Mad Dog and Beans on Pearl

2nd October 2018
Tessa Maylene and Rhys will be arriving from Melbourne tonight via LA.

WT, mum and I took the #7 and #3 subways to Central Park (CP) getting off on 72nd Street West.  There is always a crowd of people in front of the apartment where John Lennon was shot on this street.

Horse drawn carriages and cyclists are permanent fixtures.

We entered CP near the Strawberry Fields quiet area.

And walked around an algae bloom pond.
There is a number of designated quiet areas where you aren't allowed to do or bring anything, like dogs, frizbees, Megabooms etc. 

The other one was Sheep Meadow.

After 90 mins of walking around CP we got hungry and decided to eat some famed NYC hot dogs.

One of the named ones was Nathans, but you pay a premium for these.  $4.75 for just the dog or $7.50 to add a handful of fries.

For no name hotdogs, you can get 2 and a drink for $4.

Afterwards we walked to Columbus Circle and the mall there.

The mall was like any other high end mall. 

We walked to the nearby Broadway and towards Times Square.

I spotted Stephen Colbert's late show theatre.

And Times Square was being Times Square.

We showed mum Grand Central, and took the #7 subway back to Simon's workshop in Flushing, picking up an air mattress on the way.  Because Maylene wanted to share our room.

We'd checked out this morning from the Parsons Ave AirBnB and Simon was holding our bags.  With Maylene, Rhys and Barnaby from Boston joining us, we needed the bigger place on 160th Street.

After checking in mum and I stayed at the new place, WT hung out with Simon and Belinda while waiting to pick-up the kids.  They were due at 10 pm, and I was told to stay awake to let everyone in.

WT forgot that LA to NYC was a domestic flight to Maylene and Rhys were waiting a bit.  When they got to the AirBnB, I was asleep, and after several phone calls, I went downstairs to let them in.  They could hardly tell I've been sleeping.

Barnaby (I was told) arrived soon after from Boston, on the Long Island Rail, from Penn Station.

I am a restless sleeper, so the air mattress squeaked, from contact with me and the floor, all night driving, my room mates crazy.  Also the mattress had a slow leak which is apparently normal when new.  I was basically sleeping on the floor by the morning.  I won't be allowed to sleep on the air mattress for the rest of the trip.


3rd October 2018

The kids took off by themselves this morning, and reports were that they went to Flushing Corona Park where the US Open tennis centre and Mets Baseball stadium are.

We had a late start, only going out at lunch time to eat at the Flushing food court.  Few of the vendors there spoke English, being mainland Chinese eg Schezwan. 

WT had to use numbers on the menu to order our lunch.  If they gave you a proper plate or bowl, a $5 deposit is retained until you return it. 

I wanted to go to the US Open tennis centre but it was too warm at 1.30 pm.  We wandered around the Sky View mall nearby for 90 mins and then took the 20 min walk to Corona Park and the tennis centre.

We took subway to Lower Manhattan, and showed mum Wall Street and the charging bull on Broadway.






Then we met up with GS, Maggie, Barnaby, Rhys and Maylene.  Dinner was at Mad Dog and Beans for some alfresco dining.

It is a Mexican on the cobble lined Pearl Street near Wall Street.  It was a terrific meal and everyone was happy.

  

Thanks to the subway and Q12 bus in Flushing we were home by 9 pm.

Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass DUMBO

30 September 2018
We started Sunday with Yum Char at Good Fortune Restaurant in Kissena, Flushing. 

Simon, in his usual generous form, over-ordered, his friend and restaurant owner also brought complimentary food.  We left with several take-away containers.

Simon dropped us off on Gold Street in Manhattan at GS's place afterwards.  We brought with us a couple of defrosted Musa King durian that Simon gave us the previous night.  I was too nervous to eat them in our AirBnB.

GS cracked them open well and good. 

We ate some but it was too much, and some were refrozen, while we went out for our planned Brooklyn bridge walk.

Soon at Brooklyn Bridge Park, GS got a call (see carousel shot below) from Maggie at the flat.  Security had visited the flat and said that there was a gas leak, and the flat needed to be inspected.

Maggie tried to explain to them what a durian was, and in the end told them to just google it.  The fire department would have evacuated the entire building if this explanation was not received.

We took the subway to Brooklyn Bridge Park one stop away, going under the East River.

This area is called DUMBO.  I'll let wikipedia describe:Trendy Dumbo's cobblestone streets and converted Brooklyn warehouse buildings are the backdrop for independent boutiques, high-end restaurants and trendy cafes. Near the waterfront, St. Ann's Warehouse, in a former tobacco factory, is the heart of a thriving performance and gallery scene. The north end of Brooklyn Bridge Park features historic Jane’s Carousel as well as picturesque views of the Manhattan skyline.

After a hot chocolate at Jacques Torres, we proceeded up to the Brooklyn bridge walkway, where we competed with cyclists and other pedestrian for valuable real estate on the 870 metre walk.

