Well, an amazing trip comes to a close. Yesterday morning Eric and I returned from our little East Coast excursion with a whole lot that we experienced. New York City and Boston are two of the richest cities you can visit as an American. From the diversity of culture, to the age-old streets and buildings, and to the role that they both played in American history as well as in modern American society, they seem to be two cities that have a lot of stories that would take a lifetime of being an interested resident to even begin to uncover.
But we only had 4 days.
Now if you know me, I'm a fast walker, and when it comes to traveling, I'm a decent planner (we hit our budget to the dollar, and met every time budget I allowed, practically to the minute every time); so between those two things, we got a lot accomplished. Now if you haven't noticed before, I'm fairly detailed when it comes to my descriptions, so blogging about this entire trip in one blog would be ridiculous. Instead, I'm going to just blog day by day, because 4 days walking in my shoes as a tourist will end up being the longest blog ever.
Wednesday, DAY ONE: Upper Midtown, East Village, Time Square
We flew stand-by (thanks to our good friends in Denver) to save money, so getting on a flight to NYC by 4.30p on Wednesday would be the bonus. All we really cared about was getting to the first Yankee game by Thursday at 1. However, we ended up making both flights and arrived at LaGuardia at 4.30, caught the bus to Harlem where we transferred onto the Subway (where yes, amazingly, we saw Macaulay Culkin, a major bonus in my book). Eric liked the subway, but no, in case you are wondering, that is not Macaulay Culkin sleeping next to him in the picture on the left. .
After dropping our stuff off at my friends' loft in the Upper East Side where we were able to stay (thanks, Matt and Casey!), we took off and went to our first stop, Grand Central Station.
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Grand Central is amazing. The Grand Lobby is unreal, a room that has to be, I don't know, 200 feet tall? I know the statue out front of Mercury and Hercules is 48 feet tall, so the lobby, I really think it has to be over 200 feet tall. The four faced clock at the info booth, all four being made of opal, is estimated at being $40-80 million dollars. The room feels like you are outside (something you would expect to experience in a Vegas hotel like the Venetian), and yet there are no supporting pillars of any sort. It's truly breathtaking. It completely caught Eric off guard.
From there, we walked past the New York Public Library, which we walked through on Day 3, and continued on to 5th Ave., where we walked north to St. Patrick's Cathedral, the largest Catholic Cathedral in the U.S. What is amazing about St. Pat's is that it was built "so far" north of the city back in the mid 1800's that the Catholic Bishop was appalled that they were even thinking of building that far outside of the city. Now, of course, the Cathedral is surrounded by skyscrapers and is in what is considered Upper Midtown, a far cry from "the sticks" of the 1800's.
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St. Pat's is extraordinary. The Gothic style building with unreal spires and high reaching vaulted ceilings, you feel like you are in old Europe. The Stations of the Cross are all carved in marble and are massive. There are various statues throughout with candles that you can light as an "offering" to the church. I always make sure to light a candle at St. Brigid, an Irish saint. There is also a Pieta sculpture that is mesmerizing.
From there we went across the street to Rockefeller Plaza, the location of the NBC New York studios. You'll see this little plaza featured on the Today Show, SNL, 30 Rock, Conan, etc. At "the Rock" is also Radio City Music Hall, and the famous ice skating rink (and Christmas-time location of the giant Christmas tree) surrounded by the flags of the world (though in September all the flags are replaced with American flags, which is an awesome sight). .
From "the Rock" we got on a train to the East Village at Washington Square. A couple trips ago in 2006, Jamie and I were at Washington Square and caught a bit of filming of "I am Legend." It was the scene at Will Smith's house in the movie, which was located in Washington Square. The Square is quite a mix between ghetto "should I be here at night" and college town raucousness. NYU is located directly across the street, which makes you feel safer at night with all the campus security, and adds a fun twist to the atmosphere. Last year when I was in NYC with my dad and Matt Piro, we hung out in Washington Square with all the late night chess players and break dancers and hung out, enjoyed the vibe, and had a cigar. This year, however, it seems that everyone is "going green" in NYC, so major renovations were being made to the arch at Washington Square to somehow make it more friendly to the trees in the Amazon...or something like that. Good ol' New York.
But the real gem was waiting beyond Washington Square (which, by the way is where Macaulay Culkin lives). We were headed deeper into the East Village to a little place that is one of my favorites to visit in NYC: McSorely's Old Ale House.
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McSorely's is a little Irish Pub that has been around since 1854. Yes, not a type-o, 1854. Abe Lincoln used to have an ale here on occasion. The place is virtually unchanged, and really takes you back to a day not seen anymore. The food is horrible, which I knew beforehand from previous experience, so we had a New York Cheesteak elsewhere, but the ales are amazing. By the way, if you ever go there, don't you dare order a "beer," because they don't sell beer, they sell ale. And they have two kinds, light and dark. You feel as if you are going to get kicked out if you happen to ask that question. .
McSorely's brews their own ales, and have been doing so since their inception. In the picture on the right, you will see a chandelier hanging with a bunch of fuzzy wishbones. Back during WWII, soldiers about to leave to the war would have a Thanksgiving meal and put their wishbones up on the light. When you got back, you took your wisbone down because your wish came true. If you didn't come back...well, those are the wishbones that remain to this day, the fuzz being the 60+ years of dust (an "A" rated health code grade this place does not have...nor do they care about).
McSorely's is an awesome place, and worth the visit if you ever make it there. By the way, ales are only $2 a piece, so it's also a cheap stop as well.
From McSorely's we made our way on the Subway back up to Midtown, this time to Times Square. Times Square, as you know, is intense. It's Vegas...but in New York. Even though it was by now 1am, it felt like it was 7.30p. That is the effect of Times Square.
From McSorely's we made our way on the Subway back up to Midtown, this time to Times Square. Times Square, as you know, is intense. It's Vegas...but in New York. Even though it was by now 1am, it felt like it was 7.30p. That is the effect of Times Square.
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The honest beauty of New York City, post 9/11 and post Rudy Giuliani, is the fact that you feel incredibly safe outside no matter what time it is. Now, I can't say no matter where outside you are...I don't recommend walking through the middle of Central Park at night, it's just not patrolled or lit enough. But as long as you stay on main streets (and almost every street in New York seems to be a main street), you can feel very safe and expect to be very well looked after by New York's finest.
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So this was the end of the first night. We got back on the subway (which again, very safe, even at night, as long as you know where you are going), made our way back to the Upper East Side, and crashed at Matt and Casey's.
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The total, per person for this first night in New York, with MetroCards (daily subway passes) food, and ales? $16. That's what you get when you travel with Jobey McFruglestuff.
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Next Blog: Thursday, Day TWO: Central Park, Strawberry Fields, Upper West Side, Flatiron, Yankees v. Red Sox, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge
