Trip Of A Lifetime

Friday, January 20, 2006

New York, New York!

What do you say about a city that has everything? And the lights... it's like Hong Kong here at night! We really like New York.

Our first day here started out as being a day for us to catch up on some sleep and not do too much, it didn't quite work out that way. About mid-morning we took the ten minute stroll to Time Square from our hotel and then we just wakled. We walked up to central park, where the squirrels were playing in the snow, and up and down Broadway just trying to absorb all that we were looking at.

We decided to see a show that night because we were in the right mood for it. As we were heading towards the line for half price tickets, a guy asked us if we wanted free tickets to The Late Show with David Letterman. We weren't going to say no to free tickets, so we ended up going there before heading out to see the musical Hairspray.

Letterman was interesting. The people who work for CBS pumping up the audience deserve some sort of medal. Jeepers, they really have to be on heavy duty energy tablets in order to keep everyone else excited. Oh, and my hands! I've never had to clap so much in my life! Or with such enthusiasm. The guest was Tatum O'Neal (who was boring and methinks, drunk) and they did do an audience shot. Hopefully our parents were able to tape it so we can look for ourselves in a year when we've forgotten all about it.

We rushed from the Ed Sullivan Studio (where Letterman is taped) to Hairspray, which is playing about one block away. We were seated immediately and the show started about ten minutes after that. Nice. They give free playbills here, so we had all of the cast information without having to fork out $15-$20. You can buy a full colour program if you like, but I was happy with the freebie. We both LOVED Hairspray! So much that we bought the soundtrack, which I'm hoping I"ll be able to listen to at some point between now and 2007... we don't have a CD player. The acting was full of energy, the music was catchy and it was a real feel good play with lots of funny bits. I've already said that if it comes to Melbourne, we're going to take our parents because it really was very good.

Since that first day things actually slowed down quite a lot. We met up with Chip and Dale and we all took one of those Hop On Hop Off bus tours together. We saw things like the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and the Statue of Liberty. Adie and I took the ferry out to Liberty and Ellis Islands and he got some great photos. Before getting on the ferry, we sat down with this guy in Battery Park who feeds the squirrels. They actually jump all over you and onto your hands to get the nuts. I thought this was so cool, and Adie took an excellent photo of a squirrel perched in my hand. We also went to the United Nations and took a tour around there. That was really interesting, but quick.

New York has turned out to be a good place for us to meet up with people. We saw Chip and Dale, and we went out to dinner just last night with Adie's Aunt Anne. We went to a Tepanyaki Restaurant (I can't remember the name) where they cook right in front of you. They seem to get a lot of famous people there too. They had a heap of celebrity photos on the wall. While we were there the runner up from the most recent American Idol was there. He didn't impress me though. The food was fantastic and the waiter did all these tricks with our food and his utensils.

Our hotel is lovely but I have to say, don't stay in a hotel with a "foreign head of state". All of the streets around our hotel are barricaded and there are extra security checks happening in the lobby. There are police and secret service all over the place and anti-terrorist units parked in the street. We don't know if we should feel ultra safe or concerned! Actually, the only inconvenience has been the wait for the elevators. The police can't say who exactly is staying in our hotel, although they've all been very nice when we've asked questions, but we figure that foreign head of state means prime minister or president and there is a Pakistani flag hanging out the front. You do the math.

I think that we could come back to New York and see a whole different side of it. We haven't had a chance to explore any of the village and there is so much good theatre, good food and good shopping. Next time I think we'd do it in warmer weather though. Both of us are feeling a little bit fluey due to the hot and cold of inside and outside, but we have our tylenol and dayquil to get us through.

Tomorrow we leave the United States for three days in Canada!

5 Comments:

  • Glad to hear you enjoyed New York - now you can see why I cried when I left after spending six months working there! Benny Hannas is the name of the restaurant, go there every time I go the States. Glad you got to meet up with Anne, hope she was well.

    What day do you get to England? You will be pleased to hear it has warmed up here a little, although we did have to de-ice the car this morning!

    Have a fab time in Canda, see you soon.

    Lyns xxx

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:41 pm  

  • Great to hear from you and read the blogs! We love the descriptions of the places you have been too. It almost feels like we can close our eyes and be there ourselves....a balmy 41 degrees here lately......
    Coralie and Adam

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:27 am  

  • Hi Guys, I have only just been able to read all that you have written and must admit to being very jelous:) I am so glad that you are having a good time and hope that you really enjoy Canada. Can't wait to read all about it and see some more pitcures.

    Lots of Love
    Theresa

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:42 am  

  • New York is one of the best cities in the world. I definitely recommend you go there in the summer next time. There's a great warm vibe and the nights cool down so you can recuperate from the heat of the day. I wish I was there again!
    Love Wifey.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:32 am  

  • Hey Hey Miss K and Big Ads!!

    Been reading up on your majestic travels from my little pad in the 'Nong... its kinda depressing, brings the slightest pang of jealousy

    but live it up! it must be an awesome experience, and I've loved reading your blogs thus far, look forward to seeing where you end up next.

    Btw, i got into uni... So i'm pissin off to the other side of Melbourne to study music =) you were right about the normal round offers miss =P.

    All the best!!
    Caleb

    By Blogger Caleb Garfinkel, at 1:30 pm  

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