In a New York Minute

Note to Grammar Nazi Lama: I don't care about my grammar. I wrote this at 11:30 at night.
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When I'm on a trip, at the end of each day I try to write down a summary of what I did and any fun highlights that occurred. This is especially useful for when I'm lazy lard ass, and forget to write a blog post promptly. I went to New York in July 2011. I started writing the first few paragraphs of this entry in October 2011, and it's now June 2012. Whoops! Let's see if I can capture all the fun of the trip.

For the unaware, this trip to NYC was for my oldest sisters and my niece. My niece turned 16 years old mere days before we left. It was the quintessential girls trip that we always kept talking about but never got around to until Eldest Sibling took the lead and actually booked our plane tickets and hotel!

Now, the fact that June (Eldest) booked the the major details makes her sound super organized. However, thanks to a single moment of forgetfulness, her's and Cara's trip nearly didn't even happen. To get to NYC, June and Cara had to travel from their hometown to Toronto (a 15 hour trip). June forgot their passports.

The first I heard of this was when my mother phoned me and tells me (in a tone not to laugh at), "Mau. What do you about getting an emergency passport? Your sister forgot their passports."

I reply, "You're kidding me, right?"

Mom says, "Yes."

I sigh a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God!"

Mom, "Oops! No, I meant no, I'm not kidding. She really forgot!"

Mau, "Oh my God."

I ended up quickly searching for info about obtaining emergency passports and we were making all kinds of contingency plans. Miracle of miracles though, it turns out that June's uncle, happens to be flying to Toronto the night before we're supposed to fly out. He was able to bring their passports to our hotel. Oh. My. God. Crisis averted.

Amusing anecdote: Our landing at La Gardia airport wasn't the most, shall we say, ideal. We were bumped around quite a bit. My sisters were commenting how bad it was, and me, trying to temporize the situation was arguing the opposite. June tells me, "Mau, I fly Air Creebec. Trust me, I know a bad landing when I feel one." Touché big sister. Touché.

We managed to find a taxi and ride into NYC. 4 women and all their luggage in a single SUV? That was a feat of physics. (I'd like to also smugly point out that I had the smallest suitcase of everyone.)


Because we arrived too early to check in, we left our luggage with the bellhop and wandered the city. First priority was finding food. We went to a small restaurant across the street from our hotel called Speedy's. It was quintessentially New York! It was a buffet-ish type affair where you get charged by the weight of your food. Upstairs was a dining area. It was fantastic because it had something to appeal to everyone.

With our hunger appeased, we walked our way to Times Square, which is exactly how it looks in the movies! Part of me felt it was super cool to see all the flashing lights and ads, but the other part of me feels cheapened by all the consumerism it represents. It was neat to see all the people though, and June certainly appreciated the Naked Cowboy (whom I had never heard of, but is apparently pretty famous).

Even before we arrived in New York, Cara was determined to find a Forever 21 store with 4 floors. Well, when we got to Times Square, it was like she was a homing pigeon because she found it right away. Our posse ended up splitting up, June and Cara to go to Forever 21, and Mel and I to wander around, with plans to meet up for dinner.

On our solo foray, it felt like Mel and I tripped across everything that was New York! Several streets of Times Square were closed for a mini-market. I bought a beautiful grey pashmina scarf. Mel tried finding sunglasses and a hat with no luck.

Afterwards, Mel and I took to wandering the streets. We traipsed by the London Hotel, MoMA, and Radio City Hall. We also tripped across the Rockefeller Centre, 5th Avenue, and the Hollister store (complete with yummy models outside who were swarmed by hordes of gibbering pre-teens).

Amusing anecdote: While wandering a random side side street Mel and I passed a gorgeous tall blonde man wearing sunglasses. It wasn't until after we passed him that I asked, "Uh, was that Ryan Gosling?" Mel's reply, "Oh my gosh! I thought so too!" It turns out that Gosling WAS in New York during that time... So yay for celebrity sighting!

On the way back to the hotel, we came across some random street dancers. They were hilarious and quite talented. They kept trying to get the crowd to come closer to create a better ambiance. "We're only black! Don't worry!" they'd call out, getting chuckles from the bystanders. Also, at the end of their performance, they also tried collecting money. They yelled out at people who were leaving without paying, "Hey, cheap black people! Where are you going?!"

The problem with writing a blog nearly a year after the events is that some of my notes don't make sense to me... In my notepad, I have "Mel's toothpaste" written down. If I recall, Mel was having aneurysms over the cost of her toothpaste in a local drugstore.

