Show & Tell: A Summer Memory & US Road Trip Part 1 New York

Thanks to Show & Tell returning after a summer break and Petra's Friday themes for September I'm able to present the perfect post: starting off my US roadtrip series under the heading "A Summer Memory".

Day 0 - Sunday 27 July
After a couple of setbacks - re-routing to Syracuse, NY, for refuelling due to bad weather where we ended up staying (on the plane as it's not an international airport and they are not allowed to let off passengers) for almost three hours and missing our connecting flight in Philadelphia and surviving a lifethreatening taxi ride from LaGuardia, we finally made it to New York and our hotel Helmsley Park Lane at midnight.

Day 1 - Monday 28 July
Despite the grand language on the hotel's site, the Helmsley probably had its heyday years ago. It is in a great location, just at the bottom of Central Park, and our room was big and nicely decorated, but it's a member of the luxury hotel group anymore. Hence we got a pretty good price.

Breakfast wasn't included though so we went to Sarabeth's for our first meal of the day. I had the Cheese omelette and Peter the Farmer's omelette together with the Pork & apricot sausage. If I had known the size of the omelette I probably would have ordered something smaller or split with Peter! We also went there for afternoon tea our last day in the city, but I think I prefer the breakfast.

After breakfast we took the subway down to the City Hall area. The plan was to walk down past Ground Zero and Wall Street down to Battery Park) and then take the ferry to Ellis Island.




We managed the first (and also stumble upon an electronics store Saltistjejen had recommended where we bought a GPS) but once we got to Battery Park the line for the ferry tickets was way, way too long. I wanted to stay for a while and see but Peter fortunately convinced me to return early the following day instead. So we walked north again along the waterfront up towards Tribeca and SoHo.

Then - after a few stops in the shops along lower Broadway - we hopped on the subway again and went to the rooftop bar of the Peninsula Hotel.

We were actually surprised that it's so difficult to find rooftop bars in New York, considering the city has so many tall buildings. But maybe views are so ordinary for New Yorkers that they don't need high sky experiences. The view - even if it wasn't very high up - was nice but the service was so-so.

After a drink we went to the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA. They have some fantastic and/or famous paintings there, for example a huge water lilly painting by Monet which spans a whole wall, and currently there is a Salvador Dalí exhibition there. We only spent one hour and half there so next time I'm in New York I'll have to go back. At the moment it feels like if I could just recommend one art museum I would have to say Guggenheim (which I visited on a previous occasion) but that might be because I didn't have enough time at MoMA. Next time I want to go to the Met as well but that's like a whole-day excursion like the National Gallery in London!

After MoMA we passed by some of the shops on Fifth Avenue but we were saving our money for tax-free shopping in Delaware! I liked the colours of the Louis Vuitton shop.

That evening we went to a bit of a touristy place, the Tavern on the Green in Central Park. The menu was a bit boring but the food was alright and the interior decor is kind of special.

Day 2 - Tuesday 29 July
Day 2 we rose early in order to get those ferry tickets before it would be too late. We were there around 8.30 or 9ish and was able to go right up to the ticket stand. Luckily we hadn't planned to climb the Statue of Liberty (we have both been there before although Peter's 14 year-old self got a bit claustrophobic and turned around halfway up) because those tickets were already gone - apparently you have to pre-order those online at least a day before. It's the same ferry for both Liberty Island and Ellis Island and I think we were almost the only ones - together with c. 10 other people - out of 300 boat passengers which didn't get off at the first stop.

New Jersey skyline

New York skyline

Ellis Island was so interesting! I've been to New York before but never had the chance or taken the time to go so this time I really wanted to tick this one off the list. For those of you who are not familiar with Ellis Island, the island was the first contact new arrivals, emigrants for all over the world, had with the United States.


From 1892 to 1954 Ellis Island was the portal that immigrants had to pass through in order to get entry to the country. 12 million immigrants arrived that way. Well, some people did not have to come via Ellis Island; first and second class passengers on the ships went through a smaller process on the ship and only had to go to the island if they got sick or had legal problems. In order to cater for all those arrivals, at the peak year of 1907, a total of 1.25 million, the island was enlarged from the original natural 3.3 acres to 27.5 acres by landfill from the city. Even if some arrivals had to stay for several weeks on Ellis Island - sometimes due to illness or because they were unaccompanied minors - eventually almost all were allowed entry and only 2% were turned away from the country. Reasons for denied entry was contagious disease or fear that the person would become a burden to the country. After 1924 the island was only used to immigrants that had problems with their paperwork or were refugees. In 1965 Ellis Island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Between 1976 and 1984 it was open to the public but the buildings were now in a terrible state. After major restoration the island (or part of it) was opened to the public as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum.

