Pantless and Hobbles take on New York! Part 3

May 17, 2012
Thursday morning we set out to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  We didn't get as early of a start as we had hoped, as we have been sleeping in most morning despite our alarm being set for 7:30.  After a breakfast of Nutella/Banana French Toast and a Dr Pepper we took the red line subway to the end of the line. We found the ticket line not as long as we thought and seemed hopefully until they started announcing that the wait for the boat is 1 1/2 hour long at this time.   Poor Lisa's senses were assaulted several times by the woman's perfume behind us.  We even switch lines, only to have her follow us.  After we got our tickets they tell you to exit the building and get in line.  What they should have said was turn around and exit the building from the way you came in, as that is where the line for the boats ended.  Here is a helpful hint for those thinking of going to the Statue and Ellis Island, come in from the Jersey side or purchase reserve tickets.   If you know when you are planning on visiting the monuments go online and purchase your tickets for a certain time.  This will cut your standing in line time down to NOTHING!!!  The reserve line was completely empty, while we stood in line for an hour and half before even boarding the boat.
For the next year the Statue of Liberty is under renovation so there is no going inside of her at this time.  It's still worth a quick visit to the island and get an up close look at her and great view of the city.  And they have a nice gift shop with clean restrooms. 

 There she is Miss America

We then headed over to Ellis Island for a quick lunch (grilled cheese kids meal was perfect size and cheap).  The main area of Ellis Island has been turned into a museum.  You can take a guided tour, rent headphones or do what we did and wander by yourself.  Unfortunately by this time my feet were absolutely killing me and I would have given anything for a good foot massage, but instead I took full advantage of the benches they have around the museum.  The museum is set up well and they have moving stories of how the immigrants were treating once they arrived on the island, which was not very well to the majority.  They were quickly evaluated on health and mental state, even though the majority of them did no speak English and couldnt' communicate.  Their possessions were taken away and families were separated for days, months or forever without explanation.  Welcome to America!   But as you go through the top floor museum you'll read stories from people who found happiness and new lives in the States.  It is a great history lesson to go through here.  The only disappointing thing was we thought you would be able to look up family members who passed through here.   If you could we missed it.  I would think they have it all online now, but it would have been meaningful to view a passenger log or some sort of record with your family name on it while there.   Especially since Lisa knew of family names to look up that come through the island.

The exterior/entrance to Ellis Island

 The Great Hall

 Statue Liberty through a window in the Great Hall

We were the last boat to leave the island and head back to the mainland.  It was after 5 and Lisa and I were both tired and dragging so we we went back to the hotel for a rest before heading out to find some dinner.  Once back at the hotel and when Lisa changed, she noticed how sunburned she had gotten.  Poor thing it looked like someone had colored her chest, arms and nose with a red pen.  We didn't even think about sunscreen while outside near water all day.  She even had a keyhole cutout in her top that left a nice circle/heart shape on her cleavage.

Lisa's "tanline"

