Day 7: Meandering in Midtown Manhattan

Overview of Today’s Agenda: Grand Central Station, UN Buildings, Broadway Show: 9 to 5, Empire State Building, Times Square

Many of my fellow hostellers were surprised to learn that I had been in New York for six days already and I hadn’t been to Times Square yet. Today I made an effort to rectify this and see some of the sights in Midtown.

I started early-ish, as the UN building opened for public tours at 9:30. But first I stopped in at Grand Central Station to take the ceiling on the main hall. A guidebook had recommended looking for the dark patch near the crab on the ceiling to see the difference after the latest renovations. I took me a few minutes to find it because it was much smaller than expected (at least it wasn’t as hard as finding the frog on the outside wall of University of Salamanca’s library – that I had to be shown after 10 minutes of looking). Anyways… after people watching in Grand Central for a while I walked over to the UN Headquarters on the East River.

While the UN security was just as extensive as the building in Geneva – but I was a little disappointed we didn’t get cool security passes (it was one of my favourite souvenirs from my trip in 2007) Just like in Geneva lots of countries had donated art to UN, so most of the tour was centered on these pieces. one thing I didn’t like about the tour was the displays on what the UN does. There were several displays on the tour about landmines, development goals, UNICEF etc but the tour does not give you enough time to read all the information. It seems like the tour guide is always rushing you on to the next item because there is a group directly behind us. It wasn’t so bad for me because I had learned most of this at university, but for someone who knows nothing about the United Nations it may be confusing.

After passing other New York landmarks like the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and St Patrick’sCathedral, I unknowingly ended up in Times Square. The amount of  people on the street had tripled and the brightness of the billboards had doubled. There is no way you could miss it. After standing in line for a bit I managed to get a ticket for the matinee of the new Broadway show 9-5. Originally I had planned only to see one show in NYC, but the playbill of South Pacific had an article about this new musical. The fact that Allison Janney (of CJ Craig-West Wing fame) starred in the musical sold me. It turned out to be a fabulous production well deserving of its Tony nominations.

Finally I decided that despite the overcast weather I was still going to go up the Empire State Building. What you read and hear about the lines here should be taken seriously. Even in the off season the lines are endless. This time the CityPass doesn’t really save you much time in line skipping. Just like Chandler alluded to on Friends, you have to resist the urge to say moo as you are being herded through the lines like cattle on a farm. However the view at the top is pretty great (even on a cloudy day) and it helps to get the audio guide to explain what you are looking at. The whole process took about 3 hours and yet I was only on the observation deck for 30 minutes. If you are looking to recreate a romantic scene from Sleepless in Seattle or An Affair to Remember – forget about it. Mass tourism has destroyed the opportunity for any magic moments. 

I returned to Times Square at night to get the full on neon light experience. I read at the CIty of New York Museum that it is mandatory for all lights in Times Square to be 1.5 times brighter than normal. They are not kidding. You don’t need a flash to take pictures because the reflection from the Coca-Cola ad lights up your subjects quite nicely.

This concludes my coverage of NYC. It’s true what my roomate told me, you can’t see all of New York City in 7 days. However, I’d like to think that got a feel for the city by hitting most of the ‘must see’ tourist icons, like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, as well as seeing some of the spirit of the city in some of the ‘off-the-beaten-track’ places like the Louis Armstrong House Museum and the City of New York Museum. There will always be something new and different to city in the city even if you’ve already seen the landmarks. So I hope I will have a chance to come back!

Day 6: Biggest, Brightest and Best

Overview of today’s agenda: Guggenheim Museum, American Museum of Natural History and Broadway Show: South Pacific

Once again taking advantage of the rainy weather I saw a couple more of New York’s museums on ‘Museum Mile’ on 5th Avenue. The first stop was the Guggenheim Museum. After seeing the amazing exterior of the Guggenheim in Bilbao, this museum’s exterior was a little plain. The inside was also a little disappointing as most of the galleries were closed because they were installing a new Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. There was a few of the permanent collections open to viewing. But to see the entire museum took less than an hour. 

