Day 1
We arrived without incident at LaGuardia (well sort of – we were charged for our luggage, so I need to contact Aeroplan because it was supposed to be free, and Todd seems to have misplaced his headphones…). Anyway, after we picked up our luggage, we boarded the Q70 bus to the E subway, getting off at Penn Station, a short distance from our hotel (so pretty straight forward). We are staying at the Homewood Suites just south of Times Square in the Garment District. What a wonderful hotel – great location (except for the noise from the street – lots of road work) with modern decor rooms and a modern lobby – breakfast is included, and free wine and beer with some food options Monday to Thursday.
The hotel has a quiet patio out back and also a rooftop terrace on the 22nd floor to sit out and take in the views of the city.
Day 2
We began the day wandering around Times Square…so much fun; a bright, loud, and energetic area. Neon billboards dominate the area.
Times Square is a great area for people watching…
We saw “The Ball”, the one that drops down on New Year’s Eve.
After leaving Times Square, we walked down 42nd and came upon the impressive New York Public Library.
We wandered around a bit admiring the interior,
then stumbled upon an author talk. Erica Jong was discussing her new novel.
We took refuge from the rain at Radio City
and then continued our walk to the Grand Central Terminal. It is truly grand…
We saw the Empire State Building from a distance, but never got close because we weren’t intending to go up to the observation deck.
After a brief rest back in our room, we made our way to the Rockefeller Center.
This is where NBC is located. We were attending a taping of Late Night with Seth Meyers (got tickets online through 1iota a few weeks ago). We were there for a total of about 4 hours – checking in, going through security, waiting in the Peacock Room, and then filming the show in the studio. We met a couple from San Diego and passed the time chatting. The studio rules are very strict – no recordings or cameras allowed once inside. (One guy did get escorted out because he pulled out his cell phone and took a picture…). Overall, it was a lot of fun and an experience. We lucked out – Robert DeNiro was one of the guests.
Day 3 –
We went to another TV show taping today – The Chew at ABC studios.
The experience was quite different from the night before – not as organized or as comfortable during the waiting time, but the show was lots of fun.
The show is very energetic. Everyone in the audience received a slice of pizza when the Pizza Master guys came on. Other guests included Camila Alves (Matthew McConaughey’s wife) and a taped segment with Amanda Freitag (seen her a lot on Food TV). During breaks, Carla interacted with the audience.
Once taping was done, all the hosts (Clinton Kelly, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Daphne Oz) except Mario Batali interacted with the audience. As we exited, everyone was handed Amanda Freitag’s new cookbook.
We had planned on leaving the studio taping and walking to nearby Central Park, but the books we received changed that plan. We walked all the way back (from 67th to 37th), then back up again to Central Park.
We were surprised by the amount of bedrock poking up throughout the park.
We walked for a bit along the trails. A skating rink was being prepped for winter, bikers flew by, tourists took pics, and the carriages trotted along. Lots of walking today…
Day 4
It’s raining, but we are here to see the sites. We took the subway to the 9/11 Memorial. Words cannot express what you feel here.
Everyone knows where they were the day the Twin Towers were hit. Everyone knows 2,977 people were killed. Everyone knows how this changed North America. But reading name after name after name…no words…
(…Just have to say it was unbelievable the few people we saw taking selfies here and smiling…really?!). From the Memorial we went to the new One World Trade Center, completed in 2013. It is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and the fifth-tallest in the world.
We took the elevator up to the 102nd floor. It was very impressive even if the rain did impede the view.
The observation deck gives a 360° view of area – New Jersey, Manhattan, Brooklyn…
A relaxing bite and some cold beers while looking out from the top of the One World were a welcome break.
After drying out, it was time to brave the weather again. Through wind and rain, we headed to the Financial District. We are lifetime TD customers, and we have seen many TD branches here in NYC, but it was a surprise to see 2 Wall Street.
Since 9/11, the NY Stock Exchange is off limits to the public (still interesting to see…).
All wet again, we headed back to the subway to go back to the hotel and dry off before figuring out where to have dinner. Have to say the rain isn’t near as annoying as dodging all the umbrellas…