The sights of
USA.
The US claims to be the greatest success story
of the modern world - a nation fashioned from an incredibly disparate
population who, with little in common apart from a desire to choose their own
paths to wealth or heaven, rallied around the ennobling ideals of the
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to forge the richest, most
inventive and most powerful country on earth.
Despite polemicists who justly cite the
destruction of Native American cultures, racism and imperialism at the top of a
long list of wrongdoings, half the world remains in love with the idea of
America. This is, after all, the country that introduced the world to the right
to the pursuit of happiness, free speech, electric light, airplanes,
assembly-line automobiles, the space shuttle, computers, blues, jazz, rock
& Roll and movies that climax at the high-school prom.
On a short trip, it can be hard work
dismantling your preconceptions. So much of the country has been filmed,
photographed, painted and written about that you need to peel back layers of
representation to stop it from looking like a stage setting. This worldwide
representation can make the country seem strangely familiar when you first
encounter novelties like 24-hour shopping, bottomless cups of coffee, 'Have a
nice day, 'drive-thru banks, TV evangelists, cheap gasoline and newspapers
tossed onto lawns. But you'd be foolish to read too much into this surface
familiarity, since you only have to watch Oprah for half an hour to realize
that the rituals and currents of American life are as complex, seductive and
bewildering as the most alien of cultures.
Come prepared to explore the USA's unique
brand of 'foreignness' rather than stay in the comfort zone of the familiar.
You'll discover several of the world's most exciting cities, some truly
mind-blowing landscapes, a strong sense of regionalism, a trenchant mythology,
more history than the country gives itself credit for and, arguably, some of
the most approachable natives in the world.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the
New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, followed with
a highly publicized spate of anthrax-laced mailings that exposed government
workers, media personel and mail carriers to the deadly disease, the entire USA
has been on a heightened state of alert. Add to this rampant rumours of
repercussions for the bombing of Afghanistan, and you're dealing with one
nervous country.
While your chances of falling victim to shady
terrorist plots are probably pretty slim (though you never know; perhaps
packing that lucky penny isn't such a silly idea), you are very likely to
experience a variety of potentially annoying security protocols, particularly
surrounding airline travel. Make sure all your identification and other
documents are up-to-date, confirm reservations and bag-checking procedures
ahead of time, and arrive at the airport at least an hour before your flight
departs.
No matter what form of transportation you're
using to navigate the USA, however, it behooves the careful traveler to keep an
eye on current events during these very interesting times.
Culture
'Give me your tired, your
poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 'reads the inscription on
the Statue of Liberty. And the world did, fueling the dynamism of America with
waves of ambitious immigrants from every downtrodden corner of the globe.
Immigration is one of the defining characteristics of America's national
identity, though calling the US a 'nation of immigrants' neatly sidesteps
Native Americans (already here) and African American slaves (brought against
their will).
In the past 30 years, the old
notion of America as a melting pot - a stew in which immigrants 'individual
differences are lost in uniformity - has given way to the salad-bowl model, in
which the individual pieces still retain their flavor while contributing to the
whole.
Americans are constitutionally
guaranteed freedom of worship; dominant faiths include Protestantism,
Catholicism and Judaism, among others.There are plenty of indigenous faiths as
well, such as Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.
American English encompasses a
multitude of regional accents of differing degrees of intelligibility. Spanish
has effective dual-language status in parts of southern California, New Mexico,
Texas and Miami. There are 400,000 speakers of Native American dialects.
Modern American culture is a juicy burger of
mass culture garnished with 15 minutes of fame. It owes as much to marketing
savvy, communications technology and mass-production techniques as it does to
artists and entertainers. If you can name it, American companies have invented,
packaged and disseminated it to as many consumers as cheaply and conveniently
as possible.
The elusive concept of
'American-ness' is often defined by cinema and television. The advent of TV in
the 1950s shook Hollywood's hegemony to its core, but both forms of media have
managed to coexist, even operating synergistically. The global distribution of
American movies and TV shows has shaped the world's perception of the country
to a high, if not completely accurate, degree.
The American music industry is the
world's most powerful and pervasive, though groundswell movements remain the
driving force of American pop. African Americans 'influence, including blues, jazz
and hip-hop, can hardly be exaggerated.
