home, where my thought's escaping
Returned I have from my brief journey to Manhattan. No, I didn't get you anything. Limited suitcase room, you see.
But first things first: holy crap, I have so much reading of the F-List to do. So, heh, when I'm not job searching or at the gym this week, you'll know where to find me.
I want to talk about the trip (at great length, I'll forewarn you), but before I do that I must do the Oscar Talk thing.
Highlights
1. Jon Stewart. Hilarious and just really, really adorable. I think I've maybe kinda sorta developed a huge, completely ridiculous crush on the man. I don't know if it was the bit at the beginning of the show with George Clooney - (who, I do have to admit, is looking right fine these days) - that pushed me over the edge or what, but yeah, I must start watching his show.
2. Reese Witherspoon's acceptance speech. How very sweet and incredibly genuine. Probably my favourite moment of the night. Girl almost got me crying at the end with the June Carter "I'm just trying to matter" quote and everything that came with it. I'll have to see Walk the Line one of these days. (P.S. - She looked absolutely beautiful in that sparkly dress. I'm surprised she didn't get more attention on the red carpet. Or maybe she did and I didn't see it.)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman's acceptance speech. Capote. There's another one I've got to see. Hoffman is always, always memorable in supporting roles - (25th Hour, The Talented Mr. Ripley); I imagine it'll be great to see him play lead. But, as for the speech: again, very genuine. Thanking his mum and all that. Awww.
4. Chicken Little and Abby Mallard presenting the award for animated something-or-other. Fun silly cuteness, with Abby up in arms about the lack of pants in the wardrobes of cartoon ducks throughout history. Chicken Little: "I won't wear pants until there is pants-equality for all!" *giggles*
5. Ben Stiller and his lime green bodysuit. "I'm blowing Spielberg's mind right now." Enough said.
6. Jake G. practically snorting over the sheer lameness of his introduction to the "Epic Films Montage." Heath and Michelle sort of snickering with him in the audience. (Oh my God, they SO were.) Also, I found myself obsessing a bit over the dude's walk. It made me wonder if he has ever done any modelling, 'cause he was working it as he made his way out onto that stage. Dang. Anyway, yes, he looked quite handsome and that is all I'm going to say about it. I most definitely did not squeal in my hotel room every time the camera got a shot of him blushing, laughing, or looking adorably sheepish. There was absolutely ZERO squealing. Honest.
7. All of BBM's wins. Yes. Just, in my opinion, such a beautiful film with a powerful story.
Not so Much
1. Please allow me to join the chorus of people hating on the massive woman-eating bow on Charlize Theron's dress. I mean, I think the woman is a freaking goddess, and the dress was fine otherwise, but the bow was a really bad idea.
2. "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is definitely no "Lose Yourself." I don't know that it deserved to win.
3. How about next year we cut down on the musical montages and give the award winners some more time for their acceptance speeches? Because montages are great and poignant, but after the fourth or fifth one they start to become a little meaningless, whereas winning an Oscar is a huge moment for an artist.
Whoa
1. I'm really surprised that Crash won for Best Picture. I will have to take a look at it one of these days.
2. Dolly Parton is, like, really skinny. She has a really astonishing figure. Giant breasts on a pencil-thin body. One wonders what it is that keeps her standing upright.
3. Keira Knightley looked incredible. And I loved her interview with whatever goofy reporter-man it was that obviously had a schoolboy crush on her. She seemed so calm and not fake at all. Love her.
4. Muchos applause to Jennifer Garner for recovering from that near fall on the stage. Bravo, darling. (If it was me presenting at the Oscars in a floor-length gown I would go onto the stage barefoot. No lie.)
And now, a whole lot of rambling about my trip. Novel-length. Filled to the brim with sentence fragments. It is basically excerpts from all the notes I took during the trip, starting on my first full day in the city, Thursday - (I actually left on the Wednesday), along with some commentary I'll add as I go. There are big pictures too. You might just, you know, want to skip it altogether.
