./janella.com

Grand Central Terminal

It has been a week since we came back from our trip to New York City. I thought about writing a day-by-day account of our adventures in The Big Apple, but I think the Twitter postings during our trip suffice.

What I will do is point out some highs, and a few lows, on the trip.

Getting Around

Best Experience: Virgin America and walking.
As expected, Virgin America provided an enjoyable airline experience. The plane is new and comfortable, and you have slight legroom. You get as many free drinks as you want, but no free food.

You are going to walk if you are in New York City. You’d be surprised how far your feet can carry you in the city. So bring a good pair of shoes, and prepare for a few blisters.

Fine Experience: The Subway.
Not as clean and easy to navigate as The Tube, but once we figured out where we wanted to go, the Subway was the best method to get there.

OK Experience: Taxicabs.
The only time we took a cab was from JFK to Manhattan and back. It was a $60 investment each way (including toll and tip). Nice to know the cost upfront, but it seems a bit steep. I’m not sure how much it would be if it were not a flat rate (of $45).

Eating

Best: Gray’s Papaya.
An amazing birthday dinner experience to have two dogs with onions and drink, only for $3.50!

Also, Katz’s Delicatessen provided an amazing dining experience.
If you want a corned beef or pastrami sandwich, you better stop by Katz’s in the Lower East Side.

Fine: The Red Flame.
A decent place to grab a quick breakfast. It was convenient, located just down the street from our hotel. They get you in and out as fast as possible.

Cafe Habana is a very crowded place in Little Italy. Try the Cuban sandwich and the corn. Yum.

Bad: Maxie’s Delicatessen.
Overpriced awful food. Also, how can you not make a good cup of coffee?

The Sights

Best:
There are so many things to see in New York City.
What still stands out in my mind are the Brooklyn Bridge, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Grand Central Terminal.
I love Grand Central Terminal. The first time seeing it, and having breakfast downstairs on a subsequent morning, will not leave my memory any time soon.
Times Square is amazing, the first time you experience it, both day and night.

Walking down the spiral staircase at the Apple Store.

Fine:
Top of the Rock, the NBC Studio tour, the Apple Store on 5th Avenue, and SoHo in general.

Bad:
The third time going through Times Square. All the people just started getting on my nerves.

Other Things to Note

We also saw Young Frankenstein, our first Broadway play. The play was funny and entertaining even though Megan Mullally wasn’t performing that evening.

The Sofitel was the hotel we stayed at in Manhattan.
Very nice hotel, with a pleasant room and splendid staff.
If we were to go back to New York City and wanted to stay in Midtown again, I would want to stay here again.

Overall, the New York City experience was a great experience.
A big thank you to my beautiful wife for giving me a fantastic birthday present, and memories we can share the rest of our lives.

Note: For photos of our trip to NYC, please see the Photographs section.

• Landed @ SFO! A bit late, but here. #
• The waiting (for luggage) is the hardest part. Still @ SFO. #
• Back @ the office. Downloaded my work email last night. 35MB data for 1100+ messages. Not bad. Last long vacation it was 1800+ emails. #
• Finally finished email. Can't believe the noise. Now I get to actually work! #

• Just got back from Gray's Papaya. Deciding if we should get a drink before packing. #
• Having a Long Island (and Farrah is having a Dirty Martini) @ Gaby's downstairs in the hotel. #
• Need to start packing. Checkout is @ Noon. Then to JFK to wait. Wonder how much the cab ride will be? #
• @ The Red Flame for the last time. #
• Is it a flat rate fare FROM Manhattan to JFK? #
• @ JFK early. Taxi ride was quick. #
• @ JFK watching the "Secure Wrap" dude wrap luggage. Guess people are willing to pay to have their luggage wrapped in seran wrap. #
• My NYC cell phone observation - most people have a Blackberry. The only time I saw an iPhone was when I was near an Apple store. #

• It's cold and windy at the Top of the Rock. We can see the Empire State Building all lit up. #
• @ Katsu-Hama for dinner. Yelp, don't fail me now #
• Having a small breakfast @ Grand Central Terminal. We picked up some pasteries from Junior's. #
• @ the Met. Not too crowded, yet. #
• Looking @ a Van Gough. #
• In the Greek & Roman art section. Farrah was scolded for taking video of me doing a Tim Gunn impression. #
• @ Temple of Dendur. Very calming. Nice view of Central Park. #
• Trying to figure out the best way to Prada SoHo. #

