Little ol' me in the Big Apple (2)

This was originally posted May 3rd, 2008.

Tuesday morning. Tweety and I were planning on what to see and do when Nuke calls. Strangely enough he didn’t get my message, but he read my E-mail. He sounds very nice over the phone. We arranged to meet in the hotel lobby the next day. Doug also called to check out the possibilities of meeting. We ended up agreeing on later that day for dinner and an improv show in Chelsea. Tweety and I had breakfast at the hotel (Raffles), and I was reminded why I never have breakfast at a hotel (unless it’s included); this one was expensive and in my opinion less than mediocre. We could’ve gotten two tasty brekkies each at another place for that kind of money. Outside it appears to be another rainy day as Tweety and I go for another shopping attempt. I finally get my pair of classic Angel brogues by John Fluevog. I’m so happy about it it’s simply ridiculous! (Ever since I saw Canadian actress Jessica Steen with the coolest pair of shoes I wanted a pair myself. When I visited Vancouver, BC, last year I somehow missed the Fluevog store...) We met with Doug at the post office at Penn Station, before walking into Chelsea. It’s obvious that Chelsea is where the boys are. We ended up at Better Burger where Tweety and I both had juicy organic beef burgers and air baked fries, and Doug a yummie looking salad. Afterwards I get a new cell phone (quad band) at Best Buy; I am content with the purchase (it certainly is cheaper than in my country). We then met up with Doug’s “hot date” (he’s got nice eyes) and went to the UCB theatre for the improve show. There’s a $5 cover charge, and that’s it. Apparently the show started at 6:30 pm and people were able to walk in and out freely. Even though Tweety and I didn’t get all the references, we both enjoyed it. After the improve we went back to Penn Station where Doug’s train’s just left and his date missed his. Tweety and I each get a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts; I remembered why I don’t eat them, Tweety didn’t like them either.

Thursday, our last day in the Big Apple. Tweety and I sleep in and check out on time. She arranged the airport shuttle transportation the previous day so we didn't have to worry about that anymore. The only thing that bugged me a little was that we were going to be picked up from the hotel 5 (yes, that's FIVE) hours prior to the flight. Given the fact that we need to check in 3 hours in advance, that would mean we would be in that van for two hours (picking up other passengers, too). It was such a beautiful day that after a late breakfast - at Long Wood Gournet across the street - we went to Bryant Park and relax. Tweety enjoyed the sun and watched people (we did that a lot from our breakfast place) while I updated my travel journal. I had taken my film to Duane Reade (a well known NY drugstore) to get my photographs developed, which I picked up on our way back to the hotel. I haven't been snapping away like mad (like I usually tend to do) but the pictures I had taken all turned out fine; Tweety's snapped a lot of pictures, too. We went online for the last time, then picked up our luggage from the cloak room and waited for the airport shuttle to pick us up. If we thought the driver of the shuttle bus who took us to the hotel was rude, this one was actually even ruder. (We didn't tip him when we got to the airport.)
Anyhoo, we passed a lot of landmarks when we were in New York City: Empire State Building (King Kong), Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, One Bryant Park (the city's greenest sky scraper), Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall (we saw a newly wed couple pass by), the court houses on Center Street (with the Criminal Courthouse on 100 Center St - insert theme of Law & Order), New York Public Library, CBGB's and Joey Ramone's Place (I forgot to get a T-shirt), Times Square, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, Grand Central, Chelsea Hotel, United Nations, Waldorf-Astoria, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza (with an American version of l'Arc de Triomphe), Park Slope Food Co-op, Princeton University (in Princeton, NJ) as well as the house where Einstein once lived... I had a great time - I hope Tweety did too - and I've learned that traveling with company means I should let go of me being a control freak *gasp!* Thank you Tweety for pointing that out. Funny, that this side of me comes out most when I'm traveling... Or does it? Sounds like I still have some work to do.

Wednesday: Dutch Queen’s Day. I know it sounds wrong, but it’s really to celebrate the birthday of our Queen’s mom. Nuke called to inform me there’s a slight change of plans; we won’t be going to Brooklyn, but the Nuke family will travel into New York City and we’d meet them in the lobby later. Too bad he won’t be able to show me his comic store... Maybe next time? Nuke suggested we check out Rockefeller Center and an attraction called Top of the Rock, but on our way to Rockefeller Center Tweety and I passed a Borders and a Barnes & Noble. And guess what. I had to go in. (And we never made it to Rockefeller Center – we did walked by it before.) I did find some organic skin products in another store which, according to Tweety, are good buys. And talking about skin, mine seemed to get more irritated and redder by the day and I know it’s due to the wall to wall carpeting and the mattress. It may sound weird, but one word: mites. I’m allergic to them, and combine that with the fact that we can’t really open the window to let fresh air in (we tried it, until we found out firsthand our room was somewhere above some greasy food place).

