I shot a bit of video with my phone throughout our trip and sort of mashed it together here. (Remember, I’m not a video expert. I just have an iPhone and iMovie.)
Sunday brought steady rain and cool temperatures, so Mom just decided to hang in the room before we went to brunch. Determined not to waste a moment of my waning time in Manhattan, I decided to walk five blocks to NBC Studios and visit the observatory at the top on the 67th – 69th floors. It rained on me the entire time, and by the time I got there, my feet, shoes, and pants were soaked. Which is miserable. And for all that, this is the view I got. I know.
Since the view was a bust, I decided to at least walk through Rockefeller Plaza
Times Square in the rain
I’m really sort of glad it rained, as this made it much easier to leave. I felt bad for all the tourists making their way through Times Square; it was a sea of umbrellas and not easy to get around. As my mom would say, “Someone’s gonna lose an eye.”
I end with this photo, because this dinner was the best sendoff on the eve of our trip; we had a great time together, and it’s even OK to leave New York with these folks to come home to.
Like most of you, I remember exactly where I was when I heard. Here at home, getting ready to take Sara Ann to school.
Elizabeth was already at school, as middle school started at 7:15. Jim was out of town — in Connecticut, actually — and my mom was staying with us, because I hated staying alone.
Mom was upstairs on the treadmill and I was in the den watching the Today Show. We both saw the first plane hit the tower at the same time — I heard her scream from upstairs.
I really didn’t want to take Sara Ann to school that day, but thought it would be better for her to keep a sense of normalcy. Which was fine, until I heard on the radio that another plane hit the Pentagon just after I dropped her off.
So, 12 years later, I’m standing in the shadow of those where those towers once stood.
Security is very tight while the Memorial is under construction. Almost like airport security. I’m told that it will be open to the public from all sides when the Memorial is complete.
Tight security
When you are standing in line, you see these signs that remind you of the solemn nature of where you are. That the place where someone may have died is sacred ground. I needed no reminder.
Now, we’re inside the Memorial site and I’m running my hands over the names etched into the railings on the north pool. In the very footprint of the buildings that fell. I cannot help but look up, far into the sky, where 12 years ago, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, realized there was no escape. Where first responders witnessed the horror and walked up the smoky stairs instead of scurrying down to safety. My mom talked about how she ran her hand over each of the names and prayed for the families. I thought that was fitting.
Then she reminded me about the survivor tree, which was salvaged from the wreckage of the towers, nursed back to health and replanted on the grounds of the memorial. A living tribute to the fact that this city, this country, will mourn its losses, but it will ultimately survive.
After some time, I sat down to rest my tired feet. As I looked up at the beautiful new tower under construction, I noticed that every few minutes, an airplane was reflected in the building’s exterior. It’s small, but you can see it if you look closely, and, for me, it was haunting.
If you’re anywhere near New York, go see this. It’s moving and beautifully done, and the museum when completed, will be a poignant reminder of the day that changed our nation forever.
Ground Zero was heavy and emotional and rightly so. After our tour, we were hungry, so my mom suggested we eat lunch at the Essex House, a small deli that served as a medical station in the wake of the attacks. They still have the spray-painted sign on the wall, and it was a fitting way to honor this establishment that was such an important part of the first responders’ efforts. And they make a darned good panini.
This next part is going to sound weird. It certainly did to my mom. But, since I was 11 or 12, I’ve been obsessed with Simon and Garfunkel, which will come as a huge shock to those of you who know me.
So one of the things on my list was to go to Bleecker Street, which is the subject of a vintage Simon & Garfunkel song, one of my favorites. My mom had no clue why this was so important to me, but, bless her heart, was patient nonetheless as we made our way to Greenwich Village for the sole purpose of taking my picture in front of the street sign.
I suck at the Art of the Selfie, so I asked Mom to snap my photo. Apparently, she sucks at the art of the iPhone photo, as this is the one she snapped of me. But it’s ok. It is me and it is Bleecker Street.
I decided while we were in the Village, we may as well see Washington Square Park, which is lovely. I confess here and now that I handed my mom’s iPhone (the battery on mine was long dead by this time) to a couple of total strangers and asked them to snap my photo.
For our last night in New York, I had made reservations at Mesa Grill, a restaurant owned by noted TV chef Bobby Flay. It’s in the Flatiron District, a very trendy area which is, like most of Manhattan, expensive.
