As I mentioned in my D.C. blog, my first impressions of New York City as a 13-year-old were that it smelled bad, had a lot of trash, and was very busy. My first impressions of NYC as a 25-year-old were that it reminded me a lot of La Paz, Bolivia. Bryan thought it was hilarious that I kept saying NYC was like La Paz, that I should be thinking of it the other way around. Both cities have more pedestrians than cars, have tall buildings, smell similarly, and are full of busy people wearing cold-weather clothing! I concluded that as a 13-year-old I just hadn't been to a developing country, and in smell, NYC is definitely like a developing country! So, having been to more than a few developing countries now, I don't think NYC smells as bad. The trash was still there though, and I think they need to work on that.
Our first full day in New York City was with our friend, Amina, who really wanted to take us to the East Village. We arrived at Grand Central Station on the train from Connecticut, bought day passes for the subway for $7, and Bryan and I commenced our first ride on the NYC subway. I'd heard all kinds of stories from people- from rats running amok, to the subway being very dirty and dangerous- but I never saw a single rat or robbery; of course it was dirty, but not too much more than the Metro buses around L.A.!
Bryan and Amina waiting for the Subway
One thing about the NYC subway I really liked was all the live music! Every stop seemed to have something different- an indie rocker, a Peruvian panflute band, a cello soloist, African drumming, etc. – I started to think, I could live here … We took the subway to the bustling Times Square first to buy Broadway tickets at the half-price ticket counter.
Amina walking across the street in Times Square
It was hard to decide on a show- all we knew we wanted was a show that's not playing in L.A.- so we ended up buying tickets for the show we could get the best tickets for: Beauty and the Beast. Now, before you make fun of me, we thought it'd be a good show with great costumes like The Lion King, plus who doesn't like a feel-good Disney story? After buying tickets and exploring Times Square a little, we popped in a deli to grab sandwiches, and saw the matinee show at 2:30.
The Cast of Beauty and the Beast
After the delightful little show, we went back to the Subway, to head to the East Village.
Once in the East Village, Amina and I wanted to find new jewelry- me, for my upper ear piercing and Amina, for her new nose ring! The East Village is a lot like Venice Beach to me, but with less freaks and more college-age people. We browsed through used books, bohemian clothing, jewelry, and shoes.
East Village in NYC
At one point a stand caught my attention that had South American-looking goods, and after talking to the vendor, I found he was from the Andes in Peru. We spoke a little in Spanish about Peru and he kept asking me if I was going to return and live there … I politely said I really liked the area, but no, I wouldn't be moving there. After a little more conversation, Amina, Bryan, and I made our way to the famous Washington Square, where we hung out for a bit and people watched.
Hanging out in Washington Square
We started to get hungry after all this walking, and began our search for a restaurant Amina's friend had suggested… we searched and searched, walking not just through the East Village, but through Greenwich Village and Little Italy, until we gave up and settled on a cute little Italian place and sat down with our sangrias.
Sippin' on Sangrias in a little Italian restaurant
We finished the night in NYC eating sweet cannolis at Veniero's Pasticceria, took the bustling subway back to Grand Central Station, and caught one of the last trains back to Connecticut.
Two days later, Bryan and I returned to NYC on our own for our last few days on the East Coast. We were hooked on Broadway shows, so after checking into our hotel- "The Barclay Intercontinental" (oooh la la!)- we headed straight to the theater district, and bought tickets to the show Bryan most wanted to see- Monty Python's Spamalot! While we were walking through the beyond-touristy Times Square, I'd quickly learned what mannerisms separate the New Yorkers from the tourists. So, I started acting like a New Yorker in order to avoid the persistent vendors and ticket sellers- but as soon as I started acting like a local, tourists kept asking me questions! How to get to such and such place on the subway, what shows to see, directions to locations, etc.! My geography skills kicked in though, so I was able to answer most of the directional and subway questions with the help of my trusty NY pocket map.
We had the better part of a day to explore some of the city before the show started at 7:00, so we took the subway down to Lower Manhattan. We got off the subway near Church St. to pay homage to the victims of 9/11 at the World Trade Center Site. Most of the site was under heavy construction, so really there was not much to see- but I think that's what was most poignant: the emptiness.
World Trade Center Site
Not having seen the twin towers standing, I thought it wouldn't be as moving to me, but looking around the cityscape it was clear that the large towers were missing. It wasn't hard to imagine how much taller the world trade center was than any of the surrounding structures, and for their size, how many people worked in the center every day… and how many people's lives were drastically changed after one day in history. The most moving thing to me were the collages of artwork by victims' families displayed in the area- as a fire captain's daughter myself, I could relate to and imagine if I were one of the sons or daughters that had lost a parent that day…
9/11 Artwork
Directly across the street from the World Trade Center Site stood a small church made of weathered stone, with very old-looking tombstones standing haphazardly in the grass. Bryan and I headed over to the church to investigate.
