Day 3 -There are a few places every person should visit, only if to watch the colourful cast of characters walk by. The steps of Flinders Street Station is one and Picadilly Circus is another. Add to that Times Square. Come to think of it, the Irish chavs in the Temple Bar district in Dublin are worth a few minutes of your time as well.
Times Square can fascinate one for hours without having to spend a dime. Flashing billboards and giant candy stores makes this an ADHD kids dream. After wandering around for a bit with my head aimed at the sky I head on up to the Ed Sullivan Theatre to try and get tickets to Letterman. It is booked out a few months in advance but they hold aside a small number of tickets to give away in a lottery system. I put myself down for tonight and tomorrow bur sadly I won't be one of the lucky recipients.
I go for a late morning coffee in Bryant Park and come across a free ping pong tournament. The line is long, full of men in business suits waiting to live out their boyhood dreams. Instead I watch, trying to finish this book I have been reading since the start ofthe trip.
Side note: most of you will know I usually go through books like Pamela Anderson goes through husbands but with this author it is best to take your time. Michael Chabon is a brilliant writer and his books are so descriptive that it is a shame to speed through them.
I am to take 2 trips to the top of buildings on this leg of my trip, the Empire State Building and right now here at the Top Of The Rock at the Rockefeller Centre. There is so much radio and television history in this building where NBC has called its home for decades. The view is spectacular, particularly North across the vista that is Central Park.
Next stop is the International Centre of Photography where I was hoping to see work of the world's best photographers. What I wasn't prepared for was the entire centre taken up by an exhibition of fashion photography. No matter as the exhibition had some great layouts from Paris in the 1950s and 60s for magazines like Harpers Bazzar.
What was disappointing was the Museum Of Modern Art (MoMa). To be kind I was comparing it to the Tate Modern in London which is one of a kind. The good news was that they offered wifi audio tours which meant I could use my iPhone and not have to carry around a bulky audio guide. Sadly the wifi dropped out afterthe fourth floor. By which time my interest had waned considerably anyway.
Nearby was the NBA flagship store which was an event in itself. The store is massive and has nearly everything one could want in the world of Basketball merchandise. I say nearly as quite a lot of stuff they only stock the big 8 or so teams which means mugs like me who follow teams in far flung places like Utah have a limited choice. Undeterred, I picked up a T-shirt for me (go Jazz!) and a Kobe Bryant shirt for my brother.
Just for kicks I strolled down 9th Ave (Hell's Kitchen) during rush hour to see the chaos on the roads. I wasn't disappointed. I finished my day off by double backing through Times Square and on to Grand Central Station to watch the world go by and have a meal in a Mexican Joint in the dining concourse.
Day 4 -
Today was all about walking. I walked until the blisters got unbearable (stopped into a Duane Reade to get some band aids for a quick running repair) then walked some more.
Knowing I only had a short amount of time here I wanted to ensure I saw as much of this city as possible. As it is I will miss out on some things on my list like Brooklyn and the Bronx Zoo but that's the way it goes.
I had a rough idea on my route and places to visit but I went mainly on instinct, trying not to use the map like I was sitting an open book exam.
I kicked things off in Greenwich Village, making a bee line for the musty record stores (I am a creature of habit) before venturing due East towards Washington Square. The park (like most parks here on Manhattan) are a hive of activity ensuring that after more than 200 years, little has changed. In one corner of the park are old gents setting up chess pieces ready to hustle the locals or the naive tourist.
It has been far too long since I played chess and I am annoyed with myself that I never continued learning. My chess set is one of the few things I still own from my childhood, unlike my karate uniform or my guitar which now reside in my cupboard of no return.
Crossing Broadway I make my way to the Chinatown and Little Italy district looking for the tiny museum of Cartoon and Comic Book art. I fail to read the fine print of my Lonely Planet guide and the place is closed on Thursdays (I am a man after all). I end up going the next day and I wish my good mate Chad Bosworth and another friend David Affran were here enjoying it as much as me.
It surprises me how much Chinatown has overtaken the area once known as Little Italy. It isn't a racist thing I understand these things happen over time. Chinatown is a hive of activity and the smell of Green Grocers whilst Little Italy (reduced to Mulbery Street only for the most part) is a little more contemplative and resigned to it's end days. Despite this I stop here for lunch, a nice Calzone that can only bring back memories of Costanza and Steinbrenner.
A brief respite in my journey, I hop on a train uptown (a few stops) to Union Square on 14th St to recommence my sojourn. The rest of my walk would see me go from 14th St to 53rd St, taking in the kids puppet show in Union Square, a peek inside the private Gramercy Park, the iconic Flatiron Building, young tykes being taught Chess by the elderly in Madison Square Park, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.
My journey ended at the Museum of Radio and Television which is more like a big lounge room. By that stage I was in need of a rest and to put my feet up. The have a number of Theatres showing rare television events that change daily. I saw a collection of the best Superbowl Ads in one and caught a bit of the 11 hour all star 'Conspiracy of Hope' concert that hadn't been aired since it first ran back in the late 80s. Peter Gabriel, U2 and co being as earnest as all get out.
There is also a section where you can choose 2 programs from a vast library for you to watch in your own viewing booth. The search engine is in need of updating but I found an episode of a short loved program in the late 90s starring Jeremy Piven that has never made it to DVD which was great.
A good nights sleep tonight to rest my weary bones before I venture north of 110th St tomorrow.
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