New York State of Mind

I had pictured our visit to Wall Street in my head.  The footpaths (ahem, I mean sidewalks) would be wall to wall people dressed in suits power-walking to their next meeting.  Harvey Spector would be there, so would Donna, and if I was really lucky, Litt. The reality  was a little different.   We'd arrived at a bit after 8 and started with a coffee (La Columbe - not bad) and then up the street and on the the bull.  I think Wall Street must have embraced casual Fridays cos there wasn't a suit to be seen. 

We saw the Stock Exchange and it had a bright yellow snapchat sign up which kinda lowered the tone.  There was a quite big statue of George outside Federal Hall where he was inaugurated.   There was the Bull and the Fearless little girl.  Surrounded by tourists who wanted their photo with either or both.  Some contorted their bodies for a photo touching his highly polished balls.  We wandered around the Twin Towers memorial.  It was depressing.  Understandably. 

Then it was shopping!  Century 21 for cut price designer clothes (my poor credit card).

We'd planned to go on the water taxi but the wait was ridiculous so we had a nice lunch on the waterfront instead. I think I had my tube stations mixed up (there are multiple 28th St Stations) so we ended up strolling through the garden shop part of the city with their plants taking over much of the side walk.

The evening highlight was  Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden.  Fantastic concert, especially when Kevin Spacey joined in to sing New York State of Mind.  Just about brought the house down.

The lowlight was the visit to Macy's and the shooting scare.  All unfounded but it was pretty scarey at the time with a bit of a panic to get out of the building.

Then it was over.  Nothing left to do but pack our bags and leave the concrete jungle. 

I loved New York.  I wanted more green trees and grass you could walk on.  I wanted the clear racial divide to be a lot more murky.  I wanted things to be cheaper.  But I still loved our week there.

Yankee doodle foodie

Sleep in.  Bliss.  After a night on the town, it was definitely needed.  Coffee was at Joe's in Central Station.  It wasn't bad, but it was no Blue Bottle. 

We were on the food tour. Five stops in the east village but first all 40 of us on the tour had to catch the tube together, get off at the same stop and find each other again.  Not sure why we didn't just meet in the east village,  but I figure it's part of the 'fun'.  Also part of the fun is squashing us all together so he didn’t have to talk too loud.  Not fun when you're in the middle.  So after the first time, I made sure I was the straggler on the side.

First stop, Vanessa's Dumplings.  Not bad.  Second stop, Artichoke Pizza.  That's some kind of creamy artichoke and spinach spread on pizza topped with cheese.  Heart attack material but rather nice. There was a really cool fire station just next door.  Time for something sweet - Butter lane cupcakes.  Choice of 5 cakes and about 30 toppings.  Not bad.  There was a cool marshmallow store across the road that some people went to.  I kinda wished I had too as it looked yum.  Then a hot dog.  It was on the must-do-in-NYC-list.  We went to Crif Dogs and had ones with avocados and salsa.  Finally a patisserie for a cannelloni type sweet which was absolutely disgusting.   Mum had an eclair that had custard instead of cream.  The tour was interesting but there were far too many people. We've discovered that we like walking tours.  When we have our own personal guide.  Or at the least a small group.

That evening we had a date with an old friend on sabbatical in New York and her parents.   Also with the Yankees.  We started with a drink at Hudson Commons bar (we'd planned to meet at Hudsons Library Bar but it was closed - shame cos we had a peek and it was lovely). 

We had bought tickets on stubhub and it turned out they were wheelchair seats.  The security guard said it was fine for us to sit there as long as one of us at least limped.  They were quite nice comfy chairs but it was a little chilly.  OK it was freezing.  I'd bought a hat and scarf as presents so they came in handy.  The game had a few interesting moments.  When Aaron Judge hit a home run into the stands.  When the Yankees had the bases loaded and we thought they were going to all come home but the batter was caught out.  When Jesus Sucre came to the plate and we made Sweet Jesus jokes.

The cold eventually got the better of us and we headed home early.

Getting High and the Village

Another bright and early start.   First to the Blue Bottle at Bryant Park (say it like it's the Bat Mobile) for coffee.  And then a wander around the New York Library.  Some lovely old rooms and lots of lovely books.

Then we headed to The Village.   Apparently those in the know don't bother with the Greenwich part of the name.  We had lunch at Formerly The Crow before joining our walking tour with the very entertaining Ally aka Barbara Streisand (she had the nose).  There's lots of interesting things to see and stories to hear, and it was a relatively small group which was nice.  The NYU campus is here and I wouldn't mind working there given the surroundings.

We had planned to get up early and see the Highline as the city woke up.  But we slept in.  So after our walking tour, we headed for another Blue Bottle, and then meandered the highline from 16th Street to the end at 34th Street.  It used to be a train line but has been converted to a park-like walkway.  It's very busy so a meander is about all you can do.