I noticed it was a $100 fine if you attached locks to the bridge.  Unlike European bridges there were no locks (well, there was one).

Mid-way photo op, Manhattan bridge behind.

The lane on the left is for bicycles, but today it is frequently encroached by walkers.  So there were a lot of bells being belled and yells being yelled.

Back in Flushing.  We joined Simon and Belinda for a simple (relatively speaking, as this is a full blown all singing and dancing Chinatown, armed with American resources and logistics to procure whatever is needed) dinner before an early retirement.


1 October 2018
We hung around Flushing today, going to a Japanese Shabu Shabu lunch at Spring Restaurant with Belinda.

So you collect your food from here.










And here.

And you cook them at your table in individual hotpots.

Then WT and Belinda stayed on and did some shopping in Flushing Main Street, and we will meet up for dinner later.

Lisbon Trans Atlantic NYC

28 September 2018

Still feeding us on the last evening in Lisbon.

 


Michelle has a 6.30 am flight, so we were up and away in the taxi at 4 am.  WT and I accompanied Michelle to Terminal 1.  She checked-in and got her tax refund stamp.  She collected her 19.95 euro refund at Customs in Barcelona because it was too early in Lisbon.

All done by 5 am, and the buses don't start till 5.30 am and the metro 6.30 am.  We finally got on a bus which took us to the middle of CBD by 6 am. 

We ran across some statues that are normally queued out during the day.

After walking west a for a km or so, we boarded the 28 tram which took us to Prazeres near Alcantara.

We were ready to leave by noon, but the taxi was booked for 1pm.  So a walk to Park Tapada das Necessidades was mooted and done.   

As we leave the Iberian peninsular, we have done 164,000 steps (according to TC's phone) in these 2 cities, equal to 120km.  About 12 km a day and not all on the horizontal either.

We booked the same guy Jose who took Michelle this morning because he had a nice Dacia Stationwagon.  He doesn't speak English, so I wondered if my verbal booking was understood.

So I decided to Whatsapp him.

Jose duly delivered us to Terminal 1, his wagon taking all 4 check-in bags and us.  By this third visit to Lisbon airport, we have become a well-oiled check-in machine.

We were thru security and border control with 2 hours to spare.  So we had lunch and relaxed.   

TC was heading off to the UK to visit his sisters for a few weeks.  We then parted to our respective gates for boarding.

WT got a red security sticker on her passport from the security person, so her carry on was checked at the gates.  Mum and I were yellow stickered.

The 8 hour flight to JFK was very pleasant for me.  I managed 2 movies, couple of naps and some red vinho.

We brought copies of our itinerary and ESTA, and of course US immigration was not interested, and stamped us thru.  Soon we were waiting for Simon (WT's brother) and Belinda to pick us up, and he fed us dinner at a noodles cafe.

The temperature in NY was 17C, about 17C lower than sunny Lisbon and Barcelona.  This is a relieve for us.  I was more careless about covering up than the others, so strap marks from my watch and TEVA sandals were pronounced.  TC's temperature drop was even more significant at 14C.  This might be a fung saap risk for him.

Crashed at the AirBnB in Flushing, Queens and that's all I remember about this evening of a 29 hour day (NYC is 5 hours behind Lisbon).


29 September 2018

It is Saturday in New York City.  Belinda took us on the Chinatown to Chinatown shuttle, from Flushing to Manhattan this morning. 3 bucks each, and we met up with Gaik Sim (GS) and Maggie. 

Gaik Sim recently travelled on the central Europe tour with mum and WT, and there were warm greetings all around. 

You can't walk thru Chinatown in Manhattan without poking and picking at things.

GS took us to a local favourite for dumplings and noodles. 

It really is as good as it looks.  I ate one of the buns before WT reminded me to shoot.

Then it was time to go for a walk to see the changes in Manhattan from our last time here 5 years ago.

Woolworths tower on the right as we strolled towards the 911 memorial past the Civic Centre.  

The memorial is now a public space, and no booking or scanning is required.  Being Sunday the crowds are out in force.  But I squeezed in this video.

Then we came to the "Oculus", the centre piece of the WTC transportation hub.

It has hundreds of thousands of square feet  of retail and dining space, and all the major metro lines run thru it.

It took an age of waving to get them to turn around after dozens of back head shots over the Oculus concourse from the top of the stairs.

Luckily the girl in the foreground noticed, so she smiled for me.

We went up to this entire floor of an Italian themed deli and eatery.

And then onto the connecting bridge over West Street to Brookfield Place and harbour.

Then it was on to the east side of Manhattan, Seaport.  The Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges behind us. 

A quick refreshment stop at GS's flat and we went back to Flushing on what GS calls the Chinatown chicken bus.  

Simon hosted dinner with some excellent Caymus Cab Sav from Napa Valley, succulent filet mignon

and .....

and a 7lb Alaskan King crab.