Our 30 day trip to the US. Part 1 San Francisco. (LONG).
Dec 16th, 2012, 11:41 PM
#42
Thursday Nov 22nd 2012 Thanksgiving Day
Today we were celebrating our first Thanksgiving at Becky’s place ( a friend of Adrienne and Josh’s), but that was not until 4pm. We debated about walking Brooklyn Bridge in the morning but by the time we decided it was getting a bit late, so instead decided to go to Roosevelt Island. Roosevelt Island is a small island in the middle of the East River, two miles long and 800 feet wide. We took the F subway there, got out and there was a football game going on at the park. There are a lot of apartment blocks on the island, it would be a very interesting place to live I would imagine. You get great views of Manhattan and Long Island City. Not sure what the rents would be like, probably a bit cheaper than Manhattan itself. Instead of taking the subway back, we took the gondola, which goes from Roosevelt Island to 2nd Avenue at the bottom of Manhattan. It only takes about 5 minutes, and each carriage holds about 100 people. People with bikes use it too.
We got back home just in time to catch the subway to A & J’s place, and then caught the G train to Brooklyn. This took about 30 minutes on the subway and then another 10 minutes walk. Becky lives in a very nice part of Brooklyn called Park Slope, near to Prospect Park. Her apartment is a lot bigger than A & J's but so is the monthly rent. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, kale salad, and Josh roasted some potatoes. There was fruit pie and pumpkin pie for dessert. A delicious meal. Loved the pumpkin pie, not something that we have in New Zealand. We have things like pavlova, and trifle. There was quite a selection of wine too ranging from sparkling, to dessert wine. Becky had some other friends around also. One of them (an astro-physicist) had been to New Zealand and he wore his Maori design shirt and greenstone pendant in our honour) He also bought his own plate, which he made when he was 6 years old!!!!! )I think he thought Becky was going to be short of plates. She was short of wine glasses, but wine drunk from a beer mug is just as good!!!! We made our way home about 12.30am it was amazing the people walking the streets and waiting in the subways at that hour. A great day.
Friday 23rd Nov 2012
Black Friday, the worst shopping day of the year apparently. We didn’t intend to go shopping today but our DIL had e-mailed and wanted us to buy a Google Nexus to bring back as a Christmas present for our son. We decided to go early, and do the Christmas market at Grand Central Station at the same time. We had been a few days ago but Adrienne was with us then, she liked one or two things that we thought we could get her for Christmas. One of them was a photo of the Queensboro Bridge, printed on gold leaf. We thought if they ever came back to live in New Zealand it would be a lovely reminder of where they used to live, close to the bridge in Long Island City. We then went to Staples to buy the Nexus, got it at a bit of a discount because of Black Friday. The streets were starting to get busy so decided to go back home. Just as we got home Adrienne text and said she was in Manhattan and did we want to go to the Christmas market at Union Square. We had a quick lunch and hopped back on the subway to meet up with her and Josh. By this time it was about 2pm and was getting very busy. We looked around for a while, bought a couple of quirky things for the grandchildren. Adrienne wanted to check some more music shops to see if they had any piano accordions. Unfortunately they didn’t. Warren had fun looking at the keyboards, and sound gear though. We decided to call it a day and made our way home. The subway trains were getting very crowded. This was the only time we had struck packed subway cars where you had to push yourself on and off.
Later on that night we went to an Italian restaurant in mid-town called Sophie's and saw a very nice piano trio. We sat at the bar close to the band, and had a few drinks and some nibbles. We sure made use of our 7-day subway pass. We probably did at least 3 return trips a day the whole time we were in New York.
Saturday 24th Nov 2012
Last night I had asked a question on Facebook in the Fodors Friends group as to which museum was the best to go too if you weren’t really museum people. Several people suggested the Metropolitan Museum and also gave us an idea of what exhibits to see. By now we were getting good at sussing out which subway route to use. Only occasionally did we forget we had to change trains and end up at a completely different stop. We avoided the crowds at the Met, even though it was 11am. It was huge and a bit overwhelming. We saw the Egyptian Wing, the American Wing, the Temple of Dendur, some amazing furniture made in the 1700's, with lots of secret drawers and compartments. The Christmas tree decorated with ceramic cherubs, the Andy Warhol exhibition, and the Faberge and Tiffany exhibitions. The circular painting of Versailles was amazing. Warren took lots of photos, his new camera had a museum setting which worked very well. He tried to take one of the Christmas tree with the angels but got yelled at. He also got told off for taking a photo of the cloakroom!!.
