A city can be defined by its soundscape. In Frankfurt there are accordions, in London there are the stomping boots at the changing of the guard, in Edinburgh there is the daily firing of a cannon. New York can’t be defined by a single noise or soundscape. New York has been much more complicated than that.

The first sound to assault our ears was the roar of a coastguard rib as it blasted alongside us in the middle of the east river. Under the shadow of the UN building it bristled with guns and menace and they warned us the keep clear of the building. The UN building was surrounded by 100,000 climate protestors as they chanted their message to the worlds leaders who were holed up inside.

We were bound for the centre of NYC and in our prime, bargain basement mooring ball location, we would be able to experience everything that NYC could offer, day and night. Ashore at the upper westside the city was alive with the sounds of New Yorkers having weekend fun.

Columbus Avenue was closed for its annual street fest. The bars that lined the sidewalks pumped out live music, children screamed with delight as they were either fed ice cream or burnt it off in the local park and chicken and corn sizzled on BBQ’s giving an aromatic backdrop to the sounds of fun. With the evening drawing on happy hour beers were calling and the sounds of children playing were replaced by chinking glasses and the upwardly mobile of NYC making the most of every minute of their weekend.

The sounds of NYC became weirder as we headed south into the Chinese and Italian quarters. In Chinatown the shops were festooned with writing we couldn’t read and sold produce we couldn’t fathom. The way goods were purchased was completely foreign to our English ears. The customers squawked their orders, the middlemen shouted their retorts to the unseen shopkeeper at the back and finally a deal was done.

Heading further south, with the sun getting low in the sky, the light was just perfect for walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. We pounded the pedestrian walkway while below us, in rush hour traffic, cars honked their horns and revved their engines. The other pedestrians thronged around us squeaking with delight at the East River far below and the skyline high above.

Once into Brooklyn a calm seemed to envelop everything. The noisy hubbub was behind us, and the only sounds were from the branches of the trees gently swaying the in wind. Even the bars were subdued when the biggest din was created by the glass sliding down the bar, western style.

Harlem conjures up all sorts of images from popular culture, not all of which are good and we wanted to experience it for ourselves. We walked the blocks north and could hear Harlem before we’d even scaled the cliff of Morningside Heights. Motown blasted out of cars and people wiggled to 60’s classics. We even saw some ‘dudes’ dressed as 1940’s gangsters who danced and swaggered to their own tune.

An underlying noise you hear everywhere in NYC are sirens. There are sirens for policecars, sirens for dump trucks, sirens for crossings, and sirens to warn about sirens. As we came up to one particular street corner we feared the worst as sirens rang out above and beyond the norm, police swarmed and traffic was stopped. Should we turn tail or should we rubberneck?

We sought advice from a gun touting policeman and here’s how the conversation went.
Iain: “Excuse me sir. Please could you tell me what’s going on here?”
NYPD: “The President’s in town. Please step back. Stay behind the line.”
Iain (in his now perfect English accent): “Crikey. That’s everso exciting.”

Right on cue the siren crescendo heightened and was soon joined by the roar of 100’s of police on motorbikes. Like sopranos. the crowds started to cheer and wave and the motorcade was now in full roll. Then, there he was, non other than Mr President Barak Obama, waving from his car and the adoring crowds erupted.

Experiencing so many different sides to NYC over the past few days we’ve no idea what its signature sound would be. New York seems to have many different faces, many different dimensions and we think every single one of them has to be experienced to be believed.

Cool. NYC from the water.


Yes officer. With that gun we’ll do whatever you say.


The B & the W of NYC.


The freedom tower towers over everything around it.


The Flatiron building isn’t built of iron, nor is it very flat.


China town was an education.


And full of unknown food stuffs.


Brooklyn Bridge gives the best view of Manhattan.


Selfie on the Brooklyn Bridge.


There are some interesting photo opportunities in NYC.


Proper NYC bar. If only they slid the beer down it.


Scenes from ‘Sex in the City’.


Hi there My President. How did you know we were in town?


Another tourist hotspot, another selfie.


Iain finds a friend at the biggest toy store in town.


NYC. Where night can be turned into day.