April NYC -- The "Bank"

I often travel with other women. It has been one of the joys of my life. (you know who you are!)

And the BEST TRAVEL TIP I EVER LEARNED (from Mary) was to put money into a "pot"...to pay for those things that will be shared.

Neither Amy nor Nicole had ever been to New York...I'd been working on our itinerary for weeks...and I sooo wanted them to enjoy this trip. Here's an email I wrote to them...the week before...

Dear Amy, Nicole and Jackie,

....To handle the finances -- we will each put $300 cash into the "NYC Pot". I have the perfect zippered pouch -- and I nominate Nicole to be our official banker.

That money will pay for cabs, tips, ubers, subways, restaurants,etc. Anything the FOUR of us do together can come out of the pot. We'll often be sharing food...this is much easier than asking for "separate checks"...

Obviously, you should have your own money to pay for those things only you want to do. That includes alcohol, Starbucks, cigarettes, illegal drugs and hookers.

If we run out of money in the pot, we'll pitch in another $50...(or whatever). At the end, if there's anything left -- we just split it...

When I mod-podged my NYC purse...

I love, love, love this little purse...

And, OF COURSE -- I made a matching zippered "money pouch"...

Anyway. Our FIRST job, after arriving at our hotel, was to sit down, and put our cash into the "Money Pot".

I love the Art Decco lobby of the Hotel Edison -- but, when we arrived, it was packed full of people. So, we left our bags with the Bellman -- and went across the street...

Just steps away from our hotel -- is the fabulous Marriot Marquis!!

I love the way their center tower of elevators works...you push a button, and it tells you WHICH elevator to get into...

Their "lobby" is located on the 7th floor -- along with some retail shops, beautiful, spotless bathrooms, a coffee shop, a bar. It was the PERFECT SPOT for us to sit down and organize our Money Pot.

WE ARE SO LUCKY TO BE traveling with an actual "banker". Nicole has worked for a bank for 20 years.

And, for the next three days -- Nicole paid all the bills. We'd go into the subway, and Nicole would hand each of us a $20 bill to get our MTA passes. At a restaurant, the bill would come to the table, and Nicole would pick it up. Getting out of a cab, somebody would say, "Nicole, you've got this?"

IT WAS SO EASY.   By Sunday night, I heard Nicole talking to her husband on the phone and she said, "I've been paying for everybody all weekend...it's always Nicole, get this, Nicole pay for that, Nicole, tip the bellman...all I do is pay, pay, pay..."

Our Last Night in New York City...

On Monday, April 8 -- we started at the TODAY show in Rockefeller Center at 4:00 AM...and by the time we ended, with Pommes Frites, it was after 11:00 PM.

I cannot imagine anybody packing MORE INTO ONE DAY than we did.

That night, when we came up from the subway at 50th Street...I realized THERE WAS NO OUTSIDE LINE UP AT ELLEN'S STARDUST DINER...!!

I hesitate to even blog about this place...because, clearly, social media has damn near ruined it. There is ALWAYS, ALWAYS a line out the door and down the block. I never got to take Lilly there...and last year, when I went with my sister Deena, her granddaughter Maddie and our friend Val -- it was a complete stroke of luck that we hit it on a rainy afternoon.

What makes it so special?   The wait staff SINGS. And these young people, who are taking your order and bringing your food -- all came to New York because they want to make it big on BROADWAY.  They are the cream of their high school crop...or their college glee clubs...But, in New York City, they are swimming in a MUCH BIGGER POND.  So -- between auditions -- and, right before they get cast in a hit musical -- they WORK AT ELLEN'S.

AND THEY ARE A.M.A.Z.I.N.G...

Day Three New York City: Monday Night Magic...

After our afternoon at the Tenement Museum, we made our way (via Subway) to Greenwich Village.

Our #4 ticketed event of the day. Monday Night Magic....the oldest continuously running off Broadway show in New York City...at the Player's Theater in Greenwich Village...

OH, YEAH...we've got this subway thing DOWN PAT!!

We went to Washington Square Park.  It was packed with people, live music, kids, families...

Eventually, we made our way to The Players Theatre...on MacDougal Street...

Nicole snapped this Selfie...right before the Monday Night Magic Show started.

