Day 3 - NYC
Sorry about yesterday’s abrupt stop, but time got away from me, and as such I had to run out the door so as to not miss too much of MoMA (or more widely known as The Museum of Modern Art).
So, to quickly finish off what I was going to write yesterday, Young Frankenstein was probably the best play I’ve seen yet (and I saw Spamalot last night, and The Phantom of the Opera last time I was in NYC). For those of you who watch some TV, Dr. Frankenstein was/is played by the guy who was in Desperate Housewives the first season, George the kind of crazy pharmacist who was in love with Bree. He did an amazing job. The other person of note was/is Megan Mullaly, who played Karen (the one with the really high and squeaky voice) from Will and Grace. She too did an amazing job! My seat was sooo good too! I wouldn’t have wanted to be any closer than I was or else I wouldn’t have been able to see everything without moving my head. All in all it was fantastic, and I think that if anyone gets a chance to come to New York, you must see this play.
Okay, now I can move on to what we did yesterday. It was another one of those whirlwind days. We started off a bit later than we would have liked, and because of that we had to rush a bit through our morning stuff. We hit MoMA first, as I mentioned earlier. I think everyone should see that place too. It’s got some really great stuff, including an entire wing of Picasso. They have other really neat exhibits, one is just a string of light bulbs in a corner, a fluorescent pink light in a corner, chairs on a wall, movies, and other neat hanging sculptures. We didn’t have a whole lot of time in there so I wasn’t able to fully appreciate everything, so hopefully we’ll get back there so I can!
From there we basically ran to Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Centre) to get our tickets for that evening, and then practically ran to the hotel to check out. We had requested a late check out, which was for 1, and by the time we left the Rockefeller Centre it was 5 to. We got to the hotel at 1:01, and when we reached our room the keys wouldn’t work so we had to get them re-done to get our stuff out. That was a bit rushed.
We went to check in at our other hotel (the one we are currently at), Holiday Inn Madison Square Garden directly after that. It was really easy to get from the other hotel to this one, which was great. When we got here though, the room wasn’t ready so they had to hold our bags for us, and we went to Madison Square Garden for the tour. We got there just after 2 and I was under the impression the tours took half an hour, so I figured the next tour would be 2:30, but it was at 3. They last an hour too, which is kind of nice. So, to wait until we had to meet for the tour we went in to Borders, the equivalent of Chapters, which was literally right beside “the Garden”. It is 2 levels, and really expansive. Lots of fun stuff and books, and a great little café.
The tour was fantastic! I was expecting it to be interesting, but it was great! We got to go up in a suite, and we got to see the locker rooms for the Rangers (Hockey team) and the Knicks (Basketball team). I didn’t even know there was a theatre in the complex, but there is…and it’s literally right below where the basketball court or hockey rink or arena floor would be, and they sometimes have a play going on at the same time a game is going on. So I’m really glad we did that one, and it would have been well worth $17 (we had an Explorer Pass so it was included in that).
Once we were done there, we went back to Borders to pick up a few things we had seen earlier. From there we went to check in to the hotel (by this time it was about quarter to 5). The room is a great size, clean, and generally nice, but there are a few downsides. The bathroom door automatically closes (spring-hinged or something) so it kind of slams closed behind you, which is annoying, but what’s worse is that there is a sliding glass door between the bathroom and “the bedroom” that rattles every time the bathroom door closes or opens. The sliding glass doors themselves are nice, but the rattling is not. And while we’re still on the topic of the bathroom, the wallpaper is pretty fugly in there, but that’s just a minor detail. We don’t have a “Please do not disturb” door hanger so that this morning while Matthew and I were sound asleep (I was having a lovely dream about puppies) the wrath of god (aka our maid) awoke us from our slumbers with a very loud nock on the door. Thankfully Matthew “bared the door” so she couldn’t get in. In all fairness though, we didn’t have a door hanger so she didn’t know we weren’t in here, plus it was nearly 9am and she had her job to do. We have two phones in here and only one of them works, which is slightly annoying as well. Plus, as I write this the laptop is in my lap because the chair is about a foot too short. Sitting in it, I have to reach up to get to the laptop, which makes my hands cold. But, other than those things, the room is great. Much larger than the other hotel, the breakfast area is much better (more tables, and away from the main doors), and it just generally seems newer.
