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Weather SUCKS. Windy, cold and raining. After an $18 cab fare to go about a mile (who knew you got charged to sit in traffic? Damn construction cost me like $6) we get out and I take some photos of Andrea in the rain at the famous bull statue. Since its noon-ish we find a little cafe right down the street and go to the Korean food stand... I see Udon and think, WTF... they eat that shit in Anime's so it may be good. I order the Beef Udon for $6.95 and Beef Terayaki (SP?) rice bowl for Andrea. Beef Udon is evidently beef noodle soup. At least that's what I got from the Korean place in NYC.
Next we go to Battery Park to catch the ferry to the Freedom Lady (hahaha that still cracks me up) Get the tickets and wait for the ferry. Get to the Freedom Lady and the weather had gone from bad to worse. Wind has picked up and the rain is just about horizontal. So with my $4 Chinatown umbrella (that has NYC printed on it as you would expect to find in a store in Chinatown) we make it to the cafe and get some tea to warm up. Andrea being all of 98lbs generates no body heat so frequent stops to warm her up are required. That's were I see these two Japanese girls. I have no way to put an age on them (hell Andrea is 43 and looks late 20's tops) I if guess they are most likely less than 20. I have never heard people speak Japanese in person and I have to say it is a very pleasant sounding language. I try to listen in as they talk to each other (they are at the next table.. so its not like I am perving out and staring at them... I am both talking to Andrea and listening to them at the same time).
So we get ready to hop to the next building which is the gift shop. Out in the rain... get wet, freeze, enter shop. Warm up. Look around. Andrea heads to the crapper and I look around. Lo and behold the Japanese girls are there to. I just stand by the counter and wait for Andrea and listen to these two girls talk in Japanese.
Now its crunch time... gotta go get photos in front of the Freedom Lady... in the freezing rain. Go out get photos, freeze, walk back. We wait in the gift shop for the next ferry back. When it arrives we walk out to the pier and at this point the wind has to be 50mph+ and the rain is horizontal AND painful. Lucky for Andrea I make a perfect freezing rain shield. We have to wait like 3 minutes for the people to get off then they let us board. Everyone is soaked (and by everyone I mean me.. Andrea has like one wet shoe) and we both sit at the far end of the bench away from the door. As the bench fills up the two Japanese girls sit right next to Andrea and start talking some more. I notice that the one girl is staring at me (Gaijin powers ACTIVATE!) and I look at her and smile, she smiles back. I think Andrea must have sensed something as I immediately noticed the Japanese girl look at Andrea and then look away. Then I got to see how well the Japanese school system has trained these kids. They both fall asleep in the most impossible positions and magically wake up just in time to get off the ferry.. no announcements.. no sounds.. just POW! Wake up and get on with the tour. Since the weather was crap and we still had to drive back we did not visit Ellis Island.
This is as good as it got...
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The Freedom Lady did manage to hold still for a photo
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So that was my week. I was super impressed by two random Japanese girls. And saw the Freedom Lady. Honestly, was more impressed by the Japanese.