Next I took a crosstown bus to see the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). It is true that NYC is a city of superlatives. As I have been touring around it seems that all the guides have pointed out the biggest, best and features of the city. But nowhere was this more obvious than in the AMNH. Inside I saw a very large cross section of a 1000 year old tree, a huge model of blue whale and a huge meteorite. It was having the Calgary Science Centre, the ROM and the Biodome all under one roof. You could spend days inside this museum.

Personally the most interesting sections for me were the space exhibits and the Planetarium. Particularly interesting was the photos taken by astronauts on the moon. The dinosaurs were also quite neat – like a mini Royal Tyrell Museum.

I left the AMNH a bit early to get tickets for an evening performance of South Pacific. There are many ways to get discounted Broadway tickets – lotteries, online purchase and rush tickets. Depending on the show different methods are better. For South Pacific they were selling student rush tickets two hours before the show for $20 in the mezzanine. There is always a chance they may sell out of the tickets so it’s important to line up early if you really want to see the show.

My first experience with Broadway was pretty fantastic! Even from the mezz you could see the entire stage and most facial expressions of the cast. South Pacific was a great revival show with enough action, romance and comic relief to please any audience.       

         

Day 5: Immigration Investigations

Overview of today’s agenda: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Brooklyn Bridge

Today’s adventures were mostly dedicated to Liberty and Ellis Island. The guide books weren’t wrong when they said you need five hours to do both islands. I would add that I spent  more time on Ellis Island than I did on Liberty Island. While seeing the Statue of Liberty is cool, the exhibits are more extensive on Ellis Island.

I arrived early at Clinton Castle in Battery Park to get a monument pass for the Statue of Liberty, because while CityPass included free ferry ride it didn’t give you access to the statue itself. Planning to see the statue is an adventure in itself – it pays to research how to do it in advance to avoid being disappointed!

After going through airport–style security you are crammed onto a ferry and brought to Liberty Island. It is definitely better to get there early in the morning, as the lines to go up the statue just get longer and longer. Unfortunately since 9/11 you can only go up to the top of the pedestal, but you do get a great view up Lady Liberty’s dress! On a cloudy day the view is less than spectacular – but the quasi-museum about the construction etc was cool.

After an overpriced all-American lunch (Burger and Fries) I took the ferry over to Ellis Island. While the views and interior weren’t as impressive, the displays were quite extensive and interesting. The tree of American-English words that had come from other languages was particularly neat. The 30 minute video in the theatre gave a good summary of the history of immigration at Ellis Island. The best part was upstairs where there was memorabilia from the time period as well as stories of immigrants.

I stuck around downtown after visiting the islands and went to Chinatown. I had excellent Vietnamese food and some lychee ice cream for dessert. I was a little skeptical of the suggestion to try the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, as my past experience with Chinese desserts has been less than stellar. However the lychee ice cream was fantastic, and for those who are not fans of Asian flavours this ice cream place covers all the basic flavours.

Since I was already wet from all the rain today (and my one leaky show was already soaking), I decided to stick it out to see the Brooklyn Bridge up close at night. It had a convenient pedestrian walkway above the road. From the centre of the bridge you can see most of lower Manhattan, downtown Brooklyn and just barely see the Statue of Liberty. It would be interesting to go back during the day when its sunny to compare.

                    

 

Day 4: Abstract Art and Jumpin’ Jazz

Overview of Today’s Agenda: Museum of Modern Art and Big Apple Jazz Tour

The day began early at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Today I realized how useful it was to buy a CityPass. When I arrived at the MoMA a few minutes after it opened there was already a line. But because of the priority features of the CityPass I was able to skip all of the lines and get a ticket right away.

I started on the 5th floor with the temporary exhibits. The first one of some Argentine and Brazilian artists didn’t interest me too much, but the Martin Kippenberger exhibit was awesome. This German artist had a wide variety of styles and media. From crucified frogs to eggs to large installations, Kippenberger seemed to cover it all in 44 years of life.

On the lower floors I saw the permanent exhibit which included a large collection of Soviet artists, including the father of Soviet Abstract Art – Wassily Kandinsky. They had a plethora of Picassos, Matisses, Mondrians etc. One artist that I thought was lacking was Salvador Dali (maybe I just missed his gallery). The only Dali that I found was the famous Persistence of Memory. Now after travelling to so many different art galleries over the last three years it has become easier to recognize painters based on the style in the photograph.

