Meandering In The Manhattan Metropolis
Daina flew in late last night and we had arranged for her to meet us at our hotel this morning at 8am so we could make the most of her short time in New York City, being a work trip. Not surprisingly, she was very punctual (and remarkably awake and alert – must have been those business class seats Dains!) and even though it was a tad wet this morning, after a quick bite to eat at the “boofay” breakfast, we were on our way to the high line. We’d heard so much about the high line and had all been told we should walk it so that’s just what we did. It’s an old, disused, elevated freight train line that was saved and brought back from the brink of demolition, opening in 1999 as a public park and walkway. It has been so beautifully transformed into a leafy wooden boardwalk with wooden seating and areas to sit right along its garden-lined length. The integrity of its original use has been preserved also, with the train tracks still running along the path, incorporated beautifully into the design. The high line is a real oasis in the middle of busy Manhattan and was so peaceful and relaxing, suspended above the rat race down below.
We emerged near the famed Chelsea Market, which we were keen to see as none of us had ever visited before, but before we left, we just had to sample “America’s Best Coffee” (quite a bold claim) from the gorgeous New York coffee shop, Bubby’s. They had an extensive menu of pies (the sweet kind), icecream, shakes, sundaes and other mouth-watering temptations. While I admit I haven’t yet exhausted the tasting opportunities of the vast range of coffees on offer across the breadth of this big country, I can honestly say that Bubby’s did indeed serve up the best coffee I have ever had in America. Sam can also vouch for the vanilla strawberry shake Daina shouted him, saying it was “heavenly”. We were also all impressed by “the kitchen sink”, a dessert that stood out on the menu, boasting 16 scoops of icecream (yes SIXteen!), pretzels, pecans, peanuts, chocolate chip cookie crumbs, chocolate and caramel syrup, raspberry and cherry syrup, rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream, cherries on top. And an American flag. This little beauty will only set you back a cool $100 but I’m sure you’d save money on food for the rest of the week because you’d be feeling too sick to eat another thing!
Daina, Sam and I all fell in love with the Chelsea Market, a cool urban shopping mall full of mostly food stores, with a distinct New York flavour and a big pinch of trendiness (and pricetags that matched!) There was an amazing biscuit shop, with biscuits that were more pieces of art than foods, an equally amazing cake shop, (with a wedding cake that resembled a wedding dress!), a huge fresh fruit market and a shop where you could buy curry powders and every spice that existeth upon the earth, by the scoop! We just loved being there and checking everything out and didn’t even have to buy anything to soak up the atmosphere and experience. We got to sample some chocolate nuts and I couldn’t resist the salted caramel sauce. Sam even found a sausage roll at the “Tuckshop – the great Australian Bite”, making him a happy boy! The Australian girl that served him actually had the audacity to offer him ‘Ketchup’ with his sausage roll. I think she meant tomato sauce.
Next it was time to hit the shops. We descended the stairs to the city beneath the city, riding the subway (Daina’s first foray into the New York underground) to the World Trade Centre. Our first subway ride didn’t go without a hitch for me. Daina and Sam swiped their cards and seamlessly waltzed in through the revolving turnstyles. I, on the other hand, swiped my card but then hit a brick wall (not literally) when I couldn’t get through. That turnstyle was not going to let me in (despite repeated tries.) Appealing to the lady in the sealed perspex bubble counter, she impatiently told me to walk over to the door and wait. I was standing at the door waiting for a good few minutes wondering when someone was going to come and finally let me in, before I realised that loud incessant buzzing noise I could hear in the background was actually the lady behind the counter, screaming at me through her stick microphone “Open the door! Open the door! Open the door!” She certainly had the attention of the innocent bystanders in the station trained on yours truly and when I turned around to investigate all the hullaballoo I saw the woman staring at me angrily and waving her arms as she shouted. Ohhh. Why didn’t you just tell me to open the door?