St. Paul's Chapel
While looking at the writing on the weather-beaten headstones, I noticed a sign with a picture of what this graveyard had looked like immediately after 9/11: paper and litter over a foot deep surrounded the headstones like snow… what an astonishing and sober sight it must have been. We wandered into the church to find a string orchestra playing (we'd caught one of the few concerts the church holds each month), and after perusing some of the memorabilia from the aftermath of 9/11 displayed throughout the little church, I started talking to a man in a tweed suit selling books of poetry. I learned his name was Chester Johnson and he was the author of "St. Paul's Chapel and Selected Shorter Poems," a compilation of poetry based on St. Paul's Chapel and the volunteer relief efforts after 9/11. I was lucky to strike up a conversation with this man as he was a wealth of information and told me about the history of the chapel (it was George Washington's home church), his 8-month experience with the volunteer relief efforts (the chapel was the home-base), and pointed out where the pews were thoroughly gouged and chipped by the weary rescue workers who slept in them during the rescue efforts. The most astonishing thing I learned was that this church is known as "the little chapel that stood" as it survived the great fire of 1776 in NY, is the oldest standing church in NYC, was the host to President George Washington on his inaugural day in 1789, and survived 9/11 completely intact. Here is the first stanza of a poem by Mr. Johnson that best describes this chapel:
"It stood. Not a window broken.
Not a stoned dislodged.
It stood
when nothing else did.
It stood.
when terrorists brought September down.
It stood among myths. It stood among ruins."
- excerpt from "St. Paul's Chapel" by Chester Johnson
After our heavy mid-morning, Bryan and I wandered the streets a bit, popped into the bustling "Century 21" store that Amina insisted I shop in, and grabbed a slice of NY pizza for lunch.
Chowin' down on some NYC Pizza
After enjoying the thin pizza and some garlic knots (tastier than the pizza in my opinion!), we walked down to Wall Street to check out the historic buildings and try to catch a glimpse inside the stock exchange; but alas, since 9/11 no one can just pop in the NYSE to see the busy traders anymore as security guarded the entrance.
Wall Street
We then headed down to Battery Park to try and see the Statue of Liberty at the south end of Manhattan- we'd missed the last ferry out to the statue by 10 minutes, but that was O.K., we just walked around battery park enjoying the sun (which is normally blocked-out by the tall buildings everywhere else in Manhattan).
Battery Park
See the Statue of Liberty in the background?
Windblown Bryan in Battery Park
After downing a couple pints of beer in the historic "Frauncess' Tavern" (the tavern where George Washington said farewell to his troops in 1783), Bryan and I headed back to our hotel on the subway to freshen-up before our Broadway show.
Spamalot was excellent! Laugh-out-loud funny!
Spamalot on Broadway
After the show, we weren't ready for bed, so we bought tickets to a comedy show at The Laugh Factory. Comedian after comedian was hilarious! I'd forgotten how hard I can laugh at live comedy. The show was over around 1:30, so we walked the chilly NY streets back to our hotel for the night.
Walking the streets of NYC
Although we were tired, the next morning I didn't want to sleep in on our last full day in New York- so, as soon as we awoke, we got ready and headed out the door with our sights set on getting to Central Park. On the way up to Central Park, we headed past Rockefeller Center and popped into Trump Plaza… although I can't stand the guy, I thought we'd check it out just for the novelty. It was gaudy beyond belief- gold everything! We got out of there quickly, and continued to make our way up to the park until we found the huge toy store FAO Schwarz. Once I learned it was the place with the big piano you can dance on, I found the piano, jumped on the keys and started to dance, trying to make some sort of melody- but the 8-year-old girl next to me was showing me up!
Playing the Piano: Big Style
After checking out the rest of the toys, we crossed the street and were in Central Park. The things that most surprised me about the park were all the fences! Fences to keep you in, keep you out, just fences all over the place!
Strolling in Central Park
After strolling around the park for a while, I met a young woman walking her dog who offered to take a picture of us. She then proceeded to tell me about her job, the dozens of cities she's lived in, and about how she's tired of moving… basically her life story as we walked around the park! Whoever said New Yorkers aren't friendly is wrong! Strike up a conversation, and they'll talk your ear off and help you in any way they can!
Central Park Birds
We parted from her as we headed to the American Museum of Natural History (yes, our THIRD natural history museum of the trip! Ahh!). We had to see it because it supposedly has the best paleontological exhibits, and Bryan was excited to see more dinosaur fossils. One particularly nice thing about the clean museum was the view of Central Park- with the cityscape peeking above the tops of the trees.
Bryan in AMNH
Yeah, we're museum nerds
View of the Manhattan Skyline
By mid-afternoon, we'd had enough of museums, so we headed back on the subway to buy our third set of Broadway tickets.
