Memorable Visit to New York and Other Landmarks in the East Coast

Quote from tiff at the KGT on page 5670 last April 29 :


"For a first time visitor in the Big Apple, like me, it was very overwhelming and tiring. Wala'ng katapusang pag-lalakad, at pag-habol-habol sa mga subways and buses,
the fast and quick movement/lifestyle , the hustle and bustle, the diversity, anything old and classic meeting up with anything new and contemporary, the cold, impersonal and snobbish attitude of the true blue New Yorkers...BUT...still I had so much fun!

I still get emotional at Ground Zero, I admired the mightiness of the Rockefeller Center, the classical Empire State Building (from movies Sleepless in Seattle, An Affair to Remember), the serenity of the St. Patrick's Cathedral (in front is a big Banana Republic store), the "high society" ambience of 5th Avenue, the eerie feeling at the Trinity Church, with it's graveyard on the side, right in the middle of busy NYC city, the vastness and wilderness of the Central Park with it's diversity of people and activities, the solemnity of the John Lennon shrine, the historicall Ellis Island, the edicational National Museum, the good pasta and pizza at the restaurants in Little Italy where the waiters talk to you in heavy Italian accent...the rock and rollin' at Broadway, Downtown, Time Square, and 42 nd Streets, the "boring' Wall Street....hehhee...the awesome,and magnificent Statue of LIberty. I was in awed and speechless while staring at her.

I was treated to a Cuban resto, a hotdog and soda session, and walang katapusan na paglalakad...and kodakan...we had pasta and pastries at Little Italy, and it was good...authentic italian pasta...yum...yum...

On my last day, I have extra time in the morning, and my friend insisted that he will take me to the airport, and he asked..."aside from the airport, may lakad ka pa?"...and i said none, but i will appreciate it if he will take me to the Dakota Mansion, where Lennon used to live, and where he died, so he took me there, and he took some pics, and as usual, wala'ng katapusang paglalakad na naman ang nagyari... hehhee...kaya pala ang tanong niya sa akin 'eh kung may "lakad " ako... hahaa... ayun, pinalalad nga ako nang husto, at hila-hila ko pa ang bagahe ko,....hahaha tapos, takbo at lundag sa subway to go to the airport and catch my flight...and through all these, nobody even said "hi" , or "hello" or "how are you" to me....i attempted, and got embarassed so many times, in the elevator, in the hotel lobby, at the central Park, at the Rockefeller, at the ferry ride to the Liberty Park, at the subway, how many times did i say 'hi " and "hello" but it seems that most New Yorkers are deaf, and they look at you, like you don't exist.

Hanep ang mga New Yorkers! .....Astig!!! Hindi namamansin!!!!.....
Sabi nga ni jag, when you got to NYC, you need to blend with the crowd, spend time watching and observing the New Yorkers, that's the only way you can see the real character of New York.

It's a truly fast paced, diversed but wonderful weekend. away from New York, everytime i look at the Manhattan skyline, i thought it was too good to be true...minus the twin Towers, it's still picture perfect! Like something that you see in a postcard.

Sa California, when a friend picks you up, it means, going outside your house and wait for him, until he pulls up, you hopped in the car, and away you drive...in New York, when a friend picks you up, it means, you better get ready with your walking shoes, because he's gonna pick you up, and together you will walk and run for the subway...ha ha...what a weekend!!!!






Thus the whining, exciting but very vivid description of tiff's own experience of New York. Exactly like what Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli's common observation in their song that goes like this...

Start spreading the news! I'm leaving today. I wanna be a part of it, New York, New York...I wanna wake up in the city that doesn't sleep...If i can make it there, I'll make it anywhere...It's up to you, New York, New York!!!

Actually am about to respond/quote tiff's own experience of New York at the KGT last April 29 when suddenly i found out i cannot logged in. I was about to share my own accounts too of New York City din sana. That was the exact date i have given yas at the helpdesk that after April 29, i can no longer access the site...the exact date tiff posted her own unforgettable accounts, the day of April 29. My memory never failed me even once...true enough! I searched tiff's posts at the KGT regarding her experience of New York. And i started searching posts from April 29...and voila! There it was! So here's my own experience naman with regards to the city that never sleeps.