Anyway, after coming back for literally 15 minutes, we headed back out to go to Top of the Rock. That was well worth it. Everybody seems to think going to the top of the Empire State Building is the best vantage point to see Manhattan, but I think that this Top of the Rock is better. You get to see the Empire State Building straight on pretty much, and the location is a bit better. It was absolutely stunning up there. We stayed for a fairly long time, but it got pretty cold so we had to go a bit sooner than I’d have liked. I’ll hopefully get some pictures up here soon, but I’ve got so much school stuff to do once I get home I doubt they will be posted before the middle of March.
Spamalot was great! It was just like watching The Holy Grail, but only in person. I loved it! Clay Aiken was great, surprisingly enough. The Knights who Say “Ni” were done really well, as was the Black Night. The stage design was done really well too, but it wasn’t as elaborate as Young Frankenstein. I could have bought some coconuts, and I’m kicking myself for not getting them now. But I’ll be back, so hopefully I can find them somewhere. Out of the three plays I saw, this was my least favourite ONLY because of the seat. It was a pretty shitty location, but at least I got to see it. It’s not playing in June when we’ll be here.
And here we are, on the last day of our vacation. Matthew is packing up stuff and I should be too. We requested a late check out again, and I don’t think we’re going anywhere before we check out, so it’s good we won’t have to rush. Because we don’t have a door hanger though, the maid just tried to clean our room again about 5 minutes ago. We really need one for this room. I think we’re just going to go back to Time’s Square and look in a few stores that I didn’t get to see like Hershey’s, and finish looking at the Virgin Magastore. Our flight doesn’t leave until 6:45, so we don’t have to leave Manhattan until around 4, which is great.
So, it’s been fun, and I don’t want to leave. Sadly, life must go on, so I have to go pack my stuff. I’ll see you all soon!
So, to quickly finish off what I was going to write yesterday, Young Frankenstein was probably the best play I’ve seen yet (and I saw Spamalot last night, and The Phantom of the Opera last time I was in NYC). For those of you who watch some TV, Dr. Frankenstein was/is played by the guy who was in Desperate Housewives the first season, George the kind of crazy pharmacist who was in love with Bree. He did an amazing job. The other person of note was/is Megan Mullaly, who played Karen (the one with the really high and squeaky voice) from Will and Grace. She too did an amazing job! My seat was sooo good too! I wouldn’t have wanted to be any closer than I was or else I wouldn’t have been able to see everything without moving my head. All in all it was fantastic, and I think that if anyone gets a chance to come to New York, you must see this play.
Okay, now I can move on to what we did yesterday. It was another one of those whirlwind days. We started off a bit later than we would have liked, and because of that we had to rush a bit through our morning stuff. We hit MoMA first, as I mentioned earlier. I think everyone should see that place too. It’s got some really great stuff, including an entire wing of Picasso. They have other really neat exhibits, one is just a string of light bulbs in a corner, a fluorescent pink light in a corner, chairs on a wall, movies, and other neat hanging sculptures. We didn’t have a whole lot of time in there so I wasn’t able to fully appreciate everything, so hopefully we’ll get back there so I can!
From there we basically ran to Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Centre) to get our tickets for that evening, and then practically ran to the hotel to check out. We had requested a late check out, which was for 1, and by the time we left the Rockefeller Centre it was 5 to. We got to the hotel at 1:01, and when we reached our room the keys wouldn’t work so we had to get them re-done to get our stuff out. That was a bit rushed.