Thursday, March 2 - Winter Storm, Pinter Schmorm
Hailing with Conviction
Glad to see that NYC doesn't stop for a little bit of snow. It isn't much of a storm, really. It doesn't seem like it here at least.
Glad to report that today is better than yesterday. Maybe because of me, maybe because my luck is improving... I like to think that I have quite a bit to do with it. My willingness to just go out and explore. (On the Wednesday I had a bit of NOT-FUN-AT-ALL with a particularly aggressive customs guy who thought it suspicious that I, a married woman, was travelling alone. It didn't help that I was shaking due to extremely low blood sugar from not having eaten enough either. I cried about it on the phone to Scott that night, though, and proceeded to get the fuck over it pretty darn quick, a fact of which I am extremely proud, I've gotta say. Nothing's gonna change my world, baby.)
It's 2:19 and I'm sitting on the bed in my hotel room. My day started early, and from the beginning I decided that today would be the day for wandering. The weather isn't exactly ideal, but my umbrella helped, and honestly I don't generally mind a bit of snow/rain, provided that I'm only walking in it.
On an empty stomach I walked down West End to West 72nd St. and then to Central Park West, past the Dakota and onto Strawberry Fields. Stop.
I turned around then, because I was starving and empty-handed and I didn't want to rush the visit. Stopped in at a McDs to get some coffee and grub and then picked up some flowers at a corner market. Mums or daisies or something they were, not bluebells because those aren't in season. Bright blue and yellow and green. And the lady at the market wrapped them up for me, though I suppose I should have told her not to because I took off all the plastic and paper and elastic before I put them down on the IMAGINE mosaic.
The Dakota
Dark and Gothic and imposing. I got chills just walking past the place. (The first day I was a little nervous about taking pictures of the building, but I took a few from Central Park and on Saturday I got a couple more shots from closer up. There is a sort of haunting beauty to the place, I find.)
From Central Park:
Strawberry Fields
Smaller than I expected, but quiet, peaceful, and beautiful just the same. I can only imagine what it, and the rest of the park for that matter, look and feel like in mid-spring or autumn. I shall have to visit again at one of those times.
I didn't stay long, but a friendly New Yorker took a few pics of me beside the mosaic. Pics I will not post here because I, as per usual, look absolutely awful and idiotic in both of them. Also, an Italian(-American) guy saw that I'd left flowers and said, "Awww, she brought flowers." He later asked me about the other sights in the park, which I thought was odd because he claimed to be from NY himself. I guess he'd never visited Central Park before. What I told him was that my guidebook suggested simply following the paths around the park, that there were statues and structures and things scattered throughout, and he pointed in one direction, like, "So I should head that way?" and I nodded. So he thanked me and said ciao and took off, and I immediately felt bad for not being more helpful, but I was only being cautious. I didn't really want to rummage around in my purse for my guidebook either. Ah well.
There was a nice Canadian lady too, conversing with the friendly New Yorker man who took my picture. From Barrie, she said. It was a good way to start the day, really. Meeting all these nice people.
The IMAGINE mosaic at Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Bethesda.
Times Square
Walked to Times Square from Central Park, which was a crazy good workout. (I did so much walking in the first three days that by the fourth I had blisters the size of loonies on my heels, unspeakable aches in my muscles from exertion out in the cold, and absolutely no desire to do anything but rest. I did, however, manage to get out to get brekkie and some food for the bus ride home.)
I did not get any shots of Times Square, unfortunately. I was always hyper-aware of my status as a solitary traveller on this trip, and the last thing I wanted to do was loudly announce my status as a tourist by whipping out my camera in the midst of all those people just to get some shots of the jumbo screens. I got postcards instead. So, so many postcards. I'm really starting to develop quite the collection. I hope to get it organized sometime soon.
Times Square is really unbelievable and terrifying all at once. There aren't words to adequately describe it. You really just have to see it for yourself.
I'm getting a little ahead of myself actually. Before I hit the Square I had lunch at Seattle Café. Coffee and a wrap that was a little less than impressive. I should have just got a slice of cheesecake instead. Ha.
