New York, New York! (Day 6-7)

June 25, 2012

Today Show

Since our trip was coming to an end soon, we decided it was now or never to visit the “Today” show. We hopped on the subway early to get a good spot, however we did not get there nearly early enough (7AM). Lucky for us, it started to rain and that cleared people out. The rain stopped so the TV people did come outside! We ended up getting on television twice – that was exciting! Monday is definitely the day to visit the Today show. It was Spiderman week; they were passing out masks, shirts and posters. It was also Hope Week – a New York Yankees charity. For Hope Week, they passed out hats, shirts, and buttons. Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte were also there, so we got to see them. Some of the USA women’s soccer team also visited the set while we were there.

After the Today Show, we wondered around the Rockefeller Plaza and checked out St. Patrick’s Cathedral. St. Patrick’s opened in 1897 and is a fine example of Neo-Gothic style. Neo-Gothic is an architectural style that was developed in the middle of the 18^th century in which the structures demonstrate a strong vertical emphasis, with sharply pointed arches and finials (decorative ornament). This church was also undergoing renovations.

Alice in Wonderland Sculpture - Central Park

We continued our journey towards Central Park – stopping by Trump Tower for some photos. There are many sculptures near the entrance of the park, and many throughout the park, as well. Some stops that we made included: Alice in Wonderland, Belvedere Castle, and Strawberry Fields. You could easily spend a day wondering around Central Park, we spent only a couple of hours.

Strawberry Fields - Central Park

We walked back towards the Broadway area, since we had heard about a really cool diner called “Ellen’s Stardust Diner”. The wait staff sings throughout the day and everything is in the 50’s style. The menu is huge and the food was good. I ordered the sloppy joe with onion rings and baked beans ($15). Allison had chicken tenders with fries ($15). We discussed going to the Today Show again the following day and decided to make a sign to take. As we headed back to the apartment, we stopped and got supplies for our sign. We also were in search of a Post Office to mail post cards home.

For dinner we walked to Little Italy, passing through Chinatown on the way. We got warned that in Little Italy all of the restaurants would try to pull us in to eat that their place. We had done some prior research (thanks Tripadvisor!), so we chose one of the higher reviewed places “Da Gennaro”. The prices were reasonable, $15-$20, and the food was good. It took a while for them to deliver bread to our table; it pretty much arrived the same time as our meal (I had a pesto dish). After dinner, we stopped by a bakery shop, where Allison got some cannoli – which she claims were nearly the best she’s had. I got chocolate caramel cheesecake at a cafe next door from the bakery – it was not very good.

June 26, 2012

First thing in the morning, earlier than the previous day, we hopped on the subway so we could get a better spot at the Today Show. We arrived a little before 7AM and managed to get a good spot along the fence. Our sign grabbed the attention of a lot of other visitors as well as the camera crew! We basically made a NYC Bucket List, with checkmarks by everything except for “meet Al”. Al did in fact come over to us! We got to shake hands and he talked about our sign on television! Having a good sign seems to be key to making it on the air for more than just a few seconds – that or find out where the hosts will be standing and get in that area. It was much less busy on Tuesday, compared to Monday. There were not any freebie handouts, but they did handout little cards that give you a 10% off purchases at the NBC store.

Central Park from the Top of the Rock

We had a few hours to kill, before we had to catch the taxi to the airport so we went to the “Top of the Rock”. There was no wait to go up first thing in the morning. It was a bit pricy ($25 for adults), but it provided a great overhead view of the city, better than the Empire State Building (which I went up a few years back). We spent probably about 30 minutes to an hour at the top.

Our New York City adventure was about to end…one last ride on the subway…one last view from the apartment. My cousin arranged a car to pick us up and take us to the airport. That worked out very well and I would recommend others to do the same, mostly because who wants to stand around and try to hail a taxi with luggage. We used the Dial 7 service. It cost only $5-$10 more than a standard taxi. Another tip – have the driver take the Brooklyn Bridge - there is not a toll. Our flight home was uneventful.