4th of July in the Big Apple, Staten Island Ferry, Ground Zero – Day 6 & 7 – our final days in NYC

July 4 – Day 6 in New York.  We hemmed and hahhhed about whether we should go to the big firework show presented by Macy’s on July 4th.  We knew if we told everyone that we were in New York on the 4th and didn’t go to the fireworks, we’d be written off as stupid non-engaging, non-East Coasters tourists (which we are sort of).  So we decided to scope out the situation (Bruce’s influences on me after 31 years).  

So before heading off, we decided to grab some coffee and were watching the people from the Starbucks next to our hotel.  A big bruhaha began.  There were fists swinging and I guess an altercation took place between several burly, suited, guys in front of our hotel in the middle of the street.  Was it a taxi driver and limo driver or doorman?  It was big and lasted for a bit.  We couldn’t see directly, but it was hilarious watching everyone stop dead and look in the direction of the fight.  I couldn’t see because a huge crowd gathered around.  Finally the cops showed up and the ambulance, which means someone got knocked hard.   I took pictures of it to tell Cynthia that was I was part of a police action.

We took the bus out to where they were going to let people on the FDR for the fireworks show.  FDR is a major freeway/elevated roadway that parallels the East River (don’t I sound like I know what I’m talking about?) and its closed to traffic for the 4th firework show.  Thousands of people come and line up this long roadway to see the fireworks, which is shot off of 3 – 4 barges floating on the rivers.  Yeah, impressive — and the folks on the other side of the river have a great viewing area as well.  You can even stand on the Brooklyn Bridge to watch the show.

So we saw where we needed to go and then walked over to the UN building and took some pictures.  Was not impressive at all –I remembered that when I was in elementary school, I thought it’d be great to work for the UN doing something.  Even though it was the 4th of July and all businesses were closed in the area, there were demonstrators across from the UN – Free Tibet!  We’re told that demonstrators are there 24/7 regardless of rain, sleet or snow.

From there we walked over to Grand Central Station and took some pictures for Bruce’s friend at work – it was impressive.  What movie had the big shoot out scene with the baby carriage on the staircase of the Grand Central Station? 

From there we walked and saw St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  We sat in the cool huge gothic sanctuary and reminesced about “Miracle in the Rain” and I told Bruce the story of the whole movie.  It’s very pretty in there. 

Then we walked over to Rockefeller Center, saw the gold statue, place where they ice skate (there’s a lot of tables there with umbrellas for a pricey restaurant).  The building is impressive and you can pay and go up to the top for a view.  We didn’t do that, instead we walked through the NBC gift shop which had everything from Heros, Conan O’Brien, Matt Lauer, etc.  We saw where they film the Morning Show, and the big Atlas sculptor you see at the beginning of Conan O’Brien.  Neither he, nor David Letterman were filming this week and returning in mid July. oh well. 

We hopped on the bus and came back and ate at Fluffy’s.  Then we had to make a decision, were we going to go back to fireworks or not?  We decided to go and tough it out, and tough it out we did….got there around 6:30 and waited in long lines, moving to a stop and waited more till 9:30.  At the spot we finally settled at, we were behind this very cute family from the suburbs (they took the train for 50 minutes and came to Grand Central).  There were 3 girls and Mom and Dad with the best NY accents and listening to the little girls was a real treat.  They were very sweet and fun.  It was raining off and on, so there were a lot of people, a lot of umbrellas, but people moved politely without any craziness.  Amazing.  Chatted with some of the cops on duty and there was a Chinese young guy there who had a WTC pin among his bars, ribbons, etc. on his uniform.  We asked, and he said yes, he was part of the World Trade Center bombing.

The firework show was grand and we looked down to our right for most of the show, but I still like the music and Disneyland more.  Like Nee Nee says, without the music, you don’t know what to do at a fireworks show.

St Patrick's Cathedral

Rockefeller Center

Grand Central Station

Happy 4th of July!! New York style

OUR LAST DAY!!

So our goal for our last day in New York, was to do as much as anything else we hadn’t done already before we said good-bye to the East Coast and head home to all the mundane things that we call life.  It was threatening thunder and lightning storm, so we rode the bus with our umbrella and headed for the southern tip of the island.   Really enjoyed looking at the different streets, communities that we pass through – we saw the big bronze bull of Wall Street and finally got off near a Starbucks for coffee and a potty break. 

