NYC 2013

Summer has come and gone!

With two trips already in the works, I figured I would spend the first week hanging out by the pool and working on my "Pinterest ideas I saved for the summer". 

Then Tonia called and asked me to go to New York with her instead.  This sounded like a much better plan.

This was my third trip to New York.  My first trip was back in 2005 when I was still a newbie to the American culture.  It was the weekend of July 4th and I had no idea it was Independence Day.  I came away thinking New York routinely held parades in the streets and firework displays at night. 

My second trip was with Andrew for Thanksgiving 2010.  It was bitter cold, but we managed to take advantage of the famous TG parade by visiting all the top tourist attractions while everyone else lined the streets around Macy's to watch the inflated characters and dance teams (I have no idea what else they feature in the parade).  We spent lots of time in Central Park and hung out with his cousin who had just landed his dream job at Marvel.

Tonia's dad (Mike) and brother (Ryan) work on special effects for movies; a job which takes them around the country for long periods at a time.  They were in New York filming the new ****** movie (it might still be a secret!).     

Mike and Ryan were wonderful hosts and real gents; giving up sleeping space and furnishing us with fresh linens and towels.  We were even treated to breakfast burritos and in-room Oreo cookies.  Their apartment offered a great location for sight seeing and we managed to fit a lot into the five days we were there. 

Courtesy of Ryan's impressive memory, here's a summary of what we accomplished:

A stone's throw away from the apartment is Brooklyn Bridge park, so on our first evening we took a stroll and absorbed the amazing skyline.  We also took a walk there the last morning of our trip.

 

That first night, we ate at Grimaldi's; quite possibly the best pizza I've ever eaten, although I would have to do a side-by-side to decide if it beats Chicago pizza pie.  The ingredients were very fresh and the crust was just thin enough.  We ordered cannoli to go, but were disappointed they weren't filled with fresh cream and didn't hold to the same standard as the pizza.

The next day, we took some restored vintage bikes from the apartment and biked across the Manhattan Bridge, through China Town, around the financial district, and back across the Brooklyn Bridge then down the Brooklyn docks to Red Hook to check out the special effects shops.  While at the shop, I got to crumble some concrete with my bare hands and was impressed with what these guys achieve with imagination, technical skill and hard work. 

 

We then walked and shopped Broadway in SoHo (where we ate delicious gyro's from a street vendor), strolled around 5th avenue, and ate Gelato at Amorino's (a place I recognized from my in-flight magazine).  The gelato was rich and creamy and presented as a fancy rose.

 

 

Cute 90-something yr old lady singing her heart out on her birthday

Flatiron Building and globe

Bizarre yarn looking sculpture made of nautical chain

 

That night, we visited the Weigh Station Bar in Brooklyn where Tonia managed to get her photo taken in front of the Tardis bathroom.

The next day, we spent a day sightseeing and visiting museums.  First up was the Museum of Modern Art.  I don't really "get" much of modern artwork, I am far too literal of a person.  I understand that it can be a personal experience and people take away different interpretations, but if it's a red dot on a canvas, I see a red dot on a canvas.  I try hard to interpret the dot, but I'm not sure which direction to take it.  Is the dot lonely?  Does the dot represent a blemish on an otherwise pure canvas? What's up with the friggin dot?!   The dot made me feel anxious because I'm a little OCD and it was off center.  Maybe the artist wanted me to have an emotional response to the piece, in which case (s)he succeeded and I am quite smart after all. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was quite exciting because they had some Frederic Church, my favorite artist!  His landscapes are just amazing and (although not a great example here) he paints the sky and sunlight with such an intensity that you almost need to squint your eyes to look at it.  I first saw his work in Amsterdam years ago and I've looked for his work ever since.  You can see some of his work here  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Frederic_Edwin_Church

 

Heart of the Andes

That night, we saw Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre.  We scored great seats (through some networking) and it was a wonderful show.  We took a walk to Times Square on the way home.

The next day, we headed to ground zero.  On my first visit to NYC, ground zero was a blank slate.  The second visit, the Trade Center was built halfway.  Just prior to this visit, the spire had been secured and the building looked complete.  The Ground Zero Memorial was relatively sombre, but the pools are immense and make quite a statement. 

Survivor Tree

For lunch, we headed to Fulton Market and Pier 17 mall. 

"Fish and Chips", really?

We took the Shark Ride speedboat and Tonia begged to sit on the outside so that she could get soaked with freezing cold water.  It's possible that only the second part of that sentence holds some truth.  Tonia definitely took one for the team.

 

The Statue of Liberty island was closed due to hurricane Sandy, but we still got some great views.

 

Up close and personal, the Trade Center doesn't look  a whole lot taller than the surrounding skyscrapers and you feel that it doesn't make enough of a statement.  It's only when you venture farther away that you realize that it does do some justice to its previous counterparts.

We headed to Central Park and checked out Belvedere Castle, then hunted down some statues using expert navigation skills.  While in the neighborhood, Tonia got roped in to a street performance. 

(Tonia is second in line on the first photo, she is not the person performing in the second photo)

 

While at Central Park, Tonia picked up a rock for her husband, Ben (geologist).  Airport security did not confiscate it on the way home, but they did treat Tonia with suspicion (mental health issues) for packing a large rock instead of the typical NYC T-shirt and fridge magnets.

Central Park, so pretty 

 

 

Belvedere Castle, home to the Central Park weather station.

Somebody had heard of Greys Papaya Hotdogs, so we found this place and tried their smoothies and hotdogs.  Meh, they were okay.

Empire State Building was next on the agenda.  I love this building, it feels timeless in ingenuity and grace. 

 

 

It's hard to imagine that you can get better views of Manhattan than from the top of the Empire State Building.

 



 

 

Later that day, we headed to Grand Central station where we found the Whisper Wall.  You can find it down in an underpass below the main lobby (Tonia knew of its secret location).  It works like this: if you talk into one corner, the sound travels across the specially engineered ceiling and can be heard on the opposite side.  It's a plasma ball (cool science) experience and I wonder how many people walk through the area without even knowing it exists.

We finished the day with tea and cakes at Pershing Square Cafe, a little place under the bridge that I remembered from my last visit with Andrew. 

Our flight home was delayed a few hours and we watched anxiously as most flights on the screen indicated a red "cancelled" status.  We finally made it back to Dallas and drove back home to Midland (5 hours, ugh).  It was so late and I was so tired, I don't even remember the drive.

I had approximately 27 hours to sleep twice, repack for the next five weeks, and drive back to Dallas.