The Big Apple: Day 2

Well, I think we all had a pretty fantastic night's rest, traffic noise notwithstanding.  Nothing like sheer exhaustion to make that pillow feel mighty good.  (You know that saying about hunger being the best sauce?  I think the same applies to sleep.)  Anyway, I really hate alarms so some of the great joys of life are the mornings when I can ditch them.  We were footloose and fancy-free, so the executive decision was made to wake up whenever we woke up.  Poor Tunie though; her alarm clock rings every single morning by 5 AM and she can't escape it because hers is internal.  (I can't decide whether to feel sorry for her or to be a little envious...)  So Mom and I woke up about 7 or so, rip-roaring and ready to go, only to find out that Tunie had been awake, quietly waiting for us to get done sleeping, for two hours already.  OUCH!

We girded our loins and hit the road, ready for Day 2 of our adventure.  Lo and behold, the rain had passed in the night, and a clear blue sky greeted us!  Still brutally cold, but it's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do - the city took on a whole new energy.  We hit Fluffy's Diner for breakfast.  It was great - you walked up to this big glass case containing the fixings for any sort of breakfast you could want - eggs, meats, rolls and bagels, waffles and pastries, spreads, cheese, gosh, a little of everything.  You told the guys behind the counter what you wanted to eat, they grabbed the appropriate items and slapped your breakfast together in a matter of minutes.  No time for nonsense, let me tell you.  Just the ticket to prepare us for the day ahead.

After breakfast, I graciously allowed my co-travelers to shop for souvenirs.  (I say that extremely tongue-in-cheek.  These two ladies were tremendously good sports to put up with my flying around - I had to be reminded to slow down and smell the...fake Louis Vuitton purses.)  After a few purchases, we headed back to our tour bus headquarters.  Yesterday, we took the Downtown tour, which covered the southern half of Manhattan Island - the Financial District, the Garment District, the Flatiron District, SoHo, TriBeCa, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, Little Italy, Hell's Kitchen, the Brooklyn Bridge, etc.  We even saw Five Points, like in the Gangs of New York movie!  

That was yesterday, though.  Today was different; today we did the Uptown tour.  Think Central Park, the Upper West Side (residential areas full of old brownstones worth millions), Harlem and the Upper East Side, Lincoln Center and Juilliard, the Met, the Museum of Natural History, the Frick, the Guggenheim, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (um, wow), Columbia University, the Apollo Theater, and let us not forget, the projects and the barrios!  I couldn't tell you why, but I bonded with Uptown, even the grungy areas (Harlem has its moments, to say the least) a lot more than I did Downtown.  This kind of disappointed me, to be honest; I always fancied myself a Downtown sort of girl - I know places like SoHo and Greenwich Village and Chelsea are supposed to be where all the cool kids hang out, and who doesn't want to fancy themselves a cool kid?  But when I actually saw those areas, I was kind of...underwhelmed.  When you're in Midtown Manhattan, everything is slick and new and just oozes wealth.  Then it's almost like you cross this line.  The buildings get shorter and older and show increasing signs of disrepair; the streets get dirtier, and the advertising gets tackier.  I think it was this combined with the sense of history I felt Uptown - having read so much about the Harlem Renaissance, so many rags-to-riches stories set in the projects, not to mention, let's face it, I'm a museum geek, so I just felt more at home.

I think the one unifying theme that I just couldn't get over, though, regardless of which part of the city we found ourselves in, was the architecture.  I just couldn't get tired of the constant variety, the juxtapositions of old and new, the restored and the crumbling, the various styles and personalities of the structures.  It literally never got old.

The following are not great pictures; nothing more than my attempts (from the top of a moving tour bus) to capture just a few of the sights and structures that we saw.

The Museum of Natural History

I really like this one on a few levels - the water towers and gardens on the roof, and the pretty building jammed up against the bland, mid-century looking ones.

This is a side shot of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.  There was no way I could fit that whole structure in my viewfinder.  This is, after all, the fourth largest church in the world.

The entrance.  This thing has been under construction since 1889.  Seriously.

The projects!  I really can't explain why these hold so much fascination...

What a thrill! One of the great hotbeds, along with the Cotton Club, of the Harlem Renaissance.  Buddy Holly was the first white man to play here, and it still pulls in the legends!

Harlem Brownstones

If I remember right, they say there are around 500 churches in Harlem alone.  Gosh, I'd really, really like to experience a Sunday morning in that neighborhood.

Spanish Harlem, aka The Barrio!

