Manhattan Day 1 We began our journey in Philadelphia (www.sweetbrowndog.com/Phil1.html) and arrive in NYC via train. We take the Philadelphia area’s SEPTA train system to Trenton, NJ, then switch to an NJ Transit train for the rest of the trip. It’s about a 2.5-hour trip, a little slower than Amtrak but considerably less expensive. NJ Transit drops us at Penn Station (7th Ave & W. 32nd St.), from there we take a taxi ($8 with tip) to our “hotel.” All trip information is based on our one-time experience in November, 2007.
Is it a Frank Gehry? (Day 1)
A building we spotted while strolling through Chelsea
Our room in Chelsea
Buddhist Monks constructing a sand mandala  at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine (Day 2)
What looks like a colorful painting is made entirely of sand
DUMBO: The Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan behind me (Day 3)
To avoid DUMBO jokes, I’m wearing earmuffs
Architectural detail on the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine (Day 2)
Julie gets fresh at Katz’s Delicatessen (Day 2)
Our waiter, Rich, is sitting on her lap in this photo
Inside St. Paul’s Chapel (Day 3)
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A taxi drives through it
We were in Manhattan during a “taxi beautification” project; an arts group was placing flower decals on as many taxi cabs as possible
We head to lunch at the Half King (W. 23rd St. near 10th Ave.), one of Jess Brand’s recommendations. It’s a funky pub environment with a diverse clientele. For $33 we have a buffalo burger with fries, a turkey sandwich with stuffing and salad, and 2 beverages. This is a good spot for lunch. After lunch we walk around the neighborhood and walk through the Chelsea Market, an upscale indoor shopping center on 9th Ave. between 15th and 16th Streets. We pick up 2 hearty cookies at Ruthy’s, a bakery in the market, for $4. For dinner we walk to Don Giovanni Ristorante (10th Ave. near 22nd St.). The service here is pretty indifferent and the music is way too loud, but the setting is otherwise good and the food delicious. We have a tomato/basil pizza, a hearty helping of tortellini, salad and 2 beverages for $41 (the salad is a ripoff at $8!). We walk a good distance to see the Flatiron Building (Broadway & 23rd St.). It’s night and we’ve forgotten that the Flatiron is an office building, so it’s not lighted well enough to stand out. We give up and call it a night. Day 2 The subway is only 2 short blocks away. We first go there to buy 7-day unlimited ride MetroCards for $24 each. We take the subway up to 59th St. and have breakfast at Café Europa (7th Ave. & W. 57th St.); scrambled eggs with sausage, home fries and a bagel, and a breakfast sandwich with tomato/bacon/cheese plus fruit, 2 hot teas and an orange juice for $23. We take a stroll through part of Central Park; there are a few ice skaters out on the rink, and we stop to admire the Imagine tilework in Strawberry Fields. From there we walk to the New York Historical Society (Central Park West & W. 77th St.). The admission is $10/person. We’ve come primarily to see Here is New York: Remembering 9/11, a multimedia exhibit of that dreadful day. The highlight of the exhibit is 2 rooms filled floor-to-ceiling with photographs, taken by professional and amateur photographers, of September 11 and the aftermath. The exhibit itself is very moving; unfortunately the NYHS staff ruins the experience. The primary problem is in the photo rooms, where 2 rude “security” personnel watch us like hawks and refuse to let us really appreciate the exhibit. The exhibit is quite interesting but I give the staff a thumbs-down. By good fortune, a group of monks from the Dalai Lama’s monastery in India is visiting the Cathedral this week. They are constructing a sand mandala; the meaning and beauty of the sand mandala is too complex for me to explain here (what’s on Wikipedia seems decent). The mandala is like a painting made from sand and the monks work entirely from memory, with no diagrams or blueprint. They will spend the week constructing the mandala, after which it will be swept away, to emphasize the Buddhist principle of giving up attachments (i.e. “everything changes”). This is a great surprise and watching these monks work is one of the highlights of our trip. We walk to Katz’s Delicatessen (Houston St. & Ludlow St.) for dinner. This is where the “I’ll have what she’s having” scene from When Harry Met Sally was filmed. The deli is quiet at this hour. We split a brisket sandwich (plenty for 2), a potato knish and 2 beverages for $25. The food is excellent and our waiter, Rich, is a friendly guy who takes time to chat with us a few minutes. The weather has turned cold today and despite bringing warm jackets we are underdressed, so we make a quick trip to Old Navy to pick up another layer. Then we take the subway back up to Chelsea and pick up a chocolate croissant ($2) at Bread Stix (8th Ave. and W. 23rd St.). Rude service and an average croissant. We take the subway downtown to go the Strand (Broadway at 12th St.), NYC’s famous bookstore. I guess I’m too choosy; I find the Strand disappointing. The vast majority of their selection consists of hardbacks, whereas I’m looking for softcover editions. And I don’t find their prices that impressive. And the staff is completely rude. The selection is quite good, it’s a massive store, but the Strand is not for me. We make another subway trip to Spring Street and walk to the Housing Works Used Book Café (Crosby St. near Houston St.), a