Pretty Subway
In line for the tickets, I had the funniest conversation. A middle-aged couple from Tennessee were standing behind us and starting asking us questions about what shows to see. I gave them ideas and was describing some of the shows I'd seen in NY and previously in LA, when the woman asked me in her southern drawl, "What about Playbill? That one seems pretty popular." It took me a second to figure out what the heck she was talking about, when I realized she was asking about the programs you get at every show you go to- a playbill. So, I politely explained to her what a playbill was- that it wasn't the name of a show. I'm not totally sure she understood, but after a couple explanations she probably realized she was looking a little stupid and finally nodded her head like she did.
Have you seen "Playbill?" I hear it's good.
That night we had dinner at a swanky Mediterranean place, then saw a classic show- Les Miserables. Once again, we weren't done with our night, so we caught another night of comedy at The Laugh Factory and took an empty subway back to the hotel.
Empty Subway
The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast, packed our luggage, took the subway over to Queens where we hopped on a bus to La Guardia, left New York and headed back to sunny California, memories in tow.
Our first full day in New York City was with our friend, Amina, who really wanted to take us to the East Village. We arrived at Grand Central Station on the train from Connecticut, bought day passes for the subway for $7, and Bryan and I commenced our first ride on the NYC subway. I'd heard all kinds of stories from people- from rats running amok, to the subway being very dirty and dangerous- but I never saw a single rat or robbery; of course it was dirty, but not too much more than the Metro buses around L.A.!
Bryan and Amina waiting for the Subway
One thing about the NYC subway I really liked was all the live music! Every stop seemed to have something different- an indie rocker, a Peruvian panflute band, a cello soloist, African drumming, etc. – I started to think, I could live here … We took the subway to the bustling Times Square first to buy Broadway tickets at the half-price ticket counter.
Amina walking across the street in Times Square
It was hard to decide on a show- all we knew we wanted was a show that's not playing in L.A.- so we ended up buying tickets for the show we could get the best tickets for: Beauty and the Beast. Now, before you make fun of me, we thought it'd be a good show with great costumes like The Lion King, plus who doesn't like a feel-good Disney story? After buying tickets and exploring Times Square a little, we popped in a deli to grab sandwiches, and saw the matinee show at 2:30.
The Cast of Beauty and the Beast
After the delightful little show, we went back to the Subway, to head to the East Village.
Once in the East Village, Amina and I wanted to find new jewelry- me, for my upper ear piercing and Amina, for her new nose ring! The East Village is a lot like Venice Beach to me, but with less freaks and more college-age people. We browsed through used books, bohemian clothing, jewelry, and shoes.
East Village in NYC
At one point a stand caught my attention that had South American-looking goods, and after talking to the vendor, I found he was from the Andes in Peru. We spoke a little in Spanish about Peru and he kept asking me if I was going to return and live there … I politely said I really liked the area, but no, I wouldn't be moving there. After a little more conversation, Amina, Bryan, and I made our way to the famous Washington Square, where we hung out for a bit and people watched.
Hanging out in Washington Square
We started to get hungry after all this walking, and began our search for a restaurant Amina's friend had suggested… we searched and searched, walking not just through the East Village, but through Greenwich Village and Little Italy, until we gave up and settled on a cute little Italian place and sat down with our sangrias.
Sippin' on Sangrias in a little Italian restaurant
We finished the night in NYC eating sweet cannolis at Veniero's Pasticceria, took the bustling subway back to Grand Central Station, and caught one of the last trains back to Connecticut.
Two days later, Bryan and I returned to NYC on our own for our last few days on the East Coast. We were hooked on Broadway shows, so after checking into our hotel- "The Barclay Intercontinental" (oooh la la!)- we headed straight to the theater district, and bought tickets to the show Bryan most wanted to see- Monty Python's Spamalot! While we were walking through the beyond-touristy Times Square, I'd quickly learned what mannerisms separate the New Yorkers from the tourists. So, I started acting like a New Yorker in order to avoid the persistent vendors and ticket sellers- but as soon as I started acting like a local, tourists kept asking me questions! How to get to such and such place on the subway, what shows to see, directions to locations, etc.! My geography skills kicked in though, so I was able to answer most of the directional and subway questions with the help of my trusty NY pocket map.
We had the better part of a day to explore some of the city before the show started at 7:00, so we took the subway down to Lower Manhattan. We got off the subway near Church St. to pay homage to the victims of 9/11 at the World Trade Center Site. Most of the site was under heavy construction, so really there was not much to see- but I think that's what was most poignant: the emptiness.