There was no soap at the bloody hotel - (Ya, I don't know. The location of the hotel was nice, but for what I paid for it I at least expected a gorram bar of soap, you know?), so I stopped at Duane Reade, which I guess is like the NYC Shopper's Drug Mart, and picked up a bunch of necessities. Oh, and some candy and a pewter Statue of Liberty. (The latter was meant to be for my dadoo, but the nose on the thing is demented so I'm keeping it for myself and I got him a nicer one at La Brea on Saturday.)
Shopping!
The last thing I did was the cheesy souvenir shop thing. Memories of New York, the place was called, and I actually thought it was rather cute. My purchases? Postcards(!), and a grey NYPD sweatshirt. Hoorah.
Friday, March 3
Battery Park
I'm really both surprised and impressed at the amount and quality of the green space in this city. Battery Park is really quite lovely, though it was cold out by the water so I really didn't stay long. Forgetful me forgot to put the batteries back in her camera after they were done recharging, so I had to leave for a sec and get some AAs at the nearest Duane Reade. When I came back I tried to get a few shots of Lady Liberty, but the reality is that I was too far away for her to show up as anything more than a fuzzy green shape in any of the photographs.
"The Sphere" - Fritz Koenig
WTC Site
Heartbreaking is the only word I can use to describe it. I mean, beyond the memorial in pictures and words that lines the viewing wall and the metal cross, it looks just like any other construction site, but of course it's not. This is maybe not going to make any sense to anyone but myself, but even standing there and looking at the site I found it difficult to imagine that something so horrible could have happened in such a place. It was right there in front of me and I still couldn't get my head around it.
And then there was SoHo...
I wandered my way around SoHo. (Wandering, by the way, is the official verb of NYC Pilgrimage 2006.) A quaint little district was SoHo, but I didn't buy anything. Everything seemed too pricey. I don't know. Maybe I was in a cheap mood or something. Also, at this point my feet were really starting to hurt, so I hopped into a cab to Times Square, where I gaped at all the bright lights and shiny things for a second time before popping into the Hard Rock Café.
Hard Rock
I've never admitted to this before, but I have all kinds of mad love for the Hard Rock Café chain. It's totally kitschy and mainstream and I fucking LOVE it. There's also something about its unapologetic celebration of music that I can't help but dig as well. If a city I visit has an HRC, I am SO there.
To my great delight, I quickly discovered that the HRC in NYC has all sorts of Beatles memorabilia. It has the suits the boys wore at one of their big concerts/appearances. (I am ashamed to say that I am not sure which. Not Shea though, I don't think, because I think those were sort of a beige-y colour and these were most definitely grey.) I wanted to take a picture but I wasn't sure if I was allowed, and there would have been a glare anyway as the suits were behind glass. They have the guitar George Harrison played at the Concert for Bangladesh, along with quite a few album cover pics. Oh, and I was sitting at the bar right near a very lovely photograph of John.
As for the grub, I had a veggie burger with side salad and a Tropical Rock to drink (from the Classic Rock drinks menu, thankyouverymuch). It was funny too because I hadn't had much of a breakfast, so after the one girly drink I was feeling pretty good.
The shop upstairs had lots of fun stuff too. I got a blue Café tee with a butterfly on it, and an "A Hard Day's Night" tee, which is maybe just about the greatest article of clothing I own right now. The amiable clerk also threw in a free Hard Rock Café luggage tag along with my purchases. Gotta love free stuff.
Barnes & Noble
Do we have these in Canada? Because, whoa, I am in love with Barnes & Noble. (Strands in SoHo was cool too. Or was it in SoHo? My memory fails me at the present time. They have a mind-bogglingly huge collection of used and rare books. I would have stayed longer had my feet not hurt so much and my stomach not been so grumbly.) I picked up Lennon's In His Own Write, which has an extremely concise intro. from Yoko Ono and a cute little blurb of an intro. from Paul McCartney, Barry Miles' Many Years From Now (McCartney bio), four more postcards, and a really darling B&N bag patterned with quotes from various classic novels. Yay.