In addition to the European modern art they also have a selection of American pop artists like Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Jasper Johns. Unfortunately most of the architecture and design section was closed, so the last section I visited was the photography section. They had an interesting exhibit on the evolution of the photographic and print medium, however their permanent collection of photographs wasn’t impressive.

In between exhibits I stopped in for a late lunch in the MoMA’s cafeteria. I had an arugula salad with prosciutto and blue cheese with an espresso brownie (see right). While their menu was extensive, it was also quite expensive – it was nearly $30 for my lunch! I much prefer the Met’s method of ticketing – allowing you to leave the museum and return later – that way you don’t have to dine inside the museum.

In the early afternoon I headed back to Harlem to meet  the group for the Sunday evening Harlem Jazz Tour organized by Big Apple Jazz. It was a pretty cool tour and the guide was certainly an expert on jazz. We saw three sets of live music at three different .It was great to go to a real jam session where musicians just come and go, nothing really planned. In addition to the music sets we also saw iconic jazz places on and around Lennox Ave including the tree of hope, Minton’s playhouse and the location of the 1958 Great Day in Harlem photograph. This tour definitely gave me a good idea of where to go for some great music next time I visit NYC.

Day 3: Brooklyn the Better Borough?

Overview of today’s agenda: Louis Armstrong Museum House, NYC Transit Museum, Coney Island and Brighton Beach

It is now day three and I still really haven’t figured out the subway system yet. It doesn’t help that on weekends some of the train lines don’t run. Needless to say I think that I spent as much time on public transit as I did in the museums. But I did have some great views of the Manhattan skyline from the 7 subway line that runs above ground in Queens.

The Louis Armstrong Museum is far out – about 1 hour by subway from Harlem – but well worth the trip! The museum is in the house that Louis bought with his fourth wife and she donated the house after her death. No photos were allowed  inside because it is preserved as it was in the 1970s. It is a pretty awesome house with a gold plated bathroom that was featured, a custom made state-of-the-art kitchen and a massive walk-in closet. They also had an interconnected sound system installed in most rooms in the house (including the bathroom). I think most people today would be envious of the Armstrongs’ House.

After finishing up at Louis’ house I headed across Long Island to the other borough – Brooklyn. It took me about 2 hours (after a few false starts on the wrong trains and closed stations). Most of NYC’s transit runs from the boroughs to downtown Manhattan. It’s harder to get from one borough to another even though its the same distance.

I found Brooklyn to be more like Toronto. Less people, less traffic, less skyscrapers than Manhattan. This was not to say that it was less of a good time. I spent a couple of hours at the New York City Transit Museum. It is definitely off the mainstream tourist track, but still worthwhile for the low admission price of $5. The best part of the museum was the old subway cars they had on display. Because the museum is located on an old subway station the old fashioned subway cars (complete with old advertisements) are on actual subway tracks. Also interesting was the evolution of the subway tokens and turnstiles.

After enjoying a pint of Harp and fish n’ chips at The Atlantic Fish and Chip Shop in downtown Brooklyn, I went deeper into Brooklyn and saw Coney Island. I was a little disappointed with the amusement park – quite run down and over priced (it was $6 for one round of bumper cars). What I enjoyed most was seeing ‘Little Odessa’. This is the area of Brooklyn near the subway stop Brighton Beach, it is inhabited by immigrants from Eastern Europe. Here you are more likely to hear Russian than English.

As the sun was setting I headed back to Harlem by subway. This time it only took me 45 minutes. I think I were to live in New York, living in downtown Brooklyn (Brooklyn Heights) just across the East  River from Manhattan would be my choice. It has enough things to do and places to eat and is close enough to commute. It would be my guess that commuting from Brooklyn Heights to the Financial District is faster than commuting from somewhere north of Central Park.