We went back home for a rest and to Skype our son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. I was glad it was Sunday morning in New Zealand as staying up to midnight to Skype during the week was a bit tiring. We went back into Manhattan to go see a jazz band at the Bar Next Door. This was next to the Tea Spot where we had been a couple of days ago. The band was the Jack Wilkens Trio, consisting of a guitarist, double bass, and drums. Jack Wilkens the guitarist had been out to New Zealand a few years ago and gave a master-class at Massey University where Josh and Adrienne were doing their music degrees. Josh as a student thought Jack was a great guitarist but was disappointed in his playing tonight. We did have a meal there, there was also a $ 12 cover charge and you had to pay this for each set. We left after the first set, and went to another Jazz Club called the Garage, to see Champion Fulton, the jazz pianist we saw on our first night in New York three weeks or so ago. Tonight she was playing with her normal band, and her Dad who plays the trumpet. The Garage is a very nice place to have a meal and to listen to music. We eventually got home about midnight.
Sunday 25th Nov 2012
Our last full day in New York City. We went to the Morgan Museum this morning to see the Beatrice Potter Exhibition. Adrienne has loved Beatrix Potter ever since she was very small. She named one of her cats Jamimah after Jamimah Puddleduck!!! We now have this cat, as we inherited her and Japetto when A & J moved to the US. Adrienne came along with us to see the exhibition that showed the original picture letters Beatrice Potter had written to the children of her old governess. Later on in her life she got them back again and used them as a basis for a lot of her stories including Peter Rabbit. We thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and also the Morgan museum itself. The library, which held thousands of first edition books, was incredible. As was the décor, murals, the magnificent ceilings and chandeliers in the four rooms that had been restored in 2010. We were also told about the secret staircase that linked the library and the house that Pierpont Morgan lived in next door. You could just see it by looking between the bookshelves.
After the museum visit Adrienne decided she wanted to have lunch at her favourite Mexican restaurant in Greenpoint. We were in mid-town and had to get to Brooklyn so this involved two different subway trains. I was very boring and just had the French Toast it did have a slight Mexican touch. Warren had a burrito, Adrienne had a Mexican version of fried eggs, with rice and beans.
We came back home for a couple of hours, then went back to Adrienne and Josh's to have a farewell dinner. Josh cooked some yummy vegan corn fritters. We then decided to go to Harlem 132nd Street to the American Legion, where A & J had played a couple of weeks ago but on a Thursday night. Every Sunday night Seleno Clarke runs a jam session there. This was the first place that Adrienne and Josh played at when they came to New York in 2009.
Here is a piece from the Village Voice about this regular Sunday night jazz session.
"This city is renowned for its famous jazz clubs, but they're usually packed with well-strapped tourists for a reason: The cover charge can sting. Luckily, there are more economical options available here, like Seleno Clarke's weekly show at American Legion Post 398. Organist Clarke has a career that stretches back to the '50s and a sound that harkens back to '60s r&b. For 14 years now, he and his Harlem Groove Band have hosted a Sunday-night show with guests including legends like George Benson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Jimmy McGriff. This regular gig has led to him downtown bookings and international tours (where he's known as the "Harlem Ambassador of Jazz"), but the best place to catch him is in his home turf. Get there early though—the venue holds 100 inside and on the patio, and already some savvy tourists have flocked there to hear him. 248 West 132nd Street, 212-283-9701 (10027)".
We took the A train......... Adrienne and Josh got up to play a few songs. We stayed and listened to some of the other musicians, including Seleno. He is about 70 now but can still play the Hammond B 3, Josh played two or three songs with him. It was a great night of music. Everyone is so friendly. It was funny that sitting across from us at another table were a couple from Auckland New Zealand.
Tomorrow we leave JFK airport at 3.30pm, get back to Nelson Wed 28th Nov at 12.20pm.
Monday 26th Nov 2012.
We did our packing this morning, and managed to get everything in, without having to buy any more bags. We had borrowed Adrienne’s hand scale and relieved that we were still within the weight limit.
We took the subway to the Air Train. It was a bit of a struggle with the two big bags, and the two carry-ons. More for Warren than me as he had to carry the bigger bags down the subway steps. Someone helped me with the carry-ons. I must have looked helpless. We had to change trains at Queen Plaza but thankfully there was an elevator up to the next track, so it wasn’t too difficult. There weren’t a lot of people on the train either so plenty of room for the bags. We got off at Sulphin Boulevard and took the elevator up to the Air Train platform. We managed to get through the turnstiles okay, we were a bit worried about how the bags would get through, but they fitted fine. We bought tickets for the Air Train and got off at Terminal 7. It was crazy that Adrienne and Josh were also flying out to Auckland today, but two hours later than us, they were flying Qantas. They weren’t supposed to be catching the Sun Princess until the following Thursday but got called up unexpectedly. Their flight was going to be three hours longer than ours as they were to go via Sydney.