We saw the Staten Island Ferry station, the ferry itself and thought about riding it – it’s free and we’re running out of money.  It arrives and leaves every 20 minutes and it goes by the Statue of Liberty for a closer look and a closer look at Ellis Island and arriving at Staten Island.  What’s Staten Island, one may ask?  I never knew, but it’s a town or island community where there are people working, etc.  I think Denise A told me that her dad use to make this run all the time.  We decided against the free ride (as enticing as it sounded to my frugal husband) since I have extreme motion sickness and it was raining and somewhat choppy.  Actually I would’ve probably been ok, but who knows with this aging changing body.  So we opted to walk around in the misty rain and took pictures of the Statue of LIberty and Ellis Island (which is right next to each other) from afar.  Many people said that the Statue didn’t look as big as they thought it would be.  I was impressed anyway. 

From there we walked past this beautiful old building and tried to figure out what it was — the Smithsonian Museum featuring Indians.  Since it was “free” the key word for the day, we went in and read up on the building – it was the first Custom House of the US?  or something grand like that.  Very beautiful. 

We walked some more and came to Ground Zero, the site of Twin Towers and the hole in the ground that’s there now.  When we were on the bus earlier, I overheard a passenger/visitor ask about Ground Zero of the driver and he told us that the street that we were on at that moment was where they took the picture of the blonde older woman running down the street with a rag over her mouth.  I think I remember that image well.

It was very very sad.  There were a lot of people solemnly streaming down towards this site and there was a lot of construction barriers, workers, trucks, cranes, equipment, lighting, etc. around the site encircled by high cyclone fencing and black tarp covering the fencing so you couldn’t see in.  There were a few openings and we snapped a few photos.  We saw special walkways and entrances to viewing areas designated only for “family members”.  We also saw the fire station that is located closest to the Twin Towers, literally right across the street from it before it fell.  The fire trucks were pulling out for some reason and everyone stopped and applauded the company as they drove by.  Was sad to realize that on 9/11 probably most, if not all of the firefighters that were on duty that day died.  Many folks looked and snapped pictures, from this point and then left.

Bruce and I decided to walk on, up flights of stairs, through some more temporary outdoor covered corridors with some more additional viewing spots of Ground Zero.  If you follow this walkway, it leads into the building across the street from the Twin Towers.  What really made an impression was the close proximity of the building AROUND the Twin Towers.  There are very tall high rises just across the street from the Twin Towers — were they already there at 9/11?  I guess the towers really did topple on top of itself – I know I probably heard that statement before, but if you saw how close everything is, and how tall the Towers were, if it toppled and fell to the side, it would’ve taken many other building with it.  Even in this terrible castastrophic tragedy, God’s mercy can be seen.

Anyway, as we circled around the ruins, we saw the ramp that was built to move the debris and bodies during the rescue efforts.  We also saw the cross that was formed on its own, made by the falling beams – it’s been relocated to the church across the street temporarily and will return as part of the permanent memorial later.

World Trade Center Fire Station

 

Cross from Ground Zero

We got back on the bus and headed by north.  I longingly looked at Broome Street as we passed by in Soho, but didn’t get off the bus.  That’s where my good friend, Kate Spade has her store (we’re good friends because I have 2 of her designs and visit her via the web all the time) .  We saw a Papaya Hot Dog and jumped off the bus in Soho or Greenwich Village and ate our hot dogs – this was the place PBS said had the best hot dogs in the world.  We ate ours and they were good – Bruce had 2 and I had one. 

Then we got back on the bus and meandered back towards the hotel.  We spotted a huge street fair/farmer’s market and jumped off the bus and looked at all the stands.  Lots more purses, some craft stuffs and good food.  Bruce got a beef kabob that was to die for.  Deeelish.

We got back to the hotel and I took my normal nap and we ate dinner around 9 that night.  We then put on our getting home mode, packed and got ready to leave. 

Next morning, we left for the airport early (Bruce Choy Battle Plan) and got to JFK.  We had to wait to check in our luggage and sat and watched people and knitted for a bit.  When we got past security, we ate a huge slice of pizza (we ate NY pizza, another have to do, checked off).  From there I ran out of yarn and decided to get a book which I started and Bruce finished (normal sequence of events all the time).

