The first place
I headed this late morning was Rockefeller Center to do the “Top of
the Rock” observation deck, located on floor 76. The sky was very
blue when I woke up this morning, but from up that high there was a
haze all around (or pollution). The views were still nice and seeing
all of Central Park from that height was pretty unique. There were 3
levels to view the city from and the only slight disappointment was
that you can't get a clear view of the Chrysler Building because it's
right on the corner.
Then I walked
around trying to find a place for lunch. I had written out locations
from Let's Go New York online since I had left my book at home from
my last NYC trip 4 years ago, but then the first 2 restaurants I
tried were closed. I thought about trying to find another one but at
this point I gave that up and stopped at the first restaurant I came
across, which was Burger Heaven. It was like a diner so I just
hopped on a stool at the counter to order my food. Don't worry, I
didn't order an unhealthy greasy burger. I ordered the unhealthy
fried chicken. But with steamed vegetables! (And also mashed
potatoes with gravy). The food was actually very good, but they
could have made the meal a little smaller. I was thirsty again today
so I inhaled a glass of lemonade and also a glass of water. Then I
headed back to Rockefeller Center because I wanted to do the NBC
Studio tour. Unfortunately those were based on time slots, and the
next available one I got was at 4:15, which was kind of annoying
because that meant I had to find something quick to do for 2-3 hours
and then return by 4. I walked through this open air market on
Avenue of the Americas for 7 or so blocks and bought a smoothie.
Then I decided to head back to Times Square and check out the Toys 'r
us. The store is really more crowded than it deserves to be, even if
it always has a couple of special toys. I think it's just more of
the convenience of having all available toys grouped together in a
big location.
I went back to
my hotel to drop off my things and then back to Rockefeller for the
NBC Studio tour. It was a group of 30 and we were guided by 2 NBC
pages (Matt and Kyle) – a highly sought after job with many
applicants. It seems like you need to have a certain personality
type and be able to do some on-the-fly jokes to be able to do the job
well. We started the tour with a short video on the owners of NBC,
Universal and Comcast and then proceeded to a few sets. We kept
having to jump into elevators to switch studios. Our first stop was
Dr. Oz., who I've heard of but never watched. According to
the page he was brought on Oprah during a ratings slump for 55
episodes and did so well that Oprah gave him his own show.
Apparently he's some freak overachiever who went to Harvard for
undegrad and then University of Pennsylvania where he got his joint
MD/MBA degree in 4 years, he performed 250 heart surgeries in the
span of 1 year, and he runs 5 miles every day. Impressive but not
enough to make me hyped up over his studio. It was really small and
they do some camera tricks to make it seem bigger, like rotating this
inner circle where some audience members sit to make it seem like
they're all different people in the camera. Then we went to the
studio for Football Night in America, another small stage
although slightly more interesting because of all the huge flat-panel
tvs and we were actually able to get on set. This one football fan
in my group got super-excited. Finally we stopped by Saturday
Night Live, but the closest we got was viewing the set from a
raised elevation up through glass windows. The stages are very small
and there are only 3 total, but at least it was something I
recognized. Finally we went to watch a video on Will Forte running
to get his makeup done in 90 seconds during commercial break for the
show, and then we went to a tiny makeshift newsroom where 2
volunteers got to read the teleprompter and weather in front of a
green screen. Since I was only familiar with 1 of the shows I didn't
really feel that it was worth my money. Everything was so hands off;
we couldn't even sit in the audience seats. The NBC Experience
souvenir store, however, was pretty cool. It's very funny the things
they will make for the shows. I was very tempted to buy a real
Dundie Award or a Bayside High Tigers t-shirt but restrained myself.
Then I made a
quick stop at H&M since there was a big sale and there are no
stores across any of the states in the middle of the U.S. Eh there
wasn't anything that great. I got too lazy to make my Century 21
stop too. There's only so much you can squeeze in less than 2 days
here and I had my show to catch. I went back to my hotel, ironed my
dress that I carried in my luggage for 3 whole weeks just to wear one
time, and then headed to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in the Theater
District to watch “How to Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying.” I walked the whole way in my sandals, which is always a
lot more uncomfortable. There's really no need to get really dressed
up for Broadway shows since you will always see people in casual
clothing in the audience, but I like to dress up anyway just so I can
feel like I'm doing something important. Apparently that's also how
people think you're not a tourist because I didn't have to walk far
before I started getting questions on directions. I got to the
theater with plenty of time to spare, and then went to the bathroom
in the theater, and this was the first time I've ever seen a formal
queue with velvet rope for the women's bathroom. I felt like I was
lining up for the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Then when I was
in my seat waiting for the show to start I checked into my flight
using my Blackberry and upgraded to first class (yeah that's how I
roll).
I really enjoyed
the show. It was very funny and the song and dance numbers were
crazy with the amounts of choreography and acrobatic moves. There
was also a very energetic vibe in the audience that made you want to
keep on cheering after every number. It put me in a good mood. And
I had orchestra seats and the theater was small so I could see
everything really well. Of course when Daniel Radcliffe appeared on
stage the audience started screaming and then when John Larroquette
appeared the audience went nuts. I used to watch Night Court
reruns when I was a kid and loved John Larroquette on that show (so
much so that I named one of my stuffed animals after him) so it was a
real treat to watch him in all his hilarity (and at 63 years of age
to boot) spring around on stage. And Daniel Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry
Potter) – the kid is talented. He can sing, he can dance, he can
act, and he can fake a good American accent. I'm glad I was able to
catch him starring in the show before he has to take a short break to
do promotion for the final Harry Potter film.
When the show ended
everyone rushed outside to catch the actors leaving the stage. John
Larroquette and Daniel Radcliffe each had a separate SUV waiting for
them right outside the theater. So there were huge crowds and
frustrated police officers repeatedly telling people to get off the
street and back on the sidewalk. I can't believe they have to do
this every night. I couldn't get a good view from where I was
standing so I jaywalked across the street. John Larroquette came out
first and spent at least 15 minutes signing autographs before he
hopped in his SUV. The only reason I could tell it was him is
because he's 6'5” and I could see a scruff of gray hair above the
car. Daniel Radcliffe came out last in a baseball cap and he was
surrounded by 2 bodyguards so I did not get a good view of him. And
yes, I was aware of the irony of lining up and dealing with a large
crowd to see the actors leave the theater when I had just seen them
on stage for 3 straight hours and with a great view.
I hadn't eaten
dinner yet so I thought about walking around trying to find a good
place, but it was past 11 p.m. and I was lazy so as I was walking
back in the general direction of my hotel I passed by a 24-hour
McDonald's. Yes, I went to eat at McDonald's in NYC, on my last
night of vacation. But if you were dealing the insane crowds as I
was walking you would have seen those golden arches as an oasis too.
The lines to buy food were horrible, but when I went to sit down
upstairs to eat it was very clean and not crowded, so that was nice.
Then I walked back to my hotel and called it a night.
And that's the
last full day of vacation! Tomorrow I am flying back to Texas. I
can't believe it's almost over already but at the same time I feel
like I've been traveling for a long time. London feels like ages
ago, and I remember when I hit the halfway point of vacation when I
was in Iceland, but that meant I still had a full week in Reykjavik.
Then Boston and New York passed by quickly since they were only 5
days combined. I still feel great. Let's see how I feel once I am
back home.