We made a bit of a fuss at the boarding gate about not being seated together, and just before we boarded Warren’s name was called and he had been allocated the seat next to mine. I think it must have been premium economy as there was lots of legroom. We arrived at LAX at 5pm and had to get to terminal 2 and go through security again before boarding at 6.45pm. We thought about waiting for the shuttle but asked someone official for directions, who told us to walk through the car park building, take the elevator up to the third floor, and we would be at Terminal 2.
There was quite a bit of turbulence on the flight from LAX to New Zealand. The pilot did a good job avoiding a storm and apologized for what turbulence we had. We were in the middle row of 4, but there was an empty seat between myself and another passenger sitting in the other aisle seat. It was a long flight back, a lot of clock watching. We both got some sleep but were very glad when the plane landed at 7.30am. We finally got back to Nelson at 12.30pm Wednesday. As we were flying in, we flew over Farewell Spit, a miniature version of the spit at Provincetown. The only difference is Provincetown is populated, Farewell Spit is not, but is home to a large number of sea birds.
We had a fabulous trip, got to see some wonderful places, experienced lots of new things, tried different foods, heard and saw some fantastic music.
Today we were celebrating our first Thanksgiving at Becky’s place ( a friend of Adrienne and Josh’s), but that was not until 4pm. We debated about walking Brooklyn Bridge in the morning but by the time we decided it was getting a bit late, so instead decided to go to Roosevelt Island. Roosevelt Island is a small island in the middle of the East River, two miles long and 800 feet wide. We took the F subway there, got out and there was a football game going on at the park. There are a lot of apartment blocks on the island, it would be a very interesting place to live I would imagine. You get great views of Manhattan and Long Island City. Not sure what the rents would be like, probably a bit cheaper than Manhattan itself. Instead of taking the subway back, we took the gondola, which goes from Roosevelt Island to 2nd Avenue at the bottom of Manhattan. It only takes about 5 minutes, and each carriage holds about 100 people. People with bikes use it too.
We got back home just in time to catch the subway to A & J’s place, and then caught the G train to Brooklyn. This took about 30 minutes on the subway and then another 10 minutes walk. Becky lives in a very nice part of Brooklyn called Park Slope, near to Prospect Park. Her apartment is a lot bigger than A & J's but so is the monthly rent. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, kale salad, and Josh roasted some potatoes. There was fruit pie and pumpkin pie for dessert. A delicious meal. Loved the pumpkin pie, not something that we have in New Zealand. We have things like pavlova, and trifle. There was quite a selection of wine too ranging from sparkling, to dessert wine. Becky had some other friends around also. One of them (an astro-physicist) had been to New Zealand and he wore his Maori design shirt and greenstone pendant in our honour) He also bought his own plate, which he made when he was 6 years old!!!!! )I think he thought Becky was going to be short of plates. She was short of wine glasses, but wine drunk from a beer mug is just as good!!!! We made our way home about 12.30am it was amazing the people walking the streets and waiting in the subways at that hour. A great day.
Friday 23rd Nov 2012
Black Friday, the worst shopping day of the year apparently. We didn’t intend to go shopping today but our DIL had e-mailed and wanted us to buy a Google Nexus to bring back as a Christmas present for our son. We decided to go early, and do the Christmas market at Grand Central Station at the same time. We had been a few days ago but Adrienne was with us then, she liked one or two things that we thought we could get her for Christmas. One of them was a photo of the Queensboro Bridge, printed on gold leaf. We thought if they ever came back to live in New Zealand it would be a lovely reminder of where they used to live, close to the bridge in Long Island City. We then went to Staples to buy the Nexus, got it at a bit of a discount because of Black Friday. The streets were starting to get busy so decided to go back home. Just as we got home Adrienne text and said she was in Manhattan and did we want to go to the Christmas market at Union Square. We had a quick lunch and hopped back on the subway to meet up with her and Josh. By this time it was about 2pm and was getting very busy. We looked around for a while, bought a couple of quirky things for the grandchildren. Adrienne wanted to check some more music shops to see if they had any piano accordions. Unfortunately they didn’t. Warren had fun looking at the keyboards, and sound gear though. We decided to call it a day and made our way home. The subway trains were getting very crowded. This was the only time we had struck packed subway cars where you had to push yourself on and off.