Saturday, March 4
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was, in short, freaking amazing. I wanted to take pictures but they didn't allow flash and for the life of me I could not figure out how to turn off the flash on my damn camera.
Highlights:
1. The musical instruments section was unbelievable. Instruments from throughout history, from all over the world. The pianos were my favourite. Gorgeous.
2. They had a whole room with suits of armor and life-sized knights on life-sized mounts. So, so, SO wish I could have figured out how to turn my flash off to get some shots of these.
3. The Medieval art section. I guess there is a whole museum of Medieval Art called The Cloisters way up beyond Fort Tryon Park, but that was a little far from home for me. Next time though. The section at the MMOA is beautiful. Loved all the stained glass and the use of rich colour.
4. The Greek & Roman Art. Because I'm such a fool for classical mythology. I tried to read all of the descriptions of the scenes in the paintings and on the urns and things. I could have been there all day if hunger and fatigue hadn't set in.
5. The raspberry almond tart I had at lunch. Oh, and the coffee. The roast turkey sandwich with watercress - (WTF is watercress, people?), and cranberry mustard I could have done without, especially for the price. Spent WAY too much money on that lunch.
6. The gift shop. Purchased the aforementioned books of postcards (Central Park, NYC landmarks), a magnet of the façade of the MMOA, some MMOA pencils, a silver MMOA pen for my darling, and two purty bookmarks. Oh, gift shops will get me every time.
Central Park
I spent the day wandering through what is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, also known as Central Park.
Got some shots of Alice in Wonderland...
..and the Conservatory Water.
The park was really lovely today. Very peaceful. There was a man playing the saxophone just out in the open with his case on the damp ground in front of him. I wanted to ask him if I could take a picture but I didn't want to bother him or offend him or anything. He was good though. Music in the park. Ahh, it was like a movie.
I walked through Strawberry Fields again, and got some more shots of the Dakota because I am, apparently, a little obsessed with the building. (No sign of Yoko Ono yet, I must report.) The weather was pleasant so the vendors were out, and I purchased a Strawberry Fields Forever t-shirt from one stand. As I was paying for the shirt, a guy walked by with some other people, pointed at one of the tees and sang, "Strawberry Fields forever," which of course prompted me to look up at him and smile. It was a weird but lovely little moment.
When I got back to the hotel I realized that my room had not yet been made up, so I dropped off my purchases and headed out again (with my Jamba Juice smoothie in hand) to Riverside Park.
Completely gratuitous shot: "We're not breaking out of a Jamba Juice, gentlemen."
La Brea was next. Way too expensive, but I bought stuff anyway. The obligatory keychain (I ♥ NYC), a cuter mini-Statue of Liberty for dadoo, an NYPD pen, and some goofy NYC mints.
Came back to the hotel, and the room was still not made up (oy), so I just went to the front desk and bugged them about getting me some, um, toiletries. I couldn't go out any more. The cold was way tough on my muscles, because I think I'm in pretty good shape but they were aching like WHOA.
Sunday, March 5
Lazy, lazy Sunday. Grabbed brekkie at McDs and then a crapload of food at one of the many markets on the west end, so that I wouldn't starve on Monday's bus ride. When I got back I just left the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and proceeded to collapse on the bed. Shakespeare in Love was on TV, so I watched that and got all girly and tearful, as I always do when I watch that film. And at night of course the Oscars were on, so there was that.
Oh, and Project Runway. How much do I love Project Runway? Let me tell you. SO much love for Project Runway and all its pretty gay boys. And I absolutely adore Santino and his loud, blunt, outrageousness.
Monday, March 6
Checked out and headed home. The bus ride was long and sooo tiring.
NYC Pilgrimage 2006, in summation
Wow. What an amazing, inspirational place. What a beautiful time.
P.S. - I also caught the M&Ms "Red Carpet Tips" commercial and the VW commercials with Peter Stormare while I was away. ZOMG, hilarious.
