One of my favorite things on the trip was being part of the live audience at Regis and Kelly. I have never seen the show and never would have thought of going, but Debbie sent in a post card and got us FREE tickets. It was fun to see how it all works and how fake everything is. The scene of the city behind Kelly and Bryant Gumbal (he was filling in for Regis) is actually a huge mural. The studio is actually buried deep in a huge building. Before the show the producer came out and coached us on how to cheer. Throughout the show he would give us signals of when to cheer and for how long.
Kelly Ripah was what made it so fun. Every time the show went to commercial she would jump off her chair and chat with the audience. She is so spunky hilarious and a good story teller. She told us about her experience getting front row tickets to a recent Madona concert and her embarrassment when she heard a recording of her voice singing after Madona thrust the mike at her. She even made the producer get the clip and show us.
A previous guest on Regis and Kelly, mentioned that he saw what looked like a Christmas tree in the hall on the way to the stage. When he got closer he realized it was indeed something other than a Christmas decoration. He asked a stage hand about it who informed him that it was Kelly's gum pile. She would quickly deposit her gum on the wall of the building before running onto the stage. Thanks to Debbie I was able to appreciate this gum pile on my way to be seated for the show.
Front of the New York Stock Exchange.
Back of the New York Stock Exchange. Don't worry, we didn't see anyone crying!
This famous bull sculpture in the financial district represents the hoped for bull stock markets. I sure do wish we could see a bit more of the bull in the stock market today.
Of course I had to try a famous New York hot dog. New York has hot dog/pretzel stands on every corner. I was so excited to eat one. They always look so good in the movies. Unfortunately, I was bitterly disappointed. The hot dogs are scrawny and the toppings were definitely ordinary.
This is the view from the Empire State Building. Manhattan really is wall-to-wall buildings. As you can tell, the city never goes to sleep. The prettier bright building in the lower right hand corner is the famous Crystler Building--the one used in King Kong.
Me in Central Park. Central Park is huge! It is 843 acres or 6% of Manhattan's total acreage, including: 150 acres in 7 waterbodies, 250 acres of lawns, 136 acres of woodlands. There is even an ancient castle in the park along with many statues you have probably seen on T.V. The statue that is used in the intro to "Friends" is there.
I carried around raw almonds and crackers to munch on. We fed this cute squirrel some nuts in Central Park.
A picture of me and the Crystler Building in the day light.
You would think a city as big as New York would be ugly, but NOT so. I found the mix of old buildings with the new architecture very beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Scotland. It was so fun to see beautiful old statues sprinkled throughout the city. The older buildings have fine workmanship in them. Pictured below. So even thought they were older and dingier they were still pleasant to look at.
Since Debbie travels to NY so much and has a lot of friends there, she was able to find us a sublet. A girl was going to be gone for two weeks and she wanted to rent her place out during that time. This cut our housing costs in half! It also gave us a lot more room than a cheap hotel and we had a kitchen. We bought some milk and cereal and had it for breakfast instead of eating out. This is the bedroom window of the apartment we stayed at. The pole that goes from the ceiling to the floor is the only thing that heats this room. Hot water is in the pipe and this gives off some heat. New York is such a big modern city it is hard to imagine such archaic ways of heating. The old brick and stone buildings were built to last and I guess as long as they are standing the old ways of heating will continue. It's funny to see things like this in such a big and modern city as NYC.
Time Square. It is so crazy this place is real. These bill boards are as large as a house and the whole area is covered with them. Fun to visit! The streets really are as crowded as they look on TV and in movies. During rush hour and on the weekends it is shoulder-to-shoulder people traffic walking down the side walk. So many people are walking that it is hard for cars to get around. I would hate to drive in NYC.
I was so happy to be able to see such an inspiring American icon. I love the history of our nation and enjoy celebrating the greatness and freedoms we enjoy in the United States of America. What a rare blessing it is to live in this blessed nation! Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States[10] and was, from 1886 until the jet age, often one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants after ocean voyages from Europe. The Statue of Liberty is amazing! We did not have enough time to go to Staten Island and climb in her, but the ferry went right by it. My favorite quote in association of the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Later on we went to Ellis Island which was the head quarters for all immigrants.
This picture is to depict the crowds on top of the Empire State Building. I can't believe how many people they can stuff up there. I am glad I did the touristy thing and went up the tower, but it is one of those things you only do once (because if I didn't I would be thinking I was missing out on some fantastical New York moment). :)
I found New Yorkers to be both uncommonly kind and plain rude.
- One of the street vendors gave me a Pashmina scarf! He said he could tell I was NOT from New York because I was so happy. When I asked if I could take his picture he politely declined saying he was wanted in 3 other states. Well, at least he was nice to me!---EVERYONE in New York wears Pashmina scarves.
- A gay couple holding hands made a point of running smack dab right into me on the street. There was no way I could get out of their way. Then they walked down the street laughing. I was so mad. There was no point to their blatant rudeness. Grr!
- There was a man begging on the side of the street. I stopped and offered him my left over lunch (the best 7-grain turkey sandwich from Bryant at Central Park). He asked what was on it and then declined my free food stating that he did not like bacon! I eventually did find a homeless man who was willing to eat bacon. I told him he had to eat the tomatoes too because they were healthy. :)
- Another young man on the crowded subway stood up and gave me his seat.
- As we were walking out of the subway, a boy flicked a gum wrapper in Debbie's hair.
One of my favorite things about New York was the subway.
- I actually found it entertaining to try and find the rats that were running around down on the tracks.
- People would often be playing an instrument.
- The variety is wonderful. Some stops would be dirty and covered w/ graffiti while others were clean and had artistic paintings.
- I loved people watching. New York truly is a melting pot. I could hear all sorts of languages and accents. People of all sorts of colors and races mixed in the sea of people.
- There is NO style. People wear whatever they want.
We also visited the oldest church in New York City, Trinity.
