Tuesday 13th July
Another balmy morning. We head off to find the `red stairs` to meet Hope and her band, at 42nd Street Broadway. Concerned about missing them, we grab cream cheese bagels and end up in Duffy Square early. Never heard of it before, but it`s actually more than what I expected Times Square to be. The stairs are hard to miss. 40 of them 30m high, and seat the visitor in the best spot to view the 16 or so enormous screens. Toyota must have paid the most. Our favourite screen by far is the one where you see yourself.. like in the TV shops, except this screen is 150m squared! Fun to find Hope again. Quick chat. Plan to meet at Christmas when she`s over.
Fulfill Jessie`s dream to visit the M and M Mecca. Marvel at the inflated prices and the obscene amount of colourings. Now time for the big one. The ESB. We queue, but not for long. Glossy 1930s décor, feels sophisticated and a loved space – let down a tad by the synthetic gorilla we have a snap with. Paid an extra $60 to go the top - 102nd, once in a lifetime and all that. Wait. Queue. Corner. Queue. Tense excitement. Another lift to the 86th - and there it was - the greatest downpour, and most expensive shower to date! We could only see a misty 4 blocks in any direction, a few flashes of lightning and a poor guy repeating, `the storm is approaching`, into his walkie – talkie.
Another queue. More waiting. Up. The 102nd was now a hoot. Zero visibility..we all laughed, with squeals of delight when a faint gap in the clouds emerged. With a refused request to run down the stairs, we glided down in the elevator, with no evidence to show we had been there at all.
All that standing around had built up our appetites, so we nipped into a hot/cold buffet place, that sold food by the weight. A clever solution for all that food piling in the salad bar at Pizza Hut. Our plate scores in weight order were: J A M R E.
Replete for savoury, we headed for the Serendipity ice cream parlour, as of the film. With wrong directions we ended up at Union Square and a bagpiper. A generous passer by took pity on us, and googled - confirmed our mistake and recommended Max Brenners instead. Wow! Willy Wonka eat your heart out! The smell, the look, the anticipation.. the tastes did not disappoint. The girls each had `hot chocolates to create moustaches` - and we shared a fondue between us, involving various fruit homemade cakes, marshmallows and a miniature marshmallow burner on the table. With fitting music for occasion (eg Sweetest Thing by U2, Englishman in New York by Sting..) we smiled as we took it all in, and felt increasingly sick. We wished our dads were here. They would have loved it! Leave slightly sticky and somewhat slower.
Now for a long march to West 10th Avenue for my big dream visit – the Highline. Stop to buy drink and find a rest room for
Andy who`s already in the wars with chaffing and blisters. Eve`s tetchy now too. Reach scrubbed up cobbles and 1930`s warehouses. Pass McQueen and Macartney shops. The latter being the only designer whose both parents are known names by the children. And me for that matter. This place is new-old, and has a taste of new trendy London. It is towered by the disused freight railroad, rescued by locals from demolition, and had it`s opening featured on Radio 4 last October. No disappointment here. Serene, creative, peaceful, thoughtful.. bliss. Filled with people reading, thinking, and doing a fashion shoot, we saunter along between plantings and art and find a view of Liberty, but cut the journey short due exhausted children and a need to revisit past haunts for new shots.
A block away, en route to the Subway, in a small park, 4 timely sprays of water drench a compass floor. All in. It refreshes, revives, rejuvenates and loosens the chocolate off Eve’s dress. We walk away dripping, and attracting stares.
Back Downtown via dirty platforms, we see a cross made of broken girders and the 9/11 Remembrance Museum. The focus is on rebuild and finding life beyond. I wonder what the firefighters in the Sicko film make of it. It’s 7pm. Downtown is hungry and going home. We stagger to the red cube for a rerun photo shoot! The females then hop off to Borders (yes there is one) while the male in the pack, replaces deleted shots of Wall St and the surrounding area.
Fast train to Harlem in the front carriage with the driver, hunting for ghost stations, ignoring the queer looks we attract due to `touristness` quote Jess.
