New York, New York...

After departing from Santa Barbara back in May 2008, I had to wait 12 hours in NY, on the JFK airport for a connection.
So, I thought it'd be a good idea to go downtown and walk around for a while, to avoid getting like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal" (which BTW was also about a JFK terminal...)

You may want to listen to this one while looking at these photos...

New York, New York

Here we go... some shots of downtown, just a block away from Broadway Blvd... (the pictures are taken with my cell phone, and, as you can see, it was pretty foggy that day...).
I got off the subway at Penn Station and walked on 8th Ave all the way to the Trump Towers (to the Central Park entrance). It was a long walk... Stopped a bit near Trump Towers, smoked a fewa cigarrettes and went back to the subway. I wanted to go on Broadway, but I thought I wouldn't have enough time (I was tired and the walk took me a while, plus I also kept stopping here and there and taking a shot or two).












And here are a few shots from the NY subway and the JFK terminal...







[Note] this got archived as an entry for May 2008, to keep the chronology of events... because I didn't have the time to post it at the right time (back in 2008)...

Santa Barbara - more pictures

An update with a few more photos from Santa Barbara.
(I posted this as an entry from May 2008 to keep chronology of events...initially I didn't get the time to post these images, but... "better late than never")



















And a few photos with a more "retro" feel...

Santa Barbara, California, USA

I had the huge opportunity to visit Santa Barbara. It was a business trip in terms of purpose, but the people I was visiting there have really made it seem like a vacation...

I've been told that Santa Barbara (and California generally speaking) is a part of the US that is kind of special...

I then came to fully agree. Santa Barbara is, indeed, very special.

Not sure why that is, though...

- Maybe it's because it's sunny almost all year...


- Palm trees and many other exotic plants are like at home (sure, it's not the only place that has them, but the scenery is great due to the palms and all the other exotic vegetation)...


- The Pacific ocean is right there, and the mountains are just tens of miles away...



- But most importantly, the people living there are great! Everyone was extremley nice to me and I really felt good being there. I think this really weighs in and it has a lot of influence when talking about Santa Barbara as a special place.
People are really great in Santa Barbara!

[Update] a follow-up is available here

Zborul...

Am zburat (pentru prima data) acum o saptamana.

De fapt, am avut parte de mai multe zboruri.

Itinerariul:
Cluj-Napoca RO,
Budapest HU,
London GB,
Los Angeles CA USA,
Santa Barbara CA USA.

Am avut ocazia sa zbor cu un Saab cu elice, un jet Airbus ceva mai mic, dar si cu un Boeing Jumbo deasupra Atlanticului.

Inca ma simt ciudat cand vad aripile vobrand de parca ar fi lipite cu clei ca niste scobitori.
Nu cred ca o sa scap prea repede de asta...

In afara de asta, privelistea e grozava...

Imediat dupa decolarea din Cluj

(mi se pare numai mie sau avioanele cu elice dau niste "senzatii tari" la decolare - ca si cantitate de adrenalina? Ma refer la urmatorul fapt... stiu ca au puterea necesara sa decoleze si apoi sa se ridice, dar mi se pare ca este un punct unde simti ca motorul "caleaza"... nu se observa la cele cu reactie - cel putin eu nu am simtit acel punct la cele cu reactie)

Undeva deasupra Ungariei...

Ceva mai sus decat norii de peste Atlantic...

pe la 11 mii de mile (35 mii metri) deasupra nivelului marii

Deasupra orasului Los Angeles... pregatire de aterizare la aeroportul L.A.X.

(se vede ca flapsurile sunt jos... asta adauga amplitudine la senzatia de clatinare a aripilor... foarte ciudat...)