If you think you may have relatives that arrived to the US this way you can search on their name in the Ellis Island records and learn more about their story.


After our Ellis Island visit we took the subway up to Grand Central Station and walked from there to Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock. If you like us have already been to the Empire State Building (on a previous visit) but still want to enjoy New York views, take the lift up to the roof of the Rockefeller Center. The views were great! There are three different levels and the lift is also pretty cool (I won't reveal why!). Before they allow you to go up they lead you through a little exhibition about the history of the building and take your picture dangling your legs on a plank on a skyscraper building site (you know, the famous photographs you can buy). Fun idea but for some reasons they have decided to do it in colour and it didn't turn out well at all. They should have done it in black and white like the originals. Needless to say we didn't buy a copy.



After Top of the Rock, it was time for a very exciting item on our agenda, a visit with fellow blogger Saltistjejen, a Swede (she's even from my hometown Södertälje but we didn't know each other then) who lives in New York these days with her husband M and baby daughter Ella. They live on the Upper East side close to the bridge to Queens so we walked over from our hotel (it was a bit longer than I thought but not too long) and got there just after 4pm. We had such a nice time - chatting, drinking coffee and eating ice cream, holding little Ella and stroking Lipton the cat - that if we hadn't really wanted to try a restaurant that Saltis and M recommended we would have stayed longer than the three hours we were there. We didn't want to overstay our welcome either but it seemed like they enjoyed our company as much as we did theirs.


The restaurant they recommended was Spice Market in the Meatpacking District. We had tried to book a table in advance but it wasn't possible the same day so when we got there we had to wait in the bar for an hour. But we definitely didn't mind at all since the drinks and beers on offer were well worth the wait. The interior is just so cosy and cool at the same time - Saltis has some photos from when she was there. This summary from New York citysearch sums it up so well:

The Scene - With teak pagodas, low golden lighting and a dramatic staircase carved into the center of the room leading down to the equally stylish bar, Jean-Georges Vongerichten has redefined exotic dining. The crowd--a sexy, well-appointed mix of downtowners, moneyed execs and occasional celebrity--is worthy of a wandering eye. Expert servers pad through the various dining areas with ease and grace.

The Food - It's billed as "Asian street food," but since the menu is a creative collaboration between expert chefs Vongerichten and Gray Kunz, dishes show unmistakable finesse. Shaved tuna and small tapioca balls--a playful substitute for roe--float in an addictive, tart-smooth pool of coconut water and kaffir lime juice. Remarkably tender short ribs are served with a sweet-spicy topping of chilies and onion. Even the green curry is nicely balanced and lush. For dessert, choose the ephemeral-yet-potent Vietnamese coffee tart partnered with condensed milk ice cream.

I can't really remember exactly what we had, except that it was delicious. The concept is that you share dishes even if you order a starter and a main course per person, so we took in at least four dishes (I think we were too full for desert). Unfortunately we didn't take any photos in the restaurant.

Day 3 - Wednesday 30 July
After two full days in New York our feet were quite sore from all the walking at this stage but we still decide to walk Central Park. And I mean walk the full length of it, not walk in the park. We took the subway to the very top, in Harlem, and then started to make our way south. After a while when you get into the very centre of the park and can't see any tall buildings or hear any street noise anymore, you start feeling really disoriented. I have a good sense of direction but one we were on the Ramble we could have easily "rambled" around if we hadn't looked at one of the maps around the park. But before we got to the Ramble we walked around in the beautiful Conservatory Garden, down past the Lake, Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Terrace and all the other sights the park holds.




In the evening we had made reservations for the Rainbow Grill in Rockefeller Center (most people will have heard of the Rainbow Room, which is the restaurant and ballroom dancing combo opened at the weekend). We very much enjoyed the view but we weren't too impressed with the food. It was good but we had expected more (like the quality of Spice Market) especially considering the price. I guess they live on their reputation, and the view. We were also a bit unlucky because there was a big group next to us which increased the noise levels substantially. Anyway, we can tick of the famous Rainbow Room on what-to-do-in-New-York list.


We finished the evening with a walk to Times Square, followed by a cab ride back to the hotel because now my feet really couldn't take it anymore! By the way, I'm glad to announce that New York cabs, or most of them at least, take credit cards nowadays!


Day 4 - Thursday 31 July
Sadly it was time to leave New York! To be continued...