New York - Earthquakes, Hurricanes, what the........

We know it all happens in New York, but really - an earthquake, then a hurricane (tropical storm really) which actually closed New York for a day; who would have thought that would ever happen?

We didn't feel the earthquake or know it had happened until some hours after the event. We were on the upper east side at the time and in the taxi coming back to the apartment the driver asked us if we'd felt the earthquake. We had to ask him a couple of times what he'd said because we thought we'd heard wrong, he then turned up the radio and the media was in a frenzy... In reality it was minor in Manhattan, however the media went into its usual over the top reaction. The next day it wasn't mentioned, there was another weather event on its way - Hurricane Irene - due to hit the east coast on the coming weekend and we were going to Washington DC for a couple of concerts.

The night before we left for DC we went to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem where they hold an amateur night every Wednesday night. It was a fun night, the audience chooses a winner by the amount of applause given to the acts. The guy that won played a harmonica, he was very good. Most of the other acts were pretty good too, it was very entertaining. The theatre was packed with about 2,000 people in the audience.

Apollo Theatre

We travelled to Washington DC on the train which was very comfortable, much more preferable to the bus trip we'd done back in June. We arrived at Union Station, even more impressive than Grand Central.

Inside Union Station

We'd prebooked a couple of concerts before we left Australia, The Four Tops and The Temptations in one show on Thursday and Bruce Hornsby on Sunday. The concerts were on in a place called Wolf Trap about a 30 minute train trip west of DC and the venue provides a shuttle service from the train station to the auditorium. We went out early for the first concert as the website advertised a restaurant so we had a meal and relaxed for a couple of hours before the show. The Four Tops were OK but the Temptations were fantastic, very Motown, great songs with their synchronised dance routines.

Filene Centre at Wolf Trap

The Temptations 

We spent the next day sightseeing, took a bus to Georgetown which predates the establishment of DC. It's about 3km north west of the centre of DC, located on the Potomac River and houses the main campus for Georgetown University. It's very affluent which is obvious from the restored terrace houses, high end shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and is the suburb to live in if you work in DC. We walked around the streets and through the university before stopping at Martin's Tavern for a drink. Martin's Tavern is like an old English pub and has a bit of history. Presidents, politicians and media identities apparently frequent the tavern, it's also the place JFK supposedly proposed to Jackie. Apart from ourselves we didn't spot any other well known people!

The infamous Watergate building near Georgetown

Georgetown University

Next stop was Alexandria, another old town that has been gentrified. It's about 10km south of the centre of DC so most of the population work in the public service. It is also located on the Potomac. Not as upmarket as Georgetown but lovely atmosphere. We came across a guy playing a glass harp which was amazing. While we watched he played Waltzing Matilda so Terry had a chat with him. The glass harp consisted of about 50 glasses of varying sizes partially filled with water. As he ran his fingers around the rims he was able to play various tunes - modern as well as classical. We could have watched all day. He's played with various orchestras around the world, however he likes to busk (and was making a small fortune) so he isn't tied into any particular schedule. Very impressed.

Glass Harp

Later that night we caught a ferry from Alexandria back to Georgetown along the Potomac, lovely balmy night and all the monuments were lit up as we motored along. It took about 30 minutes.

Lincoln Monument and Washington Memorial at night from the Potomac River

Saturday was the day when Hurricane Irene was going to hit the east coast. 

Downtown DC food court mid morning on the day Hurricane Irene was due, plenty of sellers but no buyers!

We spent most of the day at the Smithsonian Museum which has a fantastic display on American history. It covers over 3 floors, includes a pretty honest synopsis of each President's tenure in office as well as a portrait although there was only a small photo of Nixon with a scathing and brief write up. The building is set around a huge quadrant with tables and chairs which we made use of for lunch.

Inside the Smithsonian Museum

Centre quadrant at the Smithsonian Museum

The rain was very heavy by late afternoon so covered in plastic ponchos we walked the 5 blocks back to the hotel, got a bit wet in the process but not too bad. We stayed in that night understandably and watched the coverage on the TV. Thankfully it didn't get too bad in DC or New York although some other areas got badly flooded especially New Jersey and some of the southern states.

The rain had eased by mid morning Sunday so we spent the day walking the Mall which is the location of the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, various war memorials, the Capitol Building and the newly completed Martin Luther King Monument. It turned into a very hot and steamy day, we walked for miles. We took a break for lunch and headed back to Georgetown for a meal at Martin's Tavern. Wonderful!

