Even More Tales From the City
Can you believe there’s still more?! I’m not making any promises, but maybe this will be it. So let’s get to it!
The Sites
Times Square always seemed like a place that you stop and look at. Little did I know that it is the thoroughfare to EVERYTHING. We passed through Times Square a million times. To me, it is really the heart of Manhattan. So, you don’t go to Times Square, you go through it.
After a few pricey cab rides, Don finally convinced me that the subway couldn’t be that bad. So, our first subway adventure took us to lower Manhattan where we got on a ferry to sail out to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty. I dare say that we took more pictures of the Statue of Liberty than anything else! I don’t really know why, but we did. Some of them are very cute. Did you know that the Statue of Liberty wasn’t originally green? When it came over from France (in “puzzle” pieces) it was actually made of copper. The air and elements oxidized it which resulted in a green coating over the copper. Theoretically, the green could be scrubbed away and the copper restored, but no one’s going to do that. It only took about thirty years for the oxidation to occur. There’s your lesson of the day with Mrs. Wizard.
As you can tell, our trip to see Lady Liberty was very educational. When we returned to Manhattan Island we moved on to the World Trade Center site. They are currently in the process of creating the memorial. It didn’t feel as reverent as we had thought it would, but I’m sure that will be restored when the memorial is completed this spring. They did have all of the names of the deceased posted and a timeline of the events of September 11th.
Our biggest adventure story (kinda’) was our trek to Greenwich Village. We hopped on the subway around 5:00pm with only a vague idea of where the village actually was. We seemed to get pointed in every wrong direction! We were at the “one more block” point when we finally saw some stores that had Greenwich Village in the name and were ultimately saved by a Mexican restaurant. It wasn’t half bad. I had a Kiwi Margarita. Yum. We did walk past NYU on our way to the Village. That was different than expected, too. They had a really awesome costume shop out there, though. (It was run by drag queens, too!)
One of my favorite jaunts was our afternoon in Central Park. We ate lunch at Tavern on the Green, which had beautiful gardens and cutely ornate dining areas. We were in the famous glass window room. I hear that it’s even better at night with all the twinkle lights in the trees. We decided that we would rather catch another show than check out the twinkle lights. The food was good, but not anything to rave about. After lunch we walked a bit and found Strawberry Fields where the “Imagine” John Lennon memorial is located. The area is across the street from the Dakota where he lived and was killed. Yoko Ono actually still lives there. She donated oodles of money to preserve that area of Central Park, because she and John enjoyed walking there so much. I guess she’s not all bad… which leads me to a digression… During Forbidden Broadway they did a spoof of her and her awful singing. My favorite part was when they sang about her being known forever as the woman who ruined the Beatles and now she’ll be known as the woman who ruined Broadway, too. (She owns the rights to a lot of the music that has been included in very mediocre shows lately.) Back to Central Park… After a bit of walking and braving the bathroom, Don consented to a horse drawn carriage ride through the park. I was very happy. It was fun and romantic. I’ve always wanted to do that. It was a very nice day, and Central Park is a beautiful retreat from the craziness of the city.
Our hotel was near almost everything we wanted to see. It was a few blocks either direction from Central Park and Times Square. The Letterman studios were right around the corner. Carnegie Hall was across the street. All the theaters were within walking distance. Rockefeller Center and the NBC studios were very close. I really liked Rockefeller Center. The ice skating rink was cool (no pun intended). We didn’t skate, but Don did think about it for a second. They really like twinkle lights in New York, and so do I!
Sometimes luck was on our side and sometimes it wasn’t. Half of my pictures didn’t turn out, our luggage got soaked on the way home, I got sick but we had great seats to every show, we got into SNL, there weren’t awful crowds and Don got his picture taken with a celebrity. As we were walking back from Forbidden Broadway, we were stopped outside one of the theaters by a barricade. We didn’t understand at first. It was the Odd Couple Theater where Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick are starring. We were outside the stage door when Matthew Broderick was leaving. He was signing autographs and taking pictures, so Don seized the chance and had me take his picture with Matthew. He was so jazzed to get his picture taken with Ferris.
