Weds 5th November. Bonfire night but we fly out of Heathrow at 2.10 pm on a less than quarter full BA plane. Gives cabin crew time to give us 2 rounds of G&T. And an excellent meal, in my opinion anyway. After watching The Ballad of Wallace Island, which was a nice little film Debbie can stretch out over a whole row of 5 seats and I snooze a bit too. Soon enough we are flying down the American east coast and land as the sun is setting. Customs and bag pickup are a breeze as we seem to be the only flight at Terminal 8. A metro ride into town and then a 15 minute walk to the hotel where we have a lovely 2 bedroom apartment. One view is up 1st Avenue and the other across the East River to Roosevelt Island and then to Long Island. I shop at the 24 hour deli just under the Beekman Tower and we watch Bake Off snacking on crisps. Try not to go to sleep too early helped by the constant sirens and horns hooting. It’s Debbie’s first time in the Big Apple and I’ve not been for about 25 years.
Thurs 6th. We wake early as if in the UK but try to doze until 7. I nip down to the deli for breakfast. It’s run by Spanish speakers and is well stocked. There are 2 prices per item one for cash and the other cards. Having eaten we start our trek around New York. The Beekman was built as a women’s club house and residency a century ago. Newer is the massive Trump World Tower that is just opposite us and ironically on United Nations Plaza. We wander down the avenues (which go N-S) and across the streets (E-W) going through Grand Central Station until we get to the Empire State Building which we don’t go up. Then south to the Flat Iron building on Madison Square and along to the infamous Chelsea Hotel which is now gorgeous so we stop for a cocktail whilst chatting to the bar staff. At these prices little wonder Sid and Nancy opted for hard drugs. Joke. Back then it was run down and infested with cockroaches and other undesirable creatures both animal and human. It’s since been done up (gentrified) but has many of the original features restored. It has an interesting history having been built as a housing co-operative, had a long list of artists living there since it was built and according to the bar man there are still some old residents on controlled rents paying a fraction of current room or suite charges. We buy a limited edition print from a very nice guy outside. Cheaper than the cocktails which have set us up being a mezcal old fashioned and a margarita. Very nice they were too. Wander through Union Square and down to a trendy Washington Square Park with lots of bohemians playing jazz or just noodling on a guitar. It’s the heart of the university district. Having walked a fair way we wander back home along different roads mainly up Broadway and Park Avenue. Back home Debbie makes a lovely miso soup with noodles and we try to stay awake to a decent hour USA east coast time.
Friday 7th. It’s a lovely day out so we wander out for a Ramones tourist photo shot at 53rd and 3rd then up to Central Park where the tree leaves are turning or turned so it’s a gorgeous autumnal display made more so by seeing the skaters on the southern rink. We get a couple of books and tote bag at the Strand booksellers pop up place. We get to I guess a third of the way up the park next to one of the smaller lakes then walk back down to Broadway getting as far as Times Square which is all too much then past Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Centre with it’s ice rink although the big tree isn’t up yet. We then make our way home for a stir fry. Everyone in New York seems so friendly from the metro workers to just people out on the street. At least 4 people have complimented Debbie on her clothes and that’s just in 2 days. So friendly and polite which I find surprising as usually in big cities people are keen to get on with their lives and dithering tourists are a nuisance. I know, I live in London. For instance as we were taking our Ramones photos on a pretty crowded street people would stop walking so we could take the photos and then these 2 women said how lovely Debbie’s outfit was. Tonight is our gig night so we get the metro out to Wilson Avenue in Brooklyn then a short walk to the Purgatory venue. It’s a lovely quirky bar in a standalone building with a young trendy crowd and friendly woman behind the bar. It’s billed as “when heaven is full, and hell is just too damn hot! queer bar / venue” and I can’t describe it better. We get seats at the bar which seem to be reserved for us as the gig venue is upstairs and every time we come back down to the bar they are free. The bands are reviewed in the usual place but to name check are Customer Service, Human Fade and Kai Weinkauf. We are introduced to the locally invented Pickleback which our bar server insists on buying for us despite me saying that we should buy one for her as her hourly rate is $10 which doesn’t go far in New York. A Pickleback is a shot of whiskey then one of pickle juice shots which I quite like but Debbie doesn’t. The woman behind the bar joins us for the pickle shot. Drinks aren’t cheap if you include the near-mandatory tip but the spirit measures are nearly double a “single” and it’s no more expensive than London, but that’s hardly saying it’s cheap. There’s a pretty decent DJ downstairs who’s working her way through a list of British girl bands of the 1990s. After the headliners we wander back to the metro and get as far as Grand Central Station. As it’s raining and a bit of a walk we catch an iconic yellow taxi back home, well, it’s a classic thing to do to catch a yellow cab late at night isn’t it and written about and in all the films. It’s been a long day and we’re probably still slightly on UK time so good to be home where we watch the rain come down and the cars driving up 1st Avenue and a few lights on in the apartments opposite us making it seem like a film like Hitchcock’s Rear Window… although I can’t see any suspicious murderers. I find out later that the building opposite is a mix of residential apartments and offices which you don’t get in the UK.