World Trade Center Site
Not having seen the twin towers standing, I thought it wouldn't be as moving to me, but looking around the cityscape it was clear that the large towers were missing. It wasn't hard to imagine how much taller the world trade center was than any of the surrounding structures, and for their size, how many people worked in the center every day… and how many people's lives were drastically changed after one day in history. The most moving thing to me were the collages of artwork by victims' families displayed in the area- as a fire captain's daughter myself, I could relate to and imagine if I were one of the sons or daughters that had lost a parent that day…
9/11 Artwork
Directly across the street from the World Trade Center Site stood a small church made of weathered stone, with very old-looking tombstones standing haphazardly in the grass. Bryan and I headed over to the church to investigate.
St. Paul's Chapel
While looking at the writing on the weather-beaten headstones, I noticed a sign with a picture of what this graveyard had looked like immediately after 9/11: paper and litter over a foot deep surrounded the headstones like snow… what an astonishing and sober sight it must have been. We wandered into the church to find a string orchestra playing (we'd caught one of the few concerts the church holds each month), and after perusing some of the memorabilia from the aftermath of 9/11 displayed throughout the little church, I started talking to a man in a tweed suit selling books of poetry. I learned his name was Chester Johnson and he was the author of "St. Paul's Chapel and Selected Shorter Poems," a compilation of poetry based on St. Paul's Chapel and the volunteer relief efforts after 9/11. I was lucky to strike up a conversation with this man as he was a wealth of information and told me about the history of the chapel (it was George Washington's home church), his 8-month experience with the volunteer relief efforts (the chapel was the home-base), and pointed out where the pews were thoroughly gouged and chipped by the weary rescue workers who slept in them during the rescue efforts. The most astonishing thing I learned was that this church is known as "the little chapel that stood" as it survived the great fire of 1776 in NY, is the oldest standing church in NYC, was the host to President George Washington on his inaugural day in 1789, and survived 9/11 completely intact. Here is the first stanza of a poem by Mr. Johnson that best describes this chapel:
"It stood. Not a window broken.
Not a stoned dislodged.
It stood
when nothing else did.
It stood.
when terrorists brought September down.
It stood among myths. It stood among ruins."
- excerpt from "St. Paul's Chapel" by Chester Johnson
After our heavy mid-morning, Bryan and I wandered the streets a bit, popped into the bustling "Century 21" store that Amina insisted I shop in, and grabbed a slice of NY pizza for lunch.
Chowin' down on some NYC Pizza
After enjoying the thin pizza and some garlic knots (tastier than the pizza in my opinion!), we walked down to Wall Street to check out the historic buildings and try to catch a glimpse inside the stock exchange; but alas, since 9/11 no one can just pop in the NYSE to see the busy traders anymore as security guarded the entrance.
Wall Street
We then headed down to Battery Park to try and see the Statue of Liberty at the south end of Manhattan- we'd missed the last ferry out to the statue by 10 minutes, but that was O.K., we just walked around battery park enjoying the sun (which is normally blocked-out by the tall buildings everywhere else in Manhattan).
Battery Park
See the Statue of Liberty in the background?
Strolling in Central Park
After strolling around the park for a while, I met a young woman walking her dog who offered to take a picture of us. She then proceeded to tell me about her job, the dozens of cities she's lived in, and about how she's tired of moving… basically her life story as we walked around the park! Whoever said New Yorkers aren't friendly is wrong! Strike up a conversation, and they'll talk your ear off and help you in any way they can!
Central Park Birds
We parted from her as we headed to the American Museum of Natural History (yes, our THIRD natural history museum of the trip! Ahh!). We had to see it because it supposedly has the best paleontological exhibits, and Bryan was excited to see more dinosaur fossils. One particularly nice thing about the clean museum was the view of Central Park- with the cityscape peeking above the tops of the trees.
Bryan in AMNH
Yeah, we're museum nerds
View of the Manhattan Skyline
By mid-afternoon, we'd had enough of museums, so we headed back on the subway to buy our third set of Broadway tickets.
Pretty Subway
In line for the tickets, I had the funniest conversation. A middle-aged couple from Tennessee were standing behind us and starting asking us questions about what shows to see. I gave them ideas and was describing some of the shows I'd seen in NY and previously in LA, when the woman asked me in her southern drawl, "What about Playbill? That one seems pretty popular." It took me a second to figure out what the heck she was talking about, when I realized she was asking about the programs you get at every show you go to- a playbill. So, I politely explained to her what a playbill was- that it wasn't the name of a show. I'm not totally sure she understood, but after a couple explanations she probably realized she was looking a little stupid and finally nodded her head like she did.
Have you seen "Playbill?" I hear it's good.
That night we had dinner at a swanky Mediterranean place, then saw a classic show- Les Miserables. Once again, we weren't done with our night, so we caught another night of comedy at The Laugh Factory and took an empty subway back to the hotel.
Empty Subway
The next morning we grabbed a quick breakfast, packed our luggage, took the subway over to Queens where we hopped on a bus to La Guardia, left New York and headed back to sunny California, memories in tow.
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