We boarded with no incidents, unlike our trip over to New York and landed by 9:30 ish in San Jose.  David and Nee came to get us with no hassle and got home to see the puppy and big girls.  Nee and David left us.  Made all our phone calls and enjoyed being at home remembering our Big Apple Big Experience. 

No one was rude, crude, scary, nasty, etc.  Bus drivers, taxi drivers, doormen, hotel workers, waiters, waitresses, hostesses, people waiting at the bus stop, other visitors, locals waiting for the fireworks, crowds of people leaving the fireworks, crowds at Ground Zero, cute security/greeter guys, toy soldiers, museum workers/security folks, pamphlet hander outers,…….everywhere we went, New Yorkers were very nice and helpful.  Thank you Rudy G!  I would’ve voted for you for President for a kinder cleaner America.

Oh yes, we are definitely going back!

Metropolitan Art Museum and Subway and Buses Day 4 & 5

 

We walked through Central Park again and headed for the Metopolitan Art Museum and this time, we saw the Bethseda Fountain of “Enchanted” fame, and the walk way where the park benches face each other, and the area where Mel Gibson’s son was kidnapped in that movie (can’t remember the name), anyway, it all came rushing back to me!

"That's how you know, he's your love..."

Bethseda Fountain

 

   Tired but determined, we got to the Met and saw only the first floor since the 2nd was in maintenance or something.  The only Tiffany we got to see was this window, which I tried to take home with me.  Afterwards, we walked home and rehydrated and napped. Nee text’d me and told that the hot dogs sold in front of the museum were really good, so we had to have one of those.  Then we trudged home (another 4- 5 mile round trip) and showered, napped and went out to the Stage Deli for dinner – I had a giant meatloaf sandwich, Bruce had a pastrami and yes, they were big again.  We found out later from Dave Stockman, who lived in NY, that if the sandwiches weren’t giant like the ones we had, NY-ers would send them back.   On the way home, I found those subway line shirts Brandon wanted and bought 2 of them, and some postcards.

To give our feetsy a rest and to be brave, we mustered up our courage, went down to the subway station, and bought a $7.50 all day pass for subway and buses.  We hopped onto a subway train and headed for Canal Street Chinatown.  We got there pretty quickly and as we emerged from the station, there was a man whispering “Prada, Gucci, Coach” and showing me the little piece of paper in the plastic sleeves.  I told him no and walked on.  Chinatown was Chinatown — smelly, dirty, crowded and we were bombarded by knock off merchants.  Lots of howlie ladies were walking around talking about their good deal on purses carrying black telltale plastic bags full of their knock offs.  It was intriguing.  I relented and bought 2 bags a Doci Gabana and Tosca for $65.  Very nice knock offs – one for Tara and one for O Pay Pay.  We walked on and saw Little Italy and imagined that these were the streets of Don Corleone’s olive oil store and where he picked a few pieces of fruit.  It was very nice.

We walked further and ended up in Soho where we were on a mission to find Kidrobot and Bathing Ape.  Give Bruce a destination and the mission begins.  We already knew where Kidrobot was and found it in Soho — it wasn’t going to be opened till 11 am and this was a Thursday.  We found a coffee shop and stopped for some breakfast.  We asked the waitress if she knew where Bathing Ape was and she didn’t know, but a big Af Am limo driver, who was chilling at the restaurant, told us he knew where it was and gave us directions.  We thanked him.  We went back to Kidrobot and bought our stuff and headed for Bathing Ape and it wasn’t opened yet – I want these folks hours.  I took some pics and we headed off.  

For our return trip, we took the bus and got off on 34th street and saw Macy and Empire State Building.  It was amazing.  I, of couse, bought a Macy’s New York tote, red and patten leather/plastic.  We rode home on the bus through Time Square and got back to the hotel.  The buses were great and easy to use since we could see where we were going.  Underground on the subway is a lot harder.  The subway stations were hot and smelly too.

That night we ate an expensive dinner at a Greek restaurant – we had the bbq octopus appetizer and boy was it good!  A great way to end a great easy going day.  No 5 mile treks sweating and dehydrating.