Day 2: Rainy Rendezvous

Overview of today’s agenda: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met), The Museum of the City of New York, walking tour of downtown and a night out in the Village

Eager to make the most out of my 7 days here in NYC I hit the museum that opens the earliest first – the Met at 9:30. I was so glad I got there early because I was nice to enjoy the art without the crowds, because by lunch time it was packed. It is a huge museum, it would take days to see the whole thing properly, so I had to pick and choose what parts I went to. Unfortunately there section on American artists was closed, so I opted for the19th European section instead. Saw some notable paintings like Death of Socrates, by Jacques Louis David, The Harvesters by Bruegel and Aristotle with a Bust of Homer  by Rembrandt.  While some of these painting were profound in their influence – as a found out  with the audio guide (which I would highly recommend – art lover or not), I enjoyed the modern art sections much more. Here I got a good taste of American modern art like Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. There was also the European cubists, surrealists and impressionists that I love. I concluded with the Met’s extensive Egyptian collection – it is amazing to see how much western countries excavated in the early 20th century. The Met claims to have over 25,000 artifacts!

One great bonus of the Met is that your ticket is good all day (including the audio tour and coat check) so you can leave for lunch etc. I had lunch on the walk up 5th Ave to the Museum of the City of New York. Toronto’s ‘street meat’ is quite limited – hotdogs or Chinese. So here in New York I had an urge to branch out an try a knish. I was not disappointed – the potato and meat filled Jewish dish was tasty.

The Museum of the City of New York was a good way to escape tourists – it was quite empty mid afternoon. It had some great exhibits on the founding of New Amsterdam, trade in NYC in the 19th century, a fashion exhibit on the clothes designed by New York icon Valentina and to cap it off a 25 minute video show on the history of the city from New Amsterdam to present. It was informative 3 hour visit. 

At 4:00 (in the middle of a rain deluge) I met my greeter as part of the Big Apple Greeter program. It’s a volunteer program where locals meet with tourists and introduce them to a neighbourhood of the city. My greeter and I walked from Union Square (aka the protest square) crosstown to the meat packing district (by day an industrial area, but by night the hottest clubbing area). Next was the highlights of Greenwich Village including where Carrie from Sex and the City supposedly lived on Perry St., also some good bars and jazz places. We concluded with a walk through Noho and Soho to Canal St (aka bargain central!) After that I headed back to the hostel for dinner.

Getting from my hostel in Harlem to downtown can take 30 minutes and it seems the subway is always busy no matter what time of day – rush hour is just uber crowded! So when I headed back down to the Village for evening adventures I had spent probably 2 hours on the subway already today! Some gals from the hostel and I checked out a mediocre comedy show and then people watched at a pizza place.My greeter was right when he said that neighbourhoods are completely different at night – some of the streets of the village were all neon – something you would have not expected being in the sleepy campus area in the afternoon. All in all the first full day was an action-packed success! 

NYC Day 1: Sinara School and Hello Hostel in Harlem

Goodbye undergrad, hello the rest of my life! As of yesterday I have officially finished the requirements for my Bachelor of Arts. Then early this morning I left for my graduation celebration in NYC. Next time I’ll try to leave a day between finishing something and leaving the country – as it was kind of hard to pack and plan while still studying. Needless to say packing was done at lightning speed the night before I left. But everything worked out ok and I made it to the airport on time.

This time I had the pleasure of flying Porter Airlines the short haul airline that flies out of the Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA). They claim to make flying fun – and they live up to those expectations. First of all it is so easy to get to the TCCA and saves TONS of time. Then Porter showers you with free beverages (of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety) and in-flight lunch. It makes travelling seem luxurious where you meet the rich and famous…or in my case Brian Mulroney. Yes I did spot the eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada on his way out of Toronto. But I digress…The only thing I could complain about was the rather rough landing, but all in all one of the best flying experiences I’ve had!

I made it to my hostel in Harlem after only getting lost once. After dumping my pack and went out to have the quintessential New York City experience…shopping! While the Canadian dollar is a bit lower than the American one, there are still great deals to be had (other than the I ♥ NYC t-shirts being sold on every corner). My favorite deal of the day was an Anne Klein watch for $35 USD. I was shocked at just how cheap these discount brand name stores were. Filene’s Basement  blew me away, I could have spend hundreds of dollars getting DKNY shorts, Prada skirts and American Eagle tank tops at a fraction of the cost!

