Happy 28th me.
Already this trip was more fabulous than I could have predicted. While I suppose we could have tried to cram more in -- at the expense of sleep/sanity -- as far as bdays go this was already far exceeding most from years past. I just was unaware of how absolutely memorable the rest of the day would be.
My first clue should have been the unsettling feeling in my stomach when I woke up. I'll spare the details, but my initial reaction was that last night's dinner simply didn't agree with me. We get ready and down to the lobby with time to spare, unwilling to repeat yesterday's transportation debacle.
Two things on today's agenda -- the NBC Studios tour, followed by a 3-hour (free!) Circle-Line boat tour circling all of Manhattan. We take the subway back over to 30 Rock, though I was still unfamiliar with all of that particular station's 14 entrances/exits, and sure enough we missed the direct entrance into the center. As luck would have it though, we happened to walk right past the area outside the NBC News Studio where dozens of lunatics line up to hopefully glimpse a second of themselves on national TV. Hey, we can be those lunatics! Sure enough, there we were... a couple of bundled-up Mid-westerners gawking behind Kathie Lee Gifford's face. It's my 1.5 seconds of fame!
Next up is the Studios Tour. I had done it once, but I know they like to switch up the studios from time to time, so I was eager to see some variety. Previously I had seen the Dateline set and the Nightly News studio; this time it was the MSNBC news set, a different Nightly News studio, and the space where they shoot Late Night with Conan O'Brien (yes!). Oh, and we got to see Studio 8H again, but weren't allowed inside (boo!).
So things were going great... until we entered a tiny room to watch some short footage about makeup artists. And that's when it all started to hit... my body temperature rose sharply, nausea began to quickly set in, I think my stomach did a 360, and I did everything in my power to prevent myself from throwing up right there in that room. (Glad this didn't happen in Conan's studio... I may have ended up being the butt of a monologue joke.)
Immediately following the tour I spent some quality time in the Rock Center bathroom, no doubt cutting into the small window of time we had to cut across town and get to our boat. After a few minutes I felt better again, and off we went.
We darted across 49th, narrowly missing one subway train and forcing us to wait for another local (while three express went by). We get to 42nd and 7th, leaving us with no choice but to RUN across five avenues to get to 12th near the harbor. Completely out of breath and sweating profusely, we get our tickets literally a minute or two before the boat began its departure.
I had been on this boat once before, with Kristin, as we took a 2-hour sunset cruise down the Hudson and around lower Manhattan. Today would offer much better picture-taking (it's hard to keep the boat still at night) as well as views of parts of the city I had never seen before.
But I would not get to see the complete journey in its entirety. The first two hours were uneventful, in the sense that nothing unusual happened (the boat leaning sideways as everyone moved to one side to see the statue of liberty doesn't count). Then, all of a sudden, my stomach starts churning again. Body temperature rises. More nausea, and more intense. I politely excuse myself from Clint, and run down two flights of stairs to the lower deck where the bathroom is.
I guess I made it just in the nick of time, because it felt like I threw up half of the previous night's dinner.
About 10-15 minutes had passed before I could muster going back up. Clint was noticeably concerned, though I tried to assure him it once again had passed.
Until near the end of the boat ride, when I had to run downstairs yet again. Seriously... this is serious.
We made it back to the dock, regretfully rejected offers to take a limousine back to Penn Station, and hurried back to take one last train out of the city. I managed to make it all the way back to our hotel before repeating much of what I had done earlier. This would continue several times (practically every hour, almost) en route back home, as I had to stop and throw even more up. I've thrown up on birthdays before, but never this much! Major thanks to Clint -- bless his heart -- for taking on the driving responsibilities back home / putting up with the mess that I was.
After several excruciatingly long hours, we got back home safe and sound. I bid Clint goodnight, checked up on the bunny, and promptly retired to bed... with bucket close by.
Again, despite everything that happened today, I stayed in high spirits, knowing I couldn't have asked for a more better weekend. I spent time in my favorite city (and for longer than a couple hours, my usual duration!), hung out with awesome people, and got a hell of a lot of Happy Birthday texts and facebook messages. Here's to 28!
Showing posts with label manhattan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manhattan. Show all posts
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Birthday Weekend / NYC - Part Tres
Sunday morning was rough.
