On Saturday, December 12, 2009, Terry, Ellen, Richard and
I woke before sunrise to get ready for a day trip to New York
City. A cold morning was braved as we set off just after 7am.
The following reflects our day in New York… the good and the bad…
the fun and the fights…
I
know this is getting posted way too late for the 2009 holidays,
but hopefully our experiences then will help your plans for the
future…
(In
order to cover the day itself, the following material is set up
chronologically.)
Parking
near Radio City – After looking over a ton of
possibilities to include on our day in the City, we had pretty
much settled on two things as musts… a carriage ride in Central
Park and the tree at Rockefeller Center. After checking out a
few other things… places we might want to visit for lunch… other
places we might want to visit… we ended up deciding that most
of our thoughts were in the same general area and parking in near
Rockefeller would be the best idea.
That
was good… and bad.
We
parked on West 52nd Street.
Now…
what the hell were we thinking? The obvious answer is that I wasn’t.
Radio City Music Hall is right there… they were running their
Christmas show at the time… and, you know, the tree is up, and
a couple of people might want to see that… and we were deciding
to park there because it was close to the center of everything
we wanted to do… which all comes together as a fancy way of saying:
a few other people also decided parking in this area would be
a good idea. And while not hideously expensive compared to what
I expected (under $50 for the day), there were other locations
that we saw that would have been less expensive. Plus, with some
research for the future travels into the city, public transportation
options would be even more efficient. So… yeah… bad.
On
the other hand, we basically placed ourselves two blocks away
from our last stop of the day. Any cab rides… which we never needed,
but might have if we were further away from the plaza… would have
pushed that parking and transportation price up. And once we got
out of the garage and had Mi Luv U lock on to our destination
to provide directions, the traffic flowed surprisingly smoothly.
In
the end… it worked out fine, but we will be thinking about other
options next time.
(By
the way… bring a map of New York City with you. I know… I know…
you have a Garmin and it’s the greatest thing ever and it works
so much better than your friend’s other-big-name-GPS-that-is-usually-wrong
and so on. That’s wonderful. Listen to me one more time… bring…
a… map. Take three minutes before you pick up
your car to consider where you are and the basic route you need
to follow to get to your bridge or tunnel or whatever you’re using
to get out.
Why
am I stressing this? Ok…
First
of all, the buildings around you are really tall. Really, really
tall. And there’s a good chance that once you turn off your GPS
unit, it will take a while to pick up the signal again and lock
in on where you are, where you’re going, and pass along the next
turn to take.
Secondly,
once you get in your car, the people getting in the one… two…
five… fifteen other cars that have been pulled in behind you by
the garage attendants are going to want to go. And naturally,
in the interest of there’s-no-space-to-waste-around-here, all
of these cars are going to expect you to get in and go. Now. Right
away. Because you’re blocking the exit. They don’t care about
you plugging in your GPS. They don’t care about the reception
you aren’t getting. They don’t care about your seatbelts or a
quick sip of water or adjusting the mirrors. They don’t care that
you weren’t expecting to leave the garage and merge with a one
way street… weren’t expecting to come out on the other side of
the building on to a different street than the one you entered
off of… weren’t expecting to catch an immediate break in the traffic
so you had to get going right away instead of pulling to the edge
of the curb and then having a second to catch your breath and
settle in before driving on. They don’t care. They don’t care.
They don’t care. Which leads to…
Third,
read that paragraph about having to get in the car and move quickly
out of the garage again. The same thing applies to the streets
and driving. When the cars are moving around you, and the police
are telling you to join those cars and get moving so the holiday
procession keeps rolling along, you’ll want to already have some
idea of where you need to aim the car.
And
fourth, though not to limit this to only four things because there
are certain to be so many wonderful scenarios developing around
you, meet Murphy. And Murphy has this law that states that Mi
Luv U will greet you with the wonderful sounds of silence. The
lovely phrase “recalculating…” will not be heard as you are leaving
the garage and need her to help you, but instead will kick in
five to ten minutes into the journey. In fact, you are most likely
to hear Mi Luv U just about the time you are paying a toll, after
you really, really, really needed her because you had
no clue when to turn and were making all sorts of guesses because
no one looks at a map any more until you finally saw a small sign
posted almost perfectly so it could not be seen…
Murphy
predicts you will hear Mi Luv U guiding you about two minutes
after deciding: “I don’t care how nice it was to have the car
close by so I didn’t have to lug all these bags around on a train,
I’m pretty sure this is becoming a neighborhood we don’t want
to be in after dark. Next time I’m researching which ferries don’t
slam into piers.”