Anyhoo, Tweety and I go back to the hotel and wait for my friends (who call in to say they were stuck in traffic). It was very nice to finally meet Nuke, Sarah and little Tirzah. They had swung by the comic shop and picked up their stock, and my first two volumes of Terry Moore’s new comic series “Echo”. I was pleasantly surprised to find out Nuke got me the special edition of vol. 1 (with the silver foil). Seriously; whoa! We walked to Bryant Park and enjoyed the nice weather. Tirzah’s one smart cookie - she takes after both her parents in that department. She told everybody she got bitten by a bird, and Sarah told Tweety and me that it scared her so much she didn’t dare putting on her PJs with dragons all over them, afraid they might bite her, too. The park is small but nice, and I point out to my friends we actually passed it a few days before on our way to our hotel and in search of a place to have dinner. We visit the New York Public Library (adjacent to the park) which is huge. And has exhibitions inside. Of course I ended up buying a book in the library store: “The Street Law Handbook – surviving sex, drugs and petty crime”. Nuke observed that it’s work related (and that there’s nothing wrong with that)... Heh.

Since Tweety and I basically skipped lunch (we had a “kosher” hot dog) we were hungry a little earlier than normal. Navigating through Little Brazil towards “Le Marais” Tweety and I noticed the similarities between this hood and a hood in Antwerp, Belgium (near Central Station) where all the little diamond shops are. Nuke tells me that some of the shop owners have families in Antwerp. There you go. He also tells me that the restaurant we were going to was one of the few ones that has tasty kosher dishes and dairy free desserts. Tweety and I both had the rotisserie chicken, and it was delicious. Tirzah and I bonded over French fries, which I found very amusing. While Tweety saved some space for dessert (a yummie chocolate cake) Nuke and I went for some Scotch. By the end of our meals we were stuffed (Tweety and I certainly were, and we were grateful for that short walk back to the hotel). Since Tirzah needed a nappy change we all went up to our room – which was in a bit of a mess since we were already packing our stuff. Tirzah got introduced to Kat Moose, aka Moose Lee, who she cuddled shortly before giving me back the stuffed animal. Thank you Nuke family for taking Tweety and me out for dinner; I think it was an excellent ending to our stay in New York City.

Thursday, our last day in the Big Apple. Tweety and I sleep in and check out on time. She arranged the airport shuttle transportation the previous day so we didn't have to worry about that anymore. The only thing that bugged me a little was that we were going to be picked up from the hotel 5 (yes, that's FIVE) hours prior to the flight. Given the fact that we need to check in 3 hours in advance, that would mean we would be in that van for two hours (picking up other passengers, too). It was such a beautiful day that after a late breakfast - at Long Wood Gournet across the street - we went to Bryant Park and relax. Tweety enjoyed the sun and watched people (we did that a lot from our breakfast place) while I updated my travel journal. I had taken my film to Duane Reade (a well known NY drugstore) to get my photographs developed, which I picked up on our way back to the hotel. I haven't been snapping away like mad (like I usually tend to do) but the pictures I had taken all turned out fine; Tweety's snapped a lot of pictures, too. We went online for the last time, then picked up our luggage from the cloak room and waited for the airport shuttle to pick us up. If we thought the driver of the shuttle bus who took us to the hotel was rude, this one was actually even ruder. (We didn't tip him when we got to the airport.)

Anyhoo, we passed a lot of landmarks when we were in New York City: Empire State Building (King Kong), Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, One Bryant Park (the city's greenest sky scraper), Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall (we saw a newly wed couple pass by), the court houses on Center Street (with the Criminal Courthouse on 100 Center St - insert theme of Law & Order), New York Public Library, CBGB's and Joey Ramone's Place (I forgot to get a T-shirt), Times Square, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station, Grand Central, Chelsea Hotel, United Nations, Waldorf-Astoria, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza (with an American version of l'Arc de Triomphe), Park Slope Food Co-op, Princeton University (in Princeton, NJ) as well as the house where Einstein once lived... The Debt Clock... I had a great time - I hope Tweety did too.