Day 6 - Museum Madness

What better way to spend a sunny day in New York City than browsing around the American Museum of Natural History? Fresh off the PATH train I made my way to the museum at 82nd and 7th. The entrance fees are a whopping $15 for students… or $12. I hardly remember. I do remember that it was $18 for general entrance and a special show though. Well in any case every single dollar spent on entry was worth it. I geeked out for 4 hours in the museum, exhausting everything from the planetarium's shows, such as the IMAX Hubble space film and the Journey to the Stars show, to the dinosaur fossils and the exhibition of the peoples of Asia. After having lived in London for the past 3 years and getting used to not paying for museum entrance, I completely understand now why the AMNH does and should charge for entry. I could've spent the next few weeks of my life there but I had to tear myself away from nerd time to meet my father's colleague at the United Nations.



Already running late I got myself one of those $2 hotdogs from one of the many stands on Manhattan's streets and tried to navigate myself from uptown Manhattan to 42nd and 1st… mapless. Oh yes. Shock horror I had stupidly forgotten my subway map in New Jersey so I had to improv my way downtown… and fast. Recollecting as much of the subway map as I possibly could, and frying my nerve cells in the process, I managed to find a downtown train to a stop which had a crosstown bus that would take me to 1st avenue. It wasn't until I stepped off the bus around the corner from the UN building, when I realised I had triumphed over New York's ridiculously indecipherable public transport system - Me - 1, Subway - 0.

In comparison to the UN building in Vienna, the New York United Nations building was surprisingly underwhelming and uninspiring. Not really the type of the place where you'd imagine world resolutions are formed. After making it through security and a quick tour of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) office, my Dad's friend and colleague Evelyn, invited me out for an al fresco glass of wine at a nice Turkish eat-spot nearby. It was just up the road and called Go and Eat in Istanbul. The ambiance was lovely. Everything was al fresco, which was perfect for the sunny but mild weather. A live jazz band was softly jamming in the background accompanied by the soothing sound of the waterfall fountain. The service was also excellent, not to mention their wine selection. I have not yet developed a sensitive taste to wine, but I do know that it was a far cry from the awful 5 quid for 2, bottles of 'Italian red' that grace the shelves of off-licenses all over England. Two hours of good wine, good conversation and even better company, Evelyn and I had to part our ways at Grand Central Station. Again I was running late for a dinner date with Genia. So after our goodbyes and a quick glance around Grand Central Station I sprinted down towards the subway, direction downtown Union Square 14th Street.



Union Square is popular amongst the locals for its many restaurants and a variety of swanky bars and is of course the home of NYU, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's university (boohoo!). We began the evening at a trendy bar about 2 minutes from the subway station. Sadly I cannot recall the name of this bar. The only details I remember is that it was located at the corner of a street and that all the barmaids were models. Sipping on my first ever martini (yes pathetic I know) I felt a little like Carrie Bradshaw, without the unnecessary drama and the $500 shoes. We moved swiftly onwards to a restaurant, also in Union Square, called Spice. It was a very Sex and the City-esque swanky restaurant, with lounge music blaring loudly in the background… well in the foreground more like it, with a maître d' with one of those headsets and a guest list.

'Hi welcome ladies. Would you like to get a drink at the bar while we prepare your table?'

Couldn't get any swankier than this. Cute bartender, first-class cocktails, dingy but fluorescent locale… all this just screamed Sex and the City. With cocktails in hand we laughed, talked, ate and drank the first portion of the night away. Before we knew it we were on the rooftop of some New Yorker bar talking to a bunch of boozed up Manhattan yuppies. What they lacked in intellectual conversation, they definitely made up for in hilarity.

'Dude you guys should totally talk to Isaac. He knows like everyone around here.'

Impressive. Not. Taking in a multitude of crappy chat-up lines, Genia and I decided to abandon ship and call it a night. Wednesday nights attract the weirder crowd, according to her. But I'd better prep myself both physically and mentally for tomorrow.

'It's all about Thursdays man.'

Let's see what the Sleepless City has got to offer.

Day 4 - Nightlife is raging on Ludlow St.

'Everything seemed so wrong to me this morning but I know things will be brighter later tonight, on Ludlow Street.' - Julian Casablancas





How right he was. Nothing contrasts a day in the Upper East Side more than a night out on Ludlow Street. After experiencing where the upper class dwell, I could not be happier that my good friend Genia decided to take me for a drink in Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side, where the likes of the Strokes began their careers. Instead of suits, expect hip cool kids. And no not the types that hang about in London's East London scene. LES and West Village hipsters are genuinely hip and not bored little rich kids who are enticed by the propagated image of a 'trendy'. What is the difference you ask? Say you enter a bar in Dalston or something looking like an actual human being (i.e. not wearing a Victorian dress or kooky glasses). They stare… disapprovingly. In the LES and WV people don't care if you don't look the part, which is pretty relaxing.

One of the first bars we hit was Spritzers near Ludlow Street and then headed to a more quiet pub a block away… perhaps it was called Piano's? Well in any case that's of no importance. Ludlow St. has enough bars to satisfy anyone's taste… should you crave classy cocktails, good beer (yes America does have good beer actually!) or a place with a dancing scene. Anyway after a really long-needed catch-up between me and my good friends Nick and Genia, we decided to call it a night and head home and so Genia and I hailed a cab.

'John and Broadway please.'

Since Genia and I have not seen each other for 3 years we were engaged in deep conversation and so it took us a while to glance at the meter.

'Excuse me. Why the hell are we at Union Square?'

Apparently it's not just the nightlife that's raging. NY cab drivers are pretty enraging as well. The cheeky man had taken us a little uptown before driving downtown to her flat. In simpler terms - he was driving in circles and thought he could get away with it. Wrong.

Cabbie: 'You guys didn't tell me where you were going.'
'Yes we did. We said John and Broadway.'
Cabbie: 'No you didn't.'
'You could've asked us instead of driving in circles.
Cabbie: 'I asked 3 times.'
'No you didn't. This is what's happening: you're driving us home and we'll pay you the amount we'd usually pay.'

If I were the cabbie I wouldn't have turned this offer down. The fool did however. What then? What else? We left the cab and started walking down the street.

'Wait! If you don't pay I'll call the cops.'
'Ok fine. Call the cops. We'd like them to very much hear our story.'

So what did he do? He stood there dumbfounded while we hailed another cab and drove home.
And the moral of this story? Beware of New York cab drivers. Another scary anecdote to follow this one:


My Aunt Mona's friend, Tito Ago, once said that he was waiting to cross the street when he saw an old tourist couple hail a cab and asked the cabbie how much it would cost to get to their hotel. Unbeknowst to them, their hotel was located conveniently a few blocks down.
'20 dollars' the Cabbie replied. Unable to just stand and watch helplessly, Tito Ago walked up to the couple and told them 20 dollars is not worth a 10-minute walk down the road and after a death stare from the Cabbie and a 'thank you' from the couple, he was glad he helped another escape the trickeries of the taxi drivers.

So what have we learned ladies and gentlemen? When in Manhattan, keep your eyes on the meter and on the GPS screen located in front of you, and if you can be, be specific with your directions (e.g. 'John and Broadway please but go down Broadway and not the FDR because it's always in a traffic jam.') Abide by these tips and they are more likely to not get away with duping you.