August 23, 2011

Tuesday began with a short bus ride down to 34th street to visit the Empire State Building. I knew it was on 5th Avenue and 34th street, but when we first got off the bus we were just standing there looking around saying to ourselves, “Where'd the Empire State Building Go?” I think what thew us off was the Walgreen's that occupies the first story. I guess I just didn't expect a regular store to be in such a famous building. Clearly I forgot the first rule of Manhattan: anything is possible with enough money.

On top of the world!

That rule also applies to going up to the Empire State Building observatory. Either it's the most expensive elevator in the world, or they're really just trying to see how much money they can get tourists to pay. One thing is for certain: they sure have a corner on the market. Earlier we had decided that it didn't matter what it cost, we would do the things we wanted to do so we got on line, paid our thirty-something bucks each and then got on another line to wait for the elevator. I didn't notice it last time I went up (when I was ten), but the entire time you are on your way up, all the windows are frosted on the bottom, as if to prevent you from stealing a view before you reach the observatory. Fortunately the view did not disappoint and made all the waiting worth it. I think Amelia was a little bummed that all the other people crowding the deck made it a little less romantic than the scene from Sleepless in Seattle, but we still had a great time.

After we rode the elevator back down to the ground we set off to find the 2nd Avenue Deli for some authentic New York Jewish food. Unbeknownst to me, New York Jewish food comes with authentic New York prices. Sixteen bucks for a corned beef sandwich, and even more if you want any of the delicious looking sides to go with it. Instead we ended up getting felafel from a halal street vender at four dollars each. On a whim I asked for them to go, so we strolled up fifth avenue looking for a nice spot to eat lunch when I realized we were at the New York Central Public Library. Lunch was delicious, not in the least because we were looking up at the architecture as we ate.

The afternoon continued with a very nice but very busy walk up fifth avenue until we reached Rockefeller Center. Ever the fans of the TV show “30 Rock”, we were taking pictures in front of the building when I got a very strange text message from my aunt Terri. She asked me if I felt the earthquake.  We hadn’t felt anything, but suddenly there were people in suits in the street, milling about.  They had apparently felt the shaking in their buildings and gone out onto the street to wait for it to end.  

Amelia admiring the poster for the show.

Later that night we got fancied up as best we could and again left the apartment to walk back to the Hirschfeld theater to see Daniel Radcliffe and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and it was worth every penny.  The writing was funny, Daniel Radcliffe was wonderful (but very short), and the sets were amazing.  Both Amelia and I had a wonderful time, and I felt a little pang of sorrow that I wouldn’t be able to see another Broadway show for quite some time.

After the show we joined a swiftly growing crowd of mainly (girls and) women outside the stage door to hopefully get an autograph from Daniel, but I don’t think we realized just how popular it was going to be.  We were several rows back and unfortunately Daniel Radcliffe only stopped and signed 4-5 autographs before getting into a waiting black car.  It was a little disappointing, but nothing could have shaken the happy feelings we felt that night.  I still don’t think I could ever live in Manhattan, but I definitely witnessed the magic of the “Big Apple.”

Manhattan

 Time's Square at night.

August 22, 2011

We were only in Manhattan for two days but we did everything. Our trip began with a ride into Penn Station on the Long Island Railroad. The station was on her way, so my Aunt Terri dropped us off, we each paid our six bucks and boarded the train. From Penn Station we rode the escalator up to the street and got our first taste of the Big Apple. For those of you who have never been there, it's hard to describe, but the feeling is something of being in a concrete forest. All around you are tall buildings, some hundreds of feet high, stretching towards the sky. The buildings are so tall and there are so many that most of the day the streets are shaded. And then there's the noise. Yellow cabs honk as they weave in and out of j-walking pedestrians. Other cars crowd the streets so much that sometimes nothing moves even when the light turns green. All the sidewalks are at least ten feet wide and are full of a diverse mix of people. There's everyone from business-types in their crisp suits and leather shoes to teenagers in saggy pants and Vans. One thing that everyone in Manhattan has in common though is they know where they're going and they're in a hurry to get there.

Penn Station is on 33rd Street and 8th Avenue and my aunt and uncle live on 66th street, so we started walking north. A quick side lesson on Manhattan navigation (because even though I've been there a handful of times, everyone already assumed I knew): streets go east-west and avenues go north-south. First avenue is on the east side of the island and the avenues go up as you walk west. Same with streets: numbers get bigger as you walk north. Now you too can navigate the Big Apple! Anyway, we arrived a couple hours before my aunt and uncle were going to be in the city, so to pass the time we strolled up 8th avenue and then part of the way through Central Park before turning west to their beautiful apartment on West End Avenue.

We had only walked a few blocks when a city bus passed with a giant picture of Daniel Radcliffe's face advertising some sort of show. Now I'm not sure what it is about him, but girls go ape-shit for Daniel and when Amelia saw his face it wasn't much different. Fortunately the bus was moving so it wasn't too long before his smiling face was out of sight and we could continue walking. But then, not ten blocks later, it happened again only this time Daniel's face was on a building. The building was the Hirschfeld theater and the poster was for a show called “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” starring Daniel Radcliffe. So in we went and even though we swore we weren't going to see a broadway show, how many chances does one have to see Harry Potter live on stage? A large chunk of change later we walked out with 12th row seats in the center section for the next day's show. We finished our walk in a kind of daze as the realization that we were in New York City, The New York City where things actually happen, dawned on us.

The rest of Monday was taken up with the Museum of Natural History, or as I've started calling it, the Museum of Natural Taxidermy for the thousands of specimens we saw. Even without the taxidermy though, that place would be overwhelming. You could spend most of a day in each room about the peoples of different parts of the world. And then there's the whole gem collection which is at least another afternoon. Because we didn't get there until the early afternoon, we did the lightning version of the museum, drifting from massive exhibit to massive exhibit until the museum closed. After we squeezed the very last minute out of the museum we reluctantly exited and walked back to my aunt Susan and uncle Irv's place. That night we talked with them down to 45th street through Lincoln Center and Times Square to their favorite pizza place, John's Pizzeria (“no slices”). The food was delicious and it was a great way to end our first day in The City.