The City that Never Sleeps
Ladies– you might wanna hide your men. I enjoyed the Broadway shows sooo much, that i obviously must be gay or something…. :-) Wanted to follow-up and give a quick rundown of the trip to NYC that Anissa and I took the weekend before last. It was a great time:
- The last straw that pushed us to go is that we saw a “buy 1 get 1 free” flight deal with Virgin America– which is a new domestic carrier airline. Thus, $300 bucks round trip for both Anissa and I. Brand new planes. Great service (can even help yourself to soft drinks in the public fridge in the back of the plane.) Good food offered for sale onboard (we had a fruit/cheese plate and a steak sandwich) and a great onboard entertainment system (TV, movies, games, chat w/ other seats, and soon to be email and internet.) As you know, i think most domestic airlines suck badly compared to those outside the US– so it makes me happy to see a new player starting to kick ass.
- When we arrived at JFK, we took the airport train to the Howard Beach station of the ‘A’ route of the subway system. Having been to NYC about 10 times, i know the city pretty darn well at this point, and i think the subway is the best way to get around. Being that it was traffic time on a Friday when we arrived, taxi would have been misery in wait and fare.
- Anyway, took the train from Howard Beach, through and under Brooklyn, under the East River, into Manhattan. Then we got off at 42nd Street and walked to our hotel. While on the subway, as typical the entertainment on the train was great….. we saw 3 kids put on a breakdance show right in the middle of the aisle while the train was hauling ass, an Asian lady selling the latest DVDs (booklegs of those currently in the movie theatres) for 5 bucks and a good glipse of the latest urban styles and activities. I love it.
- Hotels in NYC during the Christmas shopping season are the insanely expensive part of the trip. Wasnt unusual to see rates of $700 a night… Taking rates and location into consideration, we decieded to stay at the Best Western “Presidential” right on 48th St and Broadway. The location was excellent and the price was comparitively reasonable:
- Well, the hotel was ok…. which was ok because we didnt spend a lot of time there. The plumbing sucked (loud and our sink was clogged the whole time,) but that aside it was fine. All in all, i’d stay there again, with no issue– but wouldnt make an effort to.
- That night (Friday,) after we landed in our room we immediately ventured out. Ate good Japanese Food at the restaurant next door to the hotel. Then walked around Times Square and Broadway area. When we walked by “The Color Purple” musical, Anissa said she always wanted to see it, so inside we went….
- First of all, the folks in line we’re a good 98% black. Being around this, it reminded me that San Jose really doesnt have a big black community. Coming to NYC puts you right into a big one, and it’s real cool with me. The folks here were very genuine, lively and nice. I fit right in, as many black women always liked me because of my height, and im told we’ve got black in our family tree (lol, that’s a bit of an inside joke.)
Anyway, while waiting in line (they had tickets available for sale, yep) we noticed that some of our black brothas and sisters were passing around a “Buy 1 get 1 free” coupon between eachother, thus scoring killer buys on the tickets. We also got some of that love from a nice couple who loaned us theirs. Thus, $115 bucks for two tickets instead of one. Buy 1, Get 1 is becoming a theme for this trip and i dig it.
- The Color Purple was the first musical ive ever seen (Broadway or not.) It was amazing. I was happy because i didnt at all get bored from mostly singing, I was able to follow the story well, and the performers were just so damn talented. They almost sounded so good that i thought it had to be lip synced. No way it was and i was blown away. Im told the lead part in the show was played by an American Idol winner, Fantasia. She too was amazing.
- The next day, we walked all over the area…. Times Square…. All over Broadway…. Rockefeller Center ice skating (went to the “Top of the Rock” at Rockefeller Center that night, and the views were amazing. Especially looking at the Empire State Building from there.) Fifth Avenue Shopping…. I love walking NYC, and it was great.
- Anissa wanted to pick up some of her favorite lotion, so we hopped the train to C.O. Bigelo’s (sic?) pharmacy (there since 1800′s) in Greenwich Village to get some. While walking around that area, we found a corner flea market and we picked up a couple great buys…. 1) A 1940′s electrical multitester tool. It’s a beauty and i may post about it in the future. It mounted in a leather covered case that opens. Has all the probes and documentation. I love old tools, and this is bad ass. $10 bucks. 2) Bought a couple old Peanuts/Charlie Brown records. The ones you play, and the case is also a book where you can read along. I loved those things as a kid. Buy 1, get the other Free… $5 bucks.
- It was damn cold (yes, we saw it snow,) and we decided to walk all the way back to our hotel from Greenwich Village. I bought a new Navy blue (obviously) P Coat (you know, like the old military wore,) and i love it. Warm, very high quality, fits me nicely, made in US. Now one of my favorite articles of clothing.
- We were really glad we walked back. While on the way, we stopped at my favorite NYC corner pizza joint (Ray’s Original) and had a couple slices. Ah yeah…
- Once back at the hotel, we changed and then went to see Young Frankenstein that night, on Broadway….
- OK, I am a huge fan of this movie…. so coming in the door i expected to be a tough customer to please. After all, how could you match Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein (“steen”, franken “steen”,) the movie monsters performance of “puttin on the ritz,” etc. The movie was just so amazing….
Well, the pulled it off… the show was AMAZING. The dude who played the doctor was perfect… all the characters were brilliantly cast…. “Puttin on the Ritz” made me laugh so hard that Anissa had to nudge me for being loud (I tend to shout “yeah!!” when i get excited.) It was excellent. Real excellent.
So, there you have it….. I’m a Broadway fruit, and we had a great time. Already planning on another trip this coming Summer. I love summer in the city, and i’ve always wanted to go to Coney Island.
BTW: My daughter was pissed off that we didnt bring her. I got an “anonymous note” on the Internet from somebody who said i was mean for not taking my daughter, because she ALWAYS wanted to go to NYC, and I probably just left her with grandma!!! Being that my daughter has an infamous past with her anonymous notes, it didnt take much to figure out who sent it to me. That said, i’m a sucker for spoiling my daughter too, and Sydney will be going for sure next time.
Couple more things… Here’s a pic of the Yahoo sign right in the center of Times Square. I like…
- Here is a pic of the biggest billboard in Times Square. It appears that Sean “Puff whatever the fuck is name is” Combs is such an ego maniac that he had to use himself in his Sean John advertisement. It’s huge (as you can see, about 15 stories high,) and he’s overlooking everything in the center of NYC. What a joke…
-scott noteboom
Add comment December 24th, 2007
