New York Day #2: Now it's always once upon a time in New York City...
We really got a lot out of our first full day in New York. We woke up early this morning for breakfast; it's free with our hotel room, but it's served at Captain's Cafe down the street, which I actually liked. It was crowded, with all sorts of people coming in and out, and one poor cook working like crazy over the grill. Plus, the food was so good and filling, which is just what we needed.
We sat at the counter while we ate, and this was our view of the cook. See how his hands are just a blur?
From there, we took the subway uptown to St. Patrick's Cathedral. We walked right past it the first time because it's currently under construction (and will be until 2015, according to the sign). The entire outside of the building was hidden behind scaffolding and boards, but we were still able to go inside. There were construction going on in there too, but it was still very cool and impressive. Construction workers and scaffolding inside a massive old church made it all kinda eery.
St. Patrick's organ pipes and rose window (and scaffolding).
This Jewish girl lit a candle for the most saintlike old Catholic lady she ever knew, her Grandma.
From there, we walked to FAO Schwarz toy store. We didn't buy anything (which I'm kinda regretting now) but we saw every kind of candy and toy imagineable. Every candy you know, in everything from miniature to jumbo-sized, marketed with every liscensed character you know -- including half-pound Peppermint Patties and Sweetarts as big as a plate! I found the jingle catchy, but I can only imagine how sick the employees there must get of it. I overheard one of them explaining to a customer that he wasn't supposed to cut the tag off a Steiff teddy bear.
Having fun with the candy in FOA Schwarz.
Wearing my hair down was a mistake! It was way too humid.
From there, we cut across the street and walked around Central Park for a while. We circled The Pond in the southeast corner; it wasn't far from the 5th Avenue traffic, but since it was down below street level, I couldn't believe how quiet and peaceful it was. The views -- the buildings over the trees, the bridge over the water, the reflections on the surface -- were just stunning. Sara kept waiting to see a dead body float to the surface of The Pond, but fortunately, it never turned into an episode of Law & Order. There were so many white babies and toddlers being pushed around by nannies of various ethnicities. There was also a huge group of Asian tourists waiting in a line, but we could never figure out what they were waiting in line for.
Love this picture of Sara in front of The Pond, with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
Yes, I took pictures of my shoes.
A little fall foliage!
I love the sentiment on this bench plaque.
After that, we walked downtown to Central Synagogue for a free tour. It's the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the city, and obviously, it was very different from my Southern synagogues. For one thing, it can sit about 1,400 people and the congregation is ~7,000 strong! I can't even imagine going to a temple that huge. There were eight Torah scrolls in the ark! It was a Reform temple that also used the Mishkan T'filah, which kinda surprised me. Some of the tour was stuff I already knew (what a bimah is, what the High Holy Days are) but some of it was really neat. The upstairs wall was painted-on cement.
Shots from inside the sanctuary. My camera isn't too great indoors.
Awful photo of me in the synagogue's upstairs balcony. Another person on the tour asked if that was where women sat, and I was kinda quick to jump in and tell her no, because Reform congregations do not have separate seating. I hate the whole idea.
So, that was our day uptown. From the synagogue, we took the subway all the way down the island to downtown. It was a lot less flashy -- there were way more fire-escapes and window-units -- and also a lot harder to navigate. The streets were so narrow, angled, and confusing. We tried to get to the 9-11 Memorial, and it took us forever because it was hidden behind so much stupid construction, and Sara got pissed at me about it. ("Which way do you want to go?" - "Well, I don't want to go that way. Why we would go that way?" It's hard to get her to suggest anything instead of bitching about what I suggest. She also whined when I got a seat on the subway and she didn't, then pushed me down when I tried to give it to her.)
Seen while wandering around downtown: flowers in front of the gorgeous fountain in City Hall Park. Sara was pretty sure that City Hall was the building used in all those outdoor shots on Law & Order, and she was very excited to see it.
Also, this unusual sign. Um...
Anyway, we finally found the 9-11 Memorial reflecting pools, but by then I was so frustrated that I didn't even really appreciate what a huge and sober sight they were. We also found St. Paul's Church and its hella-old cemetery, which I'd wanted to see, but we never could find Chinatown. I was tempted to just follow an Asian person.
At the memorial: a yellow rose left on the name of Jean Andrucki, who worked in the north tower. October 1st would've been her 57th birthday.
My mouth is open because Sara and I were debating whether it would be appropriate for me to smile.
Anyway, we were both in much better moods when we finally got the hell out of downtown and met Uncle Steve for dinner. He took us to the Old Homestead Steakhouse, and we had really delicious burger, fries, and cheesecake. (He warned me not to eat the cherries that came with my Shirley Temple, because the red dye in them isn't safe. So I didn't eat them then, but I usually do.) But most of all, we just enjoyed visiting with him. I wish we got to see him more often. I'd initially hoped to stay with him and Aunt Verna on this trip, but it didn't work out. I hope he knows that it wasn't just about saving a few hundred dollars. It was about seeing them. They are both such awesome people. After dinner, we walked around Chelsea and saw the old Chelsea Hotel and some other cool sights.
Uncle Steve and Sara reading one of the plaques outside the Chelsea Hotel. Yes, I took a picture of his back but not his face. I'm a terrible niece.
It was kinda late by the time we finally said goodbye to Uncle Steve and got back to our hotel, and I was nervous about walking around the city at night, but it was fine. I actually thought the streets would be all deserted and we would get mugged/raped/murdered, but I guess I watch too much Law & Order: SVU, because the worst thing we encountered was a subway elevator that reeked of pee.
