Reunion in New York City

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FRIDAY, 24 AUGUST

When I was young(er) and living in New York, there was a group of us that always hung out together. We worked and played together and were inseparable for about ten years. Then, in rapid succession, Laura moved to Kansas City, Eileen moved to Florida and I moved to London. Logistically, it can be very difficult to see each other, but we always try. When I was in Kansas City this spring, Laura and I decided that we needed to do a reunion in New York. Margie, the one who hasn’t moved, had a rather big birthday in June, so we decided to use that as an excuse to get together. We dragged along our other friend, Gail, and the five of us made a weekend of it.

Because things have been a bad mad lately, I had not had a chance to pack so I was up at 5.00 to throw some things in a bag and get out to Heathrow. Of course, of the three New York flights that left at 9.00 in the morning, mine was the one that was delayed. However, all’s well that ends well and the flight eventually took off and managed to land in Newark at roughly when it was meant to.

Landing at Newark is always very odd for me. For eleven years, it was my home airport and for a lot of those years, I flew in and out of it several times a week. As I stood outside of it today, I realised that my home airport is now Heathrow. I no longer feel as though I belong in New York or northern New Jersey.

OK - why we thought that August in New York was a good idea, I couldn’t tell you. I have been spoiled by English summers and I had forgotten what 34C/95F felt like. Add in very high humidity, and I am not a happy bunny. Just to keep the morning interesting, I had a taxi that was not air-conditioned and the drive into town took an hour and a half. By the time I arrived at the hotel, I was a tad grumpy. The man behind the desk told me that my room was not yet ready. He must have seen the stricken look on my face, because magically a room appeared. A shower and a bottle of water did a great deal to improve my mood.

Colin came to pick me up and buy me lunch. We wandered over to MOMA, which is right next door to the hotel. Colin is a member, so we got in with very little hassle and made our way up to the café on the fifth floor. Now, you’ve all read my rants about museum food - this was the exception that proved the rule. Delicious soup and sandwiches, all in cool comfort and in the beautiful surroundings of the new museum. Colin told me that they spent $60 million fixing it up, and it really is gorgeous. After lunch, we had a bit of a wander, but it was so hot that we gave up and came back to the hotel for a drink. We ran into Eileen and Gail, and then were joined by Laura and her friend Yamile, and eventually Margie and her husband Allen. It was really fun to all be together again. The men left, and we sat in the bar, drinking martinis and talking all at the same time.

Eventually, we decided that food was a good idea so we headed out. Looking for a cab, we found instead a stretch limo. This was just too much fun, so we hired the car for the evening (the poor driver!) and were driven through the streets of Manhattan in style. We ate at one of our favourite restaurants from back in the day called Café de Bruxelles. Belgium food that was as good as we remembered it. They serve escargots in a cheese sauce that is so rich one can feel one’s arteries hardening, but it is absolutely delicious. They also do mussels and frites that I dream about occasionally. We ate until we were stuffed then jumped in the limo to find a bar for a nightcap. We were joined by another friend of ours, Rich, who used to work with us when we were all still at AIG. I had not seen him for nearly ten years, so it was great to see him and catch up on all his news. However, the fact that I had been drinking gin and wine and had been awake for 24 hours eventually caught up with me. I made an early exit and came back to the hotel to crash and burn.

SATURDAY 25 AUGUST

You gotta love jet lag. As tired I as was, I was awake by 5, but managed to snooze until 6.30. At that point, I gave up and puttered around the room for a while. Eileen called early, so she, Gail, Margie and I all went down to breakfast. I had forgotten the American’s idea of a breakfast buffet. More food than should be allowed, but I was able to indulge in things I cannot find at home - specifically, French toast and bagels. Yes, I know, way too many carbs, but when in New York.

The four of us had decided to do something touristy, so we made our way downtown. (Laura and Yamile were having a lie in - 9.00 on a Saturday is a bit too early for Laura!) We jumped into a taxi and made our way to Battery Park. The first thing we saw was the sphere that used to stand outside the World Trade Center. Battered and dented, it is grim reminder of what happened nearly six years ago. They have put an eternal flame next to it as a memorial. It was really moving and I found myself quite chocked up.

Later today, Eileen and I were talking about New York since that awful day. I think the people who still live in New York have moved on. For those of us who lived here before the event, we have not yet gotten used to the changes and so tend to glamorise the New York we knew. Like I was saying earlier, the city has gone from being my home for eleven years to a place that I no longer recognise, nor particularly want to spend a great deal of time in. It just feels different and looks different. The skyline has changed forever and I find it very difficult to adjust to the new one.

But - there is still a lot to see and do in this city and today we had decided on the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The National Park Service has set it up really nicely where there is a series of ferries that run between Battery Park, the Statue and the Island. We jumped onto a ferry and went out to see Lady Liberty. I know it’s corny, but I think the Statue of Liberty is the great American symbol. Made me want to stand up, wrap myself in Old Glory and sing the National Anthem. A few years ago, Matt and I sailed on the Queen Mary from New York to Southampton. As the ship went past the Statue, everyone on board was on deck and there were actually very few dry eyes. It gave me a slight idea of what the immigrants must have felt as they sailed into the harbour, full of dreams of streets paved with gold.

We took the audio tour (no - I did not have to twist arms!), which was really interesting. Lots of facts about the people who had made it happen as well as statistics about the Statue itself. Did you know that the book she is carrying is two stories high and that her index finger is eight feet long? I didn’t either, but I LOVE stuff like that. Her inside frame was designed by Mr. Eiffel and he used what he learned when he built his tower. How cool is that??? Because of the increased security, it is nearly impossible to go inside anymore, so we weren’t able to do that.

