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Day 10: NYC
We got smart and had breakfast at the Red Flame café down the street. $50 for 4 instead of two although the food was not as good (but there was more of it). It’s run by (I think) Russian ladies. The accents were a bit tough to read. But definitely Eastern Europe or something Slavic. When we were waiting for the check, the waitress came by, pointed to my plate and said ‘Finish’ with no uptick on the end. It sounded like an order. I thought she was telling me to eat the rest. But no, she was just asking if I was done.
We took the Circle Line boat cruise around Manhattan Island. Something none of us had ever done before. We walked from the hotel to the Hudson River (halfway across the island) and got on the 10am ride without any trouble, although the boat ended up being full. The bumpiest part was sitting at the dock waiting. The wakes from passing boats caused us to bob and bump the pier. Marion gets seasick pretty easily and was starting to feel a bit queasy but luckily it didn’t last long and the ride itself was quite smooth.
Our tour guide was Andy. He was good and very entertaining. While doing his opening spiel he said, “We only do the tour in English. If you don’t speak English, I apologize. Although if you don’t speak English, you don’t understand what I just said”. Pretty funny. He also spent some time asking people to not stand in the aisles taking pictures as this blocked other people’s views. You could tell that this was an ongoing problem and sure enough, it didn’t take long before people started doing exactly that. Especially the two foreign girls right in front of us who spent the whole time taking pictures. And I mean the whole time. It never stopped. Talk about not being in the moment.
There was a group of students (middle school) on the boat too (luckily a deck down) shrieking and carrying on the whole time. They were in the outdoor bow and stern areas which made it tough for pictures from there but I got a few. Normally that’s where I like to be. Outside and in front or back. But not with shrieking pre-teens.
We were on the west side of Manhattan in the Hudson and headed south to Liberty Island, then around under the Brooklyn Bridge (and some others), up the East River to Harlem, around the top and back down. It was a 2.5 hour tour. Very interesting history. Some of which I knew, like New York started around the Battery and Wall St was named for the wall that provided defense from the hinterlands to the north. And some of which I didn’t, like the fact that Harlem was originally a vacation area for the rich. But during an economic downturn, the large homes were sold and divided into small apartments that became cheap enough for low income people to afford them and the nature of the neighborhood changed. The city moved up the island at the rate of about 10 blocks a year until finally reaching the tip. In its day, Central Park was on the fringe of town and not Central at all. But it was always called Central Park because they knew that ultimately it would be in the middle.
The craziness of people trying to get pictures hit a crescendo as we got to Liberty Island. And I was among them. I’m actually pretty good these days at getting unobstructed pictures of things while surrounded by other people and I managed to get some good pictures of the Statue of Liberty. I was less successful getting pictures of skylines, bridges and such. And in fact, the pictures with various heads in them and hands holding cameras is a better indication of what it was like than those without. Despite having to take the tour with other people, it was still fun. Someday when we are exceptionally rich, we will take these tours without other people and revel in our wealth.
There’s a new building in town called 432 Park (or that’s the address, it has no name). It’s a tall thin stick of a building. The tour guide didn’t like it (and I agree). As he said, the best views in the city are from that building because it’s the one place in the city from which you can’t see the building! It’s not only not particularly attractive, it looks quite out of place in the location it’s in since it stands off by itself.
I’d never been up past about 120th street in Manhattan. It was interesting to see that part of town, even if it was from the water. A bit more hilly and less densely packed with buildings. Definitely a different feel. There’s an area at the northwest corner called the Cloisters that was built from piece parts collected from various cloisters in Europe by John D Rockefeller. It sits up on a hill that overlooks the Hudson and across the river is still undeveloped. Apparently Rockefeller bought up the land to maintain the view from the cloisters. And it’s been maintained. It’s quite nice. Someday I’d like to go visit from the land side.
We got back to the dock and disembarked and headed off looking for lunch. But we were down near the Jacob Javits Convention Center which I remember from my tradeshow days as being not near anything and it’s still the case. But thanks to modern technology, we used our cell phones to find the one place nearby with food which was Clyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine. Walt (Clyde) Frazier was an all-star guard for the Knicks back in the 70’s when they used to be good. I was actually a Knicks fan back then and can still remember the starting five (which is why I can’t remember important things, like why I came into this room just now). He was known for his dapper fashion style and got the nickname Clyde somehow related to that. The ceiling was decorated with cutouts of flashy suits. It was actually pretty cool.