Saturday 8th. It’s the morning after the Picklebacks and feeling a little delicate. I go for a walk in the sun to the local shop then walk downtown to watch the Arsenal game at a Gooners pub. The first had a queue with one in one out (unlikely) so I go along a block to another pub the Winslow not packed but full of Yank, and other nationality, Gooners. A great atmosphere being 1 nil down then 2-1 up. Until our game management was lacking in added on time and we come away from Sunderland with a 2-2 draw. There seem to be a lot of Gooners in NY and I saw a few shirts on the street and only a couple of other continental clubs, no other English shirts.. A lovely walk back to the Beekman in the sun then I go to Jamaica to collect Lily-Rose from JFK. We walk back from the metro and she settles into her room.
Sunday 9th. Another lovely morning and we walk down past the Chrysler Building to Grand Central then metro to Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall to walk across the impressive bridge to Dumbo in Brooklyn, along with hundreds of others. We browse the Dumbo flea market and buy large and small bike prints from an artist who shows us a video of how she creates the large print and we chat doing up bikes and velodromes; she used to track race has heard of Herne Hill. After mooching about a bit we have a pizza in an authentic feeling Italian pizza place then walk back over the bridge and down Broadway to Trinity Church, the Stock Exchange building (covered with scaffolding as is much of New York) and the raging bull. By this time it’s raining hard so we metro back to Grand Central and shelter over coffee and tea in Pershing Square restaurant. Walking back home we’re caught in showers. Once the rain stops Lily-Rose and I walk up to Whole Foods and then grab impressive sandwiches at Lenwich then home to watch typical New York movies Elf and an episode of Friends.
Monday 10th. A murky day and getting colder throughout the day. We wander up 1st Avenue to Trader Joes then across to Bloomingdales where I leave Debbie and Lily-Rose where they look around shops and then go down to Hell’s Kitchen. I walk up through Central Park to Harlem Meer at the very top of the park. Heavy rain at times although the falling leaves are lovely. I catch the metro back to 51st and home in the dry and warm. Lils and I go out to the shops and I cook a stir fry. Lazy evening at home.
Tuesday 11th. Definitely getting colder and some slight flurries of snow as we get up but doesn’t settle and soon the sun is out. We visit the lobby of the Chrysler Building and the very nice security guard (all New Yorkers are so friendly) offers to take a photo of myself and Debbie in front of the main doors. Then at Grand Central get the metro to the start of the High Line at Hudson Yards. There’s a big metro train yard on one side and construction site on the other. We walk down to the bit by the Hudson River to look across to New Jersey and there is a vicious cold wind blowing in freezing our faces. At times the sun comes out to give us a bit of respite and there’s some building shelter but it’s a cold walk along the High Line until we get to the end. Well worth it though as great views down city streets from a high vantage point and you get close up to the backs of buildings. It’s a disused railroad that was converted into a fantastic walkway going through Chelsea ending up in the Meat Packing District. We wander around Greenwich West Village and find a café where I have delicious fried artichokes and fries. Lily-Rose and Debbie then get bagels from the famous Leon Bagels. We metro down to the World Trade Centre where Lily-Rose buys much needed gloves and scarf. It’s where the Twin Towers memorial is and we also go into the nearby chapel. From there we wander up through the Financial District to Brooklyn Bridge and past the law courts. Then up Mulberry Street through Chinatown and Little Italy which are separated by Canal Street which seems like a very definite boundary for each. Then up the Bowery past CBGBs (which we don’t notice) and a photo opportunity at Joey Ramone Place (I happen to have my Ramones T shirt on). Through East Village and Nolita and then 3rd and 1st Avenues to home. It’s been a long day of walking but lovely. Debbie and I go up to the 26th floor bar for a couple of drinks with a great view over the East River looking down on the surrounding buildings and across Roosevelt Island to Queens. After we come back down to our apartment we catch some local TV and reports of loads of snow causing problems elsewhere in New York State.