After the show -- right across the street -- POMME FRITES..!!

We actually scored one of the THREE tables...in this windowless, basement mini French Fries-Only restaurant.

WHAT A GREAT DAY WE'VE HAD. Our subway ride back uptown...

Oh, yeah...WE'VE GOT THIS...

After starting our day at 4:00 AM...the TODAY show, the Vessel at Hudson Yards, the Staten Island Ferry, Statue of Liberty, the 911 Memorial, Katz's Delicatessen, the Tenement Museum, Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, Monday Night Magic and Pomme Frites...you might think THIS DAY IS OVER...

But you would be wrong.

There is one final moment of Ritaluck...

Day Three NYC: The Tenement Museum

So -- our day began in Midtown -- at Rockefeller Center and the TODAY show. Then, we took the subway across town to our second ticketed event -- the VESSEL at 10:00. Then, all the way down to Battery Park and the Staten Island Subway, up to the 911 Memorial and the Occulus...

Gheesh...it makes me tired just WRITING ABOUT this day. By the time we got to Katz's Deli, we were starving.

Our third "ticketed event" of the day was the Tenement Museum.

Over the years, you have read many of my various NEW YORK CITY blog posts...but you rarely see mention of an actual "Museum visit". Even though New York City has many world-class museums -- my visits to this beautiful city are just too brief. Most of the time, I only have three or four days -- and the people I'm with want to see the "highlights". So Museums just don't make the cut...

Don't get me wrong. I know what they're missing. I have been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, and the Guggenheim. I have even ventured into the Whitney, the Frick Museum and the American Folk Art Museum. But, if I'm being honest -- most of them are way over my head. I don't have a big appreciation for art -- or artifacts -- also, I'm afraid I have a limited attention span...

But -- this place is different.

On this day -- Monday, April 8, 2019, I was taking Jackie and my nieces Amy and Nicole to the best Museum I've ever been to. Really. It's THAT good...

The Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street (on the lower East Side) is a very unique place.

For over 100 years, it housed thousands of immigrants landing in New York City...but, in 1935, it was abandoned. And it stood -- empty and dilapidated -- for over 50 years.

When they opened it up -- the tiny apartments inside this building were like time capsules...

In the dark entrance and first floor hall -- you can imagine the hustle and bustle of that earlier time.

There are several "apartment tours" to choose from. The best thing about a Tenement Museum tour is they are small groups (10 people) -- led by a real person "docent". I chose the "Sweatshop Workers" tour.

Here's the description, from their website:

The Garment Trade and the Immigrant Experience Immigrant garment workers past and present have many experiences in common. They all share the memories of long hours hunched over sewing machines, the hiss and heat of pressing irons, and the goal of making a better life.

The Levines and Rogarshevskys, like many immigrants of their time, found a livelihood in the garment trade, New York’s largest industry. The Levines operated a garment workshop in their tiny apartment at 97 Orchard in 1892.

Harris Levine, the patriarch, hired three workers and worked long 15-hour days, stopping only to observe the Sabbath each Saturday. A family of six, the Levines managed to raise their children and compete with other garment shops for 13 years — and all within a 325-square-foot apartment.

It is hard to imagine a large family living in this tiny apartment, AND running a sweatshop in the same space...

The Rogarshevkys faced a similar living challenge in 1908. With six children, the Rogarshevskys creatively squeezed into their tiny three-room apartment at 97 Orchard Street. The patriarch, Abraham, earned a living as a garment presser in one of the neighborhood shops. It was a job that would take a tremendous toll both on Abraham and his family.
********

Standing in that cramped little apartment...in the very spot where those immigrants lived and worked. I thought about how terrified they would have been...coming to America was like landing on the Moon. Was it brave? Or desperate?

Taking that giant leap of faith...to this unknown world...the sacrifices those families made...going to a foreign country, where you didn't speak the language. Living in a tiny squalid 300 sq. ft apartment with a dozen other people...working for pennies...all for the hope that your children would have a better life.

Most of us came from those humble beginnings...but it's an easy thing to forget.

New York City Pictures: Day Three, Part Two

After visiting Hudson Yards, we took the subway down to the Staten Island Ferry.

