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Thursday, June 28
Thought I would sleep in a while this morning, but instead I woke up at 6:15. Each morning at the Herald Square Hotel, I could lie in bed and listen to plumbing clunking all over the seventh floor. After a toilet is flushed, when the tank is full, there%26#39;s a really loud clunking noise. Scared me the first couple of times, and I didn%26#39;t realize it must happen to every toilet in my wing until I could hear them in the mornings. At any rate, it wasn%26#39;t the plumbing that wouldn%26#39;t let me go back to sleep, it was the knowledge that New York was out there waiting for me to explore.
It was already a hot day, and I took the subway to Grand Central and walked from there to the United Nations. How awe inspiring to walk along 1st Avenue and see ';international territory.'; All the flags were out, which I%26#39;d been told meant the Security Council was in session. I had breakfast in the UN coffee shop (yogurt, muffin, water and o.j. for $7.50).
At 9:45, I bought a tour ticket and had to wait until 10:15 for my tour to be called. The tour itself disappointed me. It was mostly looking at posters, pictures, and art work while the guide explained the workings of the UN. I realized that with the Security Council in session, we wouldn%26#39;t be able to see that chamber, but I thought there would be more that we could see. We were allowed to walk through one meeting room and we ended up in the General Assembly room. It was worth the time to be able to see that.
I had a pre-purchased ticket to tour the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, set for 1:00, and I decided I should head that way since I didn%26#39;t know how long it would take me to get there. I%26#39;d used Hopstop.com to plan transportation, and the M15 bus down 2nd seemed to be the way to go. Hopstop even told me where to catch the bus. I arrived at the bus stop at 11:45. About five minutes later when the bus pulled up, I asked the driver if he stopped at Allen %26amp; Delancey, which was the stop Hopstop told me I needed. The driver said no. The second bus didn%26#39;t stop at all, didn%26#39;t even pull over into the bus lane. I waited again but was getting nervous. I%26#39;d heard the LES tours sell out and I didn%26#39;t know if I%26#39;d be able to get on another tour if I missed the one I had a reservation for.
I thought I%26#39;d better get out my subway map and plan an alternate route and found I didn%26#39;t have it. I%26#39;d changed purses and must have left it in my other purse. Ack. Maybe the best thing would have been to wait for the next bus, but after some indecisive minutes and no bus, I headed back to Grand Central, walking very fast, and picked up another subway map at the information booth, then hurried down to the tracks.
I hopped on the 6 and transferred at Bway-Lafayette to the V. But I%26#39;d read the map in too much haste (I should have taken the F) and after one stop the announcement said this was the end of the line. It was the Lower East Side stop, so I got out my street map and walked the rest of the way, which wasn%26#39;t that far but I was in a hurry and the sun was scorching. The sweat was pouring off me by the time I got there with seven minutes to spare (actually two minutes since it said I should be there five minutes before the start of the tour).
I was still hot from my rush when the guide called us together, gave us some history about the neighborhood tenements, then took us across the street to the tenement. I did the Getting By tour, and I%26#39;m so glad I didn%26#39;t miss it. The guide knew the history of the Gumpertz family who lived in one apartment in the 1870s, parents and four children. The father disappeared and was never heard from again, and no one knows what happened to him. A poignant moment came at the end of the tour when the guide held up the photo of the man who was a descendent and had given them pictures and helped them put the apartment together. This man had also disappeared. They know more about him, however. He disappeared on 9/11.
The next apartment had been occupied by the Baldizzi family in the 1930s, and had been furnished with the advice of a daughter who had lived in the apartment. The final apartment was in the state in which all the apartments had been when the group purchased the building to preserve it in 1996 for $750,000. Even though the tenement was hot, there were fans located in each room and we were given little hand-held pleated fans. I actually was able to cool off a little.
After the tour, we were invited to join in a kitchen conversation in an air-conditioned room downstairs where water and snacks would be provided. I would have liked this, but it was 2:00 and I was really hungry. I walked to Olympic Restaurant, across the street from the subway station. It was a small diner, clean, seemed to be a gathering place for family and friends. I had an egg salad sandwich, a Diet Coke, and a side order of spaghetti that turned out to be big enough for a meal. I remember the spaghetti was $4.50 and that the sandwich wasn%26#39;t expensive.
When I got back to the hotel, I was planning to rest for a while and turned on the TV only to discover that another storm was expected. I did a quick freshen up and headed out to Rockefeller Center for the Top of the Rock observation deck, 70 stories up in an elevator, a ride that takes one minute and lets you look through the ceiling and watch the climb upward. The view was great. I could only stay for about 20 minutes, since the sun was beating down and it was hot. Since St. Patrick%26#39;s Cathedral was nearby, I stopped in to look around, and it is awesome.
Back to the hotel again, and this time I did rest for a while. I decided not to do too much and make it an early evening. I wanted to check out the Gershwin Hotel where my daughter had stayed a few weeks earlier. It%26#39;s kind of an experience in itself. I walked down to Madison Square Park and the Flat Iron building, then hopped on the subway for one stop to Union Square. It had started raining, but I had my umbrella and only one block to walk to get to Max Brenner—Chocolate by the Bald Man.
What an amazing place. The delicious scent of chocolate permeates the air from the moment you walk in. I was surprised there was no wait. I was seated next to two women who had ordered some kind of chocolate martinis. They came with a tiny plastic skewer of gummy bears laid across the top of the glass. I said, ';This might be a strange question but could I take a picture?” They laughed and said they were just about to take pictures themselves. So I took a picture of them with each of their cameras and wished I%26#39;d thought to ask them to take a photo of me with my food when it came.
I had Munchies Waffles, which came as two quarters of a waffle, each topped with whipped cream, then topped with dark chocolate ice cream, with a vial of chocolate sauce and a bowl of chipped chocolate pieces on the side. Oh my! I might have died and gone to heaven.
It was still drizzling when I came out, so I just took the subway back to the hotel. Once more the news was reporting that flights out of LaGuardia had been cancelled. Maybe I flew into the wrong airport.
Day 8 of MS's ten days in NYC
I enjoyed all of your reports and I%26#39;m not sure which is a bigger feat, all that you did in your time in NYC or the amount you wrote on your trip.
I%26#39;m also surprised that you were part of an Elderhostel, since it appears that you must be 23 years old to be able to complete all of this :-)
Thanks for posting and congratulations.
Day 8 of MS's ten days in NYC
Mmm - Max Brenner%26#39;s sounds fantastic! ;o)
Looking forward to the next part!
I am thoroughly enjoying your reports...there is so much detail, I feel like I am there again.....I can almost smell the wonderful aroma of Max Brenners....YUM!!
I have to say I chuckle every time you order that Diet Coke!!!! My usual drink of choice, as well!!
TPXB, after a few days, my notes became more concise, but I filled in my notes in the airport and on the way home. And you don%26#39;t have to be 23 to be fit, although when I post about my bike ride in Central Park, you might change your mind about my fitness level.
mir425, I even cut back on the number of Diet Cokes I drink!
I too really enjoyed the Getting By tour. Yours sounds more bearable (heat-wise) than mine though!
Agree that Max Bremner is fast becoming a must do.
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