But first things first: holy crap, I have so much reading of the F-List to do. So, heh, when I'm not job searching or at the gym this week, you'll know where to find me.
I want to talk about the trip (at great length, I'll forewarn you), but before I do that I must do the Oscar Talk thing.
Highlights
1. Jon Stewart. Hilarious and just really, really adorable. I think I've maybe kinda sorta developed a huge, completely ridiculous crush on the man. I don't know if it was the bit at the beginning of the show with George Clooney - (who, I do have to admit, is looking right fine these days) - that pushed me over the edge or what, but yeah, I must start watching his show.
2. Reese Witherspoon's acceptance speech. How very sweet and incredibly genuine. Probably my favourite moment of the night. Girl almost got me crying at the end with the June Carter "I'm just trying to matter" quote and everything that came with it. I'll have to see Walk the Line one of these days. (P.S. - She looked absolutely beautiful in that sparkly dress. I'm surprised she didn't get more attention on the red carpet. Or maybe she did and I didn't see it.)
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman's acceptance speech. Capote. There's another one I've got to see. Hoffman is always, always memorable in supporting roles - (25th Hour, The Talented Mr. Ripley); I imagine it'll be great to see him play lead. But, as for the speech: again, very genuine. Thanking his mum and all that. Awww.
4. Chicken Little and Abby Mallard presenting the award for animated something-or-other. Fun silly cuteness, with Abby up in arms about the lack of pants in the wardrobes of cartoon ducks throughout history. Chicken Little: "I won't wear pants until there is pants-equality for all!" *giggles*
5. Ben Stiller and his lime green bodysuit. "I'm blowing Spielberg's mind right now." Enough said.
6. Jake G. practically snorting over the sheer lameness of his introduction to the "Epic Films Montage." Heath and Michelle sort of snickering with him in the audience. (Oh my God, they SO were.) Also, I found myself obsessing a bit over the dude's walk. It made me wonder if he has ever done any modelling, 'cause he was working it as he made his way out onto that stage. Dang. Anyway, yes, he looked quite handsome and that is all I'm going to say about it. I most definitely did not squeal in my hotel room every time the camera got a shot of him blushing, laughing, or looking adorably sheepish. There was absolutely ZERO squealing. Honest.
7. All of BBM's wins. Yes. Just, in my opinion, such a beautiful film with a powerful story.
Not so Much
1. Please allow me to join the chorus of people hating on the massive woman-eating bow on Charlize Theron's dress. I mean, I think the woman is a freaking goddess, and the dress was fine otherwise, but the bow was a really bad idea.
2. "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" is definitely no "Lose Yourself." I don't know that it deserved to win.
3. How about next year we cut down on the musical montages and give the award winners some more time for their acceptance speeches? Because montages are great and poignant, but after the fourth or fifth one they start to become a little meaningless, whereas winning an Oscar is a huge moment for an artist.
Whoa
1. I'm really surprised that Crash won for Best Picture. I will have to take a look at it one of these days.
2. Dolly Parton is, like, really skinny. She has a really astonishing figure. Giant breasts on a pencil-thin body. One wonders what it is that keeps her standing upright.
3. Keira Knightley looked incredible. And I loved her interview with whatever goofy reporter-man it was that obviously had a schoolboy crush on her. She seemed so calm and not fake at all. Love her.
4. Muchos applause to Jennifer Garner for recovering from that near fall on the stage. Bravo, darling. (If it was me presenting at the Oscars in a floor-length gown I would go onto the stage barefoot. No lie.)
And now, a whole lot of rambling about my trip. Novel-length. Filled to the brim with sentence fragments. It is basically excerpts from all the notes I took during the trip, starting on my first full day in the city, Thursday - (I actually left on the Wednesday), along with some commentary I'll add as I go. There are big pictures too. You might just, you know, want to skip it altogether.