The place turned out to be surprisingly good. It even had a mini basketball court where Daniel tried his hand. Later I went to look at it and the waiter said ‘three balls waiting there for you to try it’. I begged off. He said ‘Clyde told me you were a really good shot’. I said ‘you were seriously misled’.
We had a nice chat with the waiter about Portland. He was familiar with us and our liberal reputation and made a point of telling us that everyone in New York hated Donald Trump and wished he would go away. We agreed. He helped us find the entrance to the Highline Trail which is an old railroad line converted into a walking trail. It was relatively new and apparently quite popular. We wanted to check it out.
The trail went down to Chelsea (actually a bit farther). Since that’s where we were headed we used it. It’s pretty nice. It’s still through town so the views aren’t great (gets better towards Chelsea) but much nicer than trying to walk on the sidewalks where people come at you from every direction and it seems like you are constantly stepping aside for somebody. At least here it was fairly orderly (pass on the right). We missed our “exit” and had to wander around a bit but we ultimately found the Chelsea Market. On the way we passed a set up for some Samsung event. It looked major. Lots of guys in dark suits standing guard. We passed a van and the people inside said ‘do you have a Samsung phone’? Well, I do so I said yes (counter to my usual behavior) and I got to spin a wheel for a prize. I won a ‘corn cookie’. Which, sadly, was not very good. But a winner is a winner.
The Chelsea Market was very crowded. I can’t imagine what it’s like on weekends if Thursday afternoon is like this. There were some interesting stores. For example, there was an oil and vinegar store with tasting options. That was fun. Some good looking bakeries although I ended up with a brownie that wasn’t the kind I thought I was getting and was stale. Shoulda gone with the nuts. It was mostly food but there were a couple of stores selling non-food items. But between being tired from walking and the crowds, I couldn’t get into it.
It was time to head back to the hotel. It was too far to walk so we were considering Uber. But there was a cab waiting out front and the driver said he could take four people, so that turned out to be easy. And I still haven’t used Uber although I have come close more than a few times. But a ride always magically appeared.
We had dinner at the Prit A Manger. It was one of those market/restaurants. And pretty frou frou. Marion, Daniel and Eve were fine but I had trouble finding something I liked. Everything had Avocado or kale or something. I ended up with gazpacho, which I liked. And a cheese sandwich that I would have liked if the bread didn’t have rocks (well seeds) in it.
We tried going through Times Square a block farther up to see if that helped, but it was actually worse there. But luckily it’s only crazy crossing Broadway. So it’s over fairly quickly.
Tonight’s show, On Your Feet (the Gloria Estefan story), was at the Marquis Theater which is part of the Marriott Marquis complex. It’s a very major hotel (49 stories) with a big atrium in the middle which is very cool looking. But we were really glad we were in our small boutique hotel and not here.
The theater is much more ‘modern’ than yesterday’s. More like a movie theater or a Vegas showroom. Sadly, the play was not great. The story is fairly weak. The male lead was not good at all. The music was good if you’re a Gloria Estefan fan. And presented in “concert” form with smoke and lights and all. But, I’m not really a Gloria Estefan fan. I don’t hate it but I can take it or leave it. (So why was I at the Gloria Estefan show? Because Marion wanted to see it and I wanted her to be happy.)
Marion’s comment, and I think she was right, is this show belongs in Vegas. And it should be an hour (not 2 and a half). And, I might add, half the price. I don’t want to overstate its badness. It was ok. We’ve seen way worse (Fame, Footloose and Addams Family to name a few.) It just wasn’t up to the level we were hoping for. But it was a good palate cleanser for Hamilton tomorrow.
Then it was time to head back through Times Square which was even more of a madhouse. We saw some really bad looking Disney princesses and a guy dressed as Mickey Mouse with the head half off walking with Batman. Weird. (There’s a reason Disney makes sure the characters are never out of costume when in public – it’s creepy.) I can’t believe the Disney lawyers haven’t shut this down by now. Granted it would take near constant vigilance. But they’ve got plenty of lawyers.
This time we stopped for some frozen custard at the ice cream man and it was pretty decent. We got back in time to see Game 1 of the NBA finals. It was close for a while, but then the Warriors crushed them.
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