The joy of the second visit: you gawk less and experience more.
Meann, Cathy and I had all been to New York City once before and seen most of the tourist traps. Thus, we started the trip with a shortlist of sights/events we wanted to cover. I had two items: watch Rent before it closed on Broadway, and visit Ellis Island (inspired by Hitch). Meanwhile, Cathy wanted to catch the Sex in the City tour and visit the Top of the Rock. Meann wanted to catch Wicked but otherwise was just along for the ride.
Cathy and I arrived earlier, and spent Saturday braving the holiday crowds on the ferry to see Ellis Island. We passed by Liberty Island on the way over and caught the Statue of Liberty up close—a stirring sight. We had lunch at Grand Central and walked down Times Square to the Rockefeller Center. We took the trip to the top of the Rockefeller (Top of the Rock) which has, in my opinion, a better view than the Empire State Building. We were ready to call it a day but got waylaid by subway delays and so decided to stop by Chinatown for a cheap, if boring, dinner (when will we ever learn: Zagat-rated means nothing in the context of Chinese restaurants).
Meann flew in Saturday night and joined us Sunday when we explored the street market in Times Square. Paintings, electronics, garments, and food galore. We got our fill of food (and shopping, in Meann’s case) before we decided to go to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). OK, I am not a museum fan but I had to tick this off my list. And I figured: if I had to go to a museum, I figure I’d go to one that had paintings of Campbell soup (that famous Andy Warhol painting), than paintings of people cavorting by the sea. Spent ~ 2 hours touring the exhibits before we decided to meet back up with Meann—who had decided to go to Mass instead—on 5th Avenue. The high tax rate discouraged any attempt at shopping and for that, I was glad. I wanted to find this Korean restaurant I read about but was overruled by my hungry and tired companion. Instead, we walked four blocks to Grand Central for a late lunch.
Lunch was uneventful—if you can call getting separated and getting reunited after 2 and a half hours that. It was my fault really: I figured I’d claim our Rent tickets and save us time later that night. I thought 42nd street was just two blocks away from 44th street, not accounting for the West side/East side split. Long story short, our small group reunited at Central Park at 4pm. We decided to spend what was left of the afternoon recharging at the Serendipity Café (featured in the movie of the same title). It was not meant to be, as, apparently, you needed reservations to have any chance of eating at that snooty restaurant. We decided to hie off to the theater instead.
Rent did not disappoint. As a bonus, Tamyra Gray (the American Idol Season I stand-out) was playing Mimi. Not really a fan but heard enough of her to know she was good. She led a cast that was good overall, but not altogether outstanding. Having seen Rent on Broadway, I still think the Manila production (the first one at the Music Museum) was better. – “No day but today” was still playing in our heads when we got to our hotel.
We were flying out on Monday afternoon so we had planned for a lazy day walking around the city. Au, who we knew from Manila before she moved to the US for her masters and work, graciously agreed to meet up for lunch at a Filipino restaurant called Krystal Cafe. Filipino buffet pig-out! I had my fill of dinuguan, pancit bam-i, menudo, paksiw na bangus, lechon kawali, fried chicken, and cake at a bargain price of $8 including taxes. (To note: this part of town (Woodside) had a BPI, PNB, NEPA-Q, and several other Filipino restaurants, all under the raised platform of the track 7 subway. Au described it best when she said it was like being under an LRT station in Manila.
Recharged after lunch, we decided to take the subway to Manhattan and spend the rest of the time in NYC getting toured by a local. Au suggested Magnolia Bakery (featured in Sex and the City) and that became the destination. We ended up walking at least ten blocks to get there but no one complained (too much). We cut through SoHo and midtown--- with its designer and eccentric shops, before we got to the bakery. A life snaked out the door and around the corner but I wasn’t about to let that discourage me. We found a spot in a park around the corner from the bakery, and rested our tired feet and sated our craving for sweets.
There wasn’t a lot of time after that so we said our goodbyes to Au, who had been the perfect hostess, and took our last subway ride back to the hotel. We didn’t fully account for the time it took going back and after a great rush, we made it to the airport just in time for our flight.
In all, the trip was satisfying. We got through most of our shortlist albeit not entirely (Cathy got a very SATC-eque picture with sailors, and visited Magnolia Café; and Meann? Well, her feet turned green from all the walking =). – Too bad we weren’t able to meet up with Ben/Clovy and Penpen (who flew to NYC the same weekend). I can’t but look forward to our third trip to NYC.
What can I say: I Heart New York
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