Lee’s World
New York 2004
In March 2004 with the dollar at a record low, and
flights at bargain prices I
headed to New York City for my first visit.
I
stayed at a midtown hotel on 30th Street (between Madison and Park Avenues)
called Thirty Thirty. It's a stylish
place and centrally located, being only five minutes from the Empire State
Building, and 15 minutes walk from Times Square. The neighbourhood is full
of design shops and delicious deli's for breakfast and lunch.
Whilst in New York, I was determined to see as much
theatre as possible, so as
soon immediately after arriving I headed to Times Square to pick up tickets
for that evening.
In four nights I managed to fit in attending performances of Gypsy with the divine Bernadette Peters; a wonderful new musical based on the life of Peter Allen, The Boy from Oz, starring Hugh Jackman; the revival of Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town; and the 1920s musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie.
I obtained tickets mostly from the TKTS booth in Times Square - ticket prices are more expensive than in London, with the top price usually being around $100. I also downloaded vouchers from the Playbill web site, which could be presented at the relevant box office.
The rest of the time was spent wandering around Manhatten sightseeing and shopping.
Here are my list of highlights, in no particular
order -
-
Staten Island Ferry - an absolute bargain!
-
the view from the Empire State Building
-
the Chrysler Building
-
walking in Central Park
-
the Guggenheim Museum - the building, not the exhibition!
-
the Frank Lloyd Wright room in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
-
shopping in Century 21 and on Madison and 5th Avenues
-
the Rockefeller Centre
-
Grand Central Station
-
the cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village.
And here are a few more photographic memories -