Rap, America's inner-city sound,
places an equal emphasis on an ultraheavy beat, sound montage, street cred and
macho posturing. Its appeal to middle-class white America will no doubt bemuse
sociologists for decades.
The US has churned out a veritable
forest of literature. The illustrious lineup begins with Walt Whitman, Herman
Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson, Henry James and Edith Wharton,
and moves into the modern era with William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Scott
Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Jack 'Backpack' Kerouac, Arthur Miller, both the
Williamses, Saul Bellow, John Updike and Toni Morisson ..
After WWII, the focus of the
international art world shifted from Paris to New York. Artists leaving war-torn
Europe brought the remnants of surrealism to the Big Apple, inspiring a group
of young American painters to create the first distinct American painting
style, abstract expressionism.
The relentless ascendancy of mass
media gave birth to pop art. Slick, surface-oriented and purposely banal
paintings like Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans are now American
icons.
When we think of US cities, we
think of skyscrapers, those architectural testaments to market forces and
American optimism. Chicago is a living museum of high-rise development. New
York boasts its fair share of stunners too. Despite increasing homogenization,
rural America retains its idiosyncrasies, and distinctive vernacular
architectural styles persist in New England (clapboard), California (Spanish
Mission) and New Mexico (adobe).
American sports developed
separately from the rest of the world and, consequently, homegrown games such
as baseball, football and basketball dominate the sports scene. Soccer and ice
hockey are runners-up to the Big Three. Urban America also invented the great
indoors: aerobics and the gym, indoor skiing and rock-climbing - examples of
what can go wrong when too much disposable income hits up against too little
leisure time.
Walt Disney
World
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is not
just a theme park, but a huge resort complex covering 47 square miles. The
resort contains four separate theme parks, three water parks and 99 holes of
golf on several different courses. Miles of outdoor recreation are available
including hiking, biking, boating and swimming. It has three separate areas
containing shopping, dining and entertainment facilities as well as a fourth
area with nightclubs. A fairly new addition to the resort is the state of the
art sports complex where Disney hosts a wide variety of sporting events.
Finally, there are about 18 Disney owned and operated hotels and several
non-Disney hotels in the resort. All this combined with many other attractions
in the Orlando and central Florida area can be quite overwhelming.
No other Disney resort comes close to the size
and diversity of Disney World Florida. If you have previously visited one of
the other Disney resorts such as Disneyland California, Disneyland Paris or the
new Disneyland Tokyo, you should still visit Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
All other Disney resorts consist of a single theme park and are quite small
compared to the massive resort complex in Florida. Each of the other parks are
no larger than the Magic Kingdom theme park in Disney World, which is only one
small part of the complex. Remember, that only the resort in Orlando, Florida
is referred to as Disney World or Walt Disney World. The other parks are
usually called Disneyland. The size and diversity of the Disney World resort
ensures that it will probably remain the number one vacation destination in the
world for years to come.
The main attractions at the resort are divided
into four theme-parks.Magic Kingdom, the first theme park built at the resort,
has rides, shows and attractions divided among seven fantasy areas. This is the
place to find all your favorite Disney characters and attractions. Epcot, the
second theme park built at the resort, is divided into two areas: Future World
and World Showcase. The attractions in Future World are based on modern and
futuristic advances in communication, transportation, energy, agriculture and
much more. World Showcase allows you to explore culture, cuisine, shopping and
entertainment from many countries including Canada, UK, France, Japan, Morocco,
US, Italy, Germany, China, Norway and Mexico. The Disney-MGM Studios offers
behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movies and popular TV shows and
provides live original shows. There are also a number of thrilling rides or
attractions based on blockbuster movies, which provide exciting stunts and
amazing special effects. Animal Kingdom is the newest and largest theme park to
open in the Disney World resort. This 500-acre park is divided into three
areas: The Real, The Mythical and The Extinct. The Real area features live
animals in exotic landscapes and provides a safari-like experience. In The
Mythical area, guests come face-to-face with magical and make believe
creatures. In the Extinct Area, dinosaurs come to life.
And now let us see what can every city present
to the visotor that camr to explore it.