Lisa mentioned Carnegie Deli for dinner as they are suppose to be famous for their cheesecake. While she napped and I iced my knee (as it finally began to show since of pain and swelling) I looked online at the menu.   NOTHING but meat.  Carnegie Deli is famous for pastrami on rye and cheesecake.  Not really vegetarian friendly.  I decided to look through our guide books for something else in the Hells Kitchen area as we had good luck there before and it's close to Carnegie Deli for dessert.  I found a recommendation for an Italian place called Nizza http://nizzanyc.com/  They had a lot of pasta, pizza and salads that were more suited to Lisa and plenty of meat and pasta for me.   We decided it was a good plan and headed out to there for dinner.   It's a dark little spot close to the theaters, so we thought it would be perfect to go around 8 when the shows are going on.  We got a table right away.  I ordered the Chicken Saltimbocca that was over garlic spinach.  It was the best meal of the trip.  
We then headed out to Carnegie Deli for dessert.  When you walk in you get a huge whiff of MEAT.  The deli portion is in the front and then the restaurant is in the back.  On the way to our table we passed several skyhigh sandwiches.  Not realizing the cheesecake would be just as big, Lisa and I both ordered a piece of NY cheesecake.  We should have shared one piece instead.  Lisa wasn't impressed by the dessert at all.  I thought it was good, but nothing to write home about or tell others to come for.   I would have taken a Fat Witch brownie or Milk and Cookies over it.  But still something to check off our list. 
May 18, 2012
Friday was our last full day in NY and we decided to make the most of it.  We started off by heading to Zabars http://www.zabars.com/ on the Upper West side before venturing into Central Park.   It wasn't quite what we were expecting, the little cafe attached to the store was out of bagels (grant it was close to 10am by now), so we had to go back into the actual store, as the other bagel shop, H&H, had shut down or burned down (we couldn't really get a straight answer from anyone on the street).  Funny thing was I was watching You've Got Mail this weekend and there is a scene in at H&H and Zabars. We ended up getting bagels and cream cheese (fresh) and walked towards Central Park.  We found a bench in the shade close to a dog park ,so as we had our breakfast we oooh and ahhhed over all the dogs going by.  For a crowded city, there were a ton of dogs being walked everywhere we went.  Lisa and I would of course squeal in delight, while the owners (or walkers) would quickly drag them in the direction away from us.  Only a few let us attack their dogs with love, while mostly people acted like we were trying to steal them whenever we tried to make contact with them.   Also a note that I never once saw a stray cat in the city.  Only a few in windows, but never saw a stray running the streets. 
Lisa feed the birds while we ate and then we headed towards the Park.  We walked down Central Park West until we got to the Dakota Hotel.  This is of course where John Lennon lived and was killed and where Yoko Ono still lives today.  We walked passed all the pedicabs and entered the park at Strawberry Fields.  I sort of thought Central Park http://www.centralparknyc.org// would be like Golden Gate, and it is and isn't.  It is, as it's smack in the middle of the city, has streets for cars to cut through, and lots of people laying around enjoying the day.  But it is HUGE!!!  It also reminded me a bit of being in Giverny, France at Monet's Garden where every turn there was something pretty to take photos of.  It was very easy to navigate and just wander the park and admire the beauty of nature.   We found the Bethesda Fountain pretty quickly which lends you by the lake and the boat house.  While taking photos of the fountain I overheard a pedicab telling his fares to go see the Bow Bridge, so of course we followed.  On the way there we saw a bride on the way to her wedding which was taking place on the other side of the bridge and right on the lake.  Apparently, this bridge has been in many movies and TV shows (Sex & the City to Spiderman).  I found a bench in the shade and just sat back and enjoyed the view of the lake with boaters rowing by. 

 Bethesda Fountain

 The Lake

 The Boat House

 The Bow Bridge

The Bow Bridge

We continued walking pass some street performers and heading down towards the Mall.  This is an area canopied by Elm trees.   Again it's in a lot of movies and TV shows based in New York City.  The one I always think of is in When Harry Met Sally and they are walking to the Met Museum and it's all pretty in fall colors. 

The Mall

We wandered the park some more, stopping at the dairy gift shop and pass where the ice skating rink usually is onto the Gapstow bridge before exiting the park.

Gapstow Bridge

At this point we were both hungry as it was after 4 and we found another good Italian place around 5th Ave.  I had the Penne de Vodka, another great meal, but too big of a portion size for me to finish.   After lunch we walked towards Rockefeller Center to go to the Top of the Rock.  It was easy to find and we got tickets for the next group with only fifteen minute wait.   This time we did purchase a map identifying all the buildings you are looking at from the top.  In the elevator ride up to the top you get some weird light show on the ceiling. Once you are outside you see all of Manhattan and beyond.  The Top of the Rock gives you great views of Central Park since its closer then Empire State Building.  I didn't know there were 3 levels to the outside viewing area, so I ended up taking the same set of photos over and over.  But nothing like one guy I stood by who just held his shutter down for about five minutes and must have taken 500 photos in one spot, WHY?  

