Christmas shopping, shows & sights in New York 2010 Day 2

[disneywiseowl]

Day 2 – Sunday Dec 12th SHOPS, SIGHTS & SMOKE JAZZ CLUB

Woke 3.15am – despite usual sleeping pill – then read til 5am. DDs were stirring so we decided we might as well get up. Took our time, had some drinks & fruit & watched Times Square coming to life. It was almost like a black & white movie in the early morning –grey clouds, slight mist at the tops of the skyscrapers. Workers poured out of the subway, looking like an ant heap that had just been disturbed. All wearing black clothing & with their heads down, avoiding eye contact, as they rushed to their offices. We could see the cleaners working in the nearby buildings –& one by one the office lights would come on as the workers would arrive. Then later on, tourists/visitors arrived, adding colour to the scene as the neon lights began to shine.

We’d already decided to tip the maid daily (shifts are so changeable) so we left $3 in a cute little Xmas card & a chocolate Xmas Santa – yep, as well as Disney, I’m also a Xmas & Chocolate addict.

We left the hotel at 8am, wrapped up like Egyptian mummies & walked over to the Rockefeller Centre but unfortunately, the heavens opened on the way – oh well, ‘best laid plans’ & all that – DD1 & I had to buy brollies at a street stall – only few $. Cool DD2 of course had her own in her bag. The streets weren’t crowded at this time of day & it only took a few mins to get there – even at my ‘tortoise’ speed. It was too early for the skaters but we admired the rink, angels etc. it was all much smaller than I’d imagined from the movies/tv but still beautifully done. We stopped at a Deli for the NYC mandatory breakfast of Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese bagel, OJ & Lattes- don’t know how much it cost as one of the DDs paid but I have to say that NYC is more expensive than Florida – which we expected.

We paddled on to our next destination – St Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue & after admiring the architecture, were lucky enough to find an Advent mass in progress celebrated by the Archbishop of NYC. They allow tourists in but after seeing me genuflect & light a candle/say a quick prayer (I’m a lapsed Catholic) & noticing that I had a walking stick, a very helpful lady tried to usher me to a seat. I would have liked to stay but my DDs aren’t religious & I could tell they were feeling a bit uncomfortable so we left. Saks was nearby so we leapt (well, the DDs leapt, I followed) from one door to another. On entering Saks, a greeter offered plastic brolly covers to us – what a good idea – all the big stores in NYC had these. We wandered round Saks for a bit, don’t recall buying anything but I needed to sit down & luckily we found a Charbonnel et Walker café. They’re appointed by the Queen so it would have been unpatriotic not to try it.

The counter had a moving conveyor belt carrying desserts etc – just like a sushi bar – very cool.I was gutted that I was too full of bagel to eat as it all looked delicious but we just settled for hot chocolate - yum yum. – $7 each but worth it.

We moved on to Lord & Taylor’s where DD2 bought yet more Uggs (gave me a chance to sit down anyway) & there was nothing the male sales assistant didn’t know about Uggs – a bit scary really – oh & we all got a cool Xmas Tree ornament each – could have bought more but a helpful American shopper whispered to us that Macy’s had reduced all theirs by 50pc

Then, we headed over to Grand Central Terminal to see the Xmas train exhibit. Loved the station – it seemed so familiar – prob cos of all the movie scenes shot here. It reminded me a bit of Union Station in L.A. There was a craft fair on which was interesting but the goods were too expensive for us. We bought the mandatory cheesecake from Junior’s to take back to our room.

The Xmas train layout was great but the shop was a bit too crowded for me as I need to keep moving/ can’t stand still for long but still worth the visit. I would have liked to go to the much bigger Holiday Train Show at the Botanical Gardens but couldn’t fit it into our schedule.

We tried to admire the Public Library but it was covered in scaffolding & we didn’t have time to go in. The rain had stopped so we did manage to get an unimpeded photo of one lion. We walked past the Chrysler Building – I’d have liked to go inside but we were running late so….

