ny
continued from panama part 2 (and part 1 before that) …
We got on a plane in Panama in 30 something degrees heat (with sunburnt thighs from a day on the water) and flew 5 hours north to New York City. Shortly after lunch we stepped out to minus something temperatures and some snowflakes at the airport! After a taxi ride to our very hip (Collective Paper Factory) accom in Queens, we hit the streets of New York and realised just what we had gotten ourselves into. We knew it would be cold, November in New York City is unlikely to be anything else. But even with puffer jackets and beanies we were still freezing our butts off in the brutal wind. I had forgotten how it feels to be this cold, the coldest I feel in Hong Kong is when the AC is turned down too low in the office! Seems I have gotten a little soft. We struggled through the first day or so, rushing between shops and cafes and drinking unhealthy amounts of hot chocolate/coffee to stay warm, then we cracked and went shopping. Wooly long johns and a proper pair of winter shoes later and I was a much happier camper.
Evening one we strolled the streets, hit the lights of Times Square and drooled our way through the M n M’s store. The next morning we shivered our way along the High Line, enjoying the river views, sculptures and patches of sunshine. We got off and headed for Chelsea Market with some very specific instructions from a friend to “get the chinese noodles”. Whilst exploring the market, salvating at every stall, it took too long to find them at first so we enjoyed a classic Hot Dog followed up with sugared mini donuts. We bought a cute art print of Times Square as a souvenir and just as we headed out of the market, we spotted the noodles. It had to be done. Queuing was worth it as you could watch the noodles being bashed and stretched before your eyes, then a delicious spicy bowl of looooong noodles somehow smushed its way into our already full bellies.
We headed next to the site of the world trade center, discovering the stunning building ‘The Oculus’, along the way. While we admired the incredible architecture from within, we also got to watch a USA style arrest as police chased someone down and handcuffed them, we then made our way out to the impressive 911 memorial. That night we had tickets to a show in the Comedy Cellar so we headed in that direction, finding some sushi for dinner along the way (including chicken and avo sushi to my delight!). We had been recommended the comedy by a friend, and it really delivered. Interestingly, we had to put our cellphones in a sealed envelope upon entry and the seating was quite a mixture of styles so we ended up sharing a couch with another 2 people. A couple of drinks came with the ticket, so while we all enjoyed our wines we got chatting to our couch-mates, turned out we were chatting with the senator of Ohio (Democrat) who was on his first visit to New York, very interesting person to meet. The comedy show itself was also great, really high standard, even though it’s known as a place where comedians test out new material, overall such a good night out!
Next day we hit Brooklyn for a hipster cafe breakfast, some shopping (Everlane in real life!), and some great pizza slices for lunch. We walked across the infamous Brooklyn Bridge, dodging selfie-takers (and joining them, lets-be-honest), cyclists and dog walkers as we made our way over. After wandering around the city, drinking it in a bit more, we ended up at the waterfront watching the sun set behind the statue of liberty. Our highlight for the evening was the Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, say what you like about America, they sure know how to create atmosphere at a sports game. From kiss-cam to dancing-cam, t-shirt cannons and half time shows, it was action from start to finish without even looking at the basketball! It was a top game in and of itself, the first time back at the garden for a former Knicks star who defected to the opposition. He was booed, hissed and harassed every time he touched the ball. I felt sorry for him but it sure made for great entertainment, we were treated to a thriller of a finish, with the home team coming out on top to the joy of their passionate fans.
Our final full day in the city started with a bike ride through central park, the weather was dramatically warmer than our first day and autumn colours were in full bloom. In a total coincidence, our flatmate was in NY for work so joined us for the day. After working up an appetite, we made our way to a highly recommended burger spot which definitely did NOT disappoint - we all had a ‘5 Napkin Burger’ (beef, gruyere, caramelized onions, rosemary and garlic aioli) - yum. With a few hours to kill before our broadway show started we found ourselves at “Spy Scape”. Billing itself as a digital interactive museum experience around the theme of spies we didn’t know exactly what was waiting for us, but it was kinda cool. We got an electronic bracelet, then after an impressive elevator entrance we found ourselves walking from exhibition to exhibition “checking in” by scanning our bracelets. When you would scan in you would have some sort of challenge to complete, to see what sort of spy you would be, and how good. After going through the interesting (and rather competitive!) challenges we all got a full-on analysis provided, apparently I would be best placed as an “intelligence analyst” were I to become a spy! Perhaps it’s a secret recruiting tactic for the CIA …. still waiting for the phone to ring. We ended our trip to NYC on Broadway seeing “Wicked” (the wizard of Oz spinoff), it was a pretty cool musical and good way to end an epic 2 weeks away!
