We awoke bright and early for a 6am flight from Chicago O’Hare to JFK, arriving just a little early for check-in. However, we were staying in Harlem, so by the time we got through the airport and out to Harlem on the subway, we were only about 4 hours early. Thankfully, our landlady was on hand and allowed us to leave our luggage at the accommodation. She also recommended a great little Harlem bakery called Double Dutch Espresso, where we could actually get a real and decent coffee (not the easiest to come by in North America), and some awesome pastries. As it was a Sunday there were also many local New Yorkers enjoy a morning brew and it made for some excellent people watching.
Once we had finished our multiple coffees, we decided to wander around the neighbourhood and get our bearings. Now, a lot lf people may be thinking, hmm, Harlem is not the best place to stay. We definitely would disagree. We loved it. It was close to Central Park and it was only two to three stops on the subway to get to places such as Times Square and the main tourist attractions. Of course there were the quirky, bizarre and just plain weird people, but we have found that in all the cities we’ve visited and in reality, the people of Harlem couldn’t have been nicer.
It was then time to check in. The Airbnb was awesome. Private, with good showers, a view overlooking the streets of Harlem and a functional kitchen. For the price and location, we couldn’t have asked for more.
After a good nights sleep, we made our way back to Central Park. As it was Labor Day weekend, we figured everywhere would be busy and that Central Park would be our best bet. It was. Although it too was bustling, everyone was pretty chilled as it was a public holiday. So it was a nice relaxing day, meandering around one of the worlds most famous parks. We saw the baseball diamonds, the horse and carriages, the duck ponds, and the Alice in Wonderland statue.
We also stopped and had rest on the big rocks at the south end of the park which have been made famous by many movies. After taking a well earned rest (it’s a massive park), we visited Strawberry Fields. Strawberry Fields is a memorial to John Lennon, constructed right across the road from where he was assassinated by Mark David Chapman in 1980. There was even a guy there singing all of Lennon’s hits (felt a bit odd, him making a buck from busking there, but to each their own).
Once we had savoured all that Central Park had to offer, we wandered over to Times Square for a look around and to see where we would be seeing our Broadway show the following evening. We then went back to the apartment and rested our weary legs. Once recouped, we got spruced up and made our way to Morningside Heights for dinner. We weren’t sure what to expect, as we just Googled pubs near us for dinner. Thankfully, when we got there we discovered a true little local pub, with cheap delicious food and cheap beer (even a free round on the house)! Once again, it was a great place to people watch.
The following day we arose bright and early-ish as we had a big day planned. First stop was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The largest art museum in the USA. Now, I know some of you are thinking, snore! A gigantic art museum. Well, it is more than just an art museum.
Not only does it house some incredible works by Pollock, Van Gough, Monet, Manet, Warhol, Rembrandt, Gauguin and the likes, the MET also showcases incredible artifacts from around the globe including, Egypt, the Pacific Islands, Ancient Rome and so on. It’s a fun and interesting place and one I have now had the privilege to visit twice.
Once we were finished exploring the MET, we raced back to the apartment to make ourselves presentable, as we were off to see the musical ‘School of Rock’. Both of us had seen the Jack Black movie and figured if it was produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, it would probably be pretty good. It was more than pretty good. It was amazing. Especially the little kids who all sang and played their own instruments. Of course bits had to be added to make it long enough for a two part musical, but it only enhanced the story. We both loved it and for Adrian’s first Broadway show, it was a huge success.
Day four in NYC was a sleep in day. We had been on the go for a while, so a rest was in order. Also washing needed to be done. However, we did have the nighttime to look forward to. We were off to a taping of ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’.
We arrived pretty early to the studio just near Hell’s Kitchen and were surprised to see an already long line. So we took our spot and waited. And waited and waited, and waited. We soon discovered that most of the time spent at these tapings involves waiting around, with a little bit of filming thrown in. There was however, an excellent warm up comedian who asked people where they were from and used it as his material for his show. I put my hand up and said we were from Australia. He joked about how awesome and laid back Aussies are and then asked who I was there with. I pointed to Adrian and the comedian asked him where he worked. Adrian told him he worked in a supermarket, to which the comedian replied with a scoff and a laugh. He proceeded to comment on how was it that Australia’s Tom Brady worked in a supermarket and that all the ladies must hit on him. I just nodded and laughed.
Finally it was time for the main show.
Trevor came across as a really down-to-earth guy, interacting with the audience and having a laugh. His guest who neither Adrian or I knew, was entertaining, as was the skit done by Hasan Minhaj about the new IPhone. Over all it was a very funny show (especially due to the amount of content Trump provides) and a fun experience.
The fifth day came and again we had a little sleep in. We then enjoyed our new favourite coffee and pastry spot for a few hours, Double Dutch Espresso. Later we decided to go for walk to find the restaurant made famous by the T.V show, Seinfeld. Still after all these years, people were outside of ‘Tom’s Restaurant’, getting their picture taken with a piece of T.V history. It was pretty cool.
Later that afternoon we had our second talk show taping. ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’. Once again there was a massive line, but once again we had priority tickets, meaning we got to sit pretty close to the stage. Again the guests weren’t hugely famous (there was Tituss Burgess, Jeff Ross and Adam Richman from Man v Food), but all were entertaining. Colbert however, was excellent. He too was very friendly with the audience, interacting with them and joking around. It was really cool to see. He also started the show on a hover board, as only a techy like Colbert would.
After the show, we made our way through the nighttime hustle and bustle of Times Square. The place, as expected for Times Square, was packed. It had seemed busy on our first daytime visit, but here in the evening it had really come to life with all sorts of characters out and about looking to make a quick buck! Aside from the usual kind of dressed up characters (Elmo, Batman, Transformers etc) we also had the pleasure of seeing a grown middle aged man dressed up as a baby, promo girls wearing nothing but body paint and G-strings and the Times Square Cowboy, playing his guitar wearing only a hat, boots, white briefs, and a strategically placed guitar! Dishonorable mention to the lady in her 60s (at least) who was doing a Naked Cowboy imitation act, with her saggy boobs and butt on display for all.
We chose Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for dinner (a restaurant based on the movie ‘Forest Gump’). It was pretty delicious, expensive and of course, the shrimp was excellent! We then made our way to Rockefeller Centre. Rockefeller is the NBC studio where 30 Rock was filmed and also the location for one of the best views of NYC, day or night. And it did not disappoint! The lights of the city were spectacular, especially the beams emitted from the lights in Times Square. It was quite a sight. After taking in the nighttime views, we made our way down, grabbed a Ben and Jerry’s and headed back to the apartment for the evening.
So far it had been a fun five days in NYC.
Holly.
Good job very interesting
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
ReplyDeleteThe perfect way to spend time in NYC. Just like Carrie... in love with your city. Xx
ReplyDeleteLol exactly!! Xx
ReplyDelete