Central Park

The Guggenheim!  My dad always used the term "guggenheim" in a slightly derogatory way, when describing something mixed up or not making any sense.  Now I know why. Notice the structures surrounding it?  Yeah, Frank Lloyd Wright got a pretty rough time for this one.

Ahhhhh, the Metropolitan Museum of Art!  And my heart goes pitter-patter... Oh, to get lost in your many splendors!

So, yeah, there's the nickel tour.  I bet you're wishing I was a better photographer about now!  It was pretty awesome in real life, though; it really was.

We finished this tour right around lunch time, so it was off to Gray's Papaya for the city's best hot dogs!  Nestled into a warm, toasted bun, providing a satisfying snap when bitten into, these critters really did hit the spot.  Granted they were just hot dogs, but hot dogs do have their own charm, and these were good specimens.  We washed them down with the house specialty papaya beverage (weird, with a yeasty funk).

Then, females that we are, it was time to SHOP!  Mom had heard ahead of time about this great store that offers designer brands at steep discounts, so when Century 21 was pointed out to us by multiple tour guides, it was the final straw; we just had to check this place out.  Oh, it was great.  We loaded up on designer jeans and tops and sweaters, all at a fraction of normal retail.  Girls plus bargains equals one happy couple.  Oh, and Tunie got the coolest hat...

OK, so our time in the big city was beginning to run out.  (Don't forget that two-hour commute back to the airport.)  We still had time for one more adventure, though.  This was pretty fantastic.  So Tunie has this book she picked up, kind of a memoir or biography of sorts about a celebrity chef (Marcus Samuelsson for anyone interested in this sort of thing).  In the book, he describes this little place he opened in Harlem called the Red Rooster.  Behold, I present...

TA DA!

Tunie noticed it while we were on the tour bus, so being that we had some extra time, we decided we simply must eat there.  We took the bus back around and were deposited on the sidewalk a few blocks away.  We felt pretty cool strolling the streets of downtown Harlem, let me tell you.  (Although it did feel quite a bit like the streets of downtown Lake City anthropologically speaking, if not architecturally speaking...)

The place was booked up, but we were told that we could look for an opening at the bar.  We are not easily diverted when in pursuit of a great eating experience, so wait we did, until, one by one, three spots opened up.  (I must pause for a moment and celebrate my mother.  When I travel, I tend to like to blend in a bit; I generally shrink from doing things that make me visible.  My mother is not so afflicted.  She is always the first to march up to random strangers and ask for directions, ask for recommendations, or in this case, insert herself right up front, ready to grab that open bar stool.  I become mortified in these situations.  That is, of course, until her boldness saves the day, procuring whatever it is that we are in need of, at which point I slink forward to reap the benefits.  I decided on this trip once again that she is a rare jewel of a woman, and I would do well to strive to be more like her.)

One other thing I'd like to get off my chest.  If your policy is to serve walk-in guests, it is in poor taste to treat those guests as second-class citizens.  If you can't provide the same welcome to walk-ins that you do to your reserved guests, then don't accept them.  Certainly don't treat them like a bother or a nuisance.

OK, anyway.  So we got our spots and we ordered.  Keep in mind, Red Rooster is soul food, done by an Ethiopian chef raised by Swedish parents.  Sounds crazy, I know, but this dude is passionate about food, and that comes through in every bite.  Not to mention, the vibe is just crazy hip.  We ordered fried chicken and waffles, steak and frites, and Swedish meatballs, accompanied by cornbread and tomato jam, and followed by sweet potato donuts and a cookie sampler.  Ladies and gentlemen, if you ever find yourself in Harlem's neck of the woods, do yourself a favor and stop.  This place is a can't miss (unless you're nitpicky about the whole service thing).  Even the sweet tea was like momma's, only better.  That fried chicken?  The best I've ever tasted, hands down.  And I only got a bite, more's the pity.  So yeah, this was a winner.  All things considered, just the whole neighborhood, feel of the restaurant, quality of the food, topping off a great weekend, I think we all agreed that this experience was one of our favorites.

The lighting was bad for photos but good for scene...

That was it, then!  Fat and happy, we walked a few feet to the subway and began our long, arduous journey back to the airport, and then home.  In summary, it was a great weekend.  I got to spend time with two ladies that I love very, very much, seeing so many amazing sights, eating such a variety of great foods, and having a boatload of great experiences.  Many memories were made, and they will be savored for a long, long time to come.  

Oh, and just to mention, if anybody wants to head up there and needs a buddy, I am SO available.

:)