I left my luggage at JFK and opted for the AirTrain-E line combo to get to the city. My hotel, which is the Hampton Suites Times Square North, was just a block away from the 50th Street station.
I didn't get to do 2 things that I had in mind - - watch a musical and get to the Crown of the Statue of the Liberty. I only tried to figure out my New York itinerary a week before I was scheduled to fly to the States. Only then I realized that a separate ticket is required to access the Crown. The next available slots were in the middle of July! Dang! My closest encounter with the Statue of Liberty was in winter of '94 where my friends and I stayed on the ferry when we got to Liberty Island because it was that cold :D. I've gone up the Empire State building before so I could skip that this time around as well.
The one musical that I wanted to see was the ‘Book of Mormon’ but the ticket prices would burn holes in my pocket. I got to know of the lottery and decided to try out my luck. 2 nights in row. I should have known it. I was never lucky. In any lucky draw in my life, that is. At least from what I could recall :). So anyways, they give out 20-30 standing room tickets daily but the line for it forms at least a couple of hours outside of the ticket window before it opens 2 hours before curtain. Standing in line for a standing room ticket somehow didn't appeal to me that much. I guess if I had company it would make the clock tick faster. They also draw lottery 2 hours before the show where they give out 22 front and side seating tickets at 32 (I think) bucks a piece. That's like 11 people out of 200 because each person could buy a maximum of 2 tickets. Other musicals that I would have paid money (but not a whole lot :D) for are Wicked and ‘A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder’. Perhaps next time? Of course, that still requires planning and getting the tickets waaay in advance ;)
It was unfortunate that it was slightly overcast and it drizzled occasionally during the days that I was there. And I thought it would only rain in Seattle :P :).
On that Thursday, I walked to the AMNH (American Museum of Natural History) passing by Central Park. A bit of jealousy stirred inside of me seeing runners and joggers alike pounded the tracks :). AMNH by the way was amazing. I really liked the dinosaur and the animal exhibits.
After AMNH, I took the subway to the 9/11 Memorial site.
That evening, I just walked around Times Square and the nearby areas for the umpteenth time.
The following day, after checking out from the hotel, I decided to give Eataly and 'The High Line' a shot. Both were suggested by Cynthia as she was driving me to Logan.
I walked from the hotel, passing by Times Square, to Bryant Park and then headed downtown towards the Flatiron Building. Eataly was packed as it was the lunch hour. I chose Il Pesce and ordered the Montauk Squid. Very sumptuous indeed!
The High Line “is an elevated freight rail line transformed into a public park on Manhattan’s West Side”. I didn’t get to walk the entire length especially to the meatpacking district because of the rain. Nonetheless I had a nice stroll in the park. I then seek refuge at Penn Station before making my way to JFK.
The trip back was pretty uneventful, right until we were in the skies in between Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. I had switched seats with a girl because she wanted to sit next to her friend. The wife of the couple next to me (in my new seating) was feeling nauseous and light-headed until she vomited a few times. The husband and cabin crew were busy attending to her, while I could only sit there feeling concern for the wife’s health. She could not even manage to take in a few sips of water. At one point she was so drained from it all, all she wanted to do was to lie down on the floor. Nonetheless, after catching a few winks (in her seat, not on the floor) and some pills supplied by the cabin crew, she was feeling much better.
So that’s it dear journal and readers. 3 weeks just went by in a flash. Next year it'd be Europe's turn. Insya Allah kalau panjang umur dan ada rezeki. Where should I venture out to this time? Off the top of my head, Turkey and Greece sound very appealing. We shall see :)
Btw, more pictures are in my Flickr album
I didn't get to do 2 things that I had in mind - - watch a musical and get to the Crown of the Statue of the Liberty. I only tried to figure out my New York itinerary a week before I was scheduled to fly to the States. Only then I realized that a separate ticket is required to access the Crown. The next available slots were in the middle of July! Dang! My closest encounter with the Statue of Liberty was in winter of '94 where my friends and I stayed on the ferry when we got to Liberty Island because it was that cold :D. I've gone up the Empire State building before so I could skip that this time around as well.
