Day 10 of ML's ten day in NYC

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Saturday, June 30

I woke up early, as usual, and lay in bed for a while listening to the now familiar noise of clunking plumbing, then got ready and went over to Speedy鈥檚 and had another cheap breakfast.

I had a 9:30 reservation for a tour of NBC Studios so took the subway to Rockefeller Center. I made a subway mistake, though. I got on a train going in the right direction, uptown, but got on one in the wrong series of alphabet letters. Had to go back a stop and find the other tracks. Went into the NBC Experience Store where the tours start and saw there were large windows looking out onto the plaza and other windows that overlooked the area across the street where people gather for the Today Show.

The tour began with a movie and talk about NBC鈥檚 history鈥擠avid Sarnoff and radio鈥攖hen we saw quick film clips of old shows. We toured the studio where the Conan O鈥橞rien late night show is filmed. I was surprised at how small it is. Our next stop was the studio where Saturday Live is presented live, and this studio is much larger because of all the sets they need. Both shows were currently on summer hiatus. We learned about makeup, then entered a fake studio where two volunteers became a newscaster and a weather man. That marked the end of the tour.

After a brief stop at my hotel to drop off a purchase, I walked to the Pierpont Morgan Library. I thought maybe I鈥檇 pass an interesting caf茅 along the way for lunch, but when I didn鈥檛 (probably took the wrong route), I made the Morgan Caf茅 my first stop. ($20 entrance fee to the Morgan.) I ended up eating in the Morgan Dining Room since the atrium area was full (possibly a tour group since they all left at the same time). I liked eating in the dining room since the pamphlet said this had been the dining room for the Morgans and it seemed to have the same menu as the atrium area. I had the Pierpont Salad minus the chicken and panchetta ($14) and a Diet Coke ($2.50). It was very good.

I loved the Morgan, particularly the library. I was entranced. A book lover鈥檚 dream. I enjoyed the Morgan highlights and also seeing its copy of the Declaration of Independence. Actually, I liked everything about the Morgan. I spent the afternoon there.

After a return to the hotel and a start at getting organized for my departure the next morning, I took the subway one stop to Bryant Park, then walked to the Algonquin Hotel and checked out the Round Table Room where Dorothy Parker and her literary cohorts held forth in the 1920s. Maybe I expected to see their ghosts, but there didn鈥檛 seem to me to be any ambience to the room at all. I had a drink in the Blue Bar where Al Hirschfeld drawings are displayed (one glass of Pinot Grigio--$13!).

Walked to Times Square and through a few of the stores before heading to the Marquis Theater to see the Drowsy Chaperone. I hadn鈥檛 realized the theater was inside the Marriott Marquis until I got there. This theater differed from the others in that the doors seemed to open earlier for seating (unless I got there later) and you could bring drinks in. I was seated next to three friendly people (one New Yorker, two ex-New Yorkers) and another woman from New York was in front of us. We were talking and laughing together, and it really set me up to enjoy the show. It was wacky fun, I laughed long and hard, although the man in the chair becomes a little pathetic at the end.

Even at night, Times Square glows as if it鈥檚 daylight. It was even more jammed with people than on previous nights, perhaps because it was Saturday, and I couldn鈥檛 imagine how cramped it must be on New Year鈥檚 Eve. I hadn鈥檛 eaten dinner and wasn鈥檛 hungry enough for a full meal nor did I want to sit for a long time over a meal. Just when I was wishing there was a place to get half a sandwich, I saw Sbarro where I could get a pizza slice. The line was fairly long, but it moved quickly. I got a slice of cheese pizza and a Sierra Mist and sat downstairs in the huge room.

I intended to take the subway back for one stop. I went down the stairs, got on the train and waited while it loaded. The doors were open and people kept getting on. When not many more people could fit in, an announcement came that the train was going out of service. So I walked back. I was exhausted and pretty much fell into bed

And how did this happen? I miscounted. I spent ten nights in New York, but I now realize that in counting days it should be 10 1/2.

Day 10 of ML's ten day in NYC

Another great report!

Day 10 of ML's ten day in NYC

Another detailed interesting report. The Morgan Library does not get much play on this forum but it has some interesting and valuable manuscripts and books plus the building itself is worth a visit.

I agree on the Morgan Library, very much worth a visit.