Later on that night we went to an Italian restaurant in mid-town called Sophie's and saw a very nice piano trio. We sat at the bar close to the band, and had a few drinks and some nibbles. We sure made use of our 7-day subway pass. We probably did at least 3 return trips a day the whole time we were in New York.
Saturday 24th Nov 2012
Last night I had asked a question on Facebook in the Fodors Friends group as to which museum was the best to go too if you weren’t really museum people. Several people suggested the Metropolitan Museum and also gave us an idea of what exhibits to see. By now we were getting good at sussing out which subway route to use. Only occasionally did we forget we had to change trains and end up at a completely different stop. We avoided the crowds at the Met, even though it was 11am. It was huge and a bit overwhelming. We saw the Egyptian Wing, the American Wing, the Temple of Dendur, some amazing furniture made in the 1700's, with lots of secret drawers and compartments. The Christmas tree decorated with ceramic cherubs, the Andy Warhol exhibition, and the Faberge and Tiffany exhibitions. The circular painting of Versailles was amazing. Warren took lots of photos, his new camera had a museum setting which worked very well. He tried to take one of the Christmas tree with the angels but got yelled at. He also got told off for taking a photo of the cloakroom!!.
We went back home for a rest and to Skype our son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. I was glad it was Sunday morning in New Zealand as staying up to midnight to Skype during the week was a bit tiring. We went back into Manhattan to go see a jazz band at the Bar Next Door. This was next to the Tea Spot where we had been a couple of days ago. The band was the Jack Wilkens Trio, consisting of a guitarist, double bass, and drums. Jack Wilkens the guitarist had been out to New Zealand a few years ago and gave a master-class at Massey University where Josh and Adrienne were doing their music degrees. Josh as a student thought Jack was a great guitarist but was disappointed in his playing tonight. We did have a meal there, there was also a $ 12 cover charge and you had to pay this for each set. We left after the first set, and went to another Jazz Club called the Garage, to see Champion Fulton, the jazz pianist we saw on our first night in New York three weeks or so ago. Tonight she was playing with her normal band, and her Dad who plays the trumpet. The Garage is a very nice place to have a meal and to listen to music. We eventually got home about midnight.
Sunday 25th Nov 2012
Our last full day in New York City. We went to the Morgan Museum this morning to see the Beatrice Potter Exhibition. Adrienne has loved Beatrix Potter ever since she was very small. She named one of her cats Jamimah after Jamimah Puddleduck!!! We now have this cat, as we inherited her and Japetto when A & J moved to the US. Adrienne came along with us to see the exhibition that showed the original picture letters Beatrice Potter had written to the children of her old governess. Later on in her life she got them back again and used them as a basis for a lot of her stories including Peter Rabbit. We thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and also the Morgan museum itself. The library, which held thousands of first edition books, was incredible. As was the décor, murals, the magnificent ceilings and chandeliers in the four rooms that had been restored in 2010. We were also told about the secret staircase that linked the library and the house that Pierpont Morgan lived in next door. You could just see it by looking between the bookshelves.
After the museum visit Adrienne decided she wanted to have lunch at her favourite Mexican restaurant in Greenpoint. We were in mid-town and had to get to Brooklyn so this involved two different subway trains. I was very boring and just had the French Toast it did have a slight Mexican touch. Warren had a burrito, Adrienne had a Mexican version of fried eggs, with rice and beans.
We came back home for a couple of hours, then went back to Adrienne and Josh's to have a farewell dinner. Josh cooked some yummy vegan corn fritters. We then decided to go to Harlem 132nd Street to the American Legion, where A & J had played a couple of weeks ago but on a Thursday night. Every Sunday night Seleno Clarke runs a jam session there. This was the first place that Adrienne and Josh played at when they came to New York in 2009.
Here is a piece from the Village Voice about this regular Sunday night jazz session.
"This city is renowned for its famous jazz clubs, but they're usually packed with well-strapped tourists for a reason: The cover charge can sting. Luckily, there are more economical options available here, like Seleno Clarke's weekly show at American Legion Post 398. Organist Clarke has a career that stretches back to the '50s and a sound that harkens back to '60s r&b. For 14 years now, he and his Harlem Groove Band have hosted a Sunday-night show with guests including legends like George Benson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Jimmy McGriff. This regular gig has led to him downtown bookings and international tours (where he's known as the "Harlem Ambassador of Jazz"), but the best place to catch him is in his home turf. Get there early though—the venue holds 100 inside and on the patio, and already some savvy tourists have flocked there to hear him. 248 West 132nd Street, 212-283-9701 (10027)".