The whole gang met up at the hotel and we were finally able to check in. We took a short nap and regrouped because it was ridiculously warm and humid in NYC. We needed to be fresh for our evening excursion!

Around 7 we finally sortied out to visit the Empire State Building. To summarize the experience is easy: Lines, lines, lines, view. If you didn't get the idea, there were lots of people in lots of lines. Lines to get tickets. Lines for security. Lines for the elevator. But the view was worth it, especially because it was dark by the time we got to the top of the building. The night lights of New York were beautiful and really emphasized the beauty of the city.

By this time we were starving, and since June and Cara didn't really experience Times Square earlier, we ventured back to the crowded area via subway. Wow. The subway systems are soooo hot. We made it back to Times Square and got to see its splendor at night time. Trés cool! We found this cool authentic restaurant called the Brooklyn Fine Diner Grille. It was exactly was we needed. Cara ordered chicken parmigana, but the piece of meat they served her looked like it came from a dinosaur instead - it was bigger than her head! I ordered the Veggie Market Salad - a whopping $18 salad. Yikes! But delish! June also managed to amuse herself while waiting for the food by going outside to the street vendor right outside our window. I'm glad she had the energy, because I was still footsore from my earlier walking!

The next day, rather than starve while hunting for food, we just went to Speedy's again. Today was the day we were going to Ellis Island, one of my few demands of the trip. We ended up in Battery Park and enjoyed the scenery before getting in line for the ferries for Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Thankfully the night before, we bought tickets for Ellis Island online, so when we arrived at the ferry terminal, we were able to skip the huge long ticket line and just get in the express "Reserved" line. Sooo-weet!

The Statue of Liberty... It was cool and anti-climatic at the same time. It's a big statue that you can walk around. We didn't bother going into its museum. I think the most interesting part of it was just imagining what immigrants must have felt, arriving in the "promise land" and seeing that giant statue for the first time. With the ghost of so many eyes, you couldn't help but be slightly moved.

Unfortunately, the hordes of people detract from the enjoyment of such things. The souvenir shop at the statue was insanely busy. And Cara was starving, so she went to buy some food at the restaurant. We thought we lost her because she was gone so long. We didn't realize that the lines at the restaurant were just that long! And by the time we lined up for the next ferry to Ellis Island, another hour or two had passed!

The Ellis Island Museum was one of the few places that I really, really, really wanted to visit on this trip. The first floor of the building was dedicated to American immigration history. It was interesting, but I have to admit, at this point I was ravenous (and refused to buy food because I didn't want to get soaked for tourist prices) so I was glazing over a bit. My fave section of this part of the museum was the quote I found from an Italian immigrant, "I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things: First, the streets were not paved with gold. Second, they weren't paved at all. Third, I was expected to pave them."

Mel, June, and Cara ended up abandoning me because they had little interest in the museum (I was also on info overload, but after wanting and wanting to come, I refused to give up). They fled back to the mainland to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage while I stuck it out on Ellis Island.

The second floor of the Ellis Island Museum was much more interesting. It held the history of Ellis Island itself, such as the medical facilities that immigrants had to pass through, info about the translation services available to immigrants and so on. It was awe-inspiring to realize how brave immigrants had to be to pick up everything and move to this strange new land.

The final section of the museum was just a series of black and white photographs. I didn't realize this before, but Ellis Island was abandoned for quite some time. It became derelict until the government re-opened it. The photos were of the island prior to its re-opening. It was haunting to see the building in its ghost-like state, the memories of the immigrants obscured by clutter and piled up debris.

Amusing anecdote: While waiting in line for the ferry back to the mainland, I missed the boat. Literally. I had to stay behind for another 30 minutes because the boat I was trying to get on had reach capacity. So frustrating! Especially because I was still starving and exhausted and thirsty! At least I had a book to read...

Back in New York proper, I met up with the siblings and niece outside the Museum of Jewish Heritage. We chilled out there for a bit, exchanging stories of what we had seen, etc. While we were resting, a group of police officers and a SWAT team arrived. As Canadians, it was shocking to see men roaming around with machine guns and full on gear. Is something going on? We wondered. Thankfully Eldest Sibling isn't as shy as me and asked a K9 police unit. It turns out that since 9/11, New York Police randomly patrol the city like this to reinforce their presence. The fellow was very interesting to talk to.