Tips on Food
I will be honest; the food was expensive and not very good. We were very disappointed. We searched and searched for the wonderful New York pizza that supposedly exists and didn’t find anything close until the last day. Oy Vey! The worst culinary experience was at Roxy Diner. DO NOT EAT AT ROXY DINNER IN TIMES SQUARE!!!!! The food and the service royally suck, and they charge an arm and a leg for the crappy experience. Don had nasty baked ziti. I ordered ravioli, but ended up with manicotti on top of a piece of Wonder Bread and covered with cheese. It was gross. I even asked the waiter about it and he tried to tell me that’s the way ravioli is. Can you believe that?! I didn’t just roll off the turnip truck. I told him that it was disturbing and gross. Of course, he didn’t care and we didn’t get it comped, either. I will say that the desserts in New York were very good. We had a milkshake almost everyday! We did so much walking and ate so little, that we felt justified in indulging.
One thing I somehow did not realize was that in New York you walk everywhere. It doesn’t matter what the weather is, you walk. That was a shock to me and my fragile, prissy ways. I was so bundled up you’d think I was expecting a blizzard! I think I got more used to it by the end, though. (Don would probably disagree.)
All in all, we had a really great time. We did and saw a lot without planning every minute. Of course, there were things that we would have liked to do, but I’m sure they’ll still be there if we ever go back. It was so nice to be away from everything, and aside from the cold, I feel refreshed and less stressed. I now know that I am definitely a west coast girl. The east coast is nice to visit, but I’d never make it out there. It’s so different. So, now I’m back to “real” life and trying to jump back into our busyness. It was nice to press “pause” for a little while, though. I could get used to this vacation thing!
The Sites
Times Square always seemed like a place that you stop and look at. Little did I know that it is the thoroughfare to EVERYTHING. We passed through Times Square a million times. To me, it is really the heart of Manhattan. So, you don’t go to Times Square, you go through it.
After a few pricey cab rides, Don finally convinced me that the subway couldn’t be that bad. So, our first subway adventure took us to lower Manhattan where we got on a ferry to sail out to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty. I dare say that we took more pictures of the Statue of Liberty than anything else! I don’t really know why, but we did. Some of them are very cute. Did you know that the Statue of Liberty wasn’t originally green? When it came over from France (in “puzzle” pieces) it was actually made of copper. The air and elements oxidized it which resulted in a green coating over the copper. Theoretically, the green could be scrubbed away and the copper restored, but no one’s going to do that. It only took about thirty years for the oxidation to occur. There’s your lesson of the day with Mrs. Wizard.
As you can tell, our trip to see Lady Liberty was very educational. When we returned to Manhattan Island we moved on to the World Trade Center site. They are currently in the process of creating the memorial. It didn’t feel as reverent as we had thought it would, but I’m sure that will be restored when the memorial is completed this spring. They did have all of the names of the deceased posted and a timeline of the events of September 11th.
Our biggest adventure story (kinda’) was our trek to Greenwich Village. We hopped on the subway around 5:00pm with only a vague idea of where the village actually was. We seemed to get pointed in every wrong direction! We were at the “one more block” point when we finally saw some stores that had Greenwich Village in the name and were ultimately saved by a Mexican restaurant. It wasn’t half bad. I had a Kiwi Margarita. Yum. We did walk past NYU on our way to the Village. That was different than expected, too. They had a really awesome costume shop out there, though. (It was run by drag queens, too!)
One of my favorite jaunts was our afternoon in Central Park. We ate lunch at Tavern on the Green, which had beautiful gardens and cutely ornate dining areas. We were in the famous glass window room. I hear that it’s even better at night with all the twinkle lights in the trees. We decided that we would rather catch another show than check out the twinkle lights. The food was good, but not anything to rave about. After lunch we walked a bit and found Strawberry Fields where the “Imagine” John Lennon memorial is located. The area is across the street from the Dakota where he lived and was killed. Yoko Ono actually still lives there. She donated oodles of money to preserve that area of Central Park, because she and John enjoyed walking there so much. I guess she’s not all bad… which leads me to a digression… During Forbidden Broadway they did a spoof of her and her awful singing. My favorite part was when they sang about her being known forever as the woman who ruined the Beatles and now she’ll be known as the woman who ruined Broadway, too. (She owns the rights to a lot of the music that has been included in very mediocre shows lately.) Back to Central Park… After a bit of walking and braving the bathroom, Don consented to a horse drawn carriage ride through the park. I was very happy. It was fun and romantic. I’ve always wanted to do that. It was a very nice day, and Central Park is a beautiful retreat from the craziness of the city.