Condos in the Flatiron District (5th Avenue @ 16th Street)
An emotional day; highs and lows. From the somber weightiness of Ground Zero to the thrill of something as simple as Bleecker Street and a phenomenal dinner. I didn’t want to go to sleep, as I knew when I woke it would be time to leave.
Tomorrow: My walk in the rain and Manhattan Miscellany.
Did Beth really touch the side of Paul Simon’s former apartment building?
Did they see Art Garfunkel on Fifth Avenue?
The answers are yes and no.
After the Circle Line, we made our way to the Upper West Side, which is a decidedly different sort of neighborhood than Times Square or Hell’s Kitchen. We saw lots of families, kids, young mothers pushing strollers, and people walking dogs. We ate lunch at a great sidewalk cafe, Isabella’s, that sits across Columbus Avenue from a middle school.
After lunch, we walked back toward Central Park, down West 76th (or 77th) Street. It’s a beautiful, expen$ive residential street lined with trees and row houses with interesting architecture. This was the first time I’d ever spent any time on the Upper West Side, and I enjoyed walking through this neighborhood.
Walking down Central Park West, we passed the building in which Paul Simon once lived. It’s called the San Remo and it’s a very posh building that faces the Park. There were two doormen standing just inside the door, all dressed up in sharp uniforms. Yes, I did actually touch the side of the building. Which is almost as good as an Art Garfunkel sighting. Almost.
My other must-see in this area was the Fifth Avenue Apple store. Of course. My mom actually bought a new case for her iPad there. It was teeming with people and so crowded it was hard to move around. But still, just a slice of Apple goodness.
You can’t really go to New York without at least walking up or down Fifth Avenue. I took this picture near the Apple store (Fifth Avenue between East 58th and 59th), looking downtown, toward the Empire State Building.
By this time our feet were yelling and screaming for us to please stop walking, so we took a break at the beautiful St. Patrick’s Cathedral (between East 50th and 51st Streets). I’m not Catholic, but this place cannot help but inspire awe and reverence. I sat near the front and snapped this picture of the altar. Stunning.
Then my mom, a former Catholic, lit a candle for Jim and his job search, which put a nice-sized lump in my throat. Thanks, Mom, if you read this. That was a moment.
After St. Patrick’s we went back to the hotel to rest our feet (and a glass of wine, of course) before seeing Motown and a late dinner at City Lobster. Any day that ends with a Broadway show, wine and lobster is a good day, right?
What a wonderful thing it is to wake up in New York City.
Our first outing of the day was the Circle Line cruise. Yes, it’s touristy, but neither of us had ever done it, so I think that makes it OK. The boat goes all the way around Manhattan.
We started at Pier 83 at West 42nd Street and 12th Avenue, in Hell’s Kitchen. The neighborhood, formerly a crime-ridden slum, is now a trendy — and expensive area. Ninth Avenue, around 42nd Street, is known for its variety of ethnic food. There will be a return trip to this part of town.
The cruise took about two-and-a-half hours, though you can take a shorter trip. I stood at the bow for the best photo opps, and was hoping the entire time that no one would feel the need to do the Titanic thing. No one did.
One of the first sights we saw was the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. One of these days I want to walk across it and see lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn side.
Brooklyn Bridge
For about 30 minutes, I heard no English. I was surrounded by Spanish, French, German, and what might have been Russian, but I’m not sure. I think it’s apropos that I realized this as we approached Ellis Island, and passed very near the Statue of Liberty. The Statue is closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, so we got as close as anyone else could. It was hard to imagine I was really that close to the Statue of Liberty. I took about 50 pictures of it. That was the first time I’ve seen it except from the window of an airplane, and it took my breath away.
It was windy and a little chilly, but so very worth it, as the view of lower Manhattan was nothing short of spectacular; the photos don’t really capture it.
My crappy attempt at a selfie with lower Manhattan in the background
Moving uptown into Harlem, the only thing to see besides a bunch of nearly-identical apartment buildings was these colorful murals. For all I know, these could be gang signs, but I found them interesting.
I checked out the south Bronx, notorious for being a rough and scary place to be. Indeed I do believe I’ve seen about all I need to see of the south Bronx.
The central-northern part of the Bronx looked a little nicer, with some newer-looking residential development and Yankee Stadium. I liked seeing it, though I’ll never be mistaken for a Yankee fan.
I recommend the Circle Line for anyone who wants to get a good overview of Manhattan from the water, or for anyone who likes to take pictures.