From there, we walked to the World Trade Centre site. I'll admit, I was surprised there wasn't more at the WTC area... It's been 10 years but it's just a giant hole with construction around it. Granted, there was a memorial centre (we visited it later on), and some murals, but I'm just surprised. June and Cara went to a random department store, and Mel and I ended up finding Wall Street.

Amusing anecdote: After talking with the SWAT dude, I was STILL ravenous, so I finally caved and decided to get some bonafide New York street meat! That's right, I was buying a hot dog. Holy fucking inflation Batman!!! I paid $9 for a fucking hot dog!!!! That's INSANE! That was also my last bit of street meat for the rest of the trip. >:(

We ended up finding a Sbarro to eat at for dinner. It also had some great gelato, so I indulged. We then returned to the hotel to rest for a bit.

After refreshing ourselves, we ventured our for a late night walk. We ended up walking to Grand Central Station. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was very interesting to be there. It was neat to see it as a whole, and not just as background for a movie scene.

From Grand Central, we took the subway to Times Square again. June got to visit her Hard Rock Cafe and we did some more nighttime sight seeing. We ended up walking back to the hotel along Broadway because June wanted to visit the HBO store (which Mel and I found on the first day). During the walk a) June pawned off some horrible raspberry lemonade concoction from McDonald's on me, b) we saw a motorcycle accident (it tried to run into a bus), and c) the HBO store was closed. Interestingly, the hotel staff demand to see your hotel key upon entrance to the hotel at night. Good policy.

Amusing anecdote: While taking the subway from Grand Central to Times Square, I had a hard time finding my subway pass. The subway was nearly abandoned, and everyone was through the gates except for me... And a random creepy guy. As I was pawing through my purse, I looked plaintively at Mel and June and begged, "Please don't leave me alone with him!" Every robbery/attack/rape scenario was flashing through my head..

On July 18, our third day, we agreed to split up. Mel and I went to visit the UN headquarters (another of my NYC trip demands) and June and Cara went shopping. Mel and I were out of the hotel by 8 AM. The walk to the UN was a lot of fun - we kept tripping across consulates and seeing diplomatic immunity license plates everywhere. We tried finding the Canadian consulate, but no dice.

As with everywhere else in NYC, we had to go through security to get into the UN. Mel, the bonehead that she is, forgot that her hand sanitizer and sunblock would set off the liquid alarms. Luckily no one tackled her at the knees and we were passed inwards.

The only way to got through the UN is with a tour, which I normally hate, but this was awesome. We got to see the temporary Security Council room (the official one was under construction) and we got to go into the General Assembly area. It was mind-blowing to see where all the diplomats meet and vote! The tour fulfilled every international geek bone in my body! So much so, that even though I'm not normally a souvenir person, I bought 2 magnets and a car decal at the UN store. :) :) :)

Aftwards Mel and I walked back to Grand Central, whereupon Middle Sibling had a meltdown upon discovery that her subway pass was missing. I suspected her melt down was more to do with not having enough food (we were both starving), so I refrained from banging her head into a wall, and instead we got her a new pass and went to Chinatown/Little Italy.

Priority number one was getting food into my sister so that I wouldn't add to NYC's homicide statistics. We ended up at a cute italian bistro called Pugali's. It had a wonderful ambiance and gave lots and lots of water so that we could refresh ourselves. I had a huge serving of meatballs - what else could I order in a New York Italian restaurant??? At the end of our meal, I also tried to spill half of a pitcher of water on the people sitting next to us. Whoops.

We wandered around Chinatown for a bit. It wasn't nearly as magical as I expected to be honest. Parts of it felt very Hong Kong-ish, but I was surprised at how tiny the area was. Mel was on the look out for cheap handheld fans, but we had no luck, or they were super expensive.

Amusing anecdote: While in Chinatown, Mel asks me, "Is it terrible that I'm laughing at a missing dog poster in this area?"

By this time, Mel and I had to scoot back to the hotel to meet up with June and Cara. June hadn't given us any detail, but we were explicitly told to bring something fancy (or in my case, less ragged) to wear for something special. It turns out that June had made reservations for Benihana's, a Japanese restaurant where the chef's do a show, and she had booked us a limo to take us around town.

Mel and I beat June and Cara back to the hotel, which was a good thing. Four women sharing a single bathroom while everyone's trying to get ready/prettified? Needless to say, we were running late, and as group navigator, I also took us in the wrong direction when we got off the subway. With the heat and humidity and hurrying in heels, we were relieved to get to the restaurant relatively on time.