So…
again… get a map. And always take a second to figure out what’s
next. It may not be easy to do, especially in a crowd. But you
will often be very glad you did.)
World
of Disney
– Don’t look for it… it’s not there any more. As 2009 closed,
so closed the doors on the World of Disney store. And that’s a
shame.
Covering
three levels, the Disney experience here was well-developed and
it had all the angles involved… from the touristy New York items
to the pricey and hard-to-find collectibles.
I’m
going to miss this store.
FAO
Schwartz
– We didn’t go in. (And honestly… other than the big piano on
the floor… is there a reason to go in? Fine, here’s the story…)
As
we walked down Fifth Avenue from Disney, we thought about heading
in to take a look around FAO Schwartz before crossing the street
and going into the park. I’ve been inside before, and it is a
really neat store. I’ve tried to include it often on trips to
the city. I just don’t find it to be a real toy store. Hard to
explain that comment, but I’ll try… each time I’ve been in there,
I’ve been impressed by just about everything I’ve seen, often
have been amazed by a couple of items and found alot of stuff
I didn’t even know existed, and yet I can’t recall a single time
on any visit when I wanted to reach for my wallet. Can you imagine
being hungry, then walking into a bakery and not being tempted
by anything? Same idea.
On
this day… the line was insane! (No. Actually, insane doesn’t do
it justice. It was worse than that. Insane implies there could
have been something intelligent or logical or realistic about
it. This line was long and stupid and wrong from the very beginning.
It stretched from the door, down 58th Street at least a block
(it probably didn’t cross a street, but it wouldn’t have stunned
me to find out that what we saw in the distance… an apparent bend
on Madison Avenue, involved the line extending to the point of
effectively circling the block), and then came right back up 58th
to where it started. It was twice as long as it looked… and it
looked plenty long. At the pace people were entering, it was going
to be over forty-five minutes before we got inside, and that was
a conservative guess given to us. (That’s quite a wait to see
a store when you pretty much already knew you aren’t buying anything
in it.))
Oh…
and that bakery comment? Yeah… wouldn’t be the last time we felt
that way today. (More on Dean & Deluca in a second.)
Carriage
Ride thru Central Park
– For Terry and Ellen, this was set up to be the event of the
day, and it didn’t disappoint.
I
won’t tell you it was the most thrilling, amazing, fantastic thing
ever found in New York City… nor will I tell you it is something
you’ll regret if you skip it.
I
will tell you that the whole thing was pretty cool and I’m glad
we did it.
When
we arrived, there was a bit of confusion… no organized line… inconsistent
stopping by incoming carriages… and alot of questions about how
to climb on and get a ride. (Apparently the FAO Schwartz crowd
management team trains in the same place New York City Carriage
Ride organizers do.) As the horses, drivers and carriages arrived,
everyone was waving arms and shouting at drivers for information
about how to start a ride. Incredibly all of the drivers seemed
to want to answer, but none of them were. Instead, they gave what
sounded like as vague an answer as possible. Some times it was
just a slightly moving arm pointing to the curb at some imaginary
place in the distance. (I couldn’t escape the feeling… and still
believe… that if I had waved my hand at the driver with a couple
of twenties visible in the palm, indicating I wanted to shake
hands and wink-wink-nudge-nudge while I asked how to get a ride,
I would have been on a carriage in under 5 seconds. It seemed
like every driver wanted to say “tip me” to the information requests
while actually saying “stand on the curb and the next carriages
are coming but I have to pull up there” instead.)
Turned
out, as the entire crowd looked, listened and didn’t try the extra
tipping… after taking a deep breath and watching the pattern for
a few moments, we figured out that the setting was perfectly tailored
to Terry’s strengths… she staked out a spot, leaned slightly forward,
and made sure she was noticed.
Richard
had gone to purchase ear muffs at a stand right next to the curb.
Literally ten feet from where we stood. I saw them and considered
getting some myself, but I didn’t have time. Once she designed
her plan, Terry had us sitting in a carriage in less than three
minutes.