First, who knew that a full day of running around NYC could take so much out of you? We overslept by an hour, then by the time we got to the lobby we learned we had just missed the hourly shuttle to the train junction. "Oh, there'll be another in 15-20 minutes when he comes back," said the handsome yet tragically clueless desk clerk. We waited for the next hour in the lobby as Giants fans dressed only in Giants jerseys and Giants colors went in and out, completely oblivious to the realization that it was their actions, in fact, that caused the automatic revolving door to keep e-stopping.
Eventually we boarded the shuttle and made it to the Secaucus Train Junction; compared to the PATH system, one would think this particular stop was built exclusively for American monarchy. Double-decker trains? Friendly employees? Cleanliness?! Toto, we're not in Jersey City anymore.
We arrive at the underground clusterfuck known as Penn Station. Had I been more aware of my surroundings, I may have left a breadcrumb trail in which to follow back that evening. How silly of me!
But first things first -- get to Rockefeller Center so we can get our free admission to the tours offered there. Yes, for just $105 for 3-days, we got into those tours for free; the museums for free; a zillion other places for free. It's an amazing deal, especially if you cram a lot in. But back to the Rock; it turns out that getting both tours on the same day was unadvisable, so we took an afternoon time for the Rockefeller Center tour and a Monday morning spot for the NBC Studios tour. We then had some time free and our tummies were rumbling, so...
... Lunchtime it was! Once again, Urbanspoon did a terrible job of making recommendations; or perhaps I was just confused when $$ in Ohio most certainly didn't correlate with $$ in NYC. It soon turned to "that place! smells of food! we go to there now!" or something, and Ray's Pizza it was. It felt slightly franchise-y (it is) yet local enough to not feel like I traveled 500 miles to eat at a chain restaurant. But holy cow was the pizza good! Found yet another winner here.
From there we jaunted over to mid-midtown (25th street, to be precise) so we could partake in one of the city's other cultural gems: The Museum of Sex. Free with our pass, we were wholly unprepared for the triple gallery of animal sexual habits, human sexuality in the media, and gadgets and other sexual aids throughout history. But sure enough, there were petrified penises of all shapes and sizes, sculptures of deer mounting each other, stories about homosexual necrophiliac ducks, and who could forget the panda porn video? The visual fun certainly didn't end when in the next room, tabletop screens were looping the Paris Hilton sex video while other TVs were showing everything from nudist films to There's Something About Mary. Did I mention the gift shop? No? Well I guess you'll just have to visit there yourself!
Rush back up to 49th (today was all-subway, mind you) for our Rock tour. We meet up with our tour guide and about 20 or so others; we're given wireless receivers and headphones so we can listed to our guide amongst the crowds (a necessity, given the seemingly millions of people there that day to take pictures of themselves in front of a tree). We roamed the hallways of 30 Rock, learning about the art on the walls and the history of how the complex came to be. At other points, we cut across streets to buildings I never guessed were part of the Center, and later took shortcuts in the expansive (and warm!) concourse below ground level. So despite disapopintingly not getting to see Liz Lemon, Jack Donneghy or Tracy Jordan, I still felt more educated and enlightened afterwards.
Though the Empire State Building was on our radar, my brilliant plan to head up there late afternoon in order to catch sunset and follow up with the city at night was blown, as the tour had gone past five. Backup plan: let's go shopping! I wasn't planning to buy anything, but where else are you going to find so many flagship stores besides on fifth ave?
There were some familiar places -- Bloomingdales (ran into Zach from Cedar Point manning the watch booth) and THE Apple Store, all sleek and modern beneath a glass cube exterior. Then there were the unfamiliar. We perused the Louis Vuitton outlet; I was aghast at $600 plain polo shirts, but Clint was loving the $4k coat he tried on. I got yelled at for taking a photo inside Tiffany's, which didn't even bother listing prices. And somewhere in the middle of it all was the magical fantastical FAO Schwarz, which I had only seen in the movie Big but never visited. There it was, the Big Piano in all of its harmonic glory. Whereas Toys R' Us has an industrial, and dare I say Times Square manic-like feeling, FAO was cozy, warm, inviting. The kind of store one can get lost in without someone willing to pull you back out.