highlight from our 2005 trip to NYC. This is a comfy used bookstore with an eclectic selection; unfortunately they are closing early for a fundraising event so we don’t have much browsing time. Day 3 We take the subway to High St., the first stop in Brooklyn. From there it’s a short walk to the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area, with spectacular views of Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Manhattan Bridge. After enjoying the views we go into Front Street Pizza Deli and Grill (80 Front St.) for breakfast. The guys running this place sound like native Brooklyn-ites. We get friendly service and a hearty breakfast; 2 ham-and-cheese omelets with home fries and toast and 2 hot teas for only $9. We walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan, taking time to enjoy the views. Once we’re in Manhattan we walk to St. Paul’s Chapel at Broad St. & Fulton St. Across the street from Ground Zero, St. Paul’s was a center of activity after 9/11, where relief workers rested and where families posted information about their missing loved ones. The chapel remains filled with 9/11 tributes and it is heartbreaking to see. We have lunch at the bustling Stage Door Deli at Broadway & Vesey St. The place is packed but we manage to find a table for 2. The clientele seems like mostly tourists until suddenly a large group of construction workers come in to buy lunch – that must be a sign of good deli sandwiches. We have a meatball hero sandwich, a pastrami on rye, and 2 beverages for $17. Home Personal Links Image Galleries Journeys The Good Old Days The Movie Quotes Project Fiction Rules of the Road Next we walk to Trinity Church (Broadway & Wall St.) just down the street from St. Paul’s. The church itself is beautiful, but we’ve primarily come here for one of the regular Concerts at One held in the church. The music is free and the setting is perfect. Today we enjoy the Ma’a lot Quintet, a woodwind quintet that performs chamber music, including a Mozart composition. Check Trinity’s web site (www.trinitywallstreet.org) for the concert schedule.
Inside Trinity Church (Day 3)
We’ve reserved a room via www.bedandbreakfast.com (our room didn’t come with breakfast), an apartment owned by a private investor who rents the unit on a short-term basis. Our one-bedroom, 4th floor, walkup unit is tiny (maybe 500 sq. ft.) but is located on a quiet residential street in Chelsea for only $200/night. It is an older building, with all the quirks, creaks and groans of older buildings. But the room is comfortable with lots of urban touches (brick walls and exposed pipes) and the location is perfect for us. Our hostess is Jess Brand, who is very helpful and provides excellent recommendations for local restaurants; she also directs us to a nearby post office and laundry service. If you want something different than the standard hotel, look up the Brands. We take the subway up to 110th Street and have lunch at V&T Italian, on Amsterdam Ave. near 112th Street. We have delicious spinach tortellini in marinara sauce and a small pepperoni pizza for $17; we only drink the free water, mostly because the waiter never offers us beverages! Either way, the food is quite good. We walk approximately across the street to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. This is reportedly the world’s largest Gothic cathedral, and it has been under construction since 1892. Construction is still in progress, some of that from a fire that damaged part of the church in 2001. Also, the main cathedral is being set up for a corporate event this evening. So we cannot see much of the interior of the cathedral, but what we see is awe-inspiring. Next we go to the Tribute WTC 9/11 Visitor Center on Liberty Street on the south side of Ground Zero. They have a small museum with exhibits relating to 9/11. Admission is $10 but includes joining a walking tour of the area conducted by individuals who have some direct connection to the event. Our guides are a woman whose brother was a firefighter who was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed and a former customs agent who worked at the site during the 1993 trade center bombing. Imagine a walking tour on the sidewalks of downtown Manhattan; it’s tough to hear our guides at times, but the tour provides a good understanding of the magnitude of the event. The organization’s web site is at www.tributenyc.org.
Construction at Ground Zero (Day 3)
Our tour guide told us construction goes on 24/7
After this we take the subway to 50th Street and go to Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. It’s pricey, $38 for both of us. But there is almost no crowd, not long after sunset on a chilly November evening, so in a few minutes we’re at the top of Rockefeller Center looking out at the lights of the city. The observation deck is open but surrounded by large panes of glass (photographers, clearly a flash is useless up here; also there is an opening between each pane of glass just wide enough for a 35mm lens, to avoid reflections). The deck is not crowded at all so we have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the view. We wrap up the day with dinner at the Back Stage Deli on 49th between 6th and 7th Avenues. Friendly service and good comfort food; a bacon-tomato sandwich (I don’t like lettuce) with fries and a grilled cheese with fries, plus 2 beverages set us back only $15. A good end to a long and enjoyable day. We take the subway back to Chelsea and call it a night.
A view from Top of the Rock (Day 3)