Our hotel was near almost everything we wanted to see. It was a few blocks either direction from Central Park and Times Square. The Letterman studios were right around the corner. Carnegie Hall was across the street. All the theaters were within walking distance. Rockefeller Center and the NBC studios were very close. I really liked Rockefeller Center. The ice skating rink was cool (no pun intended). We didn’t skate, but Don did think about it for a second. They really like twinkle lights in New York, and so do I!
Sometimes luck was on our side and sometimes it wasn’t. Half of my pictures didn’t turn out, our luggage got soaked on the way home, I got sick but we had great seats to every show, we got into SNL, there weren’t awful crowds and Don got his picture taken with a celebrity. As we were walking back from Forbidden Broadway, we were stopped outside one of the theaters by a barricade. We didn’t understand at first. It was the Odd Couple Theater where Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick are starring. We were outside the stage door when Matthew Broderick was leaving. He was signing autographs and taking pictures, so Don seized the chance and had me take his picture with Matthew. He was so jazzed to get his picture taken with Ferris.
Tips on Food
I will be honest; the food was expensive and not very good. We were very disappointed. We searched and searched for the wonderful New York pizza that supposedly exists and didn’t find anything close until the last day. Oy Vey! The worst culinary experience was at Roxy Diner. DO NOT EAT AT ROXY DINNER IN TIMES SQUARE!!!!! The food and the service royally suck, and they charge an arm and a leg for the crappy experience. Don had nasty baked ziti. I ordered ravioli, but ended up with manicotti on top of a piece of Wonder Bread and covered with cheese. It was gross. I even asked the waiter about it and he tried to tell me that’s the way ravioli is. Can you believe that?! I didn’t just roll off the turnip truck. I told him that it was disturbing and gross. Of course, he didn’t care and we didn’t get it comped, either. I will say that the desserts in New York were very good. We had a milkshake almost everyday! We did so much walking and ate so little, that we felt justified in indulging.
One thing I somehow did not realize was that in New York you walk everywhere. It doesn’t matter what the weather is, you walk. That was a shock to me and my fragile, prissy ways. I was so bundled up you’d think I was expecting a blizzard! I think I got more used to it by the end, though. (Don would probably disagree.)
All in all, we had a really great time. We did and saw a lot without planning every minute. Of course, there were things that we would have liked to do, but I’m sure they’ll still be there if we ever go back. It was so nice to be away from everything, and aside from the cold, I feel refreshed and less stressed. I now know that I am definitely a west coast girl. The east coast is nice to visit, but I’d never make it out there. It’s so different. So, now I’m back to “real” life and trying to jump back into our busyness. It was nice to press “pause” for a little while, though. I could get used to this vacation thing!
posted by Unknown at 9:55 PM
5 Comments:
You should go see Chess at the Summerlin Library. They are performing it until the 5th at 7:30 pm. (You know you want to!)
Oh yeah, and here's the link: http://stagedoorlv.com/index2.html
I'm going tonight with Laura & Tina....so I don't know if it is good. I heard that the singing is excellent but the acting is not really.
lol. I'll wait to hear what you think about it. Mark saw it last week, so I'll be interested to hear another review.
Well, the singing was good though some parts over did it a little. the acting wasn't bad.
Overall, I enjoyed it. It was a lot more sexual than I remembered it..but then again I performed it in high school. I was a little disappointed in the lack of ensemble because there are some awesome songs that had to be cut because of it. Also they cut out a lot of my favorite lines so that was sad.
I plan on posting all of this in my blog but who knows when I will get to it..so there is your preview to it :)
Thanks for the review. You were nicer than Mark was. lol. But, he's our resident musical expert, so he's probably more harsh.
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