As the evening progressed, the shops began closing their doors -- it was time to move on. Next on the agenda, as alluded to earlier, was the Empire State Building. I mean, they're open until 2! Plenty of time, especially with the waits that place has. Well, apparently not on Sunday nights they don't. We snaked through a lengthy yet empty queue no doubt set up to hold a couple thousand visitors. Meanwhile the staff, who more or less outnumbered the tourists 2-to-1 and had noticeably little to do, felt obligated to yell and pester people. I even took a name, though I was too lazy to report him.
Unfortunately the observation deck left something to be desired as well. Half was closed off due to supposed high winds, while the entire interior was being remodeled and looked terrible. Luckily our NYC passes got us in for free, though I doubt everyone else got their trip for half off. Oh, and I may have been less than enthused that my camera battery had lost its charge too.
Given our luck in that building it should have occurred to us to skip the restaurant on the first floor, but it was already after 9, our stomachs were growling, and it didn't look half bad. Oops. We were seated at a tiny table sandwiched tightly between two other tables, we might as well have combined them all together. Our waiter apparently forgot he was in the service industry. And the food... well, the steak was ok, but I still think it may have played a role in the following day's misery.
As we walked back down 34th, we passed no fewer than about 30 police cars traveling in the opposite direction, each following another and all with their sirens blaring. Such a force would exceed that of most towns, but here they are, zipping by as if the Cloverfield Monster was spotted by the Brooklyn Bridge. Gotta love NY.
The day concludes underground, as we attempt to find our way back to the NJ Transit part of Penn Station. Oh how did we forget about the tiny staircase or the escalator tucked off to the side? Finally we found it (and with over a half hour to spare!) but after Clint nearly got hit with a lawsuit from a crazy nutjob (don't ask), we decided to go shopping one last time. And what better place than a subterranean K-Mart! Not knowing how many floors beneath ground level we were only made it even more surreal.
Back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. Only one day left in the city, I hope it's memorable...
First, who knew that a full day of running around NYC could take so much out of you? We overslept by an hour, then by the time we got to the lobby we learned we had just missed the hourly shuttle to the train junction. "Oh, there'll be another in 15-20 minutes when he comes back," said the handsome yet tragically clueless desk clerk. We waited for the next hour in the lobby as Giants fans dressed only in Giants jerseys and Giants colors went in and out, completely oblivious to the realization that it was their actions, in fact, that caused the automatic revolving door to keep e-stopping.
Eventually we boarded the shuttle and made it to the Secaucus Train Junction; compared to the PATH system, one would think this particular stop was built exclusively for American monarchy. Double-decker trains? Friendly employees? Cleanliness?! Toto, we're not in Jersey City anymore.
We arrive at the underground clusterfuck known as Penn Station. Had I been more aware of my surroundings, I may have left a breadcrumb trail in which to follow back that evening. How silly of me!
But first things first -- get to Rockefeller Center so we can get our free admission to the tours offered there. Yes, for just $105 for 3-days, we got into those tours for free; the museums for free; a zillion other places for free. It's an amazing deal, especially if you cram a lot in. But back to the Rock; it turns out that getting both tours on the same day was unadvisable, so we took an afternoon time for the Rockefeller Center tour and a Monday morning spot for the NBC Studios tour. We then had some time free and our tummies were rumbling, so...
... Lunchtime it was! Once again, Urbanspoon did a terrible job of making recommendations; or perhaps I was just confused when $$ in Ohio most certainly didn't correlate with $$ in NYC. It soon turned to "that place! smells of food! we go to there now!" or something, and Ray's Pizza it was. It felt slightly franchise-y (it is) yet local enough to not feel like I traveled 500 miles to eat at a chain restaurant. But holy cow was the pizza good! Found yet another winner here.
From there we jaunted over to mid-midtown (25th street, to be precise) so we could partake in one of the city's other cultural gems: The Museum of Sex. Free with our pass, we were wholly unprepared for the triple gallery of animal sexual habits, human sexuality in the media, and gadgets and other sexual aids throughout history. But sure enough, there were petrified penises of all shapes and sizes, sculptures of deer mounting each other, stories about homosexual necrophiliac ducks, and who could forget the panda porn video? The visual fun certainly didn't end when in the next room, tabletop screens were looping the Paris Hilton sex video while other TVs were showing everything from nudist films to There's Something About Mary. Did I mention the gift shop? No? Well I guess you'll just have to visit there yourself!