Capitol Building

Statue depicting Civil War

Martin Luther King Memorial

Front of the White House

The back of the White House from The Mall

Terry's favourite musician of all time, Bruce Hornsby, was playing at the Wolf Trap auditorium Sunday night. We knew the drill of getting to the venue after our Thursday journey so we got there just in time for the start. Great concert! If you don't know who Bruce is (and many don't) ask Terry next time you see him.

Bruce Hornsby

We were leaving DC Monday morning on an Amtrak train. Pam had checked the website earlier in the day and there was no mention of trains not running, however we got a recorded voice message after the concert that Amtrak had changed schedules and to ring for further details. After holding on the phone for 90 minutes, it was 1.30am by this time, the only advice given was there were no trains on Monday from DC to NY due to flooding in New Jersey. We could reschedule for a Tuesday train but no guarantee they'd be running then, or we could get a refund and make our own arrangements. We had tickets for a full day at the US Open (tennis) booked for Tuesday which we didn't want to miss. So after spending another 30 mins on the web looking for a bus, one was found and booked, getting us back to NY around 6pm, which ended up closer to 8pm due to the crazy traffic.

Friends, Neil and Becky Besanko, had been expecting to arrive in DC on Saturday afternoon but all flights into DC were cancelled with their only option being a very long way round - LA to Miami to DC arriving late Monday. So we didn't catch up as planned in DC however they were coming to NY after DC by train, fingers crossed that Amtrak trains would be running by Wednesday.

Back to Tuesday, we headed off to the tennis at Flushing Meadows, which is in Queens, just over the road from the Mets baseball stadium and about 30 mins on the subway. Found a great spot on an outside court, with some shade and a light breeze, to watch a very entertaining 5 set game between Davydenko and Dodig. We then saw the Australian Casey Dellacqua lose pretty poorly to a French girl, Alize Cornet. We had free night tickets to the Arthur Ashe stadium from the Chase Manhattan Bank due to the timing of when we opened our bank account back in late May. These tickets also allowed us into their lounge for free booze and finger food so we made use of that before we watched the night game between Nadal and Golubev (Russian) which Nadal won easily in the end. Watched a little bit of the Serena Williams match that followed but we're not fans of Serena and she was demolishing her opponent. Big day, got home exhausted.

Arthur Ashe Stadium, Flushing Meadows

Relaxing in the Chase Lounge at the tennis

Inside Arthur Ashe stadium awaiting night game

Nadal's game underway

Neil and Becky arrived in NY on the train even though they'd be given the wrong information in DC and were initially expecting they'd have to get on a bus at Philadelphia, due to flooding in New Jersey, but once on the train they found out they'd be able to stay on it all the way through to NY. Much more enjoyable than the bus.

Neil and Becky were in NY for a week and we'd planned to fit in as much as possible. A summary of the week goes something like this -

Wednesday night - Bruce Hornsby concert at a beach bar on the Hudson River. Unfortunately the sound was badly mixed and it was all drums and guitars, couldn't hear the piano which is what makes Bruce's music so enjoyable. It was very disappointing and we left early.

Beekmans Beach Bar, Manhattan

For the next week Terry and Neil spent an hour or so every morning at the gym and pool located in our building while Pam and Becky slept in and took it easy.

Thursday - a walk up Broadway from Times Square to Central Park taking in all the tourist spots along the way finishing with a drink at the Loeb Boathouse on the lake in Central Park. Mets game in Queens that night and the Mets won! Home around midnight. Walked about 10kms.

Neil & Becky Central Park

Hot dogs, beer and baseball

Friday - Caught the subway down to the Financial District (FiDi, love acronyms in NY), walked through Wall street and the surrounding area including the World Trade Centre where they've completed about 50% of one of the new towers. A new plaza memorial is being opened on 9/11 for the 10th anniversary. Walked through Stone street which is a new area of bars and restaurants in the FiDi with the thought we may head back there later in the day. On to Battery Park and South Ferry to catch a ferry down to Staten Island past that "statue" and back again.

Stone street on a Friday afternoon, in the heart of the Financial District

The rebuilding of Tower 1 World Trade Centre

View of Manhattan from the ferry.

Stopped for lunch at a Battery Park beer garden. Had dinner at the Harvard Club of NY that night with Maria, our real estate agent and her husband as well as Neil and Becky, great night. Terry had been looking for a tie to match the shirt he was wearing and found a $4 special in a tourist shop close to the Harvard Club only to find that Fridays at the Harvard Club are casual nights, no tie required! He kept it on regardless... so Terry....Neil and Becky loved the place, it's very old world.
Home around midnight... Walked about 15kms.