Central Park

Empire State Building

Prometheus at 30 Rock

After the Top of the Rock, my feet just didn't want to walk on anymore.  I seriously felt like I must be missing a toe or something horrific as I seriously couldn't stand on my own two feet.  But it was our last day of sightseeing and we were only 10 blocks away from Grand Central Station, so we shuffled over there.   On the way we stopped at Bryant Park, where Fashion week is held and Project Runways contestants showcase.  But today is was typical NY park where people read newspapers, played chess and met up with friends.   Behind the park is the NY Public Library with the two lion statues guarding the entrance.

 Bryant Park hotel/park

The Lion "Patience" guarding the NY Public Library

Grand Central Station is the center of transportation in the city.  For some reason I thought it was much bigger on TV (but then again doesn't everything look bigger on TV).  It has upper scale restaurants on the top level and simpler food on the bottom.

Glimpse of the Chrysler Building

 Exterior sculptor Transportation 

Interior of Grand Central Station

We wanted to end our trip with something special and since we weren't impress with the cheesecake at Carnegie, we decided to pass on the cheesecake from Juniors (also claiming to be the best cheesecake in NY) and headed to Serendipity instead, where I know they have the best ice cream.   We caught the subway to 59th St which drops you in front of Bloomingdale's and passed Dylan's candy shop and Magnolia Bakery on the way to the little campy storefront.  The interior is just as I imagined, you don't really know what is for display and what is for sale.  It's like some eccentric old woman's closet.  But it's worth it.  We had 45min wait and got to play with the cutest little Pomeranian while sitting outside.   Unfortunately, we got sat next to a table of 4 screaming kids.  One of the waiters even had to come tell them to quiet down or leave.  But once we ordered our ice cream or in my case their famous Frozen Hot Chocolate with peanut butter added, nothing really mattered.  I don't remember exactly what Lisa ordered, but it included chocolate ice cream with peanut butter and a ton of hot fudge.  It was sooo good and the perfect way to end out trip. 

 Exterior of Serendipity

Lisa and I enjoying our ice cream

We got back to the hotel after midnight, probably when most New Yorkers are just starting to head out for the evening, and started our packing up for our return home.  I didn't notice it during the trip, but apparently Lisa bought so much such that we had to have me sit on the suitcase to close it.  Luckily we had our olive oil purchases shipped home so there was nothing breakable in there.   Saturday we woke up and finished repacking our suitcases, hoping everything would return home with us in a timely manner and headed to the street to meet the airporter.  I was so exhausted by the time we boarded the plane and got in our seats, I fell asleep almost immediately on take off and didn't wake up until the last half hour of the movie the Vow (just in time to catch a glimpse of a shirtless Channing Tatum though). We arrived in Sacramento, after a slight delay through Denver and happy to see our luggage did too! My mom picked us up and I was happy to be home to see Lulu and Charlie greeting me with kisses and dog hair.   It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back and see everything I didn't have time for.

Pantless and Hobbles take on New York! Part 2

May 15, 2012
Tuesday morning we decided we would head off to the Metropolitan Museum and try to see if we could catch a Broadway show.  We had breakfast at the diner in our hotel.  I had the yummiest lemon ricotta pancakes!

We first thought we would try to see if the hotel concierge could get us a deal on a show.  We wanted to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert as Lisa isn't really into musicals, but figured that one would be fun enough with all the disco/dance music in it.   Well don't waste your time with the hotel concierge.  Apparently they work with brokers and trying to sell us tickets for more money then the brokers paid for.  WTF is the point?  So we ended down to Times Square to see if the theater or half price ticket booth would have something for us.  The line at the half price booth was so long and we realized the theater was literally right across the street, we just went directly to the source.  We ended up getting balcony seats (not at half price, but still pretty cheap).  http://www.broadway.com/shows/priscilla-queen-desert/ So we ended off to the Met for some different art.

The weather was overcast with a chance of rain so we figured this would be a good day to hang indoors of the museum.  Well apparently so did everyone else! I also found out since returning Tuesday was Museum day!   Luckily the Met has only a suggested price of $25, but you can pay whatever amount you want or nothing at all.  Since it was already afternoon we figured we would only pay $10 each.  They do have a good system for tickets.  Its a little foil button you put on your clothes, so the guards can see you paid.  But with the crowds we had that day it would have been easy to get around without paying.  