New
York
They don't come any bigger than
the Big Apple - king of the hill, top of the heap, New York, New York. No other
city is arrogant enough to dub itself Capital of the World and no other city
could carry it off. New York is a densely packed mass of humanity - seven
million people in 309 sq miles (800 sq km) - and that's just Manhattan, only a
part of greater New York City. All this living on top of one another makes the
New Yorker a special kind of person. Although it's hard to put a finger on what
makes New York buzz, it's the city's hyperactive rush that really draws people
here.
In a city that is so much a part
of the global subconscious, it's pretty hard to pick a few highlights --
wherever you go you'll feel like you've been there before. For iconic value,
you can't surpass the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central
Park or Times Square. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the world's top
museums, and the Museum of Modern Art isn't far behind. Bookshops, food,
theater, shopping, people: it doesn't really matter what you do or where you go
in New York because the city itself is an in-your-face, exhilarating
experience.
New York's famous hustle and
bustle was abruptly cut short on September 11, 2001, when a terrorist attack in
the form of two hijacked passenger aircraft razed the gleaming twin towers of
the World Trade Center. Thousands of people were killed in the worst terrorist
act ever on US soil. New York is currently in a state of shock. Whether this
makes way for anger, disillusionment or optimism is yet to be seen. In the
meantime, this spectacular city has a great deal of work ahead of it as it
tries to rebuild its business district and its confidence.
San
Francisco
Even people who hate the United
States love San Francisco. It has a self-effacing flutter of the eyelids so
blatantly missing from brassy New York and plastic LA, an atmosphere of gentile
chic mixed with offbeat innovation. This is a place that breeds alternatives:
It's the home of the Beat Generation, flower power, student protest and gay
pride. One of the country's most attractive cities, San Francisco boasts foggy,
hilly streets that provide gorgeous views of San Francisco Bay and its famous
bridges. This is a mosaic of a city, a big picture made from the colorful tiles
of the Latino Mission, gay Castro, bustling Chinatown, clubby SoMa, hippie
Haight-Ashbury and Italian North Beach. Fisherman's Wharf is the epicenter of
tourist kitsch and the gateway to Alcatraz, while Union Square is where the
classy shoppers congregate.
Los
Angeles
It's possible that Los Angeles is
a figment of its own imagination. No other city studies itself so intently - on
film, television or in glossy magazines. LA is a monster of a city, a tangle of
freeways and sprawling suburbs where anyone without a car is considered
intellectually impaired. This is where the American Dream is manufactured, and
if you're not prepared to embrace the dream you'll doubtless find LA filthy,
irritating, frightening or just plain dumb. But if you long to stand in the
footsteps of stars and breathe their hallowed air, you've come to the right
place. In this town, chefs are household names and nobodies erect billboard
shrines to themselves. LA is a feast of fame-associated sights - cruise Sunset
Strip, walk Rodeo Drive or Hollywood Boulevard, be seen on Melrose or Venice
Beach, gawk at babes in Malibu or poke your nose through the gates of Beverly
Hills. No one does a theme park like the Angelenos: Disneyland is the mother of
them all, and Universal Studios turned its back lot into a thrill ride years
ago. When the glitz starts coming out your ears, head for the almost-reality of
Little Tokyo and El Pueblo de Los Angeles or Pasadena's Huntington Gardens.
Miami
Fat old people in Bermuda shorts,
street stabbings, Cuban plots, drug dealers, sneakers without socks and an
excess of pink - Miami is none of these things. Desperately redefining itself,
Miami (and in particular, South Beach) has declared itself the Most Fabulous
Spot in the US. As evidence, it cites the recently restored pastel-riot of the
Deco District, a friendly neighborhood feel and a fledgling art and culture
scene looking for a sunny alternative to New York. And of course there's Miami
Beach itself, a glorious stretch of white sand lapped by clear blue water. The
heart of all this newfound fashionableness is Ocean Drive, flanked on the east
by the city's hippest beach and the west by a string of sidewalk cafes. This is
where the late Gianni Versace lived, and his acolytes still throng here to pose
waifishly over rocket salad. Miami also has the world's most beautiful swimming
hole, the Venetian Pool, one of the world's best zoos and a bunch of expat
Cuban elder statesmen playing dominoes in M
