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Published: August 8th 2007
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For some reason, we were under the impression that New York City would be toasty in March. However, Kev's uncle and aunt in San Fran warned us (like any good Chinese relatives would) that we would freeze in our current wardrobe, and so Elle ventured out with a SWAT-style puffy vest supplied by my aunt from her unwanted collection. We arrived at JFK in the late afternoon and were stunned by the freezing wind... the puffy vest was indeed required this week! Our first NY subway journey and our first set of many turnstiles took us to West 96th station, where we were hit in the face with the smell of Dettol. Still haven't figured out why...
Up the stairs, and by the time we got our first glimpse of New York it was dark, and everything was a little more foreboding. Our hostel (Continental Hostel - not to be confused with the Inter-Continental...) was a labyrinth of yellow and green hallways, red lights and old elevators. When we finally found our room, we discovered housekeeping had not visited since the last occupant left, the room complete with dirty towels and a dishevelled bed! Elle offered to amend the situation,
View from the 82nd floor...
Our own Sleepless in Seattle... Empire State Building a decision she regretted coming back down the hallway, where she encountered one of our neighbours, an older man with scary eyes and scarier sounds coming from his mouth. Like a gladiator through the gauntlet, she made it through the hall back into the room, which had instantly become a haven from a New York which was less friendly than she expected! After prayer, new linen, and fresh resolve, we went out in search of food, and found solace under the Golden Arches with chicken sandwiches and double filet-o-fishes. It had only been a few hours, but NY had left a less than spectacular impression on Elle, who was there for the first time.
But as Scarlett O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day!" and in the light of a new day Kev was reminded why he loved this place so much. Our first stroll along Broadway had us stopping every few minutes at deli windows, looking jealously at freshly baked NY bagels, cheesecakes, pastries (YUM!) and all sorts of culinary delights, which we eagerly sampled over the next few days 😊
First stop - Times Square. Nothing like massively oversized billboards, a dozen LED screens, hoardes of people
Nutrition NY-style
NY pizza, bending from the weight of grease... walking really fast in every direction, and street vendors with that unmistakeable NY accent to remind you that you have arrived in the Big Apple - Elle's faith restored! Amongst the peddlers Kev heard "free tickets to Dave Letterman!" and was stopped in his tracks. Yes, answer the question and you're there, guaranteed! Kev was glad he stayed up all those late nights to know Rupert G owned a deli. We were in! The next day we arrived at the Ed Sullivan Theatre and were ushered into a packed foyer, where we received a hilarious pep talk from an employee who had had more than his quota of Red Bull for that day. We practised "Yeah!"-ing without "Woo-hoo!"ing and how to laugh when we didn't think something was funny (a skill we put to use many times that evening! - especially with all the local political humour). Kev was especially excited to see Paul Schafer and the CBS orchestra - live! - and drooled over his keyboard rig.
The previous night we made our way down 5th Ave to see the well-known Empire State Building where we were determined to reenact the final scenes of Sleepless in Seattle (a
Fergusson favourite). The view from the top was spectacular, and well worth the queues (lots of them!) It was NY at it's brightest and best from 86 floors up. The city that never sleeps should definitely be seen at night...
All that vertical travel had worked up a feverish appetite for a slice of NY pizza, and we partook gladly - pepperoni style! It was first of many slices that week, as we travelled far and wide to find the best slice (our vote - Ben's Famous Pizza - lower east side, who do a mean pizza sauce.) It was a week of gastronomic delights. We window shopped at organic supermarkets but fed at Katz's deli up the road, a traditional Jewish deli from 1888 famous for its pastrami, smoked for a month and dripping with juice (or grease?) The stuff is incredible! Kev's hands-down pick for best NY delicacy.
It was also a week of eclectic music experiences - Broadway to the buskers to the bars. We spent an hour queuing for cheap musical tickets at the TKTS stand in Times Square, only to find out their "cheap" was our expensive - the cheap tickets were to
Soho
Typical NY apartment be found at the theatre box office, where we got standing room tickets (truly for the common man) for Les Miserables ($20 each) The inconvenience of sore feet from too much walking and the game of finding interesting ways to stand to take weight off your legs was forgotten as we applauded our way through two brilliant acts of Elle's now equal favourite musical. It was the fourth time she'd seen it - and the best! - especially with Lea Salonga playing Fantine and a fantastic Valjean. Further downtown a few nights later we searched for cheap jazz, and walking past the Blue Note and Village Vanguard (not cheap) found it at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village. The double bass, the brush on snare, Michelle Walker's earthy voice, the low ceiling and dim lighting made for another classic NY experience... real soul food (unlike chicken and waffles!)
On that note (pun intended) we filled the week with other must-see moments - trudging up Brooklyn Bridge with spectacular pedestrian views; taking the free ferry (always better when it's free) to Staten Island, floating past the green lady; wandering in awe inside St Patrick's cathedral; a lazy picnic in wintry
Central Park - a serene escape from city craziness - daffodils beginning to bloom; toured the Metropolitan Museum gawking at Dalis and Picassos until museum fatigue set in; and a brief but interesting visit to Ground Zero, now a construction site for the next big thing - "Freedom Tower". Another beautiful building was the NY Library - which we frequented for the free internet!
Mixed in with all this was the daily encounter with the less fortunate. It's impossible to ignore the desperate pleas for money in the subway and most street corners, and despite questions as to the validity of their cause, it still evokes pity and leaves you wondering how this could be in a city as "developed" as this.
On our final morning we trekked out to Harlem for church on a subway train filled with tourists (ourselves included!), and had a horrible feeling we were all heading to the same neighbourhood for the same purpose, and that we would all converge on the same unfortunate church! Whether or not this happened, we made the mistake of picking a church recommended by the Lonely Planet, finding ourselves in a building beautifully presented but overrun with
On the wrong side of the world...
An early visit to Egypt at the Met... tourists who outnumbered the locals 5 to 1. We went to experience church Harlem-style, but we soon got the feeling most were there to sight-see rather than meet with God. Kev was disappointed James Brown wasn't preaching and there were no Blues Brothers backflipping down the aisle, but there were some beautiful moments... the choir singing "Jerusalem" and "When I survey the wondrous cross". As far as church goes though, no place like home! (Except Newport...)
That afternoon we bade farewell to the Continental, and it's now familiar odours, bed bugs, blocked toilets (not by us of course, although American toilets definitely do have the weakest flushes in the world), and weird sounds in the middle of the night (it actually wasn't that bad - what do you expect for $50 a night in NYC?) Despite that first night, we loved NY! But the circus must go on ... to Brazil, home of Havaianas!
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anonymous
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Great blog!