After that we looked for a cab to make a quick stop at the hotel before heading out for lunch. There were none to be found, so we took a pedicab, which is a bicycle that a guy with very well-developed calves rides and pulls you behind him in a cart. It was a much better way to see Hell’s Kitchen than in a speeding cab, but when we got out, he told us it would be $36 … each. For 10 blocks. So no more pedicabs. Sadly, both my iPhone and my camera batteries were dead by the end of the cruise, so I have no photos of Hell’s Kitchen.
This is getting long, so I’ll do a separate post on our lunch at a sidewalk cafe on the Upper West Side, and touching the apartment building where Paul Simon used to live.
Yesterday’s flight went smoothly, after the minor glitch with my boarding pass was settled. I don’t love flying one bit, but I survived the flight nicely, thanks to my iPad, New York Times crosswords and my “calm” playlist. And what may have been a tiny glass of wine.
Once we landed it seemed as if it took forever to get out of the airport and to our hotel, which is right near Times Square, at 47th Street and 7th Avenue, an easy walk from the theaters and just a couple of blocks from Fifth Avenue. Here’s the view from our window.
We quickly unpacked and settled in, then hit the streets the way people do in New York: on foot. We grabbed quick sandwiches at a place I’d heard about online call Pret a Manger. They specialize in fresh, handmade food. Everything is made and served on the same day, then the leftovers are donated to charity. I love the philosophy and the sandwiches were delicious. This sign hangs in the dining area:
We walked up Seventh Avenue, over to Sixth, then all the way to Central Park, where we decided to be touristy and do the carriage ride. It’s a great way to see the Park. My heart beat a little faster when we passed the Sheep Meadow, the site of Simon & Garfunkel’s Concert in Central Park in 1981.
Then we saw Richard Belzer, better known as “Detective Munch” from Law & Order SVU. He was walking through the park fast, wearing exercise shoes. Celebrity sighting for day one.
We were starving and exhausted, so we decided to grab a quick bite before heading to see Lion King. The bar at our hotel has great appetizers and a really cool view of Times Square, so we went there before and after the show for appetizers.
Oh, my, Lion King was amazing. The costumes, the sets, the creativity – making people look like animals without being cartoonish is quite the feat. Go see this show. When we walked out of the theater, it looked like it was still daylight. The lights of Times Square are that bright.
One of the things that thrills me about New York is the concentration of talent and the diversity. You don’t see this level of creativity and innovation without different points of view.
Cool sights of the day:
The basically naked woman standing in Times Square with “I <3NY” painted all over her body. And no one freaking out, except maybe the guys appreciating her fine derrière.
The woman about my age with her close-cropped chartreuse-colored hair trimmed to a Mohawk.
My mom getting her picture made with the “Statue of Liberty” in Times Square. See below.
I’m already a day behind, and today was amazing, so stay tuned.
Random thoughts: I still haven’t seen Art Garfunkel and I really might not leave here.
Tomorrow morning I’ll leave for New York City for the first time since 1993. I could not be more excited; it’s one of my favorite places.
My mom is treating me to the trip, since Jim isn’t working now (see this post if you need to catch up).
We’ll see two Broadway shows — Lion King and Motown, and we’re planning a trip to Ground Zero and just chilling in lower Manhattan, which I’m looking forward to seeing more of than I did last time. We’ve got dinner reservations at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill for Saturday night, but the rest of the time we’ll be on our own, to wander as we please.
We’re staying in Times Square which is anything but quiet, so I’m guessing there will be things to see at all hours. I hope I can sleep.
Honestly, New York is so magic for me, just walking down the street and looking around. It’s always fascinated me and I’ve spent hours on Google Street View walking the streets of Manhattan.
Though I’m excited for whatever we encounter, I have five things I want to do:
See Art Garfunkel on the street. He lives on the Upper East Side and since we’ll be in Central Park anyway, we’ll walk up Fifth Avenue hoping for a sighting.
Visit the Fifth Avenue Apple Store. The one with the glass cube.
Get a photo made in front of the Bleecker Street sign in Greenwich Village. If you don’t know why, you’re not a Simon & Garfunkel fan.
See Ground Zero and the Memorial. Enough said.
Do the Circle Line boat tour around Manhattan. Yes, it’s touristy, but I’ve always wanted to do it and the photos will be awesome.
I’ll blog daily (assuming I have any energy left) and report back on Fifth Avenue, Bleecker Street, Art and the boat.