Harlem at dusk, 9pm. We must look an odd bunch. The only whites on the street, bedraggled, creased and sunkissed with a trailing Dad snapping any forgotten sights. A guy at the main junction enquires our business – we end up sharing Cockney Rhyming Slang. It feels like he gives us permission to continue. Stand by Aretha’s plaque again and salute the Apollo. Plod to Old Navy, by which time Eve has constructed a complicated treasure hunt for which only I can be in her gang. However Millie needs help to hunt for a Birthday T-shirt, and Charlie (Jess insists) wants advice on skirts. Eve implodes. The doormen crosses himself in dismay and my mother`s guilt hides behind the grinning mannequins. Andy is reprimanded for snapping in a shop again.
Home on the Express. We don’t need to talk as much on stations. We know what we’re doing. Along with familiar corners it makes it feel more like home. Eve and I are desperate for the “restroom” we skip ahead, past the New York Times building, `our` deli on the corner, and into Mahattan Broadway Hotel 273 W38th 8th Ave.
Shower. Bed. Eve.
Shower. Pack. Bed. Millie.
Shower. Pack. Check in online. Pack. Check $/£. Pack. Bed. Me.
Andy and Jess adventure into the night, but that’s another story.
Having a great time.
Wish you were here.
Rachel x
Showing posts with label Harlem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harlem. Show all posts
Friday, 16 July 2010
Hope in Harlem
Howdy!
We landed safely with various mishaps like Eve holding a high temperature and me leaving the declaration form behind on the plane; only having a Spanish version to fill in at customs. Ola! Chocolate tea and mustard wasn`t enough to detain us, so we were let through to find a steaming 0100 NYC. Yellow cabs don`t do 5 travellers, so we headed for the bus stop, only to be rescued by a Dudley Moore look a like angel. He had a vehicle for 8 and an orange swinging perpex cross on his mirror. At last on the road to the lights.. except that we went round the other terminals looking for a further 3 people to fill the van! With an extra two, we were grateful for a speeding Dudley to whizz us there quick.
The Manhattan Broadway is everything we had hoped for, and more. The 3 Cs: Cheap, Clean and Central. So central in fact. My dream had been to wake up early and go for a run. With 4 hours under my belt and a burning Eve now cooled and journal writing in the bathroom, I left. NYC 0730 Sunday morning. It felt like I was on the set for Vanilla Sky. We are in the garment area.. probably old Jewish with the odd forgotten synagogue here and there. Shabby, tired and a bit grotty really.But in a couple of blocks and I`m on 5th avenue. Wow! Long sweeping elegant and full of the pricey shops. With no map it feels like I head South, but in fact it`s North to Bryant Park a rennovated Square like the hundreds in London. We later find that all the grass in New York is laid down in Central Park. With Times Square a little further down I decide to save it for later and head South on the 5th. Soaking it all in and being assured I have right of way by a sympathetic and bemused man, I just keep running. A few blocks on I laugh out loud as I spot the form of Hannah`s fridge magnet ahead. It`s breath taking and makes me cry. I realise that we`ve actually done it. We made it here, and here I am in front of the Flat Iron Building! Soon I realise than in the deserted junction, I am not alone. Lone figures are spotted on the tops of roofs. I did know but had forgotten, Antony Gormley`s army of standing figures looking down at the empty roads. I had seen them on the Thames years ago, but it feels more poignant here. I turn back down a seedier Broadway. If it`s the red light district then it`s tiny. On home. I`m only away for 35 minutes. Call into the corner shop for an Earl Grey and 2 toasted cream cheese bagels, and give my last dollar to a guy on our doorstep who `has a birthday` today.
Andy and Jess are not ready to surface yet, so Millie , Eve and I head out to find Times Square. Eve soon counts 101 taxis, Millie is embarassed with my singing and we are surrounded by Mary Poppins PR. Amused by a string of decorated mannequins on Broadway we made our way back intigued by a row of 8 food shops each from a different country.