Rush back up to 49th (today was all-subway, mind you) for our Rock tour. We meet up with our tour guide and about 20 or so others; we're given wireless receivers and headphones so we can listed to our guide amongst the crowds (a necessity, given the seemingly millions of people there that day to take pictures of themselves in front of a tree). We roamed the hallways of 30 Rock, learning about the art on the walls and the history of how the complex came to be. At other points, we cut across streets to buildings I never guessed were part of the Center, and later took shortcuts in the expansive (and warm!) concourse below ground level. So despite disapopintingly not getting to see Liz Lemon, Jack Donneghy or Tracy Jordan, I still felt more educated and enlightened afterwards.
Though the Empire State Building was on our radar, my brilliant plan to head up there late afternoon in order to catch sunset and follow up with the city at night was blown, as the tour had gone past five. Backup plan: let's go shopping! I wasn't planning to buy anything, but where else are you going to find so many flagship stores besides on fifth ave?
There were some familiar places -- Bloomingdales (ran into Zach from Cedar Point manning the watch booth) and THE Apple Store, all sleek and modern beneath a glass cube exterior. Then there were the unfamiliar. We perused the Louis Vuitton outlet; I was aghast at $600 plain polo shirts, but Clint was loving the $4k coat he tried on. I got yelled at for taking a photo inside Tiffany's, which didn't even bother listing prices. And somewhere in the middle of it all was the magical fantastical FAO Schwarz, which I had only seen in the movie Big but never visited. There it was, the Big Piano in all of its harmonic glory. Whereas Toys R' Us has an industrial, and dare I say Times Square manic-like feeling, FAO was cozy, warm, inviting. The kind of store one can get lost in without someone willing to pull you back out.
As the evening progressed, the shops began closing their doors -- it was time to move on. Next on the agenda, as alluded to earlier, was the Empire State Building. I mean, they're open until 2! Plenty of time, especially with the waits that place has. Well, apparently not on Sunday nights they don't. We snaked through a lengthy yet empty queue no doubt set up to hold a couple thousand visitors. Meanwhile the staff, who more or less outnumbered the tourists 2-to-1 and had noticeably little to do, felt obligated to yell and pester people. I even took a name, though I was too lazy to report him.
Unfortunately the observation deck left something to be desired as well. Half was closed off due to supposed high winds, while the entire interior was being remodeled and looked terrible. Luckily our NYC passes got us in for free, though I doubt everyone else got their trip for half off. Oh, and I may have been less than enthused that my camera battery had lost its charge too.
Given our luck in that building it should have occurred to us to skip the restaurant on the first floor, but it was already after 9, our stomachs were growling, and it didn't look half bad. Oops. We were seated at a tiny table sandwiched tightly between two other tables, we might as well have combined them all together. Our waiter apparently forgot he was in the service industry. And the food... well, the steak was ok, but I still think it may have played a role in the following day's misery.
As we walked back down 34th, we passed no fewer than about 30 police cars traveling in the opposite direction, each following another and all with their sirens blaring. Such a force would exceed that of most towns, but here they are, zipping by as if the Cloverfield Monster was spotted by the Brooklyn Bridge. Gotta love NY.
The day concludes underground, as we attempt to find our way back to the NJ Transit part of Penn Station. Oh how did we forget about the tiny staircase or the escalator tucked off to the side? Finally we found it (and with over a half hour to spare!) but after Clint nearly got hit with a lawsuit from a crazy nutjob (don't ask), we decided to go shopping one last time. And what better place than a subterranean K-Mart! Not knowing how many floors beneath ground level we were only made it even more surreal.
Back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. Only one day left in the city, I hope it's memorable...
Birthday Weekend / NYC - Part Dos
Clint and I wake up, both exhausted, but realize that we can't pass up the unique opportunity to experience a Fuddrucker's breakfast.
