As promised, a little late but an exciting update of a whirlwind tour of NYC. A few months ago a friend from NZ told me she'd be in New York this weekend so I took two days off work and booked my bus ticket (overnight bus, 10 hours, $90 return). The title is not entirely accurate any more but it was true when I started writing.
Wednesday night I got on a bus at 10pm and had an as-good-as-can-be trip other than the two hour delay... Met Jo at 10am outside our hostel and started our ambitious weekend.
Our hostel (Gershwin Hotel, $55 a night for a dorm room) was very conveniently located at 27th and 5th so right in central midtown. We started with a walk south through Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown, Tribeca and all the way to Wall St (and Century 21. Fun discount shopping!) Then a subway ride uptown to hit Times Square for the first of many times.
We knew we wanted to see a show so we joined the discount queue for tickets deciding to see Chicago or Jersey Boys. For a variety of reasons we ended us at Jersey Boys, which was so much fun. It's the story of The Four Seasons, which I knew nothing about and didn't realize how many of their songs I knew. Very well done with really stunning performances -- we laughed, we cried, we eavesdropped on other tourists ("We were in Times Square and saw more people than we thought lived on the planet." - Woman From Small Town I Guess.)
Friday morning we got a late-ish start because Jo had to sort some stuff out for part two of her trip. Then it was the walking tour of New York buildings. We saw the library, with an exhibition on the development of food carts in NY, Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building, Tiffany and Co... Basically we walked all the way up 5th Ave to Central Park. Then we had The Most Fun by renting bikes and cycling all the way around this enormous park, with a detour to see the Guggenheim.
Also, in case you ever travel with me in the future, don't put me in the lead in a place without easy landmarks. I took us the wrong way twice. Jo is much more trustworthy, except in subways.
By then it was about 5pm and we wanted to have a big night out so we headed back to our hostel to get all dressed up, via Time Square for some food.
Consulting online and Lonely Planet saw us visit the gamut of types of bars from Desmond's Tavern, where the drinks are cheap and generously poured, to Vu Bar, drinking lychee martinis on a roof with a view if the lit up Empire State Building. We had a couple drinks bought for us there, which is always nice. Our final stop was Cake Shop, a hole in the wall hipster bar with a dark dirty feel. And I saw a rat in the subway on one trip between bars so there's another authentic NY experience!
Saturday was my last day and we had Big Plans. Out by 9am, we went straight to the bottom of Manhattan to take the Staten Island Ferry part the Statue of Liberty, ticking another tourist box. Then a walk up to the Brooklyn Bridge, through a neat little cobblestone area. The bridge is under repair so big metal fences mar our photos but it was still pretty and interesting. Did you know 20 people died during its construction, including the designer, who fell off a pier while scouting locations and got tetanus (which I thought was from rusty metal so that shows my ignorance I guess).
Then a ride uptown to Moma! I love modern art so it's one of my favourites and it was a pleasure to visit again. Last time I was there a friend from high school called out my name - neither of us even knew the other was in the city so it was crazy to meet on the escalators. If it was a movie we'd have fallen in love but instead he took my picture in front of a Pollack, I flew home the next day and he got appendicitis. Always travel with insurance, kids.
We grabbed a hot dog (NY experience #51 complete) and headed to the hostel for the last time to collect our bags. Then we headed to the High Line, which is this neat reclaimed old elevated railway line, now a pathway along the west of midtown. We sat there and ate donuts and people watched for a while before deciding our last hour together would be best spent drinking tea and relaxing. It was a bit of a hunt to find a cafe but we made it in the end, had giant cups of tea and just enjoyed each other's company. All too soon it was time to leave. I hated saying goodbye but unfortunately my bus wasn't going to wait for me and Jo had to go sort out her new accommodation.
Bus home was uneventful, although the 4am customs stop was painful. Now I'm home and only need about 20 hours of sleep to recover!
Hope you enjoyed The Amazing Adventures of Williams and Nobes. See you next time when Taking Toronto returns to Toronto.
Wednesday night I got on a bus at 10pm and had an as-good-as-can-be trip other than the two hour delay... Met Jo at 10am outside our hostel and started our ambitious weekend.
Our hostel (Gershwin Hotel, $55 a night for a dorm room) was very conveniently located at 27th and 5th so right in central midtown. We started with a walk south through Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown, Tribeca and all the way to Wall St (and Century 21. Fun discount shopping!) Then a subway ride uptown to hit Times Square for the first of many times.
We knew we wanted to see a show so we joined the discount queue for tickets deciding to see Chicago or Jersey Boys. For a variety of reasons we ended us at Jersey Boys, which was so much fun. It's the story of The Four Seasons, which I knew nothing about and didn't realize how many of their songs I knew. Very well done with really stunning performances -- we laughed, we cried, we eavesdropped on other tourists ("We were in Times Square and saw more people than we thought lived on the planet." - Woman From Small Town I Guess.)
Friday morning we got a late-ish start because Jo had to sort some stuff out for part two of her trip. Then it was the walking tour of New York buildings. We saw the library, with an exhibition on the development of food carts in NY, Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building, Tiffany and Co... Basically we walked all the way up 5th Ave to Central Park. Then we had The Most Fun by renting bikes and cycling all the way around this enormous park, with a detour to see the Guggenheim.
Also, in case you ever travel with me in the future, don't put me in the lead in a place without easy landmarks. I took us the wrong way twice. Jo is much more trustworthy, except in subways.
By then it was about 5pm and we wanted to have a big night out so we headed back to our hostel to get all dressed up, via Time Square for some food.
Consulting online and Lonely Planet saw us visit the gamut of types of bars from Desmond's Tavern, where the drinks are cheap and generously poured, to Vu Bar, drinking lychee martinis on a roof with a view if the lit up Empire State Building. We had a couple drinks bought for us there, which is always nice. Our final stop was Cake Shop, a hole in the wall hipster bar with a dark dirty feel. And I saw a rat in the subway on one trip between bars so there's another authentic NY experience!
Saturday was my last day and we had Big Plans. Out by 9am, we went straight to the bottom of Manhattan to take the Staten Island Ferry part the Statue of Liberty, ticking another tourist box. Then a walk up to the Brooklyn Bridge, through a neat little cobblestone area. The bridge is under repair so big metal fences mar our photos but it was still pretty and interesting. Did you know 20 people died during its construction, including the designer, who fell off a pier while scouting locations and got tetanus (which I thought was from rusty metal so that shows my ignorance I guess).
Then a ride uptown to Moma! I love modern art so it's one of my favourites and it was a pleasure to visit again. Last time I was there a friend from high school called out my name - neither of us even knew the other was in the city so it was crazy to meet on the escalators. If it was a movie we'd have fallen in love but instead he took my picture in front of a Pollack, I flew home the next day and he got appendicitis. Always travel with insurance, kids.
We grabbed a hot dog (NY experience #51 complete) and headed to the hostel for the last time to collect our bags. Then we headed to the High Line, which is this neat reclaimed old elevated railway line, now a pathway along the west of midtown. We sat there and ate donuts and people watched for a while before deciding our last hour together would be best spent drinking tea and relaxing. It was a bit of a hunt to find a cafe but we made it in the end, had giant cups of tea and just enjoyed each other's company. All too soon it was time to leave. I hated saying goodbye but unfortunately my bus wasn't going to wait for me and Jo had to go sort out her new accommodation.
Bus home was uneventful, although the 4am customs stop was painful. Now I'm home and only need about 20 hours of sleep to recover!
Hope you enjoyed The Amazing Adventures of Williams and Nobes. See you next time when Taking Toronto returns to Toronto.