Benihana's was neat - we shared a table with a couple from NY and a couple from Sweden. Our chef put on a show for us with the food. E.g. He made us an egg roll (in which he literally spun a whole egg on the grill), he shaped the chicken fried rice in to the words "I <3 you", and threw the shrimp tails into this chef hat. I'd love to sit in on an audition to become a chef...

After dinner (which we hurried slightly), we ventured outside to our limo... Which was nowhere to be found. The limo was a surprise to Cara (well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but Mel accidentally blew it without realizing earlier that morning by asking about it right in front of Cara LOL), so we tried to make up excuses about why we wanted to hang out in front of the restaurant. And then we made more excuses. And then some more. I'd distract Cara for a bit so June could call the limo company ("We're just down the block" "We'll be there in 5 minutes", etc.).

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER the limo finally shows up. We've already given up and told Cara about it. June is obviously (and justifiably) not pleased. We pile into the limo, the driver goes to pull away... And the limo breaks down. I literally stopped breathing. I was like a terrified rabbit, afraid to move lest I attract the predator's attention. I look at June, expecting to hear her mind SNAP. Instead, she lets out a cackle (with minor hysterical undertones). We ended up taking the champagne and pop from the limo and bailing. (Which for me was a good thing, because I found the limo super stuffy - the humidity outside was preferable!)

On our way back to the subway though, we tripped across The Jekyll and Hyde, a bar June had heard about so we traipsed in. It was neat - a haunted house theme bar! We piled up to the bar and ordered girlie drinks and generally relaxed from limo debacle. I could have done without the live cockroaches roaming the ceiling above us though. THAT didn't have to be part of the decor...

After the Jekyll and Hyde, we tripped across a mini-mart and stocked up on goodies for the hotel room. I got a Ben and Jerry's ice cream, but the spoon they gave me was too limp. :( I couldn't dig into it! LOL. I also managed to make a profit because the shopkeeper gave me an extra $10. (I count that as fair trade though, especially after the banditry of the hot dog the day before...)

The next day decided to go to Central Park. We found a Tim Horton's, so June and Cara went there for breakfast. As the group navigator, I ran around asking for directions to the ACE subway (I didn't want to lead the group in circles, so I ran ahead to ask a random pedestrian).

Central Park was way bigger and nicer than anticipated. We got off at the 86th street stop and plunged in. We saw the Jackie O reservoir, Guggenheim (which was soooo not the museum I thought it was), Belvedere Castle, Strawberry Fields, Balto statue, and Bethseda Fountain.

While at Central Park, I also demanded to go the Central Park Zoo (yes, I'm a child at heart). It was a fun interlude (and yay for their restaurant having free water fountains!!!) We needed it if only to mentally recuperate for a bit. We also went into the Arctic "4D experience"... It was a 4D movie of the arctic which we thought would be super refreshing and help prep us to survive the rest of the day. Alas, twas not the case. The theatre was super muggy, and the arctic "breeze" and "snow" did little to alleviate the warmth during the 15 minute show.

Afterwards we found FAO Schwartz and quickly ran into it to get the necessary keyboard picture, and then we dived back into Central Park to see the carousel and Columbus Circle.

By this time, we had to scramble back to the hotel to clean up because we were going to see Wicked on Broadway! (Yet another of my NYC requests.) We had a quick dinner at a pita/sandwich place around the corner from the theatre, and then it was time for the show.

Wicked was even better than I expected! I hadn't known much about it, but several of my coworkers saw it and raved about it. Further research made me decide that I wanted to see it too and it was amazing! It's the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz movie. It was funny and sweet! June and I had tickets on the orchestra level, while Mel and Cara were up in the mezzanine. I was so enthralled with the show that I bought the soundtrack afterwards (again, I'm not often a souvenir person, but this just goes to show how much it meant to me).

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing with ice cream, and June spent the evening on the phone with the limo company, making negotiations for them to drive us to the airport free of charge as repayment for the fiasco the night before.

On our last full day in NYC, June, Mel, and I ventured out by ourselves while Cara slept in. Because June didn't get to see it before, we visited Wall Street again and got to see the Wall Street bull. We also visited the World Trade Centre Tribute, which was kind of an abbreviated museum for the events of 9/11. It was a very emotional site. I cried twice, once over a transcription of a voice mail a husband left for his wife, and again over a card a child wrote to his father, hoping that he was "happy in heaven".

