New York City! The city that never sleeps...
Well, I have some doubts about that. It sure
seems to get pretty boring between 4am and
5am, but I guess the statement is true enough.
I recently had the opportunity to visit the Big
Apple and I thought I would share the exper-
ience with you.
My main reason for taking this trip was to
see a gig put on by some members of the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra -which, if you're a
regular visitor to this site, you'll know that they
are my ultimate favorite group! But, from the
minute I stepped off of the plane in NYC, I
knew this would be one fabulous vacation!
The plane ride itself wasn't too bad... If you consider hitching a ride on a twin engine prop plane from Dayton to Chicago, then being seated next to a couple with a fussy 6 month old baby on the main flight "not too bad". All I can say is thank goodness the bars open early at the airports. My traditional preflight Bloody Mary was a world of help!
Jon Ortner's pics are now gone! Seeing how he threatened to sue me and my little non-profit, freebie website that hardly anyone visits. I guess, if you're that hard up for business...
Anyway! I put this one up to replace it until I can search through my pictures for the perfect one. If you scroll over it, you'll get a nice surprize :) Hope Jon doesn't try to sue me for that, too.
the mysterious "Agent J".
Once in NY, a friend I was meeting there couldn't have planned her pick up better. I was able to collect my luggage and suck down what I thought would be my last cigarette for four days before walking to the curb just as she was pulling up with a big ol' smile on her face! Her husband then drove us to our hotel where I got exactly two seconds to rest and get freshened before we hit the town. Little did I know that this was setting the pace for the rest of the trip!
Our first evening started with a whirlwind of shopping and checking out touristy stuff along Times Square. Following that, we had drinks and our first actual face to face conversation at this nifty restaurant at the top of the Marriot Marquis Hotel called The View. It was Great! The view from our table was absolutely spectacular and the girl talk was even better! It seems that we have at least one major thing in common other than TSO...
Boy Watching!
After drinks, we headed over to Lucky Chengs for a late diner.
My new favorite drink!
It was during our walk to
Lucky Chengs that I learn
my first lesson about NYC.
(Most respectfully taught by
native New Yorker, "Agent J")
However, this is a rule I found to be very perplexing. It seemed to me that the minute I shut my mouth, everyone around me suddenly wanted to talk!
Now, I have to tell you about Lucky Chengs. We originally set this date up to surprise another friend who
was suppose to go on the trip with me and, even though she ended up bailing out on me at the last minute, it was well worth the planning! While their food is very good (they have a salad that I'm still trying to
duplicate at home), it's the wait staff that really steals the show! So to speak. The entire staff dresses up
in drag! (To my hillbilly cousins, that means the boys were dressed up as girls... Imagine the scandal that
would cause at the next hoe down! "Ma! Billy Bob's wearing Grannies pink chiffon dress again!") Only
these boys weren't wearing pink chiffon. In all honesty, they weren't wearing much at all! And it wouldn't
have been nearly as disturbing if not for the fact that most of them looked better than me!
They have evening "drag" shows at Lucky Chengs, so after dinner we went downstairs to watch and
relax a bit. Unfortunately, by the time the show started, I was pretty worn out from my first day of being
"The World's Best Tourist." (A title I don't take lightly, mind you.) So we were only able to stay for a
couple of numbers, which were really amazing! Then it was back to the hotel room for a good night's rest.
Day two started off with a hardy breakfast at a cute little diner near our hotel room. Our waiter was this adorably cranky guy that, to me, really brought home the meaning of "New York Attitude". If I didn't know any better, I would guess that he was a struggling actor, cause he played the role so well! I almost felt like an extra in a movie. And, if you must know, we had eggs.
Then we were whisked away by city transit to Greenwhich Village where we spent the day shopping, exploring and star gazing! Of course, I didn't get to do much "gazing" because Agent J usually didn't point out the stars until we were blocks away from them! I guess she was afraid I would ogle them or something. I swear, I don't know where she got that impression.
We spent the morning browsing the shops and walking around trying to figure out where we were. I bet we walked 100 miles or more. At least, my legs felt like they had! At one point, we stumbled onto a set of Sex and the City... Literally! We walked around a corner and there they were, Sarah Jessica Parker and the chick that plays Samantha. Unfortunately, the light changed and we had to cross the street before I had time to get my camera out, but we were able to snap a few shots from the other side.
This rule was even harder to deal with than Rule # 1! I mean really... Why are they out walking around like normal people if they don't want to be ogled?
Later in the afternoon it was Soho, Chinatown and coffee in the park near City Hall. We went by the Knitting Factory, a nice club where one of my favorite musicians frequently plays. And we stopped at this cool little "lingerie shop," which was great because I don't think Agent J had ever been in one of "those" stores before. The look on her face as we looked around was hilarious. I think her eyeballs about popped out when we browsed the "toy" department! But the best part was the way she started blushing as I asked the clerk about feathers and leather and speedos. It was absolutely priceless!
Once we finished making our purchases at the "lingerie shop," we wondered around the area for a bit longer, then decided to have dinner. We stopped at a real life NYC Pizzeria (Gioia's) where I had my first slice of real live NYC pizza.
Amazingly, it tasted like chicken!
After dinner it was back to the hotel room to get ready for the show!
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