(Hey
Richard… muffs. (That just never gets old. And our jokes were
much worse in person.))
We
talked a bit with our driver. I am now convinced there are few
jobs as wonderfully seasonal as driving a carriage through Central
Park. Holidays… snow fall… busy with lots of good post-ride tips.
Weekdays in July and August… hot, not as busy, and a smelly horse.
M&M
World
– I think I can say… for all of us, even without asking the other
three… that visiting this location is the moment when the adventure
spun a bit out of control, and became something completely different.
We had a great time in New York. The whole day was fun and fantastic.
In setting up the moment here… we were hungry. We had reservations
for lunch about two hours later than our watches were showing
it to be, and had decided that we would walk to the restaurant
and see if they could take us early. As we wandered down West
50th Street, we turned on Broadway… since we needed to get onto
West 49th. And that’s when I saw something in the distance… M&M
World. And the group voted in favor of a quick stop. And…
It
was here, upon our arrival at M&M World, that we truly felt
like we were there, but we didn’t see a thing. It was true of
FAO Schwartz. It would be true again later in the day. But this
was where it really became blatantly obvious what was going on.
See…
It…
was… packed…
Basically,
it worked like this: You entered the building off of Broadway.
Within five feet, you were swept up by a river of people that
took almost complete control of your movement. The flow carried
you to the other side of the store, where the current moved onto
the escalator going up to the second floor. Stepping off the escalator,
the people moved in a circle around to the other side of the escalator,
placing you back on and headed down. From there traffic flowed
to the back door and you were deposited onto 8th Avenue wondering
what the hell happened.
Now…
was it really that bad?
Well…
yeah. It was.
We
actually were able to step out of the river and make a purchase,
but for the most part, the experience was like shopping for items
along the side of the road while inside a car moving at about
80 or 90 miles per hour. If you looked straight ahead, you might
be able to react in time to exit the holiday retail highway, grab
a shirt and a box of candy, and then figure out how to get to
a register. But if you were looking out to the side and expected
things to be in focus, you wouldn’t have any idea what you were
looking at, and even if you thought you spotted something you
wanted… by the time it clicked you were too late and out of luck.
I’ve
been in M&M World in Las Vegas and New York… and prefer Vegas,
considering the show and free samples. I’ve been in M&M World
in New York before this… so I can say it is worth adding to your
plans. But it is touristy… and almost inexplicably more about
M&M merchandise than candy. And yet… I would stop again. (And
as opposed to FAO Schwartz, I would be tempted to grab my wallet
for a purchase.)
But
this holiday experience? Yuck. And for the most part, the crowd
here was a sign of worse things to come.
Plataforma
Rodizio – Oh… dear… lord…
Amazing.
The
salad bar was beautifully set up and contained a selection that
would easily have three or four dishes to please any appetite.
The side dishes were fantastic. (We loved the fried plantains.)
And the main course… a selection of meats carved tableside… were
delicious.
Heck…
Terry even tried the chicken hearts.
The
location on 49th Street was within easy walking distance of Rockefeller
Plaza… and just outside of Times Square. Their web site includes
information about parking and other ways of getting to their door.
At
some time, please treat yourself and visit this restaurant.
Hershey
Store – Remember a moment ago I mentioned how
M&M World just may be more towels and t-shirts than candy?
No problem with that here. They had plenty of candy. Still crowded…
but a bit better controlled. (They actually staggered the entry
into the place… but to be fair, that could simply have been a
result of needing to since this store is smaller than M&M
World.)
Here’s
the funny thing though… they lined us up outside. And, on our
way through the door, we were given a sample. Sure… both little
things. But the wait outside meant that while crowded inside,
you weren’t being pushed around. You could see things, stop and
look at them, and didn’t feel rushed. And the sample may have
only been one of those Hershey miniatures. It was still a nice
touch. It felt a bit like they were happy all of us bothered to
show up.
Top
of the Rock – Every so often, we make plans
and manage to pull off something so perfectly that the results
almost defy description. Now these plans could be simple, where
a slight twist here or there combined with a happy accident to
create a breathtaking moment… such as our group of six picnic
in San Francisco against the Pacific Ocean. Or they could be more
elaborate and perhaps risky, where we made plans hoping for the
best and then were treated to even more… such as signing up for
a sunset cruise and wine tasting with Danger Charters in Key West.
