A special wheelchair for people with disabilities in a grocery store (!) Honestly, they really pay attention to these kinds of things here. Especially compared to Moscow. As a result, people like that get around more and lead more active lifestyles. And that's pretty cool.

On domestic flights in the US, they often open your luggage and check that there's nothing suspicious in there. And they leave a note inside. They write that if they couldn't open it normally and had to break the lock, that's not their fault. You should've bought a suitcase with a proper lock (:

PS. Plus, throughout the entire flight there was unlimited free WiFi on the plane. And the speed was actually pretty decent too.

California is joyfully welcoming us with wonderful gas prices. $4 per gallon (~72 rubles/liter). For comparison, New York is 1.5 times cheaper: $2.7 per gallon (~45 rubles/liter).

On the bright side, rental agencies have hybrid cars available. They help save on fuel.

I always have this problem at Starbucks with them spelling my name correctly. The simpler I try to introduce myself, the more creative the variations get. I've already been Rose (!!), Russian, and now I'm Raj. Delighted, really.

A special wheelchair for people with disabilities at a grocery store (!)

Honestly, they really pay attention to these kinds of things here. Especially compared to Moscow. As a result, people like this get around more and live more active lifestyles. And that's pretty cool.

Finally Moscow!

Wait, something seems off with the navigator (:

PS. Photos from the town's official website are gorgeous. Especially the Moscow police and the photo caption "God bless Moscow" :)

I thought it would be fair to show you the crowds that gather here during holiday weekends. It's better to visit on weekdays if you can.

That's all for the waterfalls. Honestly (:

Hard to believe, but New York is actually a wine state. The Finger Lakes are covered in vineyards. Local winemakers even win prizes at wine competitions (and I mean real ones—who makes the best wine, not who can drink the most).

And honestly, the whole area around the lakes really reminds you of Europe (same latitude and all). Nature, forests, lakes. Straight-up Europe vibes.

There's another park about 30 km away. This one costs money (a whole $8!). But way fewer people, though still quite a few. It actually feels more interesting in some spots, honestly.

I got to see so many waterfalls today. It was absolutely amazing. And the weather was perfect.

There were so many people. In some spots, there were literally queues just to get through. People joked that it felt like we'd ended up in the New York subway. I arrived at 10 and it was already impossible to move. When I left, it was even worse.

They really did a great job promoting the park. And it's free (:​

You can never have too many waterfalls, and since they exist in the northern part of the state, that means we have to go there (:

I wanted to visit this place back in 2013, but couldn't fit everything into the route. Now it finally worked out. Watkins glen park. Hooray!

When you find yourself outside the city, New York State (and New Jersey too) sounds exactly like this.

Street food? Of course made from lobsters (:‌

The office has a few decent meeting rooms where the windows have almost perfect views (if you ignore the walls that block the sightlines).

By the way, this is one of the busiest streets around. The video was taken during lunch hour, when it's pretty quiet. As evening approaches, you'll see noticeably more people and cars. If you need to get somewhere quickly, it's better to use the parallel streets. Stay away from 5th Avenue and Broadway.

Campaign agitation for the 2020 elections is already in full swing (:

A map of tourists at the helicopter office (showing where visitors came from for the tour). Europe is completely covered. In the US, only the coasts are densely packed. Africa is completely empty (except for the northern part).

You can find literally everything in New York. Even things you'd never dream of.

A colleague convinced me to go on a helicopter ride. There are tons of companies here that happily take tourists up in their helicopters. Some of them even do it for reasonable prices.

It's absolutely amazing. The pilot hovers in all the right spots. Turns wherever needed so you can see everything from every angle. At some points it felt like you could practically reach out and touch the skyscrapers.

They take safety seriously: passengers are strapped into the cabin so nobody falls out. Phones are secured and hung around your neck. Everything else gets put in storage.

P.S. The photos are mine. I wouldn't have believed this was even possible just a couple days ago.

You never know what you'll find on coffee tables in New York :)

Once it gets dark, you can take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and catch an amazing view. That's exactly what I did.

Sounds fun, but honestly, the only interesting part is walking down the middle of the bridge where it's over the river. Before and after that, there's this incredibly long, boring interchange that you just want to escape from as quickly as possible. You can actually get to that same spot by subway. Not that the view changes any :)