Much to our chagrin, it was your typical hotel continental breakfast, just situated on the island normally reserved for soda fountains and condiments. I wanted the unlimited fries, dammit! Knowing that the workers were preparing for a much more delicious lunch made things all the more unbearable.
Outraged, not really, we left. To NYC! As anyone who has ever been to the region can attest, the highways and routes -- particularly within New Jersey -- are all masterfully laid out and easy to navigate. Right. Not even five minutes in, we manage to get lost; the next hour is spent looking out for big buildings in the distance so we can say "go that way!". Even the iPhone was confused.
Numerous bridges and exits and tolls and byways later, we get to Journal Square in Jersey City and take the lovely PATH train in to Midtown. We're also joined by old college pal and walking wikipedia (accuracy questionable) Ashish. Under the Hudson we go...
Clint and I's first thought upon exiting onto a Manhattan street? "If this were practically any other city, there'd be no one walking around right now." Not here. Good luck not getting trampled, for one. Luckily the street artists help add some magic to the atmosphere (or is that coming from the sewer?).
We WALK from 34th to Times Square. Nevermind that it feels like 10 degrees outside and there's an underground shuttle between the PATH and TS, Ashish says walking is good for you! And faster! Frankly, verification needed -- I want to question his sources.
Nonetheless, a couple of pit stops are made. Stopped inside the coolest Walgreen's ever, picked up our NYC passes at Planet Hollywood (a superb deal if you want to do the touristy thing; details later), and checked out the TKTS offerings... even though Clint and I already knew what we were seeing later that day :)
The topic of lunch reared its ugly head; I may have mentioned Mexican cuisine, and behold! Ashish knew a great restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. More bitter cold walking, and we arrive at this teeny-tiny little cavern run by... definite authentic Mexicans. Let's just say I felt out of place until I started injecting what little Spanish I remembered into my order. Quite a good burrito though! And then we got the Mexican equivalent of Chiclets. Muy bueno!
*Finally* took the subway to the upper east side to get to the Guggenheim. These all-day subway metrocards won't use themselves, you know! Pass our 58th or so Duane Ready so far today. Finally make it to the museum, which is quite an awe-inspiring work of architecture. So much in fact, that it tends to overshadow the actual art that's inside! In hindsight, while whisking through the museum was fun and all, I think a much more meaningful experience would be had by listening to the audio tour. We saw lots of photographs from a strange lesbian lady, and it would have helped to have known what she was thinking about when capturing her subjects.
Sadly, 6pm waits for no one, and around 5:15 we left so that Clint and I could make our 'show'. We were almost slowed down by Mr. Macho Intoxicado as we headed down to our station; he claims one of us bumped him on the stairs, then proceeded to yell at us and try to start a fight (in front of security, no less). After some dipolmacy, he shakes our hands and offers to buy our fares. Only in NY!
So the Lexington line does run southbound past 59th street though, which made me heavily question Ashish's logic of walking no fewer than EIGHT streets and SEVEN avenues to get to our destination on time. I imagine my frustration was becoming apparent. "NO I don't want to stop at FAO Schwarz! NO I don't want to stop at the Apple Store! Stop tempting me!" We ultimately arrive at the New World theatre will call office only three minutes prior to the published showtime. We leave Ashish to his own devices for an hour and a half, while we enjoy a mesmerizing performance of...
... "Naked Boys Singing!" Yes, it was a show that delivered upon everything it promised. Eight guys (of varying attractiveness, but none who were unattractive), all singing, dancing, and enjoying the company of each others'... full and complete nakedness. There weren't any Austin Powers-like props here to artfully hide the goods either; everyone in the audience saw more male nudity than probably anywhere in the world short of a bathhouse. The play itself was clever enough to distract us all from simply gawking, and the stage-trained performers were quite adept and capable when it came to the acting and singing parts. (Well, except for one, but his perfect, chiseled body more than made up for the handicap.) Sadly, as one might imagine, there was absolutely no picture taking allowed... until afterwards, when a $5 donation to AIDS research netted you a personal pic with four of the hottest guys in the show, shirtless. In hindsight, I do think I was dreaming all of this!
Too early for dinner but too late for many of the touristy places our NYC pass would get us into, we finally settled on heading back towards the Upper East Side/Central Park area in order to check out the Met, which would close at 9. History has gone prime time!
