Last full day

Today we got up around 8am and head out the door at 9am. We walked down 42nd street all the way down to the ferry, which was a pretty long walk. We took the ferry across the river to Jersey and visited with Abbie's parents. His brother picked us up and took us to his parent's condominium. It is located where Palisades Park use to be. We visited with them a while and then went to a restaurant for dinner. It was buffet and they had everything. They especially had lots of fish and lots of Asian stuff. After dinner we showed them the DVD of Abbie's house and dog, then we came back to NYC. We took the free bus from the Port Imperial Ferry port to 57th street and grab the subway (#1 train) to 79th street. We went into Feline's Basement and then over to Zabars, which was the purpose to the trip. I got black and white cookies for the office and some extra ragula for whatever. We then left and walked down by the Dakota Building and then over to Central Park to Strawberry Fields and the Imagine circle. Most of the park was closed off for the Puerto Rican Parade. We left the park and walk all the way back to the room. Once again, our dogs were aching. We are not use to walking so much.

Day 3

Today I opened my eyes at 6:30am. I rolled back over and kept snoozing until around 9:00am. I finally got the strength to get up and shower. We discussed the things we wanted to do today and we hailed a cab for Macy's. We toured the old establishment and went through all seven floors. Abbie told me that Gimbles use to be across the road. They were the main competition in the movie "A Miracle of 34th Street". We made our purchases and grab a cab and went to the Sheraton where Microsoft was having demonstrations of their new coffee table computer called "surface". It was amazing seeing what all it would do and where they want to take the technology. From there we made our way to the Museum of Modern Art Store and then the Museum of Modern Art. We checked our bags and toured the museum. Although it is impossible to see all the museum in one day, we did see most of it. We started with the sculptures of Richard Sienna. He really put together a lot of junk. I can't believe they called it Art. I would have to say the big sellers for the Museum are the paintings, furniture pieces and the products they selected to represent modern design. Mostly they had modern colors, materials and clean seamless design. After we left the Museum we went to Tiffany's, Bergdorf Goodman and FAO Swarzers. At Bergdorfs we saw 1500 dollar sweaters, 800 dollar sweaters, both cashmere. We saw a 2700 leather coat and we smelled some 800 dollar cologne. The sample box of three fragrances was 280.00. A little too rich for our blood. We left Fao Swarz and took a cab to Fossils and then walked back to the room. Our feet really hurt from all the walking. When we made it back to the room. We relaxed for about an hour and then we headed off on foot to Grand Central Station. It was phenomenal, both inside and out. People take the train to Grand Central Station from northern areas. Again we were back in a cab and off to see the second musical we had scheduled for the visit. We stopped by the Carngie Deli first for dinner. We should have split something. We got two huge sandwiches. I ended up eating the meat out of mine. I thought I was going to choke. Abbie ate half of his. After dinner we went to see "Wicked". It was fantastic. The music was riveting, the story was clever and the dialogue was very clever. I really find myself marveling at the set designs and the set changes they make throughout the piece. It was really good. We both enjoyed it. It lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes with a 15 minute intermission. It seemed like it started and it was over in no time. It drew you in and kept you the whole time. I am glad that I got to see it. After we went to the Virgin Megastore, where Abbie brought the sound tracks for "Wicked" and the "The Drowsy Chaperone". We then walked back to the hotel stopping briefly at Duane Reades for chocolate and beverages. We have discovered that Banana Republics, TGIF and Duane Reades are everywhere we go. Anyway it has been a great trip. We have definitely experience a lot of New York and I have gotten more comfortable being here. psh

Day 3

Today we started off early and grabbed breakfast and headed to Bryant Park to sit and eat breakfast. We went to the Starbucks across the street. It was really busy. We got through okay though. It is funny how New Yorkers are so use to be in crowded conditions. After breakfast we walked to Times Square and took the subway to west 4th street. After we arrived we walked down south. We walked through the Greenwich Village, Soho, Canal Street, China Town and little Italy. We did a lot of walking on the walk we went in stores, galleries, and even visit the oldest Coffee Shop in the City. I will ask Abbie the name when he wakes up. We saw Morgan Spurlock in Soho, where he lives. We made it down to Canal Street where we saw several vendor selling perfume, sunglasses and handbags. Apparently the Chinese and the Nigerians have control over the handbag racket in New York. They set up shop and sell handbags for about 40 dollars a pop, which is much less than in the store. I brought my mother one for her birthday. We ended up eating lunch in China Town after the shopping walk through Canal Street. We had Beef Chow fun, which is a like beef lo mien, but with a flat noodle. The food was really good and cheap at six bucks. After China Town, we went and had Gelato in Little Italy. All these places seem like self contained villages. I think some of these people never venture far out of their village. Abbie was telling me while we were out that Friends was suppose to be in Greenwich Village. Will and Grace did a lot of shots in the Greenwich Village. Will's office is one street over from Christopher Street. Bleecher Street is also a big New York Street. After we left Little Italy, we hoped a cab and headed back to the room. We rested for a while and then went out and did the Boat Cruise of the City. I got lots of good pictures and I got to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Financial district and several bridges including the Brooklyn Bridge. It has really been a great trip. We have kept busy doing something everyday and most of that day. I have really enjoyed it. After the boat cruise, we paid some bike taxi to take us to the restaurant district. We got out and went to the M&M store and then walked back to a diner near the hotel, had dinner and got back to the room around 10:30pm