Wednesday 12th. Lily-Rose goes out for her pancake breakfast whilst Debbie and I breakfast at home. Then we walk up to Central Park past the Louis Vuitton luggage bag building which looks like, well, a load of very big luggage bags piled on top of each other. Playful and impressive. We grab lovely grub from Mangia which we eat in Central Park having met Lily-Rose at Columbus Circle. We all then wander up through the park past the Elf snowball fight bridge and the boating lake where we grab a coffee. We get as far as 79th Street then wander home mostly down 5th Avenue. Back home I feel like I’ve walked for miles but maybe the last 2 days of walking is catching up with me. Debbie cooks much needed pasta and tomato sauce before we’re off out again. It’s jazz night so we walk along 44th Street, through Grand Central Station and past Times Square where it's getting busier and busier. The Birdland venue is what you imagine a NYC jazz club to be with lots of photos on the walls. We’ve booked a table which is a little above the stage so a great view of the band who are five women and play a great mix of what I’d think of as classic jazz with a few weirder bits and a fair few solos. A lovely atmosphere, good cocktails and the evening passes quickly. After that we wander back home through the thronging streets and gridlocked roads. It does make it easy to navigate New York’s grid system as every crossing has regular times to cross. When traffic is not going straight across the road you want to cross traffic can turn into the road if people aren’t crossing the street. So pedestrians have very regular times to cross although right or left turning cars stuck in the junction due to people crossing does result in major junction gridlock. Anyway, we are soon back home where I read a bit more of my New York novels. I’ve finished Catcher in the Rye and am now on The Great Gatsby who drives into Manhattan from Long Island over the bridge close to our hotel.
Thursday 13th. We venture out at 11 and it’s spitting with rain. Metro up to 77th then a short walk to the Bloomberg office where we meet up with three lovely folk who I got to know through working at the Olympic Park. We have a tour of the 1898 Stuyvesant Fish House an Italianate mansion and then have lunch. Lovely to catch up with my friends and after coffee Todd takes us into the Met Museum posing for a photo on the Met Steps of XOXO Gossip Girl fame. Apparently. After touring the Met we also have passes for the Guggenheim so we curl our way up through the building. Thanks Bloomberg buddies! As it’s chilly out we take the metro downtown and catch the Roosevelt Island Tramway to the island that we can see from our apartment. It goes alongside and for a while above the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge and we look north up the East River on our way out for amazing views up the 2nd 1st and York Avenues and then up the river. A quick walk on the island in the cold and we take the aerial gondola back again looking southwards at the massive road bridge and then down the Avenues. A quick shop at Trader Joes and back home to eat and relax for the evening. Well, it was an exciting night last night and we have an early start tomorrow.
Friday 14th. A 5 am wake up then tube down to the Brooklyn Bridge to watch the brilliant and iconic sunrise. A popular attraction and well worth the early start. It’s cold so we pop into a coffee shop then Debbie and Lily-Rose collect bagels and I go back home to make my breakfast bagels. Soon we are all back and after relaxing for a while Lils leaves for a bit of own time. Debbie and I metro up to Central Park for a final burst of Fall colour then bus to the Rockefeller Centre to meet Lily-Rose. We wander round the Bryant Park Winter Market grabbing mulled wines and a Stickle for myself (that’s deep fried pickles on a stick, yum). The girls wander off to shop and I walk home via the impressive library at Bryant Park. I finish my 2nd NYC book The Great Gatsby and it’s interesting to know some of the NYC places mentioned. In the evening we snack then go up to the rooftop bar for a drink and great views west over the city. Then a last couple of episodes of Friends.
Saturday 15th. Up at a reasonable time and I walk to the local shop then go down to the riverside walkway sandwiched between East River and the main road. We get a taxi to JFK airport arriving in good time and a smooth flight back to Heathrow and another taxi to home. Strange to be driving in streets without the constant beeping of horns and wailing sirens. Maya and the cats are waiting for us (thanks to Jack too for cat sitting earlier in the week) and after a chat I fall asleep as not a lot of shut eye on the plane. New York. A great city. A great holiday.