I appeased my tears by buying bubble tea next door, and then we ventured off to the Brooklyn Bridge. In some ways, NYC is soooo easy to navigate, but other times, not so much. We managed to get lost looking for a way up to the bridge. (We were under it, we just couldn't find the stairs to get up!) Luckily some NYPD cops could read the "dumb tourist" stamps on our foreheads, and pointed us in the right direction

Amusing anecdote: The staircase was a staircase of horrors. The smell was horrendous. Half way up, Mel asks June, "Is that chocolate on the wall?" June stares at Mel, "For God's sake, don't you think if that was chocolate, it would have melted by now?!" Yup. It was feces. Smeared everywhere. (And to be honest, I was so oblivious I didn't notice it, or hear this interaction.)

Brooklyn Bridge was very cool. We only jaunted to the first column, but it was still neat to be on, and see the views. Mel ended up buying a print from a vendor there.

On the way back, we passed through Union Square and ogled the Farmer's Market going on.

Mel and I decided to go to the Museum of Sex while June went back to the hotel to get Cara ready. I gotta admit, I was surprised and disappointed at just how boring the Museum of Sex was. I was expecting something completely risque, but there was NOTHING there! The first floor was about porn movies and censorship, then there were some cool old-fashioned sex implements, but then the rest of the museum was about animal procreation behavior and some old gay man, and then sex cartoons. Both of us were bitter about the price we paid for such a lousy place.

Everyone met up at the hotel and then we ventured to the NYC library. Wow, that place is so grandiose! I'd love to study in a location like that! I'm also happy that the others knew more about it than me, because if I was traveling solo, I'd have been like, "Library? Who wants to visit a library?"

After the library, we ended up shopping at random stores and going to eat at a restaurant called Pax. I bought the world's biggest cupcake (or so it seemed) and it was divine. We also finally ended up at the HBO store.

Unfortunately, the heat and exhaustion of the trip finally caught up to Cara because she started to feel really sick. I suspect it was dehydration, so we got her a huge bottle of water and dropped her off at the hotel with strict instructions to finish the bottle ASAP and get some rest.

The siblings and I ended up going to Greenwich Village which was boo-tiful! It was exactly how I pictured New York (well, at least the parts of NY that weren't its downtown core). The architecture was beautiful (with the condo prices to match). We also saw parts of NYU.

We found ourselves in Washington Park and relaxed there for a bit. June and Mel bathed their feet in the fountain there. A little girl was standing on a column, pretending to a be a statue - people kept taking photos of her as she posed. It was cute.

I used our guide book to take us on a walking tour, and we came across some beautiful houses and Barrow Street. :) We ended up at a tiny park and June enjoyed some delicious "Hawaiian Ice" (a fancier version of a snow cone).

For dinner we went to a local restaurant called Caliente. It was super loud, but also fun to be among the locals. If you couldn't guess from the name, the food had a Mexican flare. June ordered a strawberry daiquiri but couldn't drink it because it was made from tequila instead of rum.

From there we returned to the hotel and got some food for Cara who was still recuperating. June and Mel went out to do some more shopping and I chillaxed in the room. (Although I'm sure the niece would have preferred if I wasn't there - I caught myself ranting non-stop at the reality show she was watching for a good 30 minutes.)

On our last morning, I accidentally woke up an hour earlier than I had planned to. Rather than waste time laying in bed, I got up to go out and find breakfast. At the last second, Mel woke up and asked to join me. We found ourselves at the Europa Cafe where I finally got to have a "real" New York bagel and orange juice. I also had yogurt, but I threw it out because it was too sweet.

Upon returning to the hotel, we checked out. Everyone wanted to go to Macy's and JC Penny, so I volunteered to stay behind and guard the luggage. I chillaxed in the hotel lobby with my Kobo and watched people come and go (mainly airline attendants - our hotel was flight crew central it seemed).

As mentioned before, rather than taking a taxi back to La Gardia, June arranged for a limo to pick us up. (How posh can you feel leaving a hotel in a limo and arriving at the airport via limo? The answer is VERY.) The limo driver took us to Washington Park so that Cara could see it, and then the driver took us for a tour around Brooklyn before heading to the airport.

But alas, all good things must come to and end, and so did our trip to New York. I didn't expect NYC to be as awesome as it was. I can totally understand why people are enthralled by it. I'd love to visit it again someday.