After a rest at our apartment, we headed back to the Village where we had a very nice meal and very nice wine at Alta.  It was a little noisy.  We had decided not to book anywhere for jazz and instead followed our nose.  Or rather our ear.  This lead us first to Analogue for a drink and a jazz band.  When they finished their set, we moved on and found ourselves at Cafe Wha? It was the house band and it was excellent.   Everything from Pearl Jam to Justin Bieber  (ok, so the latter was the DJ and he played the only Bieber song I like).

Bouyed from our fabulous evening and not ready for it to end, we went up the Empire State Building.   It was 1am and hardly anyone else was there.  It was fabulous (but cold).  We paid the extra and went right to the top. Great views, 1500 photos, multiple selfie attempts, and then it was time to head home to our beds.

Glorious buildings

Tuesday.  Sleep in day.   After our night out in Times Square and Chicago, we felt that we deserved it.  We did want to make sure that we started the day right though, so first stop was Bryant Park for Blue Bottle coffee (also discretely hidden, but I spied a park goer with the right coffee cup and extracted directions and the secret password from him). 

Our architectural walking tour started opposite the United Nations.  There was a small protest outside to stop starving Yemen.  I was quite pleased when the guide allowed them to speak briefly to the group.  The United Nations main building itself is a quite dull high rise.  However,  we learned that this is based on sustainable architecture - build up so you don't take up too much land.  It wasn't stepped in like most New York high rises but I think this was because there is also a low rise portion of the complex.  We thought about stopping in to see Helen, but didn’t want to miss the rest of the tour.

Stops on the tour included the Tudor complex (also based on sustainability), but they didn't look very Tudor to me. New Yorkers are quite proud of their activist heritage with protests stopping many of the gardens being replaced with buildings and, thanks to Jacquie O, saving Grand Central Terminal.  The Daily News, or the Daily Planet when Clark Kent of the 1970s worked there, has a fabulous globe in the foyer.  The Chrysler building is all steal and sparkling on the outside, and all warm and amber in the foyer.   (If you've heard the story about the two buildings competing to be the highest, this is the one that won with a stealthy overnight mast move.)  The doorman at the Former Bowery Bank gave us the nod so we were allowed to peek inside - very ornate). 

We left the tour at Grand Central after visiting the whispering room and seeing the clock made from the world's largest opal. We had lunch sitting at the bar of the Oyster bar before heading to the Met.  It's a huge building so we picked a few things that we wanted to see: the temple from Egypt, the American section  (which was mostly furniture so we didn't stay long, European art, and Roman and Greek statues.

Our evening harbour cruise was like a giant cattle ship with all the people packed in like sardines.       It felt very cash cow.  We spent most of the trip standing on the front deck with short stops inside to defrost  ('Do you think we'll need a jacket?', 'No, it's going to be 18 degrees,  we'll just take a light jumper instead.') 

We saw where the plane landed on the Hudson, lots of cool buildings, the Empire State from all angles, Statue of Liberty,  One World Trade Center,  Brooklyn Bridge, the Chrysler - basically there and back around lower Manhattan. 

All in all, a very good day.

Come to MoMA

That's the Museum of Modern Art. 

Our first stop was Top of the Rock for views over Central Park and the city.  Another relatively early morning as the queues can be madness so we were there in time for the 8am first entry.  We have a New York Pass that means we skip the queue.   Unfortunately,  so did a whole bunch of other people.   It wasn't much of a wait though and soon we were oohing and ahhing at NYC on a stunning day.  Fun fact: this is the building where you see the picture of all the workers sitting on a piece of steal suspended in the sky.
(This one: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunch_atop_a_Skyscraper).

Coffee at the discretely hidden Blue Bottle (BEST coffee in New York), and then a trip to MoMA when it opened.  There's a lot there so we picked our floors.  Mostly we saw the older art.  Monet, Munch, Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, Warhol.  I discovered Delauney.   A nice round colourful pic that would look great on my office wall.  A great depiction of the lady Patriotism stamping all over the lady Liberty.  It's from some years back, but very appropriate in the current political climate.

Our plan was to wander up through Central Park to the Met but we were enjoying the park so much, we put the Met off for another day and had a short visit to the Guggenheim instead (a spiral building - start at the top and work your way down).  I particularly liked the Degas pieces.

Another fabulous meal out at Azalea before heading to Chicago.  I've seen the movie; the show is much better.  Much funnier.  A little too much wine and a darkened room meant I struggled a little to stay awake a first, but it kept me very entertained.

We're still on the train.  Very picturesque in a bucolic,  industrial, graffiti kind of way.   We may be heading into Philadelphia.   There are cool looking buildings in the distance.

Tartan kiwis in NYC

So usually I blog when I travel.  A post every couple of days at least.  We've been in New York for a week and it's only now, as we're sitting on the train to leave, that I have a moment to write.  Sure, they've been moments when we've been doing nothing but they've been filled with naps and planning whatever we're doing next. 

We arrived last Friday at midnight.  United do not feed you on the 6 hour flight from SFO, so we popped out for pizza by the slice (how New York is that?!) before collapsing into bed. 