TWO DAYS MORE!!
We sat at the counter while we ate, and this was our view of the cook. See how his hands are just a blur?
From there, we took the subway uptown to St. Patrick's Cathedral. We walked right past it the first time because it's currently under construction (and will be until 2015, according to the sign). The entire outside of the building was hidden behind scaffolding and boards, but we were still able to go inside. There were construction going on in there too, but it was still very cool and impressive. Construction workers and scaffolding inside a massive old church made it all kinda eery.
St. Patrick's organ pipes and rose window (and scaffolding).
This Jewish girl lit a candle for the most saintlike old Catholic lady she ever knew, her Grandma.
From there, we walked to FAO Schwarz toy store. We didn't buy anything (which I'm kinda regretting now) but we saw every kind of candy and toy imagineable. Every candy you know, in everything from miniature to jumbo-sized, marketed with every liscensed character you know -- including half-pound Peppermint Patties and Sweetarts as big as a plate! I found the jingle catchy, but I can only imagine how sick the employees there must get of it. I overheard one of them explaining to a customer that he wasn't supposed to cut the tag off a Steiff teddy bear.
Having fun with the candy in FOA Schwarz.
Wearing my hair down was a mistake! It was way too humid.
From there, we cut across the street and walked around Central Park for a while. We circled The Pond in the southeast corner; it wasn't far from the 5th Avenue traffic, but since it was down below street level, I couldn't believe how quiet and peaceful it was. The views -- the buildings over the trees, the bridge over the water, the reflections on the surface -- were just stunning. Sara kept waiting to see a dead body float to the surface of The Pond, but fortunately, it never turned into an episode of Law & Order. There were so many white babies and toddlers being pushed around by nannies of various ethnicities. There was also a huge group of Asian tourists waiting in a line, but we could never figure out what they were waiting in line for.
Love this picture of Sara in front of The Pond, with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
Yes, I took pictures of my shoes.
A little fall foliage!
I love the sentiment on this bench plaque.
After that, we walked downtown to Central Synagogue for a free tour. It's the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the city, and obviously, it was very different from my Southern synagogues. For one thing, it can sit about 1,400 people and the congregation is ~7,000 strong! I can't even imagine going to a temple that huge. There were eight Torah scrolls in the ark! It was a Reform temple that also used the Mishkan T'filah, which kinda surprised me. Some of the tour was stuff I already knew (what a bimah is, what the High Holy Days are) but some of it was really neat. The upstairs wall was painted-on cement.
Shots from inside the sanctuary. My camera isn't too great indoors.
Awful photo of me in the synagogue's upstairs balcony. Another person on the tour asked if that was where women sat, and I was kinda quick to jump in and tell her no, because Reform congregations do not have separate seating. I hate the whole idea.
So, that was our day uptown. From the synagogue, we took the subway all the way down the island to downtown. It was a lot less flashy -- there were way more fire-escapes and window-units -- and also a lot harder to navigate. The streets were so narrow, angled, and confusing. We tried to get to the 9-11 Memorial, and it took us forever because it was hidden behind so much stupid construction, and Sara got pissed at me about it. ("Which way do you want to go?" - "Well, I don't want to go that way. Why we would go that way?" It's hard to get her to suggest anything instead of bitching about what I suggest. She also whined when I got a seat on the subway and she didn't, then pushed me down when I tried to give it to her.)
Seen while wandering around downtown: flowers in front of the gorgeous fountain in City Hall Park. Sara was pretty sure that City Hall was the building used in all those outdoor shots on Law & Order, and she was very excited to see it.
Also, this unusual sign. Um...
Anyway, we finally found the 9-11 Memorial reflecting pools, but by then I was so frustrated that I didn't even really appreciate what a huge and sober sight they were. We also found St. Paul's Church and its hella-old cemetery, which I'd wanted to see, but we never could find Chinatown. I was tempted to just follow an Asian person.
At the memorial: a yellow rose left on the name of Jean Andrucki, who worked in the north tower. October 1st would've been her 57th birthday.
My mouth is open because Sara and I were debating whether it would be appropriate for me to smile.
Anyway, we were both in much better moods when we finally got the hell out of downtown and met Uncle Steve for dinner. He took us to the Old Homestead Steakhouse, and we had really delicious burger, fries, and cheesecake. (He warned me not to eat the cherries that came with my Shirley Temple, because the red dye in them isn't safe. So I didn't eat them then, but I usually do.) But most of all, we just enjoyed visiting with him. I wish we got to see him more often. I'd initially hoped to stay with him and Aunt Verna on this trip, but it didn't work out. I hope he knows that it wasn't just about saving a few hundred dollars. It was about seeing them. They are both such awesome people. After dinner, we walked around Chelsea and saw the old Chelsea Hotel and some other cool sights.
Uncle Steve and Sara reading one of the plaques outside the Chelsea Hotel. Yes, I took a picture of his back but not his face. I'm a terrible niece.
It was kinda late by the time we finally said goodbye to Uncle Steve and got back to our hotel, and I was nervous about walking around the city at night, but it was fine. I actually thought the streets would be all deserted and we would get mugged/raped/murdered, but I guess I watch too much Law & Order: SVU, because the worst thing we encountered was a subway elevator that reeked of pee.
TWO DAYS MORE!!