Reunited with Ashish, we make it to the museum with only about a half hour to explore; certainly we would only experience but a small percentage of the building tonight. Checked out some ancient Egyptian artifacts and caught a glimpse of our own American history before the ushers coordinated their "get the hell out!" procedure. Definitely need to go back.
By this point our tummies were rumbling, and snow had befallen the city. Quite pretty actually. After agreeing on Italian though not finding anything suitable near the museum, we trekked back (VIA SUBWAY) to Hells Kitchen. Ashish had eaten a couple times at a small eatery called Mangia y Bevi (Eat and Drink, in Italian, naturally); after a brief wait, we're seated in what could have easily turned out to be a nightmare -- four bachelorette parties going on simultaneously in this compact restaurant. Perhaps it was the good music, or all the Sangria, but I absolutely loved it! Food was top-notch as well. I probably will never return (something about wanting to try some of NY's other 9,000 or so restaurants whenever I visit), but I wholeheartedly recommend it to others. Just make sure they have a couple of parties booked when you go.
The night was still young, so a trip back to Times Square was in order. Who knows whether it was due to the Christmas season or just typical TS craziness, but we went shopping at Toys 'R Us circa midnight, and the place was still mobbed. For some reason, I always make it a point to stop in whenever I'm visiting the city; not a whole lot ever changes inside, but what they do have still leaves me awestruck.
Capping off the evening, we head to the Marriott Marquee eighth-floor lounge overlooking Times Square for some not-quite-inexpensive drinks and people-watching. Snagged a table right by the window and took tons of pictures of the neon city outside. I even find Vegas to be a distant second to the spectacle of TS at night.
A long day culminated in the desire to not hit any clubs or bars for fear of not waking up the next day. Take the PATH back to NJ, say my goodbyes to Ashish, and drive over to Secaucus to check in at the Sheraton.
Then, reality sets back in when we discover that our hotel is directly across the highway from Giants stadium, and Sunday's a home game. Tomorrow, our only challenge will be... to escape.
Much to our chagrin, it was your typical hotel continental breakfast, just situated on the island normally reserved for soda fountains and condiments. I wanted the unlimited fries, dammit! Knowing that the workers were preparing for a much more delicious lunch made things all the more unbearable.
Outraged, not really, we left. To NYC! As anyone who has ever been to the region can attest, the highways and routes -- particularly within New Jersey -- are all masterfully laid out and easy to navigate. Right. Not even five minutes in, we manage to get lost; the next hour is spent looking out for big buildings in the distance so we can say "go that way!". Even the iPhone was confused.
Numerous bridges and exits and tolls and byways later, we get to Journal Square in Jersey City and take the lovely PATH train in to Midtown. We're also joined by old college pal and walking wikipedia (accuracy questionable) Ashish. Under the Hudson we go...
Clint and I's first thought upon exiting onto a Manhattan street? "If this were practically any other city, there'd be no one walking around right now." Not here. Good luck not getting trampled, for one. Luckily the street artists help add some magic to the atmosphere (or is that coming from the sewer?).
We WALK from 34th to Times Square. Nevermind that it feels like 10 degrees outside and there's an underground shuttle between the PATH and TS, Ashish says walking is good for you! And faster! Frankly, verification needed -- I want to question his sources.
Nonetheless, a couple of pit stops are made. Stopped inside the coolest Walgreen's ever, picked up our NYC passes at Planet Hollywood (a superb deal if you want to do the touristy thing; details later), and checked out the TKTS offerings... even though Clint and I already knew what we were seeing later that day :)
The topic of lunch reared its ugly head; I may have mentioned Mexican cuisine, and behold! Ashish knew a great restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. More bitter cold walking, and we arrive at this teeny-tiny little cavern run by... definite authentic Mexicans. Let's just say I felt out of place until I started injecting what little Spanish I remembered into my order. Quite a good burrito though! And then we got the Mexican equivalent of Chiclets. Muy bueno!