Despite the many movies I've watched over the years depicting life in New York, (the crimes, the drugs, the corruption, the mayhem) like "West Side Story", "Death Wish", "Siege", "Die Hard", etc., my fascination for New York never waned. I loved the TV shows whose settings were in New York, like the old "Cosby Show", "Mad About You", "Seinfield", "Friends". In the 11 years I've resided in here with my tween daughter, I've visited a lot of cities in the States like LA, Hayward, Seattle in Washington, Des Moines in Iowa, Orlando in Florida, Philadelphia in Pensylvannia where i had done my back surgery 8 years ago when we're still living in a small apartment in the City of Danbury, located in Fairfield county in the East Coast. I'd been to Detroit, Michigan just to watch "The Slim Shady" Marshall Mathers "Eminem" performed live. I'd been to Victoria and Vancouver in British Columbia, Quebec, Canada where I've learned some simple french, Guam, Hawaii...but still...New York is a lot more different.

After my Spinal Fusion surgery in Philadelphia right after winter time, the month of March 2001...5 more months after that dreadful surgery, I decided to give my family and myself, from too much working...finally a BREAK we all deserved. My family means my nanang, my tatang and my then barely 5 year-old daughter. I had a friend back in college whom since I came here been wanting me to visit their place in Virginia. And together we'll stroll the streets of New York daw. In short, I finally gave in.

So off to Virginia we flew last August 17th of 2001 on a Southwest Airline. A funny thing happened to us. We had a big box of special "pan de sal" we bought from the famous Philippine Bread House which we intended to bring as "pasalubongs" to the folks of my friend in Virginia but we forgot it in our apartment's garage! Luckily, we had more "pasalubongs" to offer other than the "pan de sal" they soo loved. We stayed at their big, elegant house in Lorton, Virginia. We made their house our "home base". In the first week, we visited Washington D.C. We would all ride a train from Springfield, Virginia up to Arlington, then board a tour-mobile that would take us to Arlington National Cemetery, then to the Washington Mall where all the federal buildings were located.

We took pictures at the graveyard of JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy. These were simple plots on the ground with the Eternal Flame in front. Alongside was the grave of their newly-born child. A little farther to the left was Robert Kennedy's simple grave. Like JFK, Robert Kennedy was assassinated too.




JFK's grave



The sight of the graves of the Kennedy's stirred such emotions in us. To think that JFK was assassinated at the height of his career and Jacqueline who died of cancer made us realize how flimsy and ephemeral life on Earth is. But they died leaving a great legacy to their country. I'll never forget JFK's famous quotation, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country".

While in Washington D.C. we walked around the White House and took pictures infront of it. My camera back in 2001 was not digital of course thus I cannot provide the actual pictures taken during our tour but am providing you a very vivid description of all those as much as possible. There were so many tourists like us who were taking pictures also. Some said if we want to visit the White House, we have to fall in line as early as 4:30 in the morning at the Visitor's Center and passes will be distributed at 10:00 AM. Holy cow! We didn't have the luxury of time so we just contended ourselves in having taken pictures. We took pictures infront of the Lincoln Memorial Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial and inside the Smithsonian Institute and at the Museum of Natural History.





Lincoln Memorial Washington monument




The White House from the distance





Statue of Jefferson inside the memorial






The Smithsonian institute





Inside the Natural History Museum where you can find thousands of different species of plants and animals.



On Wednesday August 22 we boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a 4-hour drive from Alexandria, Virginia where we started. Atlantic City is famous for its casinos, but not as big as Las Vegas. I should know, been there too. Yes, there are casinos too, like the Tropicana Hotel and casino where we all stayed for the night. The Sands, Caesar's and the Trump Tower, but it's a far cry from Las Vegas.






The Tropicana Hotel upfront in Atlantic City where we stayed for a night before heading to NY




We walked along the Boardwalk, felt the soft breeze from the ocean blowing gently on our faces and we enjoyed the scenery. My friend and I went downstairs from our hotel and we tried our hand at the slot machines. I didn't know how to play but my friend taught me how.

At first I was thrilled when I inserted 3-quarters in the slot, pressed the button that says "SPIN" and a lot of quarters rolled down the receptacle infront of me! I won $90! I scooped the coins and put 'em in a plastic mug many of which were provided for the players. Soon I was so engrossed in inserting 3-quarters in the slot, then there would appear on the small screen infront of me, "GAME OVER. INSERT COINS". Finally I inserted my last 3-quarters and that was it! The game was over haha! I lost my original $30 and the $90 that I won haha! I didn't wanna shell out some more dollars and I told my friend who was playing Black Jack at a nearby table, "Akyat na tayo baka maubos pa pera ko dito haha!" Reaching our room, my parents hurriedly went downstairs to play too. They cannot go down 'cuz they're the ones taking care of my daughter in our room haha! I dunno' what time they got in our room 'cuz the three of us were already asleep by then.




