A Small Bite of the Big Apple

I have been back a week now and am over the jet-lag. Time to tell what my friend, Peg and I got up to in New York.

We stepped out of our hotel (The New Yorker on Eighth Avenue and to be recommended) into the dazzle and cacophany of a New York evening. The first thing to do was to find a show to see later in the week so we wandered along the streets around Broadway.

Most of the shows were musicals which we did not want and narrowed our choice down to three plays. There were no seats to be had for Oleanna by David Mamet or A Steady Rain by Keith Huff (starring Daniel Craig) but we managed to get the last two seats on Wednesday's performance for God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza. Some of you will remember that I recently directed Yasmina Reza's play Art with our local amateur dramatic society. As the seats cost $136 dollars each I was hoping that we had made a good decision.

We had also hoped to take in an opera on the Thursday evening but they were performing The House of the Dead which we were not keen on.

The Metropolitan Opera House

We were then accosted by sellers of tickets on the Gray Line tour buses. As neither of us had been to New York before we decided this was a good idea. We went for the full package of four tours; the Downtown Loop, the Uptown Loop, the Brooklyn Loop and the Night Loop.

7th Avenue at night

We started immediately with the Night Loop. Apart from the journey itself which lasted about two hours with a commentary pointing out the landmarks and historical connections the tour guides tended to be commedians, adding their own idiosyncratic style which we found a hoot.

Over the next two days we completed the tours, hopping on and off to visit places of interest on the way. Up to the Metropolition Museum of Art where we spent four hours. Around the streets of Harlem, China Town, SoHo, Brooklyn, Greenich Village and the rest. We were given facts and figures - mostly now forgotten I regret to say, but always with an amusing delivery that added interest.

Roof Garden Panorama

Anyone visiting the Met should not omit the roof garden. From here you get the a panoramic view of New York.

So, what of The God of Carnage? Did we get our money's worth? We surely did, but what surprised us most was the audience. From the delivery of the first line they were responsive in a way we have not seen before. The laughed at lines that we did not find funny, and at the end the performers got a standing ovation. A good evening and a play I should like to direct one day perhaps although not an easy one to stage.

View of Central Park

We crossed Central Park and it did not seem a scary place at all - mind it was mid-afternoon and groups of school children where to be seen about and dog walkers everywhere. The autumn colours were splendid. We spent the afternoon in the Natural History Museum.

On the Thursday morning - saving this treat almost to the last - we met Frances for lunch at Edgar's Cafe, named after Edgar Allen Poe, who had some connection with the building. The three of us had a delightful time together. Frances is a very attractive lady and such good company. The time just sped by.

We had planned a walk in Central Park to follow lunch but alas the weather was not on our side and Peg and I were ill-equipped for rain.

Frances and me.

Me and Peg

On the following morning we took the subway to World Trade Centre site to look at the rebuilding going on there. Even after all these years there is a sombre atmosphere present despite all the bustle of the work and the crowds rushing by.

The World Trade Centre Site

Later we caught the ferry boat from the Battery to sail around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Peg had a list of ancestors that were immigrants that she had hoped to find some trace of on the Island but we did not have time to get off and explore before we returned to our hotel in time to catch our flight home. Peg has plans to return next year.

View of Lower Manhatten from the ferry boat to Ellis Island