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| The main areas I covered in NYC |
The one musical that I wanted to see was the ‘Book of Mormon’ but the ticket prices would burn holes in my pocket. I got to know of the lottery and decided to try out my luck. 2 nights in row. I should have known it. I was never lucky. In any lucky draw in my life, that is. At least from what I could recall :). So anyways, they give out 20-30 standing room tickets daily but the line for it forms at least a couple of hours outside of the ticket window before it opens 2 hours before curtain. Standing in line for a standing room ticket somehow didn't appeal to me that much. I guess if I had company it would make the clock tick faster. They also draw lottery 2 hours before the show where they give out 22 front and side seating tickets at 32 (I think) bucks a piece. That's like 11 people out of 200 because each person could buy a maximum of 2 tickets. Other musicals that I would have paid money (but not a whole lot :D) for are Wicked and ‘A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder’. Perhaps next time? Of course, that still requires planning and getting the tickets waaay in advance ;)
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| A big crowd waiting for James Franco to leave the building |
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| I didn't stay for him to make an appearance |
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| @lotterydude announcing the draw |
On that Thursday, I walked to the AMNH (American Museum of Natural History) passing by Central Park. A bit of jealousy stirred inside of me seeing runners and joggers alike pounded the tracks :). AMNH by the way was amazing. I really liked the dinosaur and the animal exhibits.
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| Bow Bridge |
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| The museum entrance |
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| The Semai of Malaysia |
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| The skunk's doing a handstand |
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| One big tree |
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| That's not the Deathstar |
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| Waiting for the video on the Big Bang to start |
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| Presumably today's birds evolved from the dinosaurs |
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| The T-Rex from Night of the Museum? |
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| The bones denoted by the green colour are real dinosaur bones |
After AMNH, I took the subway to the 9/11 Memorial site.
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| A foggy day |
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| Staten Island and Ellis Island |
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| New Jersey side |
That evening, I just walked around Times Square and the nearby areas for the umpteenth time.
 |
| The loooong line for the TKTS Discount Booths |
The following day, after checking out from the hotel, I decided to give Eataly and 'The High Line' a shot. Both were suggested by Cynthia as she was driving me to Logan.
 |
| The path taken on that Friday |
I walked from the hotel, passing by Times Square, to Bryant Park and then headed downtown towards the Flatiron Building. Eataly was packed as it was the lunch hour. I chose Il Pesce and ordered the Montauk Squid. Very sumptuous indeed!
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| All set |
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| The crowd at Bryant Park |
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| The Empire State building |
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| Approaching the Flatiron Building |
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| Food stalls |
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| Lunch hour |
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| Eataly Restaurants building |
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| Il Pesce (Fish) |
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| I was seating at the bar so I got full view of the actions in the kitchen |
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| Excellent grilled Montauk squids with watercress & radish |
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| Sila, a shop just for you :) |
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| The High Line |
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| Climbing up the stairs |
The trip back was pretty uneventful, right until we were in the skies in between Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. I had switched seats with a girl because she wanted to sit next to her friend. The wife of the couple next to me (in my new seating) was feeling nauseous and light-headed until she vomited a few times. The husband and cabin crew were busy attending to her, while I could only sit there feeling concern for the wife’s health. She could not even manage to take in a few sips of water. At one point she was so drained from it all, all she wanted to do was to lie down on the floor. Nonetheless, after catching a few winks (in her seat, not on the floor) and some pills supplied by the cabin crew, she was feeling much better.
So that’s it dear journal and readers. 3 weeks just went by in a flash. Next year it'd be Europe's turn. Insya Allah kalau panjang umur dan ada rezeki. Where should I venture out to this time? Off the top of my head, Turkey and Greece sound very appealing. We shall see :)
Btw, more pictures are in my Flickr album
cantik museum..
ReplyDeletenext year Europe? wow.. best.. would like to suggest.... turki pun cantik juga.. :-)
woahhhh eataly! nutella! gelato! i'm in! :)
ReplyDelete