Tropicana Casino inside the hotel





The hotel from sideways



August 23rd, Thursday - we left Atlantic City at 12:30 PM on a greyhound bus. We reached New York at 3 PM. At last my dream of seeing the "BIG APPLE" the city that doesn't sleep has finally been fulfilled. As we passed under the Lincoln tunnel, my excitement was so intense I had to pinch myself to realize that I wasn't dreaming.





The busy lanes of Lincoln tunnel



This really was New York! Yeah right!
Then at the end of the tunnel sights of tall buildings began to impinge upon my consciousness. The big and tall buildings that I only see on movies and TV suddenly came to life. With childlike glee i began to hug my friend.

Pennsylvania Hotel where we stayed for 3 nights was located at the corner of West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue. It was right infront of the Madison Square Garden where some big boxing events were usually held aside from the Mandalay Bay. A few blocks away was the Empire State Building, which used to be the tallest building in New York when the Twin Towers of the WTC were not yet in existence. (Now that the Twin Towers are gone it regained its title as the tallest in New York if not in the world. But some say that the Sears Tower in Chicago is now the tallest.)






Pennsylvania Hotel in NY where we stayed for 3 nights & 4 days






Madison Square Garden, the building beside it is Hotel Pennsylvania





Madison Square Garden from up above but obviously its shape is round, also known as The Garden, "the world's most famous arena". It is the home arena of the NY Rangers (NHL), NY Knicks (NBA), NY Liberty (WNBA), NY Titans (NLL), Big East Men's Basketball Tournament (NCAA), the NBA drafts being held annually here and became the venue of big boxing events and live concerts of famous singers.






The Empire State Building, remember the movie KingKong which stars Naomi Watts




At the back of the hotel to the east was the Macy's Department Store, said to be the biggest store in the city. Correct me if am wrong here tiff...because my experience was based on the year 2001 pa. After resting for a while, we went down to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant nearby. While waiting for our orders, we noticed the stream of people passing by, all seemed to be hurrying to reach their destination. My parents even whispered..."itong mga taong ito, parang hindi na aabutin ng bukas kung magsipaglakad...walang pakialam mabunggo ka man nila". This was a mixture of all immigrants in New York. There were whites, blacks, some looked like middle easterners, some Chinese, some Japanese, some Latinos and there were Filipinos too of course, in a hurry like all of 'em. No wonder it is said that "New York is the world's capital, not because its financial districts is the most important, or its shops the best, or its publishers the biggest, or its port the finest, but because New York is made up of everyone : MR EVERYMAN from all over the planet. New York's character has always come from the vast immigration which even today is being absorbed into the city".






Macy's Department Store in NY



Friday - August 24th, we woke up early, and after taking a shower with my daughter, we went down and had breakfast at a cafe inside the hotel. Food in this cafe sure was expensive. We just had a cup of decaffenaited coffee, a bagel each, spread with Philadelphia cream cheese, two sunny-side up eggs and 3 slices of bacon each, and a glass of chocolate milk for my daughter and we were charged $55. Muntik na kong mahulog sa kinauupuan ko and to think na 2001 pa yan!

Then we started on our adventure. Outside the hotel we looked around the tall buildings. We walked along 7th avenue, turned right to Broadway, passed CBS studios until we reached Times Square. My sense of wonder was really awakened, seeing all those places I only read about and seen on the big screen. We talked and walked until we reached Central Park. I didn't realized that Central Park was so big with huge trees all around. It was a lovely park where you would find a lot of joggers and bicyclists. There was a zoo, a merry-go-round for the kids, a theater and music mall, skating rinks, bowling areas, football fields, a reservoir and ponds to sail toy boats on. Our feet was so tired walking around the park that we decided to ride a subway train back to our hotel.






The Broadway which stretches from Manhattan to the Bronx






CBS Studio with its Eye logo





Central Park




Times Square in NY


Some people say that New Yorkers are cold, aloof and arrogant. Well in our 4-days stay there we met some kind-hearted people rin naman. Some guys helped us with our heavy shopping bags on our way down the escalator to the subway. A young man even graciously offered his seat to my tatang when all the seats were occupied.