Bryant Park was next on my schedule. Luckily it had stopped raining & the Xmas market was in full swing. It’s a lovely little park & the skaters on the ice rink added a suitably festive air. We wandered around the stalls & I bought a knitted hat from one of the craft stalls & a silver necklace DD2 was admiring but trying to resist Then, I spotted an Italian chocolate booth – that was whispering my name - oh heavenly – I was forced to buy another hot chocolate – justified by the extreme cold – and a huge plastic syringe, full of liquid chocolate (if only all injections were like this) to take back for my DH. I held out for 24hrs before I ate it & got a NYC pen for him instead Well, it was his own fault for not coming with us – lol. I sat on a bench drinking my choc & watching the skaters, whilst my DDs bought a few small souvenirs. Lovely moment in time.

We headed back to the hotel, grateful to get back into the warmth. The maid had left us a lovely little note thanking us for the Xmas card etc. Telephoned Smoke jazz club & made reservations for later. DD1 never intended to go with us. She was going to go to the cinema to see Narnia but being still ‘under par’ decided to eat at MickeyD’s & visit a few local shops. We chilled out in the room – watched a Xmas film on ABC, got dolled up & headed out around 6ish.

We got a taxi immediately (one advantage of being in Times Square hotel) & it cost about $15 & few cents. DD2 gave $20. tbh – all our Manhattan taxi fares were $20 – the actual cost varied from $13 to £$16 but we couldn’t be bothered asking for couple of dollars change. As I mentioned earlier DDs had a taxi fund. They knew I couldn’t cope with public transport & that I would try to walk too far to save money (I’m not mean just brought up to be economical) so they’d conspired in advance to counter any objections by having a taxi fund – they know me too well.
I loved all the taxi rides we did as we got to see the streets – something I would have missed if we’d used the subway all the time.

We arrived at Smoke (smokejazz) & were shown to our table. What can I say? We had a wonderful, perfect evening. It’s a small club – café size with a bar running down one side of the room & small tables – providing a very intimate atmosphere. We didn’t spot any other tourists – may be off the beaten track – don’t know. The food was excellent – better than expected for a set meal at such a reasonable price. I started with a Vodka Martini & it nearly blew my head off they certainly didn’t stint with the alcohol. After that I added some tonic! DD2 had pomegranate vodka. We tried to drink a glass of water between the cocktails.

Strictly speaking we only had the table for one session (common policy in NYC) but because it wasn’t too busy we stayed at our table for 2 sessions – til midnight. The service was excellent – water jug refilled before it was empty, our waitress was watching all the time & appeared instantly when we signalled for more drinks etc.

In one of those co-incidences that often seem to happen, among the ladies at the next table was an ex-pat from Manchester – used to live just a few miles from us. She’d emigrated 7 years previously & was very nice apart from being a Man City fan (only joking – we’re all Mancunians).

I’ve saved the best for the last – the MUSIC. We loved it & they did have a the Saxophonist. The singer was fabulous – one of those that makes you wonder why they haven’t made it big time AND makes you realise how poor the contestants on reality tv shows are. Her name is K J Denhert (own website & see youtube). Her music was mellow, bluesy type jazz which is my favourite & she was so good, we bought 2 cds. It wasn’t just the magic of the night either – we’re still playing them now. In the intervals, she sat with the band’s friends on the table next to us & autographed our cds & told us about her forthcoming tour to Italy.

Costwise- there was no cover charge. The total bill was $130 + $30 tip. We had the set 2 course meal $30 each, then shared a cheese platter later – to soak up the alcohol – good decision because we also had 5 extremely generous cocktails each
When we left, KJ was sitting outside having a sneaky smoke – we thanked her for a wonderful evening & she thanked us for coming & for buying her cds – she was so sweet & so modest.

A taxi pulled up immediately & we went back to the hotel – tired, swaying a bit but very contented at the end of another perfect day.

[sue.o]

What a lovely ending to a great day!

[Guest]

The jazz club sounds fab!

[hross42877]

Wonderful read!

[Guest]

Sounds like another great day

[Guest]

Another awesome day! I now am even more excited for my trip!

[DIBBadmin]

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