Saturday was a quiet day.  We walked down the middle of 6th Avenue in our kilts as people took our photo.  OK, they were probably taking photos of the pipe band in front of us.  We were more like photo bombers.  Dinner at Basso 56 was very nice (pro tip: when booking on tripadvisor,  check you have booked for the correct day!)

The crack of dawn of Sunday morning was glorious.  Yes, I was up.  Subway downtown and a meander across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise.  We have taken a *lot* of photos of that bridge over the past week.  You could also see the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building from the bridge.  We have lots of photos of those from all angles.

Time spent planning paid off and we had a fantastic breakfast at Clark's. Classical music blared from the speakers.  Breakfast came with juice, unlimited coffee or tea, and bubble and squeak with every breakfast (I had omelet, Mum had eggs bene ). 

A wander through the fruit streets, along the waterfront  (more photos of the bridge), and Vinegar Hill all before the crow farted  (I may have that expression wrong).  Barely a soul to be seen.  Just as well with my blood nose.  I probably looked like a cocaine addict. 

Time for a flat white (yes, you can find one in NY) at the Aussie run Bluestone Lane cafe, before a walk through the Brooklyn Flea market. It's very upmarket with clothes going for $100 or more.  Some interesting knick knacks.

We were still feeling quite fresh so the Brooklyn Botanical Garden was next.  Unfortunately I didn't get the subway stations quite right and we had a long walk across Prospect Park.  It was very pleasant with people playing sports (lots of baseball), picnicking,  and walking like us.  The trees were pretty bare so it was a little barren.  By the time we got to the gardens, we were quite tired and settled for a look at the cherry blossoms (some were in flower) and a sit down. 

Lunch (when you're up at 5.15am, you get a lot done before lunch ) was in the restaurant at the Brooklyn museum.   We both had burgers (healthier than it sounds) and then headed home for a rest.

We had planned to do the Harbour Cruise but they were all booked out when we arrived so we arranged tickets for another night.

Brisbane - the food and drink visit

Ahem, I mean the work trip ;)

I tried to paddle to Storey Bridge once.  As I sit here drinking my Riesling  (pinot gris is apparently not a thing in Oz) at Il Centro  looking at the bridge, I'm reminded of that trip.  Noodle (named changed to protect the innocent) and I took a kayak trip on which we were cursed with The Incompetent as our tour companions.

I had the bridge in my sights.  Noodle was keeping up.  The tour guide, however, kept making us stop and wait for The Incompetent.   We'd sit patiently (ok, not), and then paddle like mad when they caught up.  My plan was to get far enough ahead so that the guise couldn't catch up to tell us to stop.  Sadly, he was not incompetent.  Really, I should have booked to do it again (properly this time) this trip.

Instead I'm pushing the boat put on a nice meal and people - watching at Eagle Pier.

I imagine it won't be as exciting as last night with Noodle and Pat (his real name; he's not innocent).  We'd started with a very late lunch at Cafe Mondial in the city.  A very nice lamb and haloumi salad.  Followed by a walk past the suitcase market (teenage girls selling last season's wardrobe for $2 a piece and star wars toys) and, inevitably, to South Bank.

I've been to South Bank before.  This was undoubtedly my most enjoyable visit.  Possibly because with sober driver Pat in tow, I wasn't watching how much wine I drunk.

We found a nice spot on the upper balcony of the iconic Ploughman.  It's been there since 18 blah blah.  The band played steady stream of classics (Australian Crawl, The Proclaimers  (da da duh da), Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams (those were the BEST days of my life), etc.

Noodle was mid story when I noticed a kurfuffle downstairs. I'm sure her story was riveting, but it didn't hold a candle to the drunk patron being held down by two bouncers and a security guard, while a waiter stood by presumably offering tips on technique.  And standing in the way of the chap attempting to film the incident on his phone.

Three cops arrived and the was a struggle as they transferred holding down responsibilities.

(My dinner has arrived and it's delicious.   Barramundi and octopus with a side of green beans and yummy stuff.   Definitely a well worthwhile boat pushing out.)

Back to Crime Watch.  The poor fellow was in pretty bad shape.  I was a little worried for him, particularly when they shooed away the medical professional offering to help and called in the life guard instead.  All was eventually ok and he was lead away in cuffs while cop number three carried his jandals (I can't bring myself to write 'thongs' as there was a disturbing 'show us your crack' moment.

On that note, we headed for Max Brenner where we consumed chocolate fondue, praline chocolates and a thick Italian chocolate drink.  All of it was delicious.   Luckily calories consumed overseas don't count.

Today I have been working.  But I did manage to start my day with a walk through the botanical gardens and across the pedestrian bridge.   For my morning break, I ended up at City Hall.  There's an average museum and a fabulous elevator ride up to the bells and a peek at the clocks from the inside.  You can also wander into the auditorium and some random rooms.  I considered a visit to the Lord Mayor but couldn't fit him into my schedule.

It hasn't been quite as exciting as my previous visits, but I'm pretty sure it's the winner on food and drink.  She says while quietly sipping on a glass of Talisker.