A return to the Big Apple was long overdue; although neither of us are city people, New York had put a spell on us and we knew it still had so much more to offer. There was also the added bonus (and instigation for the trip) that we would be meeting Max (Jo's brother) and his girlfriend Emilia out there.
The great thing about returning to a destination is familiarity, so ..... same airline, same hotel and same curry house that evening.
The following morning we awoke to glorious blue skies (it rained pretty much nonstop when we were last here), we walked to Union Square and took the subway downtown to where we had arranged to meet for breakfast. People often say that time flies and it sure feels that way sometimes as its been nearly 3 years since I last saw Max. Hellos, hugs and hashbrowns followed, then it was on to our first destination - the 911 memorial. Walking to the site of the old world trade centres I was amazed by the progress in the last 15 months or so. The 'one world trade centre' was under construction when we last visited, now it dominated the landscape - at 1776 ft, the 104 floor skyscraper is the tallest building in the USA, the tallest in the western hemisphere and the third tallest in the world !
So........911 memorial - fair warning... you need to pre-book tickets, the queues are long, there is airport style screening, the staff are impatient and there are no public toilets ! Is it worth the visit ? Its a difficult question, everyone remembers where they where/what they were doing when it occured and there are not many such events. There are 2 fountain, one for each tower, the names of all the victims are engraved around the fountains. Its a peaceful place even with the crowds, almost reverant, I suppose its just one of those places you feel you must visit. It will be interesting when the museum is finally up and running.
After half an hour or so we left the memorial and continued onto the Staton Island Ferry, lucking out we arrived just as one was scheduled to leave. There are many things in NY that are free, this must rate at the top of the list; great views of downtown Manhattan skyline as well as passing by Lady Liberty herself. The most unusual part of this half hour crossing was being accompanied by the coastguard, complete with manned guns ! Not sure whether this is normal or not ? We jumped off the ferry, then hung around until it was time to catch a ride back to Manhattan.
We wandered back through the financial district, ticking off the landmarks - the charging bull, Wall Street, Trinity Church and the Stock Exchange, eventually reaching China Town. We were hungry by this time so tracked down a recomendation I had received from a couple of NY'ers who had been on my dive boat a few days previously - 'Old Sichuan'. It turned out to be a mighty fine recommendation indeed - I had a most amazing hot and sour soup, followed by shredded beef with a spicy sauce. Was yummy, in fact everyone seemed more than happy with their dishes and the prices certainly didnt break the bank.
That evening we saw the broadway show 'Big Fish'. All in all an action packed day.
We met up for breakfast at Max Brenners - 'the bald man creating a new chocolate culture'! A place where you can order pretty much anything chocolate (including pizza). I opted for a more traditional breakfast, but did have a tasty dark chocolate mocca.
We parted ways, with plans to meet up again in the evening. We headed uptown, our first stop being 520 Maddison Avenue, the little known home to 5 sections of the Berlin Wall. The falling on the Berlin Wall is another of those distinctive memories that I have (others being the freeing of Nelson Mandella, the death of Princess Diana and as previously mentioned 911). I remember seeing it on TV, then hearing that you could buy small pieces of it at Harrods; now was a chance to see a section of it. Its located in an inconspicuous plaza, identified with nothing more than a small plaque. It was quite a moving experience as we talked about what life must how been like in Eastern Europe during the communist era. The odd person stopped to take a picture, but it largely went unnoticed.
We continued on to the Met Museum, which turned out to be a sensory overload. Don't get me wrong, its seriously impressive; its just not as good as a British museum, its very much a 'look at me, I have so much to show and I must show you it all, NOW' ! A NY'er later told us that 3 hours is about the most you can spend there at any one time, and I very much have to agree - and the 3 hours we managed were thoroughly enjoyable.
I loved that there is a recommended entry fee of $25, but you can choose to pay as much or little as you choose, we had no reason not to pay full price and so did so. We were given a museum layout and there lies your first problem - what do you choose to see as there is no way you can fit it all in in a day. Deciding before arrival would take a deal of stress out of the situation and I would highly recommend it if you can. We decided upon the Egyptian exhibit (largest outside Egypt), 19th Century paintings (blame Dr Who's Van Gogh episode), Modern Photography, Musical Instruments (josies choice) and Arms & Armour (my choice).
I had been really looking forward to the Egyptian exhibition, I have always had an interest in ancient Egypt, had seen the exhibits at the British Museum and harbor hopes of visiting Cairo and Luxor in the future. I was sadly dissapointed, not because of its content which was extensive, but the general layout meant that there were too many visitors in too little space, the exhibits didn't flow smoothly, and the signage was information heavy and dull :(. We actually ended up skimming the exhibit and leaving feeling unfulfilled - a real shame as it had so much potential !
The 19th century paintings were in total contrast, beautifully laid out, great signage, space and tranquility. There was almost a reverance to this place, a complete contrast to the 'black Friday' feel of the Egypt exhibition (OK, enough, I promise not to berate it any more). Our main focus was on the Monet, Piccasso and of course the Van Gogh's (I have been lucky enough to visit the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam).
Moving onto modern photography, we were strangely captivated by a 1975 video called 'Semiotics of the kitchen' by Martha Rosler. It features Rosler in a kichen, presenting kitchen utensils alpabetically; she then proceeds to demonstate there use in an unproductive and often violent way. sadly, there was once again nothing to describe/explain what we saw. Later on wikipedia, we found out that it was a feminist (gathered that) parody piece, and is considered a critique of the commodified versions of traditional womens roles in modern society - I would just say its worth the 6 minutes of your life that will pass as you watch it.
The musical instrument section was interesting enough, covering both time and culture, whilst the arms and armour section reminds you that finding ways to kill those that don't agree with our beliefs is by no means a modern phenomena.
A mini shopping excursion followed, then it was onto 'Bare Burgers' to meet up with Max and Emelia for tasty organic burgers ( we found this place last time we were here); I opted for my first taste of Wild Boar - Yummy.
Stopping off along the way for a guiness or three, we arrived at 'Carolines' on Broadway, a famous stand-up comedy venue in Time Square. The venue was cool enough, although the woman manning the entrance was rather abrupt. The comedian was some famous guy called Darrell Hammond, who none off us had heard of ! Apparantly he was a stand-up comedian and impressionist, had been a regular on Saturday Night Live, holding the longest tenure of any cast member when he eventually left. He had more recently released his biography wonderfully entitled 'God, if your not up there, I'm fucked'. Pretty much all the set was anecdotes about his time in stand up. There were some very funny moments, some of it went over the heads of us Brits as we didn't know the people he was referring to. Overall it was an enjoyable evening, somewhat expensive at $42 a head plus a 2 drink minimum policy. Would I see this particular performer again - no; would I take in another show on a subsequent visit - most definatly, but probably not at a Time Square venue.
Our final full day in New York - I'm sure I said this last time we were here - 3 days really isn't enough. Skipping breakfast (we struggled to get out of bed), we jumped on the subway. I had found a name your own price walking tours website (www.freetoursbyfoot.com), and had opted for the Sunday morning tour of the grand central Terminal, and here we were. We had fleetingly visited Grand Central on our last visit and felt we had done it an injustice with a 5 minute flyby, sohere was our chance to make amends.
Its well worth checking this site out as theres lots of tours to choose from and the correspondance is first class, we even received a photo and contact number of Jon, who was to be our tour guide.
I wondered how it would take 2 hours to see Grand Central, we were soon to find out that Grand Central was the tip of the iceberg when it came to what we would discover and learn with our guide, who was both enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We covered the history of both the terminal and Manhattan as a whole, learnt the famous clock is worth $9 million, Apple pay $1 a month for their location in the terminal and that it wasn't until the ceiling was cleaned in the 90's that they found a wonderful ceiling mural - a recreation of the signs of the zodiac. We tried out the whispering gallery (read up about it yourself) and visited the Campbell Apartment, which is now a bar with a no sneakers or tshirt dress code ! Exiting we walked to the Crystlar building and checked out the art deco lobby. There were wonderful photo opportunities, as well as tips and suggestions on what else to do and where to eat whilst in Manhatten. A final treat was a walk through the Grand Central market. The tour exceeded all expectations, the guide was wonderful and we were happy to tip generously. My only regret is that we didn't do it earlier as there were a couple of great suggestions that will have to await our return; also after the success of this tour I would have loved the opportunity to book further tours with these guys.
It was a few hours until we were due to meet up with Max (Emelia was flying back to London that evening), so we took in a little shopping, then whilst Josie chilled, I went in search of the Flatiron Building. I had seen a picture of this skyscraper and was intrigued to see it in the flesh. Completed in 1902, it was the tallest building at the time and is still considered to be groundbreaking in its appearance (shaped like a triangle). It was well worth the walk, and I think its probably the coolest looking building by far in Manhattan.
Meeting up with Max in Union Square, we walked down Broadway to 8th Avenue. Whilst hunting for unusual sights in New York, I had heard about the Mosaic Trail. Jim Power, a homeless man, has been creating mosaics on lampposts for the last 25 years (there are about 80 in total). Initially considered to be graffiti, the mayor at the time ordered that they be spray painted over in grey (to match the colour of the lampposts). They are now considered to be public art and are being restored to there former glory. Most of the mosaics commemorate events or groups of people; the real enjoyment lies in that as of yet there are no official tours, no maps and no brochures - you just use your eyes and upon finding a mosaic, enjoy it for what it is ! We spend a relaxing hour wandering the trail before being distracted by a bar - more guiness followed before we caught the subway uptown to track down a pizza recommendation - John's Pizza - another wonderful recommendation; by the time we had finished there was a queue out the door !
We called it a night as we had an early flight to catch back to the Turks and Caicos (along with Max who was joining us for a few days).
Another wonderful trip the New York, we have left with a longer list of things to do than when we arrived - the question is not if we will return, but when.