We rode the E train to Ground Zero, the 9/11 Memorial Park, spending some time there reflecting on the tragedy of what happened in 2001 and admiring the beautiful park that’s been built now to commemorate all those who unexpectedly lost their lives. All of the names of the nearly 3000 victims and fallen rescuers are etched around the rims of the two huge, deep, square pools, with waterfalls continually flowing on all sides. The two pools are built on the foundation sites of each of the Twin Towers. We all found it really moving and decided not to visit the Museum as it would just be too sad.
After a stroll around the dock area (in search of a “bathroom”, which are few and far between) we jumped back on the train. There were a group of Asian ladies taking photos of each other in the carriage and Sam tilted his head, gave a big grin and photobombed their photo. They all thought it was hilarious and had a good laugh, telling Sam he looked like Justin Timberlake and that they’d tell their friends back home they’d met JT “in his natural habitat!” They then proceeded to take more photos of Sam, who also found the whole thing such a hoot!
We soon emerged from the bowels of the subway in 5th Avenue, a retailers’ paradise. We visited all our favourites and then Daina initiated Sam and I into the wonderful, pink and girly (and Sam would say creepy) world of “American Girl”. This shop (it’s more like a suburb it’s so big) is incredible. The idea is to buy a doll that resembles you – there are SO many to choose from – and then you can buy trendy matching outfits for yourself and the doll and can buy bikes, ski gear, horses, dogs, ballet tutus, jewellery, glasses – you name it – all for your little mini me. There are dolls of all nationalities and political correctness alert: you can even get them with disabilities! There’s a restaurant in there, with highchairs, (for your dolls of course) and a hairdressing salon just in case your doll needs a change of image or wants to try a new look! It’s absolute paradise for little girls but they do come with a pretty hefty price tag and once you have the doll and your little princess is hooked, it can only be downhill from there financially, with so many updates on offer! It’s fair to say that Sam was a bit scarred by the experience!
We lunched at the palatial “Trump Tower” with its floor to ceiling rust-coloured marble and then had a visit to Niketown, a five-storey metropolis of shoes, gym gear and everything any good athlete could possibly ever wish for. Sam needed some new shoes for training so bought himself some state-of-the-art joggers that pull on like a sock. He says they’re the most comfy shoes he’s ever worn. Niketown also has treadmills set up on every floor where you can try before you buy, just to minimalise blisters!
Sadly, after what had been such a fun time catching up with Daina, we had to bid her a fond farewell and head back to our hotel ready for our night at Red Bull Stadium. Her colleague was arriving soon and she still had some serious shopping to fit in!
Our journey out to Red Bull Stadium to see the Red Bulls take on the New England Revolution was a bit of a trek, involving 3 trains and a walk on either end. We started following a couple of groups of people wearing Red Bulls jerseys in the station in the hope they knew where they were going. It turns out they didn’t and we almost followed them in a complete circle! Halfway there we had the realisation that we’d actually left the tickets back at the hotel! Uh oh. Luckily, after a tense time of trying to get an internet signal in the subway, Sam was able to get them from his email and we just prayed they’d let us in without physical tickets. I was panicking a bit but I have to congratulate Sam on his poise under pressure. He somehow managed to stay calm the whole time. Takes after his dad obviously.
Eventually we made it there (tickets were accepted – phew!) and the atmosphere was fantastic! Everyone was given a complimentary red Adidas towel when they walked in! Pretty cool! We were excited to see Tim Cahill play and even though he went off in the second half, he had a great game. The Red Bull supporters were super loud and super enthusiastic, cheering and singing their chants with their drummers going full pelt on the percussion. The Revolution supporters were seriously outnumbered but still managed to be pretty loud when they scored their only goal. When the Red Bulls scored, the whole crowd waved their little red towels like matadors and the supporters let off flares! What an atmosphere! The final score was 2-1 with the Red Bulls taking the win so we left there smiling! What a great day!