Here…
we timed sunset brilliantly.
I
had wanted to go to the top of a building on this visit to New
York. I had been thinking Empire State Building… but as we started
narrowing down the thoughts for the day, it was going to be slightly
out of the way for our one-stop-vicinity planning. So, Ellen and
I started checking out the Top of the Rock. I had never been to
the top here before (at least not that I can recall). Everyone
seemed good with it. And it was obviously right near the tree,
so it was perfectly situated in the neighborhood of our day.
Before
we left, I kept mentioning to Terry and Ellen (and, I’m guessing
Richard… but my direct contact was with Ellen) how great it would
be to head up around 3:30 or 4 so perhaps we could catch sunset.
So all during our day, a target time was floating around in the
back of our minds.
The
views were great in all directions… from Central Park on one side
to the Empire State Building on the other. The sunset wasn’t incredible…
there were a few clouds in an overcast sky… but seeing the city’s
night come to life was amazing.
NBC
Store
– The crowds had worn us down by this point, and this store was
wall-to-wall people. And, in this case the store was selling a
ton of merchandise, but I know Terry and I would have bought more
than we did if it wasn’t so uncomfortable to move around.
A
great store with alot of neat things, but just not the perfect
location for this day.
And
here’s where something funny happened. When we got out of this
store, we walked a bit toward the tree. We smiled, and took a
deep breath, and paused for a minute to kind of refresh ourselves
and our spirits after a long and exciting day.
That’s
when a group of four people… two adults and two kids… shoved their
way past us, started complaining about all the people that wouldn’t
get out of their way so they could take a picture, stepped in
the way of someone who was taking their own picture, backed into
us while trying to get a picture, and then shoved their way on.
Yup…
we were fried.
Dean
& Deluca – I’m going to give them the
benefit of the doubt and say that it was so incredibly, amazingly,
blindingly busy late Saturday afternoon that no coffee shop in
the world could have kept up with it.
That
would be fair and reasonable and explain why we left Dean &
Deluca feeling discouraged and let down.
But
the reality is that we were at the end of the day and didn’t have
high expectations for Dean & Deluca. Sure… it had been on
out list of things to see way in advance. Ellen had targeted it
before we left as a place she wanted to check out. We knew the
Rockefeller location wasn’t a full company store. (That would
be, as far as we understood, the SoHo area, and this was one of
their cafes.) And, having eaten a huge lunch, we were really just
looking for a cup of coffee and maybe… maybe… a cookie
or something small to satisfy a craving for dessert.
This
location didn’t deliver. There was a line, even though as far
as we could tell it wasn’t busy. (Meaning the staff was just moving
slow.) About half of the staff behind the counter seemed to either
be starting or ending shifts… but in either event they weren’t
helping customers. Once inside the doors, there was no crowd…
in fact, new paragraph…
It
was cold. And the plaza was packed. To move one step you had to
take three… one to attempt to move in a direction and the other
two to get to where the first should have taken you after a wave
of people bumped into you and swept you the wrong way. Now… cold…
with thousands upon thousands of people assembled… seems to me
a cup of hot chocolate would be on the mind of more than one or
two of these people. But inside the store, there were really only
about ten to fifteen people. All of us standing in line along
the counter. The store looked dirty and beaten… like the thousands
upon thousands outside may have already stampeded through. But
again, it wasn’t that busy.
The
food? Eh. Since I used a bakery example before, it works again…
and even more appropriately… here. You know those really fancy
bakeries or shops you visit once in a while? …the ones with the
really impressively made pastries and confections that look ridiculously
intricate and delicate and beautiful behind the glass? …with expensive
stuff but it all looks oh-so-worth-it? And then you buy one item,
sit down and open the box, bring it to you lips, and when you
bite into it you realize you should have spent three or four quarters
on a cellophane wrapped cupcake from a convenience store?
Ellen
enjoyed her coffee. Richard says his was ok, but probably tasted
better than it was because of how cold it was. My hot chocolate
was fine but nothing special. On a day in December of 2009, this
was not a place filled with culinary wizardry and epicurean delights.
Would
I give them another shot? I guess. Would I recommend a visit?
Nope.