Instead, we jumped on another ferry and went over to Ellis Island. Absolutely incredible and another great audio tour. I got such a sense of what it must have been like to come through and the tour was filled with people who remembered it telling their stories. More than once I got tears in my eyes as these people told stories of seeing their family members for the first time in years or being herded from here to there without understanding what was really happening. One of the exhibits was about what the immigrants found when they arrived. Lower East Side tenements and low paying jobs. The best was how one Italian described it: “I found that the streets were not paved with gold. I found that they were not even paved and that I was expected to pave them.” That one made me laugh out loud. At the end, there is a computer where one can look up names of the people who came through. There were several Bohners, but I don’t think any of them were ours as my earliest ancestor came over during the Revolution. There were also several Astolfis, but I didn’t recognise any of the names. My great-grandparents came through Philadelphia, I believe. A quick aside - great family story. My great-grandmother was only able to come over as my great-grandfather promised to marry her when she arrived. Lucky for me!

About 3.00, the general consensus was that we had had enough heat and standing on our feet, so we got onto yet another ferry and went back to Battery Park. By this time, Laura and Yamile had resurfaced, so we went over to the Seaport to meet them for lunch. Again, an area that I once knew so well that has now completely changed. We went to a restaurant called Salud - Cuban tapas. Yummy! We had all kinds of good things, but the highlight was a small lobster taco. After lunch, we decided it was time for a break, so we came back to the hotel for a rest.

Having rested and showered, we all gathered at the Bridges Bar in the hotel for the celebratory bottle of champagne. Our waiter was wonderful and brought us fresh strawberries and other assorted nibbles. Afterwards, we all trooped downtown (in cabs this time!) to a restaurant called Alfama - Portuguese food and wine. We had a bottle of vinho verde that was out of this world and loads of fresh seafood. Back in the summer of 2000, Eileen, Laura, James and I had had a week’s holiday in the Algarve so we spent a lot of the meal telling stories from the trip - the most famous being that when we first got into the rental car, we couldn’t find reverse! It took the four of us the better part of 15 minutes to figure it out - hmmmm. Back to the hotel for a nightcap before climbing into bed.

SUNDAY 26 AUGUST

Again, the jet lag kicked in. I slept wonderfully for about four hours, then dozed until I finally gave up at 6.00. Nighttime TV in the US is as bad as it is at home! I managed to keep myself busy for a while, but was feeling a bit restless by 9.00. Luckily, so was Eileen so she called and I went down to hang out with her for a while. In a while, Gail and Margie joined us so we decided to head down to breakfast and at least drink coffee while we waited for Laura. Eventually, we were all together again and indulged in another OTT breakfast.

After breakfast, Laura had to catch her flight, so the other four of decided to do one of the open top bus tours. One has loads of options, but we chose the “Uptown Loop” as it promised us glimpses of places we had never seen. Now - I know that sounds crazy, but even having lived in the city for eleven years, I had never been further north than about 92nd Street. Of course, back in the day, one did not dare venture much further than that, but in the past ten years or so, the northern part of the city has really been revitalised and property prices have gone up ten times. Literally. The guide on the bus told us that brownstones that were selling for $50,000 ten years ago are now selling for $500,000 or sometimes even higher than that. Goodness!

We got to see all kinds of things and learn all about that part of the city. A year after they filmed “West Side Story”, they razed that whole part of town and built Lincoln Center. Our guide made a remark that the Europeans are always saying that New York has the ugliest opera hall in the world, but that they don’t know what they’re talking about. I smiled. Having seen some of the European opera halls, as well as Lincoln Center, I would vote for Covent Garden or L’Opera every time.

We drove up to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine that is amazing! It is being built as they built the old gothic cathedrals. Small problem - no one knows how to do that anymore. That never stopped the New Yorkers - they have built a school where those few artisans left are teaching others. We also saw Grant’s Tomb. Turns out that old riddle really is a trick question. First of all, both Grant and his wife are buried there, but that’s actually the trick. They are not buried. They are entombed above ground. Tee hee.

We drove through Harlem, which is an amazingly beautiful place. Old places that have not been brought to the ground, but that have been preserved. The Apollo Theater in all its glory. Women in their Sunday best making their way home from church. The smells of food cooking as many of the churches were doing barbeques because of the hot weather. Fabulous!

We eventually turned down Fifth Avenue and looked at all the Museums. We arrived back at the hotel in time to say good-bye to Margie. I decided to head out to Newark with Eileen and Gail, so didn’t have to say good-bye to them until I got there. Eileen was a bit pushed for time, so quick hugs and we were on our way. I am now in the BA lounge typing this and watching some stupid car race on ESPN. Another transatlantic flight in three days - yippee! It was worth it. Great weekend with a good mixture of sightseeing, food and old friends.

What did I learn? That I’m growing up. I would much rather get up early, run around doing touristy things all days, have a good dinner and go to bed then to sleep all day and party all night. Another sign that I am not as young as when I lived in New York!

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Photos

The Girls
Gail, Eileen, Laura, Me, Margie

The Sphere
This shows better than anything else I have seen exactly what happened that day. Like New York, it is bruised and battered, but still standing.

Lady Liberty
In all her glory. Makes me want to sing out loud.

Ellis Island
The entrance to the main building.

Ellis Island
This is the registry room where the immigrants would stand to be processed. Looks much nicer now, I should imagine.

Ellis Island
Some of the faces that came through.

Ellis Island
They seem to have settled everywhere!

St. John the Divine
Rivals any other Gothic I've seen.

Mosque
The one where Malcolm X used to preach.

Too Rich for My Blood
The apartments along 5th Avenue and the Park. One of the penthouses is for sale. Asking price? $70 million.