Thursday, March 2 - Winter Storm, Pinter Schmorm
Hailing with Conviction
Glad to see that NYC doesn't stop for a little bit of snow. It isn't much of a storm, really. It doesn't seem like it here at least.
Glad to report that today is better than yesterday. Maybe because of me, maybe because my luck is improving... I like to think that I have quite a bit to do with it. My willingness to just go out and explore. (On the Wednesday I had a bit of NOT-FUN-AT-ALL with a particularly aggressive customs guy who thought it suspicious that I, a married woman, was travelling alone. It didn't help that I was shaking due to extremely low blood sugar from not having eaten enough either. I cried about it on the phone to Scott that night, though, and proceeded to get the fuck over it pretty darn quick, a fact of which I am extremely proud, I've gotta say. Nothing's gonna change my world, baby.)
It's 2:19 and I'm sitting on the bed in my hotel room. My day started early, and from the beginning I decided that today would be the day for wandering. The weather isn't exactly ideal, but my umbrella helped, and honestly I don't generally mind a bit of snow/rain, provided that I'm only walking in it.
On an empty stomach I walked down West End to West 72nd St. and then to Central Park West, past the Dakota and onto Strawberry Fields. Stop.
I turned around then, because I was starving and empty-handed and I didn't want to rush the visit. Stopped in at a McDs to get some coffee and grub and then picked up some flowers at a corner market. Mums or daisies or something they were, not bluebells because those aren't in season. Bright blue and yellow and green. And the lady at the market wrapped them up for me, though I suppose I should have told her not to because I took off all the plastic and paper and elastic before I put them down on the IMAGINE mosaic.
The Dakota
Dark and Gothic and imposing. I got chills just walking past the place. (The first day I was a little nervous about taking pictures of the building, but I took a few from Central Park and on Saturday I got a couple more shots from closer up. There is a sort of haunting beauty to the place, I find.)
From Central Park:
Strawberry Fields
Smaller than I expected, but quiet, peaceful, and beautiful just the same. I can only imagine what it, and the rest of the park for that matter, look and feel like in mid-spring or autumn. I shall have to visit again at one of those times.
I didn't stay long, but a friendly New Yorker took a few pics of me beside the mosaic. Pics I will not post here because I, as per usual, look absolutely awful and idiotic in both of them. Also, an Italian(-American) guy saw that I'd left flowers and said, "Awww, she brought flowers." He later asked me about the other sights in the park, which I thought was odd because he claimed to be from NY himself. I guess he'd never visited Central Park before. What I told him was that my guidebook suggested simply following the paths around the park, that there were statues and structures and things scattered throughout, and he pointed in one direction, like, "So I should head that way?" and I nodded. So he thanked me and said ciao and took off, and I immediately felt bad for not being more helpful, but I was only being cautious. I didn't really want to rummage around in my purse for my guidebook either. Ah well.
There was a nice Canadian lady too, conversing with the friendly New Yorker man who took my picture. From Barrie, she said. It was a good way to start the day, really. Meeting all these nice people.
The IMAGINE mosaic at Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Bethesda.
Times Square
Walked to Times Square from Central Park, which was a crazy good workout. (I did so much walking in the first three days that by the fourth I had blisters the size of loonies on my heels, unspeakable aches in my muscles from exertion out in the cold, and absolutely no desire to do anything but rest. I did, however, manage to get out to get brekkie and some food for the bus ride home.)
I did not get any shots of Times Square, unfortunately. I was always hyper-aware of my status as a solitary traveller on this trip, and the last thing I wanted to do was loudly announce my status as a tourist by whipping out my camera in the midst of all those people just to get some shots of the jumbo screens. I got postcards instead. So, so many postcards. I'm really starting to develop quite the collection. I hope to get it organized sometime soon.
Times Square is really unbelievable and terrifying all at once. There aren't words to adequately describe it. You really just have to see it for yourself.
I'm getting a little ahead of myself actually. Before I hit the Square I had lunch at Seattle Café. Coffee and a wrap that was a little less than impressive. I should have just got a slice of cheesecake instead. Ha.