Even
though we changed things a bit from the normal diary of events,
we wanted to include our thoughts on the best of the day and some
idea of how to avoid the frustrations…
What
we really liked…
Carriage Ride thru Central Park – It’s touristy
and clichéd and… fun.
Top
of the Rock – I’m sure the views are tremendous all day
long, but sunset was fantastic.
In
fact… a few years ago we headed into the city to see The Gates
exhibit in Central Park. And on this day, looking over the park,
I did wonder what that might have looked like from up here.
Plataforma
Rodizio – Here’s a funny thing about our visit… if we
had waited until our actual reservation time, the place would
have been filled. Several groups arrived about a half-hour before
we were suppose to get there, and the line around the salad bar
was growing quickly. So we ended up timing our visit beautifully.
The
food… very, very good.
The
service… great.
The
atmosphere… fantastic.
You
will not be disappointed with your meal here. And… good tip… there
is a special price for lunch that will save you about $20 per
adult.
What
we hated…
Dean & Deluca – While there were a few stops
that we made on this day that were frustrating or difficult, the
reality is almost every one of those was simply a result of the
crowds involved. For instance, given a chance I’ll definitely
go back to M&M World in New York. I can’t say for certain
that I’ll ever be tempted to return to Dean & Deluca.
The
crowds – Ok… here’s a great story…
We
began heading back to the car, and it was basically like walking
against a brick wall. The streets and sidewalks were a closer-than-shoulder-to-shoulder
mass. We tried moving away from the plaza and out to Fifth Avenue,
Hoping maybe this was all for the tree, and things would flow
more easily and allow us a better walk to the car once we got
away from the plaza.
Nope.
Packed.
At
one point we hit a crosswalk and were waiting to get moving across
the road. Off in the distance you could hear cries and comments
from people, slowly becoming louder and heading our way.
“Hey!”
“Watch
it!”
“Are
you even looking where you’re going?”
“Stop
shoving!”
It
became apparent that the noise was coming from the same area…
and someone walking toward us was pissing off alot of
people.
About
ten to fifteen feet away from us, the crowd started to separate…
looked exactly the way a wedge splits a piece of wood. We had
a visual on the jerk.
Some
times life has a sense of humor. If I called Jay on the phone
and told him to draw a caricature of a person that looked like
a tank and was plowing through a crowd… there isn’t a doubt in
my mind that this woman would have been exactly what he drew (or
even better). She was a stocky, evil tempered tank.
I
was loaded up with bags from our day in the city. Terry was standing
behind me, and sort of to the side, offering a bit of support
while essentially watching my back.
The
tank approached.
And
struck.
She
tried to shove me, but having watched the approach I was just
about ready for her arrival and managed to hold my ground by leaning
back into her. And then… the funniest thing of the day happened.
She
bounced off me and then tried to shove Terry out of the way.
Terry…
already frustrated by the crowds and annoyed by this woman’s antics
and with her hands relatively free… she shoved her back.
And
when I say that, I mean Terry shoved… her… back.
The tank staggered, paused, and began moving again on the sidewalk
along Fifth Avenue. Never turned her head… never acknowledged
anything going on.
My
lovely bride did not pour the rest of my hot chocolate over the
tank’s head the way she wanted to. And she didn’t belt her the
way she wanted to. That was probably fortunate considering the
police officers standing a few feet away on the street.
But
the shove was noticeable enough that a ring about ten people deep
around cheered when my wife pushed back and firmly said “watch
it” to the little beast.
Tips
for you…
Plan your day – Biggest thing I can tell you.
Only thing that matters.
I
don’t want to try and imagine what our day would have been like
if we had tried to change locations by driving around. I know
it wouldn’t have worked.
Subway?
Yeah… that could have helped, especially if we wanted to move
great distances.
But
the big thing is this… if you are visiting the city, especially
around the holidays, make your plans.
Reservations
for the restaurant…
Where
you are thinking of parking, or how you intend to travel to and
from…
Don’t
go all touristy, but be prepared with maps or directions and other
pieces of information…
And
most importantly… set up your day to be enjoyed. Months later,
the crowds and dilemmas are long since over as any type of problem
for us. Instead, we recall the Top of the Rock, lunch at Plataforma,
and all of the cool things we did (and may do again). Most of
those are things we knew we wanted to include and had already
made some arrangements for.