I concluded my adventures with great Mexican food at Pinche Taqueria (a yummy cilantro dressing on my taco) and then a quick walk in Little Italy with an Italian Ice Smoothie. Tons of good looking restaurants along Mulberry street that I may check out tomorrow!

Final Feelings on Florida and Family Vacations

Our week long vacation was pretty perfect upon reflection. No one got stopped at customs, no one injured themselves or got lost. I think any longer together and we would have begun to get on each other nerves living in such close quarters. Since moving out I’m more used to having my own space and it is easy for parents to forget this. Since the last time you lived with them you were only 18 and followed their rules. Now you like to do things your way. But with a bit of advanced planning, itinerary agreement and compromise we were able to all enjoy the vacation.

As for Florida, it not a bad place to be during the winter. I don’t think I could tolerate the heat in the summer! There is of course things I’d like to go back and see – Universal Studios, Miami, the Florida Keys – but that can wait until next time. For now I’ve had my fill of American consumerism, fast food and toll booths! Travelling with the family was a nice change from the shoestring backpacking I do in the summer. Both methods can be equally fun and interesting, as evidenced my my accounts in my blog. It just depends on which type you prefer and what type of group you are travelling with.

Next destination: NYC in May!!!

Day 6: Fort Laurderdale Flora and Fauna

After the boat docked at 10AM we had a half day to enjoy the offerings of Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding area. My mother insisted (as did many travel websites) that a trip to Florida is not complete without a visit to the Everglades. So we went to the Everglades Holiday Park just outside of Fort Lauderdale. We got an hour long airboat ride with an overview of the history of the area and an explanation of the local wildlife. We were fortunate to see an alligator and some interesting birds. But not to fear if you missed the alligator in the Everglades, you were guaranteed to see them in the alligator show following the boat tour. The local ‘Alligator Dundee’ did some alligator wrestling and demonstrated some of the features on an adult alligator.

Luckily our hotel was right on the beach so we watched the sunset and spotted a string ray! We got the last few spots at the hotel’s New Years Eve Party and Dinner. At the New Years Eve party we got to see some of Florida’s other local fauna – seniors. Even my parents were the youngest ones at this party. But we enjoyed the great dinner – despite my sister’s complaints about the lack of vegetarian options. We counted down to midnight and had an obligatory dance on the dance floor before heading off to bed.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom and Other Loose Ends

Just like our other days at Disney our last day was just as busy. We did a selection of  rides at the Magic Kingdom: Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mickey’s PhilarMagic , the Golden Carrousel, The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the RiverBoat Cruise.

For me the Magic Kingdom reminded me of the classic rides they have in Disneyland in California. The fact that my younger sister does not remember many of the rides we did when we went to Disneyland when she was six proves our theory that the perfect age for taking your kids to a Disney is between 10-14. At this age you are old enough to later remember the trip AND are tall enough to do all the bigger rides, but you are also still young enough to enjoy meeting the Disney characters and parades. This avoids some of the Disney disasters we saw – four year olds screaming in long lines, trying to park your stroller and parents not being able to do rides because one child is too young. When you are older you are also more willing/able to stay out later and enjoy a baby free experience.

We quickly hopped over to Epcot to do the Honey, I shrunk the audience show and the Spaceship Earth ride. Doing the SpaceEarth was a nice way to end our Disney experience – a cool, thought provoking and entertaining ride we all enjoyed. Lastly we took in the Fantasmic light show at Hollywood studios and then rushed back to Epcot to see the fireworks there. Both shows were well done – but the theatre seating at Fantasmic was certainly an added bonus.

Here ends my first DisneyWorld experience. Advice? There are many forums and websites out there that give detailed advice. If you go at peak seasons do the research and follow all the tips concerning single-rider lines and fast passes. This will alleviate some of the wait times and frustrations. And don’t take kids under the age of five at these times – it ruins your vacation and they won’t remember the experience later to thank you. Next time I would stay on the Disney property to save time in terms of travelling/parking and costs of renting a car.