There was no soap at the bloody hotel - (Ya, I don't know. The location of the hotel was nice, but for what I paid for it I at least expected a gorram bar of soap, you know?), so I stopped at Duane Reade, which I guess is like the NYC Shopper's Drug Mart, and picked up a bunch of necessities. Oh, and some candy and a pewter Statue of Liberty. (The latter was meant to be for my dadoo, but the nose on the thing is demented so I'm keeping it for myself and I got him a nicer one at La Brea on Saturday.)
Shopping!
The last thing I did was the cheesy souvenir shop thing. Memories of New York, the place was called, and I actually thought it was rather cute. My purchases? Postcards(!), and a grey NYPD sweatshirt. Hoorah.
Friday, March 3
Battery Park
I'm really both surprised and impressed at the amount and quality of the green space in this city. Battery Park is really quite lovely, though it was cold out by the water so I really didn't stay long. Forgetful me forgot to put the batteries back in her camera after they were done recharging, so I had to leave for a sec and get some AAs at the nearest Duane Reade. When I came back I tried to get a few shots of Lady Liberty, but the reality is that I was too far away for her to show up as anything more than a fuzzy green shape in any of the photographs.
"The Sphere" - Fritz Koenig
WTC Site
Heartbreaking is the only word I can use to describe it. I mean, beyond the memorial in pictures and words that lines the viewing wall and the metal cross, it looks just like any other construction site, but of course it's not. This is maybe not going to make any sense to anyone but myself, but even standing there and looking at the site I found it difficult to imagine that something so horrible could have happened in such a place. It was right there in front of me and I still couldn't get my head around it.
And then there was SoHo...
I wandered my way around SoHo. (Wandering, by the way, is the official verb of NYC Pilgrimage 2006.) A quaint little district was SoHo, but I didn't buy anything. Everything seemed too pricey. I don't know. Maybe I was in a cheap mood or something. Also, at this point my feet were really starting to hurt, so I hopped into a cab to Times Square, where I gaped at all the bright lights and shiny things for a second time before popping into the Hard Rock Café.
Hard Rock
I've never admitted to this before, but I have all kinds of mad love for the Hard Rock Café chain. It's totally kitschy and mainstream and I fucking LOVE it. There's also something about its unapologetic celebration of music that I can't help but dig as well. If a city I visit has an HRC, I am SO there.
To my great delight, I quickly discovered that the HRC in NYC has all sorts of Beatles memorabilia. It has the suits the boys wore at one of their big concerts/appearances. (I am ashamed to say that I am not sure which. Not Shea though, I don't think, because I think those were sort of a beige-y colour and these were most definitely grey.) I wanted to take a picture but I wasn't sure if I was allowed, and there would have been a glare anyway as the suits were behind glass. They have the guitar George Harrison played at the Concert for Bangladesh, along with quite a few album cover pics. Oh, and I was sitting at the bar right near a very lovely photograph of John.
As for the grub, I had a veggie burger with side salad and a Tropical Rock to drink (from the Classic Rock drinks menu, thankyouverymuch). It was funny too because I hadn't had much of a breakfast, so after the one girly drink I was feeling pretty good.
The shop upstairs had lots of fun stuff too. I got a blue Café tee with a butterfly on it, and an "A Hard Day's Night" tee, which is maybe just about the greatest article of clothing I own right now. The amiable clerk also threw in a free Hard Rock Café luggage tag along with my purchases. Gotta love free stuff.
Barnes & Noble
Do we have these in Canada? Because, whoa, I am in love with Barnes & Noble. (Strands in SoHo was cool too. Or was it in SoHo? My memory fails me at the present time. They have a mind-bogglingly huge collection of used and rare books. I would have stayed longer had my feet not hurt so much and my stomach not been so grumbly.) I picked up Lennon's In His Own Write, which has an extremely concise intro. from Yoko Ono and a cute little blurb of an intro. from Paul McCartney, Barry Miles' Many Years From Now (McCartney bio), four more postcards, and a really darling B&N bag patterned with quotes from various classic novels. Yay.