This is ALWAYS on my list of "must see" activities in New York City

The fact that they transport millions of people every year -- and it's ABSOLUTELY FREE -- is really amazing.

And a testament to NEW YORK CITY.

Seeing the Statue of Liberty always gives me goosebumps...

And the views, coming back into the city, are spectacular.

The next stop was the WTC and the 911 Memorial.

The Oculus -- on the grounds of the 911 Memorial. It is equal parts amazing and disappointing...

If you go inside -- you discover it is a very expensive shopping mall. Wha?? With lots of wasted space. No place to sit. And the design is so artistic (and bizarre) -- it is almost impossible to go from one level to the next. I would love to know who sat on this committee.

Here's the thing.  WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?  I've been to the Oculus twice and I just don't get it. You go to this hallowed ground to visit the 911 Memorial, then the Oculus expectation is that you'll be in the mood to shop for some high fashion, maybe expensive jewelry or the latest in Apple electronics? It's just incongruous.  And it is very...well....disappointing....

But I don't think anybody could be disappointed with KATZ'S DELICATESSEN...

Here, instead of tipping the waitress (because you don't have one) -- you tip the guy cutting your meat!

I had to "YouTube" how to order at Katz's. It is very old-school. Each person gets a ticket when they walk in the door...and EVERYBODY HAS TO turn in their ticket when they leave.

There are several different "stations". At one place, you order your sandwich, and they mark your ticket...at another place, you order your Matza ball soup, and they mark your ticket...etc.

Our lunch at Katz's was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.  I wish I had a better vocabulary...because there just aren't words.  We ordered one corned beef on rye, a Rueben, an order of fries and a potato knish.

A man on the subway told us if we were eating at Katz's -- we should drink a Cream Soda.  That sounded right.   Our bill at Katz's was about $60.  Believe me -- a bargain BY ANY MEASURE..!!

New York City Pictures Day Three Part One

So, in many ways, THIS IS OUR BIGGEST DAY in New York City. If we count the TODAY SHOW -- we actually have four different "ticketed" events -- and I wanted to pack in as much NYC as we could -- around those events....

Also, in keeping with my philosophy of having one special "food" event every day -- this day will be our Jewish Deli experience. Katz's, of course!

As we were moving around on this day -- we were on every subway line in the city.  However -- the subway is $2.75 per ride.  And, since there are four of us, it is sometimes cheaper to take a cab. (remember -- we are doing New York ON A BUDGET.)...

In the line up for the TODAY show.  It's now possible to RSVP online BEFORE you arrive in NYC. 

Outside the studio...we had a great position, right on the fence.

I stood with the girls until the cafe across the street opened...

Then I went inside -- to watch from the window.

The girls DID get on camera...and they got to speak to Hoda and Al Roker.  But now -- we're on to the NEXT thing on our list.

The brand new NYC attraction -- the "Vessel" at Hudson Yards.

The MTA had to build a new line, especially for Hudson Yards.  This new purple line subway is very deep in the ground..

With the tallest escalator I've ever been on...

Really...it's so deep, you almost cannot see the bottom from the top...

But once you surface -- THIS is what you'll see..!!

It's called "The Vessel" -- and it's meant to be walked.  You can see for miles...the Hudson River is right there.  The huge tent looking structure behind it is "the shed"...and it has a moveable roof.  A new venue for concerts and events.

Every guard is handsome, polite and friendly.  We talked to this guy -- and found out they are mostly ex-military or former NYPD officers.  And there are a lot of them...

This isn't just one tourist attraction.  The buildings surrounding the Vessel will be luxury apartments, there's already a huge shopping mall, many restaurants, the concert venue, a plaza...well -- you get the picture.

Just taking a ride on the #7 subway to Hudson Yards was an experience. It is a wonder than anything this big or grand or ambitious could be built in New York City.   But then again, when I think about it, NYC is probably the ONLY place in the world where this could happen.