We took the A train......... Adrienne and Josh got up to play a few songs. We stayed and listened to some of the other musicians, including Seleno. He is about 70 now but can still play the Hammond B 3, Josh played two or three songs with him. It was a great night of music. Everyone is so friendly. It was funny that sitting across from us at another table were a couple from Auckland New Zealand.
Tomorrow we leave JFK airport at 3.30pm, get back to Nelson Wed 28th Nov at 12.20pm.
Monday 26th Nov 2012.
We did our packing this morning, and managed to get everything in, without having to buy any more bags. We had borrowed Adrienne’s hand scale and relieved that we were still within the weight limit.
We took the subway to the Air Train. It was a bit of a struggle with the two big bags, and the two carry-ons. More for Warren than me as he had to carry the bigger bags down the subway steps. Someone helped me with the carry-ons. I must have looked helpless. We had to change trains at Queen Plaza but thankfully there was an elevator up to the next track, so it wasn’t too difficult. There weren’t a lot of people on the train either so plenty of room for the bags. We got off at Sulphin Boulevard and took the elevator up to the Air Train platform. We managed to get through the turnstiles okay, we were a bit worried about how the bags would get through, but they fitted fine. We bought tickets for the Air Train and got off at Terminal 7. It was crazy that Adrienne and Josh were also flying out to Auckland today, but two hours later than us, they were flying Qantas. They weren’t supposed to be catching the Sun Princess until the following Thursday but got called up unexpectedly. Their flight was going to be three hours longer than ours as they were to go via Sydney.
We made a bit of a fuss at the boarding gate about not being seated together, and just before we boarded Warren’s name was called and he had been allocated the seat next to mine. I think it must have been premium economy as there was lots of legroom. We arrived at LAX at 5pm and had to get to terminal 2 and go through security again before boarding at 6.45pm. We thought about waiting for the shuttle but asked someone official for directions, who told us to walk through the car park building, take the elevator up to the third floor, and we would be at Terminal 2.
There was quite a bit of turbulence on the flight from LAX to New Zealand. The pilot did a good job avoiding a storm and apologized for what turbulence we had. We were in the middle row of 4, but there was an empty seat between myself and another passenger sitting in the other aisle seat. It was a long flight back, a lot of clock watching. We both got some sleep but were very glad when the plane landed at 7.30am. We finally got back to Nelson at 12.30pm Wednesday. As we were flying in, we flew over Farewell Spit, a miniature version of the spit at Provincetown. The only difference is Provincetown is populated, Farewell Spit is not, but is home to a large number of sea birds.
We had a fabulous trip, got to see some wonderful places, experienced lots of new things, tried different foods, heard and saw some fantastic music.
Dec 17th, 2012, 02:28 AM
#43
Enjoying your report Nelsonian!
Note: American bacon isn't meant to be cut, it's meant to be picked up with the fingers and gnawed upon.
<The immigration officer was very nice and polite, and welcomed us to the US.>
Good to hear that you weren't abused by the immigration goons.
<it was about twice the size you get in New Zealand for half the price.>
You gotta love the US!
Note: American bacon isn't meant to be cut, it's meant to be picked up with the fingers and gnawed upon.
<The immigration officer was very nice and polite, and welcomed us to the US.>
Good to hear that you weren't abused by the immigration goons.
<it was about twice the size you get in New Zealand for half the price.>
You gotta love the US!
Dec 17th, 2012, 07:02 AM
#46
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It was so much fun to read this TR in one sitting. I took notes and lost them all as the power went off and back on.
So, I will just say how great that you heard so much music and Took the A Train (with a nod to Duke Ellington, eh?) and had nice visit with family in NYC.
Very enjoyable TR!
So, I will just say how great that you heard so much music and Took the A Train (with a nod to Duke Ellington, eh?) and had nice visit with family in NYC.
Very enjoyable TR!
Dec 17th, 2012, 04:20 PM
#47
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nelsonian:
How marvelous that you were able to visit with A&J and then be able to Skype your son and family at home. If A&J stay here I do hope you will return for another visit, plenty more places to visit.
I thought you were both so brave to continue with the train back and forth to the airport. Not the easiest with suitcases.
Glad you arrived safely home after a very long flight.
Once again many thanks for sharing your fabulous trip.
Sandy
How marvelous that you were able to visit with A&J and then be able to Skype your son and family at home. If A&J stay here I do hope you will return for another visit, plenty more places to visit.
I thought you were both so brave to continue with the train back and forth to the airport. Not the easiest with suitcases.
Glad you arrived safely home after a very long flight.
Once again many thanks for sharing your fabulous trip.
Sandy
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