Saturday - Started the day walking along the Hudson River to the start of the Highline at 30th street. The Highline is a an old overhead railway line which has been turned into a pedestrian walk with lots of plants and trees. There's little shade so on a hot day it's a bit tiring; we got off at 16th street and headed to the coolness of the Chelsea Market. Wandered through the market and took Neil and Becky past the brownstone we stayed at when we first arrived in NY. Near by in 10th Ave is a favourite restaurant of ours, Tiapols, where we stopped for a well deserved lunch.

Next on the agenda was a subway ride to Flatbush in Brooklyn, had to pick up a replacement router, as the one in the apartment had supposedly died (more on that later). Flatbush isn't the most attractive place so we didn't hang about, headed off to Prospect Park also in Brooklyn. There were hundreds of people having BBQ's and get togethers in the park, it was a lovely balmy afternoon.

BBQ's in Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Heading up to Williamsburg, still in Brooklyn, we stopped for a drink along the way in a suburb called Park Slope which is the place to live in Brooklyn, lots of brownstones in tree lined streets.

Brownstones in Park Slope, Brooklyn

In contrast Williamsburg is an old part of Brooklyn, narrow streets, cafes, vintage clothing shops, alternative place to be. We then walked back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge, which has magnificent views of the island.

View of Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

We had a bit of hassle getting home because of construction work on the subway lines. Had dinner in a typical diner not far from the apartment. Food was OK. Plugged in the new router once we got home, it didn't make any difference, still no internet. On the phone to the provider, nothing worked, maintenance guy to arrive Sunday, hopefully early.. Walked at least 20kms.

Sunday - The maintenance guy did arrive mid morning which was great and got it all fixed, problem in the building not the router!! Walked to Grand Central station, Bryant Park & NY Public Library (which wasn't opened; it was a long weekend). Passed by a movie set on the way to lunch, looked like another disaster movie.

Movie set "disaster" at Grand Central Station

Lunch at the famous Carnegie Deli, American extravagance at it's worst. No dinner required tonight.

Carnegie Deli!

Toured Rockefeller Centre and the 5th Avenue shops to walk off the pastrami sandwich. Spent the night at home with a few wines and nibbles only, while watching the movie "Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps" which was fun given the places we'd been visiting in the last couple of days. Walked about 15kms.

Monday - Got the subway down to 4th street, Washington Park Square which is in the heart of Greenwich Village, SoHo (South of Houston Street acronym) and NY University (NYU). Lovely buildings and a bit of shopping. Further south to Little Italy for lunch in Mulberry St. Some years ago Little Italy covered a number of streets but now its restricted to one street while Chinatown is forever growing.

Near NYU

Little Italy

After lunch we strolled around Chinatown with it's amazing fresh fish and meat markets. They sell live frogs, eels, crabs, lobster, all sorts of fish. The end of Chinatown is Canal street which is pretty seedy and grubby. Back on the subway heading home, dinner at Swing 46 on 46th street of course, not far away from the apartment. Walked about 15kms.

Tuesday - A wet, wet, wet day. Armed with ponchos and umbrellas we hit the streets. Headed on the subway, uptown, to have a quick look through Saks then onto the Waldorf Astoria, a lovely old world hotel. On a bus further uptown to the Guggenheim Museum. The literature we had on the Guggenheim stated exhibitions of Picasso, Monet, Pissarro, Van Gogh, Manet, Gauguin, Renoir along with some modern art. The building itself is worth a visit (which is free) however we paid the $18 to visit the exhibitions. What a disappointment and really a bit of a rip off. There was maybe one or two paintings from the masters on one floor with the other 5 floors dedicated to modern art which was, in our opinion, ridiculous, enough said.

The ceiling in the Guggenheim Museum

Back to the NY Library, amazing building. Back to the apartment, still raining. Headed out in the pouring rain, got quite wet even with umbrellas, to go to a musical not far away, Hair. Another disappointment.. We think good Broadway shows are few and far between these days. Easy day maybe 1km..

Wednesday - still raining this morning, taxi to Penn station to see Neil and Becky off on their train to Boston. Quiet lazy day.. no walking..wonderful..

The weather has certainly cooled a little and summer is over however it's a nice change so long as the rain stops soon...

We've got quite a few visitors over the coming month, so we'll be busy...

Till next time
Pam & Terry