To skip ahead , we all shared a brunch on Broadway and head down to the Subway for the Natural History Museum. Waiting 30 minutes for a train that doesn`t run on a Sunday, we got an Express train by mistake and ended up in Harlem. Dehydrating we jumped off in search of liquid. Harlem has a buzz we felt at home with. But with a packed schedule time was short. ` We have 10 minutes in Harlem, what should we do?` I asked the sales guy. `The Appollo!` So off we went in blistering heat, 200m down to the place where Ella, Aretha, Michael, Quincy and more nurtured careers, and souls were fed. It felt like a pilgrimage. Acute sense of the awesome. Bump into the $1 birthday guy from earlier and wish him a good day. 2 JWs offered the Watch Tower on the corner. I refused but agreed to have some scripture. Daniel, about the kingdom of God. Then to the Apollo. A shiney jewel in a dusty street. It`s closed alas. So we look at brass plaques on the floor celebrating our heros. I take my new glasses off for the photo, facing the big doors and next to Franklin`s name. Then it happens. The doors burst open and a young woman runs out, calling Jessie`s name. They look at each other in disbelief and embrace. It`s Hope. Hope and Jess were at Rushmore together until Hope moved to Trinidad 4 years ago. She is playing sax on tour in her school jazz band. It was such an impossible encounter.. we are still dumbfounded! We hope to meet up again, but with with our planning it won`t happen quite as smoothly!
On to the Museum we inspect the entrance hall, then escape to some green in Central Park. It really is enormous. We cross the Rambles to paddle in a stream, watch some World Cup Final in the opulent Boat House, climb on burning Alice in Wonderland and play ball. Near the Met a card seller tells Andy where the Strand, the best second hand book shop is, and we buy Huckleberry Finn from him. The Met is big but expensive, and I refuse to pay more than $5 dollars for the 45 minutes we have left. Voluntary donations are accepted but not expected. Having a growing frustration at being charged for everything, I didn`t mind the Paddington stare!
We missed the heavy rain so came out into a steamy 5th Ave. Madison Ave, Park Ave, Lexington Ave.. doughnuts, train to Grand Central. Wow! More Fisher King moments. Sense of direction confused again in busy streets and passed by a beeping car with 3 billowing Spanish flags. So they did it after all! Smoothy bar for pizza and drinks to be eaten in Bryant Square. Beautiful flowers, cheeky birds and seizing legs. All pretty bushed. Head home with memories to pocket. So many!
All have cold showers and crash one by one. Collect an Earl for Andy, and water for the fridge, from the korean corner shop where a rapper is getting on their nerves. This is only day 1. Can hear mum saying to pace it! But it`s so hard not to drink the place in. Millie has already announced she is having her honeymoon here, and the list lengthens of all we want to do ( M and M shop for Jess is the newest addition).
Odd how it`s possible to sleep with a groaning air con unit in the corner. Must go and try again.
Having a great time.
Wish you were here.
Rachel x
We landed safely with various mishaps like Eve holding a high temperature and me leaving the declaration form behind on the plane; only having a Spanish version to fill in at customs. Ola! Chocolate tea and mustard wasn`t enough to detain us, so we were let through to find a steaming 0100 NYC. Yellow cabs don`t do 5 travellers, so we headed for the bus stop, only to be rescued by a Dudley Moore look a like angel. He had a vehicle for 8 and an orange swinging perpex cross on his mirror. At last on the road to the lights.. except that we went round the other terminals looking for a further 3 people to fill the van! With an extra two, we were grateful for a speeding Dudley to whizz us there quick.