Day 2

Today was a full day. It is 11:18pm and we are just getting back to the room for the evening. Today started with getting breakfast at some take out deli store and heading down to Bryant Park to sit in the park and have breakfast. New York service people seem incredibly slow to me. Abbie order a coffee at the Witchcraft booth and it seemed he waited in line forever. He pointed out that most New Yorkers grab breakfast on the streets from the vendors. We ate our breakfast in Bryant Park and watch people do Thai Chi. They have free yoga classes as well. There were lots of people in the park. Bryant Park is where NYC has Fashions. They set up white tents and do the fashion runway shows. If you have watched "Project Runway" on Bravo, then you have heard about it.

After breakfast, we headed down to the subway to make our way to the Upper West side. The subway was interesting. It is a like a little City under the streets. It goes down about three floors. There are even stores down there. There are also some places where you can get off the subway and go right in the basement door of some buildings. The subways were full and we were in the mist of a large number of people commuting into the city. There was a musician playing in the subway as well as a lady preaching the gospel and trying to save souls. I guess that is the thing that people have in common every place you go. We took the subway to Museum of Natural History. It was not opened, yet so we went to Zabars. Zabars is nice and covers three store fronts and two floors. Abbie said when he taught in Manhattan that the grandson of owner of Zabars was a student at his school. All the staff would clammier around to see what his lunch was going to be. I am thinking of going back and getting some black and white cookies for the office. After Zabars, we went back to the Museum. It was amazing, but told more about Natural History. I am more into social stuff. It did however have a naked reproduction of a hairy naked man and woman walking together. Their faces looked kind of apish. Their genitals was exposed. The museum really pushed that the movie, "A night at the museum" was filmed there. They even sold copies of the movie. We also so went to see the mystic creatures exhibited while we were there. The lady in the gift shop was pretty slow when it came to checking out. What a nightmare. Afterwards we walked back to the upper west side and had lunch at Jackson hole. We we finished eating we got a cab and as we were getting in the owner of the restaurant came out to give me the bag that I left on the table. That was really nice. I heard about the marketing firm that Mayor Koch had hired to find out what people dislike about NYC and how he had determined it was that New Yorkers were not nice. i guess they took it to heart. Everyone that I have meet has been pretty nice. Abbie was also telling me that the shows Sex in the City and Seinfeld took place on the upper west side. After lunch we took a cab to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I like the exhibits there quite a bit, especially the furnishings, paintings and glass works of American History. All that walking really had our dogs hawling so we grab some water and went and sat and rested in Central Park. We watched the boats sail and we chilled. We watched lots of kids playing and other people walking their dogs. It is a green space that is much appreciated in NYC. We finally got up the energy to go and jump on the bus and ride it back to the hotel. We got our barrings, cleaned up and then went out to Sardis for a drink, dinner at Juniors and then on to a play, "The Drowsy Chaperone". It was a largely entertaining play. It was in the Marriott Hotel. Joanne Worley was in the cast. It was largely entertaining and I was fascinated by the props and set. The songs were great too. I really enjoyed it. When it was over we headed to the revolving bar on the48th floor, "The View" and enjoyed drinks on the revolving floor. That was kewl. After drinks we headed back to the room. Tomorrow we are going downtown.

New York Trip

We flew into LaGuardia Airport from RDU. We arrived around 4pm. The flight went pretty good. We did sit on the runway awhile and we flew in a smaller plane, but it was pretty seamless. We took a cab from LaGuardia to the hotel. The cab ride was nice and scenic. The guy driving was a foreigner and only ask us our location. I don't think he knew much English.
The hotel, The Algonquin is nice, but the rooms are small. It should not matter, we will be beating the streets most of the time. We headed down to the Ed Sullivan Theater after we checked in. We were hoping to see Artie Lang come out the side door, but he never came out. We tried to get tickets earlier, but had no luck.
We then decided to beat the streets and do some exploring. We ate dinner at a Whole Foods Market. That was pretty kewl. There is lots of stations and all kinds of food. You pick out what you want and then pay 7.99 per lb. It was actually good. Greenville needs to get a Whole Foods Market. It also looks like a good place to meet people, but this is New York. We checked out more shops and went to the Apple Computer Store. It was nice. NYC is having a Big Apple Barbecue Block Party on Sunday on 5th Avenue. They actually mentioned Mitchell's Barbecue from Wilson, NC is going to be here as well as representatives from Memphis, Kansas City, and Texas. Small World, huh? Abbie did point out lots of landmarks while we beat the streets. He is a good tour guide.