Tuesday, December 21, 2010
www.magiedarling.wordpress.com
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
NYC Highlights
So it’s been a while since I’ve written. Since Thanksgiving, it’s been all-too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of planning – and doing – future adventures and trips. It is coming down to the final days of my time in the United States for a while, and so Mallory and I have been busy tying up loose ends with regards to that. And as if I wasn’t busy enough, I decided to take a few days in New York City with Aaron as a sort-of “sign-off” to the semester. As I type, I am on the bus back to Washington, D.C. , from NYC. Here’s an account of my last few days:
.
On Saturday, I had a hectic few hours of packing the apartment. For at least a week and and half, I had been stowing away things, but two things made my efforts at preparation moot: 1) my ability to justify leaving things unpacked because of the possibility I may use them, and 2) the fact that I was packing bags with three separate destinations (NYC, Europe, and home).
.
But after I fully checked out of my apartment (leaving behind all of my shampoo conditioner and washes, I would realize later), Aaron and I headed to the metro toward Union Stations to board our bus for NYC. The ride was about four hours, but seeing as though I have the talent of being able to easily pass out in any moving vehicle within minutes of boarding, the ride wasn’t all that bad.
.
When we arrived in NYC, we met up with a friend of Aaron’s family, who would be our tour guide for the next few days. The three of us, with bags in hand, headed toward Times Square, pushing through the onslaught of people on the streets. Coming from a city with a cleaner, tamer demeanor, the numerous people on littered streets with seemingly endless flashing lights and billboards overhead, I was excited and overwhelmed.
.
That night, we walked around Times Square and eventually made our way, via taxi, to Tom’s Restaurant, which, if you are a Seinfeld connoisseur, you will know that this is the place where many a conversation took place between Jerry, George, Cramer, and Elaine. The outside sign of the restaurant appears just as it does in the series; however, the interior was renovated and bears no resemblance to the original.
.
The next morning, we got up and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we saw various Roman and Greek pottery, beads, sculptures, and, believe it or not, safety pins the size of my spread-out hand. We didn’t have much time though, so what we were able to see was extremely limited. Also, we didn’t make it to MoMa, although we were told to visit more than once.
.
From there, we walked around, seeing St. Patrick’s Cathedral and many high-end shops. At one point, we went into Armani, where we had drinks upstairs in the Armani Café. While shopping, we popped into the American Girl store, where we snuck a couple shots of the café located on the third floor, where girls and their parents can dine with their dolls. And if the dolls weren’t pampered enough, having a dinner they wouldn’t consume, they could visit the hair salon and get their hair done. For dinner, we ate at a small Italian restaurant with some of Aaron’s distant relatives.
.
The next day was packed. We left the house at 8:30 a.m. and had a nearly hour-long dab ride to the place where we would take a ferry to Ellis Island and to the Statue of Liberty.
.
After we visited each, we made our way to Grand Central Station. While I thought Union Station was pretty, I was in awe of the beauty of GCS, as it was fully decorated for Christmas. Years ago, GCS was, in a word, ugly. Its ceiling and windows were black with soot and everything was dirty and dark, and there was pressure to tear it down. But Jackie Kennedy sought to make it a historic landmark so that it could be preserved. As a result, the ceiling was cleaned, which revealed a marvelous painting of a starry sky with constellations – a painting that no one knew was there. During the renovation process, tons of black tiles were removed, but one was left in the corner of the ceiling to remind people of the treasures that can be lost when they are not taken care of and preserved.
.
Afterward, Aaron and I made our way to Rockefeller Center, where we spent an hour skating in the middle of the city. This was the highlight of the trip.
.
With the evening came our shows: the Radio City Christmas Show and the Phantom of the Opera. While we had to race to fit them both into our evening, our quick pace was well worth it, as both were fantastic expericnces.
.
Tuesday, Aaron and I were on our own. Having seen the city with a guide for the first few days and having spent a bit of time looking at maps, we were able to get ourselves around with considerable ease. We made our way from the ferry to the Hop-on Hop-off bus, where we rode for about 10 minutes before we got off to see the Empire State Building. While we were on, however, I learned that the reason that there is a star in the Macy’s logo, is because the founder had a star tattooed to his wrist/hand because he thought they brought him luck.
.
The 86th floor of the ESB was frigid, but the view was spectacular. We quickly snapped pictures before running inside to warm our faces and fingers. This process was repeated three or four times before we called it a day.
.
We did a bit of shopping; got to see the old, wooden escalators in Macy’s; and saw the business of NYC shopping days before Christmas.
.
As an end to our day, we went to Temple Bar on the recommendation of one of Aaron’s coworkers this fall. Its black walls and awning and its 5in./12in. sign matched the dark, polished interior. While the room was darkly lit, each table had a focused light on it, providing enough light to carry on conversation while staying hidden away. We shared a bottle of wine and had a great time. Noticing the couple next to us – an older man and a 20-something woman wearing fishnets – and they were talking about making poker bets and other casual topics clued me into aspects of the city I would otherwise like to remain ignorant of.
.
On our last day, we ate Magnolia cupcakes, walked around Central Park, saw Bergdorf Goodman and the Plaza, and quickly ran off to catch our bus back home.