The first thing you should do when visiting the Met is decide what you want to see.  The museum is HUGE!   I would really suggest visiting the site online first, as I think they have one of the best sites that have an interactive map and thumbnails all of art on display.  http://www.metmuseum.org/   We did not do this and quickly got lost.   I would say their map and layout in person isn't the easiest to navigate.  We found the Greek sculptures quickly and started having fun as usual.  We behaved a little better here than we did at the Louvre (but not much).  We then take a few wrong turns to the European Paintings where we finally found Renoir, Monet, VanGogh, and Degas.   I then wanted to see the Egyptian Temple of Dendur they rebuilt.  I wish we had more time and wasn't as crowded to see all the artwork properly, but we had a show to get home and get ready for.

 Apparently everyone thought is was a good day to stay inside the museum 

Lisa admiring the Greek sculptures

 Renoir

 VanGogh

 Degas

 I just loved the casual pose of this guy

Temple of Dendur

We decided we would try to catch a cab home instead as it will be faster than walking 8 blocks to the subway.  Unfortunately cabs didn't want our business.  Lisa flagged two down and both asked where we wanted to go and they said no.  I didn't know that was possible.  Apparently, they aren't suppose to do that.  We asked our hotel people when we returned (after taking the subway home) why this happened.  He said next time don't tell them and just get in the cab and then tell them.  They are required by law to take you anywhere you request.  But this wasn't the end of our cab problems.  We also asked the hotel information if we have a show to be at by 6:30 what time should we come down and try to catch one in front of the hotel. His helpful answer was "well it's 6 o clock".  WTF does that mean, we'll have trouble or not.  He really couldn't give us a good answer and just kept saying well you should take the subway.  We were going to be dressed up and wearing heels (at least Lisa was).  So we figured if we caught a cab at 6pm we would be fine.  Well we showed up and asked the doorman to catch us a cab.  It took him 25 minutes to finally get one to pick us up, as they all already had fares from Penn Station a block away.  Either way we got to the Theater in ten minutes and it only costs $6 + tip.

 Finally in a cab

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Luckily we knew exactly where the theater was and got there in plenty of time to get a drink (along with souvenir glasses).  We were pretty high up and noticed the theater wasn't completely full, so by intermission we ended down to the front row in the balcony (mostly because I couldn't see due to the high hair in front of me).  The show was silly, campy, fun, great costumes and good looking actors!  After the show while we were all dancing and clapping, the actor who portrayed Felicia said last time he was the lucky one to announce the legalization of same sex marriage on stage and tonight he was happy to announce they would be performing a marriage on stage of a couple who have been attending Broadway shows.  It was a touching, beautiful moment to be part of. Lisa and I both cried like little babies.  It was truly something special to be a part of.
Afterwards we were one of the last people leaving and having a great conversation with the guy selling all the merchandise and he told us to go check out the High Line on our way to Chelsea the next day and where to get the best NY bagels (Zabars, more on that later).

May 16, 2012
The High Line http://www.thehighline.org/ is an old frieght train railway. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Mayor Bloomberg preserved it as a public park and the first section opened in 2009. It runs from W 30th St to W 12th St.  It's an easy, quiet, pretty way to walk 18 blocks in New York.  No stop lights or traffic to wait for.  We took it down to the Chelsea Market off 16th St. 

 View from the High Line

 Artwork on the High Line

 The High Line

 New and old graffiti on the High Line

Before heading into the Chelsea Market, Lisa needed her daily Starbucks fix, it was at this time sitting down and relaxing that Lisa thought it would be helpful to figure out where we need to take the subway to the 9/11 memorial.  Good thing she did this as she realized I did NOT print out the actual tickets.  I didn't read the whole confirmation (which they make very clear is NOT your ticket and won't be accepted).  So I started to panic a little as this is the only thing I really pre-planned and setup a reserved time for.  I called my mom who luckily was at my house watching Charlie, forgetting its probably 7 or 8am with the time difference and having to walk her through forwarding the tickets to mine and Lisa's email and then having to find a place to print them out at.   There isn't a FedEx or Kinkos near by, so luckily with all the traveling I do, I thought of asking a hotel to use their business center.  Starbucks directs us to the Dream Hotel around the corner.  This is a really, really nice hotel.  I ask the front desk is they have a business center and the nicest man says no but if I sent it to the hotel email, they will print it out for us.  If you are looking for a swanky modern hotel, contact Ayo Akinsete at the Dream Hotel. They were truly so helpful and nice to us, even after realizing we were not staying at their hotel.  They printed our tickets and we were on our way to lunch.

