem to have a faible for that) who are from Russia.

I think it's time to say Good night! I'll write more tomorrow.