• Intermission @ Young Frankenstein. Too bad Megan Mullaly isn't playing her role. The show is good so far. #
• We just got up. Trying to get our bearings on what to do today. #
• @ The Red Flame again for breakfast. #
• Trying to find the correct subway station to take to Lower Manhattan. We're trying for the Brooklyn Bridge even though the weather is raw. #
• We are on the Brooklyn Bridge right now! #
• Visited St. Paul's & WTC. Very emotional as a noon service was starting at St. Paul's. #

• We are planning to see Lower Manhattan. Later in the day it's Central Park. We'll see how it goes. #
• Standing in line for the bus tour. We are taking the Gray Line Tour. #
• On the bus. We're by the seaport side. It's pretty cold now. We should have brought that extra jacket. #
• Learned term: "Blocking the box." When a persons car, truck, etc blocks the intersection, not allowing cross traffic to go through. #
• @ the Museum of Natural history, Dinosaur wing. My camera battery is dead. Dang it!!! #

• Driving to the airport. #
• OK, Virgin America is in the International terminal. #
• We've landed in New York City!!! #
• Our plane was initially early - good tailwind - but due to JFK traffic, we're stuck on the runway. #
• Farrah & I are in our first NYC taxi ride from the airport. #
• Morning traffic is heavy. Funny, our cab driver hasn't said much. He's talking lightly to someone on his bluetooth. #
• Eating brunch @ a place called Maxie's Restuarnt Bar. Priced are a bit steep for breakfast. #
• So breakfast was a bad idea. The best thing there was the water. My bacon was basically burnt bacon bits. #

As this entry posts, I will be in New York City with Farrah. First off, I want to thank everyone who celebrated my birthday the other night. I was really happy to see everyone.

Now, please tolerate my incoherent ramblings, as I try to purge my mind of the few thoughts I have regarding this milestone birthday, the fortieth year of my life. My thoughts sway to and fro of what has been and what is to come. I have been thinking more about the future, about what I want. I think that is a good thing. As I think I’ve stated before, I am not one to dwell on the past.

These past weeks, at times I have felt like David Bowman, the protagonist in 2001: A Space Odyssey, at the end of that film. If I recall the scene correctly, Bowman stands in a bright white room, wearing his orange spacesuit. He looks into the room and sees an old man. The old man, eating his supper, looks back at Bowman but he is no longer there. You then realize that the old man is Bowman himself. The scene repeats itself with an older version of Bowman looking at a younger version until he dies. But he is reborn as the Star Child, and… I don’t get that far in the way I feel though.

So I catch myself looking forward to looking back. I suppose we all do that at times, but I guess with the birthday it is amplified. You know, I think about those dreams: the education, the car, the house, the 2.5 kids, and the rest of the things everyone wants. It’s a matter of striving to get there, right?

I don’t think I’m required to have some huge revelation at this age. Perhaps I will, but it hasn’t happened as yet.

• Heading out to eat soon. Getting some Japanese food. #

We’re getting ready to go to New York City! We’re taking Virgin America as our airline. I’m hoping for as a good flight experience as we had when we took Virgin Atlantic to London last year.

I’ll see if I can blog from NYC on the iPhone. I’m not sure if it will happen. At the least, I’ll provide some updates via Twitter - which will, in turn, appear on the blog.

I know, the weather outlook in NYC looks pretty wet. I’m hoping it’s not. Either way, I won’t let it damper the trip.

Video no longer available

Happy Easter everyone!

I can’t say much is going on this fine and sunny day. We’re still in the midst of cleaning up, planning, and packing for our trip to New York City in a couple of days. I just wanted to post something real quick on the site.

Next door they are having an Easter egg hunt. The neighborhood has been short on the kid factor the last several years. It’s good (for now) to hear kids playing and screaming.

I went to visit my father at the cemetery today with my mom. There were a lot of people there, normal for a holiday such as today. The roads don’t seem to be busy. I’m guessing everyone is visiting family.

Thought I’d throw in the cute video I had posted on my Found page. When in doubt, show a cute video.

OK, I figured out how I “screwed the pooch” on the web site. I fracked an upgrade to a new version of Wordpress, not following directions because I thought I knew what I was doing. Clearly, I was incorrect in my assumption.

I do have a month old backup of the web site which I could restore. But I am extremely lazy at this point in time and am seriously thinking of simply just pressing on from here.

I pulled a similar stunt earlier this year, thinking I’d start fresh with the site. But I met with slight resistance to do this and so I relented. But because of my latest action, and the fact that I simply do not wish to dig deep into the vault any longer, I am going to just continue to post from this point on.

OK, enough late night rambling. I’m going to look up a few New York tidbits for our trip later this week, then I’m heading to bed.

Thanks for reading.