The Manhattan Broadway is everything we had hoped for, and more. The 3 Cs: Cheap, Clean and Central. So central in fact. My dream had been to wake up early and go for a run. With 4 hours under my belt and a burning Eve now cooled and journal writing in the bathroom, I left. NYC 0730 Sunday morning. It felt like I was on the set for Vanilla Sky. We are in the garment area.. probably old Jewish with the odd forgotten synagogue here and there. Shabby, tired and a bit grotty really.But in a couple of blocks and I`m on 5th avenue. Wow! Long sweeping elegant and full of the pricey shops. With no map it feels like I head South, but in fact it`s North to Bryant Park a rennovated Square like the hundreds in London. We later find that all the grass in New York is laid down in Central Park. With Times Square a little further down I decide to save it for later and head South on the 5th. Soaking it all in and being assured I have right of way by a sympathetic and bemused man, I just keep running. A few blocks on I laugh out loud as I spot the form of Hannah`s fridge magnet ahead. It`s breath taking and makes me cry. I realise that we`ve actually done it. We made it here, and here I am in front of the Flat Iron Building! Soon I realise than in the deserted junction, I am not alone. Lone figures are spotted on the tops of roofs. I did know but had forgotten, Antony Gormley`s army of standing figures looking down at the empty roads. I had seen them on the Thames years ago, but it feels more poignant here. I turn back down a seedier Broadway. If it`s the red light district then it`s tiny. On home. I`m only away for 35 minutes. Call into the corner shop for an Earl Grey and 2 toasted cream cheese bagels, and give my last dollar to a guy on our doorstep who `has a birthday` today.
Andy and Jess are not ready to surface yet, so Millie , Eve and I head out to find Times Square. Eve soon counts 101 taxis, Millie is embarassed with my singing and we are surrounded by Mary Poppins PR. Amused by a string of decorated mannequins on Broadway we made our way back intigued by a row of 8 food shops each from a different country.
To skip ahead , we all shared a brunch on Broadway and head down to the Subway for the Natural History Museum. Waiting 30 minutes for a train that doesn`t run on a Sunday, we got an Express train by mistake and ended up in Harlem. Dehydrating we jumped off in search of liquid. Harlem has a buzz we felt at home with. But with a packed schedule time was short. ` We have 10 minutes in Harlem, what should we do?` I asked the sales guy. `The Appollo!` So off we went in blistering heat, 200m down to the place where Ella, Aretha, Michael, Quincy and more nurtured careers, and souls were fed. It felt like a pilgrimage. Acute sense of the awesome. Bump into the $1 birthday guy from earlier and wish him a good day. 2 JWs offered the Watch Tower on the corner. I refused but agreed to have some scripture. Daniel, about the kingdom of God. Then to the Apollo. A shiney jewel in a dusty street. It`s closed alas. So we look at brass plaques on the floor celebrating our heros. I take my new glasses off for the photo, facing the big doors and next to Franklin`s name. Then it happens. The doors burst open and a young woman runs out, calling Jessie`s name. They look at each other in disbelief and embrace. It`s Hope. Hope and Jess were at Rushmore together until Hope moved to Trinidad 4 years ago. She is playing sax on tour in her school jazz band. It was such an impossible encounter.. we are still dumbfounded! We hope to meet up again, but with with our planning it won`t happen quite as smoothly!
On to the Museum we inspect the entrance hall, then escape to some green in Central Park. It really is enormous. We cross the Rambles to paddle in a stream, watch some World Cup Final in the opulent Boat House, climb on burning Alice in Wonderland and play ball. Near the Met a card seller tells Andy where the Strand, the best second hand book shop is, and we buy Huckleberry Finn from him. The Met is big but expensive, and I refuse to pay more than $5 dollars for the 45 minutes we have left. Voluntary donations are accepted but not expected. Having a growing frustration at being charged for everything, I didn`t mind the Paddington stare!
We missed the heavy rain so came out into a steamy 5th Ave. Madison Ave, Park Ave, Lexington Ave.. doughnuts, train to Grand Central. Wow! More Fisher King moments. Sense of direction confused again in busy streets and passed by a beeping car with 3 billowing Spanish flags. So they did it after all! Smoothy bar for pizza and drinks to be eaten in Bryant Square. Beautiful flowers, cheeky birds and seizing legs. All pretty bushed. Head home with memories to pocket. So many!
All have cold showers and crash one by one. Collect an Earl for Andy, and water for the fridge, from the korean corner shop where a rapper is getting on their nerves. This is only day 1. Can hear mum saying to pace it! But it`s so hard not to drink the place in. Millie has already announced she is having her honeymoon here, and the list lengthens of all we want to do ( M and M shop for Jess is the newest addition).
Odd how it`s possible to sleep with a groaning air con unit in the corner. Must go and try again.
Having a great time.
Wish you were here.
Rachel x
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