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Chinatown- Canal Street ["Prada, Gucci, Coach"

found Brandon's store

Miracle on 34th Street

BBQ Octopus Appetizer

 

  

 

Central Park and Museum- Day 2 and Looking for Yarn Day 3

"Night at the Museum" Museum

We walked our butts off on Day 2 of New York and decided to walk through Central Park to the Museum of Natural History.  Strolling through the Park, we saw the Tavern on the Green, the same restaurant the monster in Ghostbusters chased Ray Moranis to.  Yeah.  Another magical film moment for me.  Then we saw all 4 stories of this very very fun Museum.  There were dinosaurs, elephants, ceramic statues of Sweetie, whales, you name it.  As if walking there was enough, we saw all 4 stories and then walked back to our hotel.  We grabbed dinner across the street.  We made a munchies run to the drug store down the street and called it a night.  We clocked in maybe 4 – 5 miles? 

The next day we decided to give our feet a rest and look for the yarn store we saw advertised in one of the tourist magazines – Stitches East and found it.  Bought enough yarn for 2 pairs of socks – one for me and one for Pauline.  Then we paid homage to the Mouse and stopped at the largest Disney store outside of the resorts on 5th avenue and bought some stuff and a shirt for Emmet.  From there we went to FAO Schwarz and look what I almost brought home!!

my own "toy" soldier to play with

We also saw the fountain that Nerissa looked into as a crystal ball in Enchanted, Ritz Carlton and rode the escalators and oooo’d and ahhhh’d in Trump Tower.  They were repairing one large square tile by the entrance and when we were leaving, I saw a real big guy in a suit yelling at the workers about the quality or something of the work – was very Trump.  Waiting for the guy to say, “you’re fired!”.  Another reason for taking it easy this day, was that we were going to see Jersey Boys that evening, and boy was that a treat.  The music was terrific and the singers and actors were wonderful.  Really takes you back.  We paid a lot for the tickets, but I thought it was well worth it.  We ate at Schmidt & McCormick afterwards that evening.  Yarn, Disney fix, cute FAO Schwarz soldier, Four Seasons, who could ask for anything more?

New York was magical!

It took us forever to get out of the Bay Area with mechanical problems on our scheduled plane, shuttling up to Oakland and catching the red eye.  We basically lost a day of fun in the big Apple, but undaunted, bleary eyed, we tried to do something.

Day 1 we napped at the hotel for a few hours and then went walking in the pm from the hotel to 5th ave and Time Square.  We saw Carnegie Hall, the Russian Tea Room (an old place I’ve heard referred to by who??  was it Auntie Mame? or Carmella from the Sopranos? ), and a Kate Spade paper shop.  We found the building that Bruce’s friend wanted us to photographed, and did that and lo and behold, just across the street was Tiffany, as in “Breakfast at”.  We went into this 3 story building remembering how Dr. McDreamy took Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama, into the darkened 1st floor show room, flicked on the switch, lighting up the whole first floor with stores clerks and glass cases, and then said, in his most Dr. McDreamy voice, “Pick one.”  We went upstairs instead where the signature silver pieces were.  I bought 2 bracelets with “Return to Tiffany New York” charms for me and nee.  We were ready to leave from there was a huge thunder

and lightning storm, with big drops of rain.  We didn’t have our umbrella, so we waited, yes, in Tiffany’s.

After the weather cleared up a little, we walked back towards the hotel and stopped at Rue 57 (on 57th street wink wink) and had our first New York meal – expensive, but good.  I had eggs, lox, onions and bagels.  Very good.  We went back to the hotel and slept.  When we woke up it was dark and we decided to walk down to Time Square.  It was hopping and very crowded, very lit up but enjoyable.  We saw the Ed Sullivan Theater where they film David Letterman, the Hello Deli next door, Jerry Orbach theater, where they’re showing Jersey Boys, Wicked, the LIttle Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Hairspray, Phantom of the Opera, Mama Mia, and much more.  We went into the 3 story M & M store and stood under the ac blowers and watched the kajillion people.  It was noisy, crowded, hot and exciting.  We left a little overwhelmed to the quieter street of our hotel and found the Carnegie Deli where Dave Stockman recommended that we eat.  He warned us that the waiters will be rude for the the sake of being rude.  They weren’t, and the sandwiches were HUGE – at least a pound of meat for each of us and they charge $3 if you share anything.  I’d gladly give them that!  Feeling very full, we called it a day.

we’re going to New York

yayy leaving tomorrow and will be back next Sunday!