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April 25, 2007

NY, day 2 and 3 report

Our forays into New York continued with a visit to the World Trade Centre site on Monday. While it was weird to look up and try to imagine the twin towers in an expanse of what is now blue sky, the entire site is blocked by a huge fence (and the site itself is essentially a construction yard), so it didn't have the gut-level impact that I got when I stood at the Hiroshima bomb site a few years ago (note the much chunkier Freyburg in the photo.) From there we hit the financial district, saw the New York Stock Exchange, took the Staten Island Ferry (which offers great views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty), wandered through Chinatown's Canal St. (meh..), and ended up our day at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, an unfortunately named but otherwise great jazz club in Lincoln Center. The show at Dizzy's, which overlooks Central Park, was one of the big highlights of the trip. Monday is the day Julliard students play (and cover is half-price), but these kids were insanely talented, and Mel and I were blown away by the music, the food and the view. Much thanks to Killahmullet for recommending this fine establishment.

Tuesday we took things fairly slow, with a wander into Brooklyn's hipster mecca, Williamsburg. Since we were there around noon, all the trust-fund cool kids were probably still in bed sleeping things off, so the place was actually fairly quiet and relaxed. I also noticed the mean age of everyone on the streets dipped about ten years from Manhattan.

We headed back and stopped in at Union Square and Chelsea, before wandering back to the hotel. We were feeling pretty bagged, so we wound up our evening with a viewing of Blades of Glory at a cineplex on 42nd St. Will Ferrell can pretty much read off his grocery list and I'll find it funny, so thumbs up.

9 comment(s) so far (Post your own)

1

On April 25, 2007 7:36 AM, I am Steven. said:

See, I'd be inclined to take in a baseball game at legendary Yankee Stadium, which will close its doors after next season.

But, then, that's just me.

2

On April 25, 2007 7:50 AM, Warren Frey said:

I wanted to, but I couldn't score tickets for anything less than $100 each. So, no go. :(

3

On April 25, 2007 8:10 AM, killahmullet said:

Wow, a $100 to see the Yankees. I guess that stands to reason considering their stature in the baseball world, and the team's massive payroll. Last time I went to see Seattle, I think I paid $15 for seats that were good enough.

Oh well, don't despair FREY, there is plenty more to do. It sounds like you guys are really moving around. Glad to hear you like Dizzy's. I found it pretty amazing as well.

4

On April 25, 2007 11:47 AM, jabberwocky said:

Despite that all that have you seen any signs that the Daleks were ever in NY?

5

On April 25, 2007 3:17 PM, Warren Frey said:

None whatsoever. But given that Manhattan is represented mostly in shantytowns, art deco interiors and nondescript sewers in "Daleks in Manhattan," that shouldn't be much of a surprise. :)

You can get cheaper tickets (I think the nosebleeds are $15 or so) but those had all sold out by the time I tried online a couple of weeks ago.

As for Dizzy's, yeah, it was a nice bit of "only in New York" for us to reflect on once we get home.

6

On April 25, 2007 4:40 PM, Chris Burgess said:

Have you ridden the subway yet? Bought a slice of pizza so you could fold it over like a sandwich?

Too bad about the Yankees... that's one thing I'd definitely do if I went to NY... then again if you wanted to see an MLB game it's not far for you to go to Seattle to do that.

7

On April 25, 2007 4:58 PM, Warren Frey said:

Yes and yes. The subway is great...pretty cheap, all things considered, and easy as hell to get around. Easier even than Tokyo's subway, though the fact everything is in English helps.

Pizza's good too (the folding thing is actually a pretty neat trick), as are the bagels and various other street vendor goodies. Plus, all the hooey you've heard about New Yorkers being jerks and getting pushed around on the street is just that. People here are pretty much all business but they're reasonably friendly about it, and even walking around Times Square was pretty civilized.

8

On April 25, 2007 6:25 PM, G of T said:

That's probably because 90 percent of the people in Times Square are tourists. Did you get a chance to check out the Met? That was probably the highlight of my trip to NYC last year.

9

On April 25, 2007 7:20 PM, Warren Frey said:

Haven't checked out the Met yet, but we will be devoting our morning to the MOMA tomorrow. And the civilized walking goes for everywhere, not just Times Square. Don't get me wrong, there's a little bit of dodging, but no more than you'd run into on a busy day on Robson (obviously more people though.)

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