We went to check in at our other hotel (the one we are currently at), Holiday Inn Madison Square Garden directly after that. It was really easy to get from the other hotel to this one, which was great. When we got here though, the room wasn’t ready so they had to hold our bags for us, and we went to Madison Square Garden for the tour. We got there just after 2 and I was under the impression the tours took half an hour, so I figured the next tour would be 2:30, but it was at 3. They last an hour too, which is kind of nice. So, to wait until we had to meet for the tour we went in to Borders, the equivalent of Chapters, which was literally right beside “the Garden”. It is 2 levels, and really expansive. Lots of fun stuff and books, and a great little café.
The tour was fantastic! I was expecting it to be interesting, but it was great! We got to go up in a suite, and we got to see the locker rooms for the Rangers (Hockey team) and the Knicks (Basketball team). I didn’t even know there was a theatre in the complex, but there is…and it’s literally right below where the basketball court or hockey rink or arena floor would be, and they sometimes have a play going on at the same time a game is going on. So I’m really glad we did that one, and it would have been well worth $17 (we had an Explorer Pass so it was included in that).
Once we were done there, we went back to Borders to pick up a few things we had seen earlier. From there we went to check in to the hotel (by this time it was about quarter to 5). The room is a great size, clean, and generally nice, but there are a few downsides. The bathroom door automatically closes (spring-hinged or something) so it kind of slams closed behind you, which is annoying, but what’s worse is that there is a sliding glass door between the bathroom and “the bedroom” that rattles every time the bathroom door closes or opens. The sliding glass doors themselves are nice, but the rattling is not. And while we’re still on the topic of the bathroom, the wallpaper is pretty fugly in there, but that’s just a minor detail. We don’t have a “Please do not disturb” door hanger so that this morning while Matthew and I were sound asleep (I was having a lovely dream about puppies) the wrath of god (aka our maid) awoke us from our slumbers with a very loud nock on the door. Thankfully Matthew “bared the door” so she couldn’t get in. In all fairness though, we didn’t have a door hanger so she didn’t know we weren’t in here, plus it was nearly 9am and she had her job to do. We have two phones in here and only one of them works, which is slightly annoying as well. Plus, as I write this the laptop is in my lap because the chair is about a foot too short. Sitting in it, I have to reach up to get to the laptop, which makes my hands cold. But, other than those things, the room is great. Much larger than the other hotel, the breakfast area is much better (more tables, and away from the main doors), and it just generally seems newer.
Anyway, after coming back for literally 15 minutes, we headed back out to go to Top of the Rock. That was well worth it. Everybody seems to think going to the top of the Empire State Building is the best vantage point to see Manhattan, but I think that this Top of the Rock is better. You get to see the Empire State Building straight on pretty much, and the location is a bit better. It was absolutely stunning up there. We stayed for a fairly long time, but it got pretty cold so we had to go a bit sooner than I’d have liked. I’ll hopefully get some pictures up here soon, but I’ve got so much school stuff to do once I get home I doubt they will be posted before the middle of March.
Spamalot was great! It was just like watching The Holy Grail, but only in person. I loved it! Clay Aiken was great, surprisingly enough. The Knights who Say “Ni” were done really well, as was the Black Night. The stage design was done really well too, but it wasn’t as elaborate as Young Frankenstein. I could have bought some coconuts, and I’m kicking myself for not getting them now. But I’ll be back, so hopefully I can find them somewhere. Out of the three plays I saw, this was my least favourite ONLY because of the seat. It was a pretty shitty location, but at least I got to see it. It’s not playing in June when we’ll be here.
And here we are, on the last day of our vacation. Matthew is packing up stuff and I should be too. We requested a late check out again, and I don’t think we’re going anywhere before we check out, so it’s good we won’t have to rush. Because we don’t have a door hanger though, the maid just tried to clean our room again about 5 minutes ago. We really need one for this room. I think we’re just going to go back to Time’s Square and look in a few stores that I didn’t get to see like Hershey’s, and finish looking at the Virgin Magastore. Our flight doesn’t leave until 6:45, so we don’t have to leave Manhattan until around 4, which is great.
So, it’s been fun, and I don’t want to leave. Sadly, life must go on, so I have to go pack my stuff. I’ll see you all soon!