 

Dream Hotel Lobby, you can see the bottom of the pool in the ceiling http://www.dreamdowntown.com/

The Chelsea Market is a great foodie place to go.  The Food Network studio and filming is on the upper floors of the building (unfortunately they don't give tours).   We had lunch from Friedman's Lunch followed with a trip to the Fat Witch Bakery for some yummy brownies.

 Lunch at Chelsea Market

After lunch we figured we would head down to the Staten Island Ferry before our meeting time for the 9/11 memorial.  We took the subway to the end and got there right in time for the next departing ferry.  A large crowd just pushes their way onto the boat.  The boat though is HUGE, you would think by looking at the crowd you won't get on.  But once on and people rush to the front for the best vantage point of sightseeing, you'll notice plenty of empty space.  The boat literally takes a half hour to go from Manhattan to Staten Island, passing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Once docked at Staten Island you have to disembark and then just turn around and get on the next ferry going back to Manhattan.   I'm sure there is stuff to see in Staten Island too, but we just went for the free ferry ride and photo ops of the Statue and Skyline of Manhattan.  I would think its very pretty at sunset or night.  But we just headed back to the mainland.

 Statue of Liberty from Staten Island Ferry

 The Staten Island Ferry

Brooklyn Bridge from Staten Island Ferry

 Battery Park/Staten Island Subway station

We decided to walk up to the memorial as the people at the Dream Hotel said it's only about 10 minute walk.  That is for people whose feet aren't feeling like one big throbbing mess.  Lisa and I were both dragging a bit by now and had plenty of time to walk to the memorial at a slow pace.  We hit a flea market where we both bought some pretties (mine was leather, hers was made from some hard seed/nut).  We wandered up pass the Bull sculpture off Wall Street.  Lisa found some political people to argue with as I wandered across the street to the Trinity Church.  For someone who isn't religious I always love to seek out churches on trips as it seems they are architecturally interesting to me.  And it seems all the money the church collects goes into the gold and stain glass of these churches, so for a photographer I will continue to wander inside of them. 

 A sculptor used fallen tree roots from 9/11as a sculpture next to the church

 Interior of Trinity Church

Interior of Trinity Church

We found our way to the memorial pretty easy, but by this time my feet were starting to really hurt.  I didn't wear the new walking sandals enough at home to get my feet used to them. I wasn't getting blisters, more like my arches and calves were so sore and aching and not wanting to move anymore.  We had some time to rest on these concrete blocks they had around the park, so I decided to take full advantage of it.  As Lisa went to use the restroom at the hotel behind us a large group of elderly woman, a few with canes, apparently thought I looked like I should be part of their group and took up all the empty space around me to rest.  I just remember thinking great Lisa is going to love this.  I thought she was going to pee her pants from laughing (even though she did just use the restroom).  She took a few photos of me surrounded by these women.  All you can to is laugh!

My group of elderly women

We headed into the memorial a little early than our time.  Not really knowing what to expect, but it is like a huge park with 2 fountain/pools that sit in the original spots of the Twin Towers.  I really wish I took some video footage here as there is no way to convey the size of these pools and the feeling of being there.  I couldn't even imagine the chaos and horror of being around this area during the attacks as it's literally downtown in the middle of everything.   But I believe they did a wonderful job creating something meaningful and beautiful out of something so awful.  You really couldn't rebuild on top of the spots without remembering what once stood there, so I think the fountains were very appropriate tribute.  They are building two new Freedom Towers and the museum isn't open yet.  I would have loved to see it from above and at night, but it's definitely a sight to behold and remember those who were lost in such a tragic senseless manner. 

9/11 Memorial 

 The survivor tree - the last living thing removed from ground zero

South Pool with the museum and Freedom Tower