*Finally* took the subway to the upper east side to get to the Guggenheim. These all-day subway metrocards won't use themselves, you know! Pass our 58th or so Duane Ready so far today. Finally make it to the museum, which is quite an awe-inspiring work of architecture. So much in fact, that it tends to overshadow the actual art that's inside! In hindsight, while whisking through the museum was fun and all, I think a much more meaningful experience would be had by listening to the audio tour. We saw lots of photographs from a strange lesbian lady, and it would have helped to have known what she was thinking about when capturing her subjects.
Sadly, 6pm waits for no one, and around 5:15 we left so that Clint and I could make our 'show'. We were almost slowed down by Mr. Macho Intoxicado as we headed down to our station; he claims one of us bumped him on the stairs, then proceeded to yell at us and try to start a fight (in front of security, no less). After some dipolmacy, he shakes our hands and offers to buy our fares. Only in NY!
So the Lexington line does run southbound past 59th street though, which made me heavily question Ashish's logic of walking no fewer than EIGHT streets and SEVEN avenues to get to our destination on time. I imagine my frustration was becoming apparent. "NO I don't want to stop at FAO Schwarz! NO I don't want to stop at the Apple Store! Stop tempting me!" We ultimately arrive at the New World theatre will call office only three minutes prior to the published showtime. We leave Ashish to his own devices for an hour and a half, while we enjoy a mesmerizing performance of...
... "Naked Boys Singing!" Yes, it was a show that delivered upon everything it promised. Eight guys (of varying attractiveness, but none who were unattractive), all singing, dancing, and enjoying the company of each others'... full and complete nakedness. There weren't any Austin Powers-like props here to artfully hide the goods either; everyone in the audience saw more male nudity than probably anywhere in the world short of a bathhouse. The play itself was clever enough to distract us all from simply gawking, and the stage-trained performers were quite adept and capable when it came to the acting and singing parts. (Well, except for one, but his perfect, chiseled body more than made up for the handicap.) Sadly, as one might imagine, there was absolutely no picture taking allowed... until afterwards, when a $5 donation to AIDS research netted you a personal pic with four of the hottest guys in the show, shirtless. In hindsight, I do think I was dreaming all of this!
Too early for dinner but too late for many of the touristy places our NYC pass would get us into, we finally settled on heading back towards the Upper East Side/Central Park area in order to check out the Met, which would close at 9. History has gone prime time!
Reunited with Ashish, we make it to the museum with only about a half hour to explore; certainly we would only experience but a small percentage of the building tonight. Checked out some ancient Egyptian artifacts and caught a glimpse of our own American history before the ushers coordinated their "get the hell out!" procedure. Definitely need to go back.
By this point our tummies were rumbling, and snow had befallen the city. Quite pretty actually. After agreeing on Italian though not finding anything suitable near the museum, we trekked back (VIA SUBWAY) to Hells Kitchen. Ashish had eaten a couple times at a small eatery called Mangia y Bevi (Eat and Drink, in Italian, naturally); after a brief wait, we're seated in what could have easily turned out to be a nightmare -- four bachelorette parties going on simultaneously in this compact restaurant. Perhaps it was the good music, or all the Sangria, but I absolutely loved it! Food was top-notch as well. I probably will never return (something about wanting to try some of NY's other 9,000 or so restaurants whenever I visit), but I wholeheartedly recommend it to others. Just make sure they have a couple of parties booked when you go.
The night was still young, so a trip back to Times Square was in order. Who knows whether it was due to the Christmas season or just typical TS craziness, but we went shopping at Toys 'R Us circa midnight, and the place was still mobbed. For some reason, I always make it a point to stop in whenever I'm visiting the city; not a whole lot ever changes inside, but what they do have still leaves me awestruck.
Capping off the evening, we head to the Marriott Marquee eighth-floor lounge overlooking Times Square for some not-quite-inexpensive drinks and people-watching. Snagged a table right by the window and took tons of pictures of the neon city outside. I even find Vegas to be a distant second to the spectacle of TS at night.
A long day culminated in the desire to not hit any clubs or bars for fear of not waking up the next day. Take the PATH back to NJ, say my goodbyes to Ashish, and drive over to Secaucus to check in at the Sheraton.
Then, reality sets back in when we discover that our hotel is directly across the highway from Giants stadium, and Sunday's a home game. Tomorrow, our only challenge will be... to escape.
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