There is so much to see and do in NYC that I have been overwhelmed each morning with the decision of what to do. Two of my work colleagues from QR, Kerry and Craig, visited the States last year, and pre-planned what to do each day in a huge spreadsheet. I am in awe of that, because it would have come in handy.
So on my first Wednesday in the city, I headed to Grand Central Terminal for the tour. Having seen the train station in countless films, and many of my favourites like Carlito's Way, North by Northwest, and Superman, I was still very impressed with seeing it in real life. The building's southern facing exterior is presently wrapped in scaffolding for a spit and polish. After passing through a very unimpressive entrance, one walks down some marble-clad ramps through the Vanderbilt Hall, and then onto the main concourse which is a magnificient open space. The building's interior was renovated in the late 90s, adding shops and a food hall, but also revealing a celestial fresco on the concourse ceiling. I actually did not do the Wednesday tour as it would have prevented me from attending an afternoon matinee show. But when I came back for the Friday tour I learned quite a bit about Grand Central. Firstly, it has never in its history been called Grand Central Station. There is a post office and a subway station with that name, just nearby, but the rail station is called Grand Central Terminal as it was the terminus of Vanderbilt's rail network. Shinjuku may be the busiest station in the world, but no station has more operating platforms than the 66 found at Grand Central. All the rail lines used to be above ground. And the station proper extends over a huge part of the neighbouring area. The city forced the rail companies to electrify and bury the lines, which the rail company's happily did at great expense... but had the windfall of suddenly owning a hell of a lot expensive New York City real estate to sell or lease.
I attended an afternoon matinee of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, with Kathleen Turner in the Elizabeth Taylor role, and a guy called Bill Irwin playing her husband (in a role for which he won the Tony this year). It was a great production, and Kathleen Turner easily rivals Elizabeth Taylor's film performance.
On Wednesday evening I headed out to a nearby gay bar called Barracuda. It's a small bar, with friendly clientele and bartenders. I planned to stay for a drink or two, but ended up watching a fabulous drag show unlike any other I had seen before. That's because the drag artiste, Sherry Vine, actually sings, rather than miming. And she was pretty good too.
The next morning I felt a little worse for wear. I fired up my PDA from my bedroom and signed onto MSN Messenger. Paul Jones was on-line and asked me where I was, and if I was okay. This all seemed strange to me, but I soon found out he was checking if I was in London. The bombs had gone off not long before, and the event was getting a lot of coverage on NY television.
I went out to Brooklyn to visit the transit authority's Transit Museum. It's located in the disused Court St subway station, with exhibits, photographs, and actual rollingstock. The station also has a long history as a filming location, appearing in The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. Sadly, I felt the museum lacked detail. I didn't even know by the end of my visit which lines were built first, and felt that I had learned more about the system from the internet in my pre-trip reading. There were some pretty spectacular photos of the subway's construction. Most of it was done using the cut-and-cover method, as the lines typically run north-south on the avenues. Generally speaking, the subway is pretty spectacular. The trains run almost as frequently as they do in Tokyo, while not as clean of course! But it's just amazing how easy it is to get around a very big city in such a short space of time. I'm staying right near the 8Ave and 23rd St station, and it takes me about 12 minutes to get to the Financial District, or Grand Central. Both places are at least 20 blocks away.
On Thursday night I went to see Rent. It was alright, but I found it very hard to get into. The sound in the theatre was terrible, and I didn't find the songs all that accessible... although I really liked two or three. I think I find it hard to enjoy a musical when I'm not too familiar with the songs. I can see how it will make a great movie, though.
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