Saturday, March 4
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was, in short, freaking amazing. I wanted to take pictures but they didn't allow flash and for the life of me I could not figure out how to turn off the flash on my damn camera.
Highlights:
1. The musical instruments section was unbelievable. Instruments from throughout history, from all over the world. The pianos were my favourite. Gorgeous.
2. They had a whole room with suits of armor and life-sized knights on life-sized mounts. So, so, SO wish I could have figured out how to turn my flash off to get some shots of these.
3. The Medieval art section. I guess there is a whole museum of Medieval Art called The Cloisters way up beyond Fort Tryon Park, but that was a little far from home for me. Next time though. The section at the MMOA is beautiful. Loved all the stained glass and the use of rich colour.
4. The Greek & Roman Art. Because I'm such a fool for classical mythology. I tried to read all of the descriptions of the scenes in the paintings and on the urns and things. I could have been there all day if hunger and fatigue hadn't set in.
5. The raspberry almond tart I had at lunch. Oh, and the coffee. The roast turkey sandwich with watercress - (WTF is watercress, people?), and cranberry mustard I could have done without, especially for the price. Spent WAY too much money on that lunch.
6. The gift shop. Purchased the aforementioned books of postcards (Central Park, NYC landmarks), a magnet of the façade of the MMOA, some MMOA pencils, a silver MMOA pen for my darling, and two purty bookmarks. Oh, gift shops will get me every time.
Central Park
I spent the day wandering through what is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, also known as Central Park.
Got some shots of Alice in Wonderland...
..and the Conservatory Water.
The park was really lovely today. Very peaceful. There was a man playing the saxophone just out in the open with his case on the damp ground in front of him. I wanted to ask him if I could take a picture but I didn't want to bother him or offend him or anything. He was good though. Music in the park. Ahh, it was like a movie.
I walked through Strawberry Fields again, and got some more shots of the Dakota because I am, apparently, a little obsessed with the building. (No sign of Yoko Ono yet, I must report.) The weather was pleasant so the vendors were out, and I purchased a Strawberry Fields Forever t-shirt from one stand. As I was paying for the shirt, a guy walked by with some other people, pointed at one of the tees and sang, "Strawberry Fields forever," which of course prompted me to look up at him and smile. It was a weird but lovely little moment.
When I got back to the hotel I realized that my room had not yet been made up, so I dropped off my purchases and headed out again (with my Jamba Juice smoothie in hand) to Riverside Park.
Completely gratuitous shot: "We're not breaking out of a Jamba Juice, gentlemen."
La Brea was next. Way too expensive, but I bought stuff anyway. The obligatory keychain (I ♥ NYC), a cuter mini-Statue of Liberty for dadoo, an NYPD pen, and some goofy NYC mints.
Came back to the hotel, and the room was still not made up (oy), so I just went to the front desk and bugged them about getting me some, um, toiletries. I couldn't go out any more. The cold was way tough on my muscles, because I think I'm in pretty good shape but they were aching like WHOA.
Sunday, March 5
Lazy, lazy Sunday. Grabbed brekkie at McDs and then a crapload of food at one of the many markets on the west end, so that I wouldn't starve on Monday's bus ride. When I got back I just left the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and proceeded to collapse on the bed. Shakespeare in Love was on TV, so I watched that and got all girly and tearful, as I always do when I watch that film. And at night of course the Oscars were on, so there was that.
Oh, and Project Runway. How much do I love Project Runway? Let me tell you. SO much love for Project Runway and all its pretty gay boys. And I absolutely adore Santino and his loud, blunt, outrageousness.
Monday, March 6
Checked out and headed home. The bus ride was long and sooo tiring.
NYC Pilgrimage 2006, in summation
Wow. What an amazing, inspirational place. What a beautiful time.
P.S. - I also caught the M&Ms "Red Carpet Tips" commercial and the VW commercials with Peter Stormare while I was away. ZOMG, hilarious.