Later that day, we went on a night sight-seeing tour. The tour bus took us to different boroughs of New York until we reached the WTC. We were amazed as we looked up at the Twin Towers. We Were led up to the 107th floor of the South Tower building where a photographer was waiting for us. The photographer took pictures of all the tourists who wanted to have their pictures taken for souvenirs. Then when you like your pictures you could buy your copies (you are given two 6"x4" copies) for $10 each. We went up to the highest floor, the 110th floor where the Observation Deck was located. From there we had a magnificent view of New York City by night. It was so breathtaking! (Never did we imagine that this beautiful structure would be gone in the blink of an eye.) And now the WTC is no more. How ironic! How sad! And buried within are countless human beings still unaccounted for.






The Twin Towers of New York




Saturday, August 25th. The next item on our itinerary was all-day sightseeing tour all over New York. We rode the same tourist bus as yesterday but with a different driver and a tour guide. We started at 10 AM from our hotel. We passed by different boroughs of New York; each borough has its own colorful history. The tourist guide patiently telling us about Manhattan Island, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond or Staten Island.





Manhattan Island which for me is one of the most breathtaking. The borough of Manhattan is called the New York county and is considered to be the most densely populated county in the US





The Brooklyn bridge which connects the NY city boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn on Long Island and is one of the oldest suspension bridge in the US. Also known as the Kings county and the second densely populated county in the US next to Manhattan





Aerial view of the Bronx and its river the Bronx river, considered to be the third densely populated county in the US



We toured the financial district called the Wall Street, famous for its enormous wealth, its yuppies and often its manipulators and greed. At the other end is Harlem with its burned-out buildings, its unused talents, its rich soul. Then we were taken to central Park again, saw John Lennon's apartment (sayang sana nagkasalubong tayo dito tiff) where he was shot by a crazed fan. The tourist guide took us to the place dedicated to him, the Strawberry Fields at the Central Park. On the ground was a big patch of marble where John Lennon's song IMAGINE was engraved. It was very touching! Me and my friend couldn't help but leave that marble spot with wet eyes. We found some bouquet of flowers left by adoring fans on the ground. We were told that Yoko Ono, Lennon's widow, still lives in the apartment but is seldom seen by people.





The busy financial district called Wall street, in here according to tiff never ever say "HI's or HELLO's" dahil mapapahiya ka lang in which i totally agree haha!!!





Skyline view of Harlem








Strawberry Fields at the Central Park



Along the streets to Central Park were high-rise apartments of famous celebrities like Barbra Streisand, Jerry Seinfield, the late Jacqueline Kennedy. The tourist guide showed us the apartments that used to belong to Mrs.Imelda Marcos. As he described the place as "belonging to the First Lady of the Philippines, famous for her 3 thousand pairs of shoes".

After Central Park, we boarded a ferry boat which took us to Liberty Island, past Ellis Island and Staten Island. Here in Liberty Island was where the famous Statue of Liberty stood proud, but beckoning to all the tourists who flock to the island daily. Ano nga ba yun tiff..."Give me your tired, you poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." This quotation by Emma Lazarus could be found at the foot of the statue.







The Statue of Liberty



On our way back, we passed by some of the most famous landmarks of New York City like the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, said to be the world's largest privately-owned business and entertainment complex. It is the home of Radio City Music Hall, the Rainbow Room and the NBC Studios. There's a lot more to see actually in New York City but we couldn't cover 'em all in our 4 days stay there. Suffice it to say that we were fortunate enough to see some of the most famous landmarks in one of, if not the greatest city in the world. This would be our last night staying in our hotel room at Pennsylvania Hotel. We had a sumptous dinner at one of the cozy restaurant inside the hotel. Then we finally took our rest upstairs as 'twas already late and we had to travel again the next morning going back to our little apartment in suburbs.







Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 high-rise commercial buildings and is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan where you can find the 70-floor GE Building formerly known as RCA Building, the NBC Studios, the Radio City Music Hall, the Associated Press Building, the Rockefeller Plaza Buildings which consists of 3 buildings that has spectacular roof gardens among others.






The NBC Studio



Exactly 11 AM, the 26th of August, we were back at home. Usual activities resume... work...home...play with lil daughter...work...home! Until that fateful September 11 attacks! I was at my work when I heard the news. My nanay called me, her voice were trembling! I couldn't believe it either! All of us at work were glued on CNN. I saw one tower already on fire and then in a split second another plane hit the second tower with such tremendous impact that I was frozen speechless as my co-workers were glued on my face! And to think that only more than two weeks ago we were there right on the spot. We have actually forgotten about this...we forced ourselves to. My family agreed not to talk about this to anyone and to completely forget anything about it. But never forgotten were all the firemen, policemen, all the noble New Yorkers, the volunteers who, without regard for their own safety, lost their own lives trying to save others.