I think it is fascinating...and here's the wikipedia link, if you'd like to read more about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_Subway_Extension

Day Three

Monday was another REALLY BUSY DAY. I was so excited about everything we had planned for this day. The girls wanted to go to the TODAY show...and, after that, we had tickets for the VESSEL -- the newest addition to the New York City landscape. Altho the tickets are free -- you have to go online to get them. When Amy got the tickets for Monday, April 8 -- I completely changed our NYC itinerary to accommodate this very special event. It just opened two weeks ago -- so getting those free tickets was A HUGE SCORE...

4:00 AM wake-up call...ugh...

Monday April 8:

·       4:00 The girls got up to go to the TODAY SHOW.  We left the room an hour later to join the in line.  (they were #2).  Jackie and I picked up two toasted bagels ($2 WITH a big schmear of cream cheese).  At 8:30, the show is over.

·       We walked down to 42^nd St, to take the #7 train to Hudson yards!! (10:00 tickets)

·       THE VESSEL WAS AMAZING…we went inside the shops, did a bit of a walkaround…

·       We took the subway over to 42^nd Street, then transferred to the #1 down to Battery Park.

·       We got on the Staten Island Ferry, took some pictures of the Statue of Liberty.

·       We took a cab up to the 911 Memorial, and went inside the Occulus.

·       We cabbed to Katz’s Deli at 205 E. Houston Street.

·       We walked to the Tenement Museum (103 Orchard Street)  for our 4:15 Tour.  It was about the lives of immigrant families, who were garment workers at the turn of the century…

·       We took the subway to the 4^th Street Station for 8:00  Magical Nights Inc. The Players Theater

·       We stopped in at a corner bar and had a drink and some water.

·       Then, we walked over to Washington Square Park and walked around.

·       After the show, we went across the street to POMME FRITTES…where we actually got a table.  You needed a code to get into the bathroom, and had to push a button to get out.

·       We took the Subway back up to Rockefeller Center (orange, B,D.F.M)

New York City Pictures: Day Two, Part Two

It's not often you experience a seminal moment -- and KNOW THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING.

But, on Sunday morning, April 7, 2019 -- at 10:32 AM -- I knew I was having one. After the four of us left Bergdorf Goodman's -- we walked across the street to the corner of Central Park. Nicole and Amy saw a vendor renting bicycles...

They turned to me and said, "can we ride bikes around the park?"

And I knew my work here was done. These two young women were completely at ease in this beautiful big city. Soooo far from their lives in Iowa. Yet they had the MTA app on their phone, they were completely comfortable going off on their own -- to ride bicycles all around Central Park.

I was so proud...

The girls got on their bikes and rode completely around the park.  They had theater tickets for 3:00 -- and I knew they would be able to find their way back to the hotel, and then the show with no problem.  I was so proud...

Jackie and I took a leisurely walk through Central Park.

It's still possible to get a carriage ride...

We took a city bus up to 77th Street -- not quite sure where it was...

But we were looking for THE GREEN FLEA MARKET..!!  I was there one time -- with my friend Marion -- and it has since been made famous by the show "Flea Market Flip".

This rug SOOO wanted to go home with me. But, at $800 -- it was just a little bit over my budget.

Jackie didn't buy the shoes, either.

This most incredible had COULD have been my NYC souvenir! ($80) But then, I remembered I never wear hats..

We left the flea market, and started to leisurely walk down the street -- enjoying the beautiful day -- when we STUMBLED ON TO AN ACTUAL THRIFT STORE..!!

Housing Works.  They had a little bit of EVERYTHING.

Jackie found a wonderful cotton dress...with many intricate, curved lines.  GREAT!

I would have bought these four chairs IN A HERTBEAT...

$50 for a pair!!  They were sooo interesting!

And who wouldn't love a white pleather "poof"...

AFTER the girl's broadway show (Come From Away -- which they LOVED)...it was on to our big food event of the day! CARMINE'S on 44th Street...

We made the BIG mistake of ordering the Sunday pasta special.  Four pastas for $60...and we did not make a dent in it.

My favorite picture of the four of us.  Carmines's was WONDERFUL...but the portions are killer.  Our meal was $148.  A bargain in any town.

Hamilton is still packing them in!! (it's right across from our hotel).

We walked through Times Square to get back to our hotel.  The girls power walked down to Macy's (they had exactly 23 minutes to shop)

I was ready to go to bed...tomorrow is a 4:30 AM wake up call!!