New York: XXL city

amplify image

New York. Photo: Sarai Campo

Anybody who comes to New York will meet an impressive city. But not only its slender and endless skyscrapers; the underground is immense, it's like that snake that makes you believe in the infinite as it passes by you, and as that four-year-old cousin you can love so much says, to the infinite and beyond. Lines cover practically all the letters in the alphabet, and there are as many colours as in the rainbow.

Cafés, for instance. One wakes up, and fulfils the morning ritual repeated in Bilbao, Paris or New York, and goes to Agurtzane's, Luisi's or Terry's cafés. It doesn't matter.

You say hello to the nice waiter that doesn't surprise you because you know how he will look at you and the words he will utter even before you enter the café.

In my case, white coffee. I like it really hot, even difficult to swallow at the beginning, to make me wait as to read paper headlines. So far so good.

But you arrive in New York, and of course, you don't know how to use the house coffee machine the first day, you don't have the fluency to order strange things… nothing… you go to the mythical Starbucks', order a "café latte" and so happy.

The truth is that with its price (around 3$) you deserve a big coffee, but not that bucket the nice waitress wearing that little cap serves showing her forced but everlasting smile on her mouth.

Don't you believe that's the end of it. The best thing is that the coffee I ordered is small-size, and no, she didn't make a mistake.

It's curious, yesterday in the morning I thought I was in Elantxobe as I walked calmly along Brooklyn.

I was walking, thinking what I would do today, when I met two young boys holding huge glasses and drinking with a straw. It could perfectly be Baileys or even kalimotxo. But no. It was coffee.

"Ice coffee," they call it. You know what I mean. Ice coffee XXL.

We will follow with the immensity of New York in shops, in people, in culture, in the bus, in restaurants, in music, in jazz, in gospel, and of course, in prices.

Once again, this is New York.