I've been wanting to visit The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine for several years and yesterday was finally the day. I don't necessarily have a fear of heights; however, I do have a bit of claustrophobia which made the Vertical Tour a challenge. I'm not a fan of spiral staircases to begin with, but the stairs on this tour were as narrow as they could possibly be. At one point I even considered staying put and rejoining the group when they made their way back, but there was an 80+ woman in our group and I decided that if she could do it without whining, then so could I.
The first batch of steps truly was the worst because there were so many of them before we finally reached the buttress. After that, each group of steps seemed a little easier and the views at each stop along the way were reward for the effort. 
For those who want to enjoy the cathedral without climbing the stairs, there are a variety of other tours or you can explore on your own (donations are appreciated).
Being a fan of the TV series White Collar, I knew that the mansion used for the exterior shots of Neal Caffrey's home is the Schinasi mansion at 351 Riverside Drive which was an easy walk from the cathedral. I was very disappointed to see the condition of the exterior, especially since it's for sale (at the bargain price of just $13.5M). I have to believe there was some serious PhotoShopping that went into the exterior shots on the realtor's website. Check out the website and then look at my photos and you decide...
Spent some time wandering and trying to decide where to relax for a while. Saw an Irish pub across the street (you can't go wrong with an Irish pub in my mind) and waited for the light to change. Happened to turn around and realized I was standing right next to the Underground Lounge which was a place I had wanted to check out. So I headed down the stairs (stairs being the theme for my day apparently). It's a small place, staffed by very friendly people. There was a brunch taking place in the back room where they normally hold shows during weeknights and it seemed to be very popular. Would have happily spent more time hanging out there, but I wanted to explore some more.
Came across lovely Straus Park, named in memory of Isidor and Ida Straus who perished on the Titanic. Isidor was a successful businessman (ultimately owning R. H. Macy & Company), congressman, and philanthropist. Although Mrs. Straus had the opportunity to escape the Titanic on a lifeboat, the New York Times quoted a survivor as saying, "Mrs.
Straus declared she would not leave her husband...They were standing arm in arm as the last boat left. As she refused, she clung to him, and they went down arm in arm with the boat."
I coordinate a lot of group trips to NYC for schools and other organizations and the groups often like to include a meal, so I wanted to check out Buca di Beppo which recently opened in Times Square at the same location as the newly remodeled Planet Hollywood. I was not impressed. While I was warmly greeted at the entrance to the building and seated quickly when I arrived at the third floor restaurant, my server left much to be desired. Even though there was just one other occupied table in the entire restaurant, my server seemed rushed, spoke much too fast, acted slightly annoyed that I was even there, and made me wish that I had chosen Planet Hollywood on the second floor instead. I ordered the cheesy bread Florentine appetizer and a peach Bellini. Appetizer came fairly quickly and was OK, but the drink took much too long to arrive. I popped in PH on my way out of the building. It looks like they have far less memorabilia on display but they had a lot more patrons and they all appeared to be enjoying themselves much more than I did at Buca. When I first heard that Planet Hollywood was going to add Buca to their location, I was confused. I'm still confused.
It probably goes without saying that I stopped by Frankie & Johnnie's to visit everyone and I had a quick drink there. Have been going there for at least 15 (probably more) years and what keeps me going back is the people that work there (and the fantastic salmon). Maybe the Buca people should send their servers to F&J for some training on how to treat customers??
Heading back to NYC on the 19th. Half the folks are going to see The Lion King and the rest of us will be on our own. Haven't decided what to do yet, but you can bet it will not involve a lot of steps.
Spent some time wandering and trying to decide where to relax for a while. Saw an Irish pub across the street (you can't go wrong with an Irish pub in my mind) and waited for the light to change. Happened to turn around and realized I was standing right next to the Underground Lounge which was a place I had wanted to check out. So I headed down the stairs (stairs being the theme for my day apparently). It's a small place, staffed by very friendly people. There was a brunch taking place in the back room where they normally hold shows during weeknights and it seemed to be very popular. Would have happily spent more time hanging out there, but I wanted to explore some more.
Came across lovely Straus Park, named in memory of Isidor and Ida Straus who perished on the Titanic. Isidor was a successful businessman (ultimately owning R. H. Macy & Company), congressman, and philanthropist. Although Mrs. Straus had the opportunity to escape the Titanic on a lifeboat, the New York Times quoted a survivor as saying, "Mrs.
I coordinate a lot of group trips to NYC for schools and other organizations and the groups often like to include a meal, so I wanted to check out Buca di Beppo which recently opened in Times Square at the same location as the newly remodeled Planet Hollywood. I was not impressed. While I was warmly greeted at the entrance to the building and seated quickly when I arrived at the third floor restaurant, my server left much to be desired. Even though there was just one other occupied table in the entire restaurant, my server seemed rushed, spoke much too fast, acted slightly annoyed that I was even there, and made me wish that I had chosen Planet Hollywood on the second floor instead. I ordered the cheesy bread Florentine appetizer and a peach Bellini. Appetizer came fairly quickly and was OK, but the drink took much too long to arrive. I popped in PH on my way out of the building. It looks like they have far less memorabilia on display but they had a lot more patrons and they all appeared to be enjoying themselves much more than I did at Buca. When I first heard that Planet Hollywood was going to add Buca to their location, I was confused. I'm still confused.
It probably goes without saying that I stopped by Frankie & Johnnie's to visit everyone and I had a quick drink there. Have been going there for at least 15 (probably more) years and what keeps me going back is the people that work there (and the fantastic salmon). Maybe the Buca people should send their servers to F&J for some training on how to treat customers??
Heading back to NYC on the 19th. Half the folks are going to see The Lion King and the rest of us will be on our own. Haven't decided what to do yet, but you can bet it will not involve a lot of steps.
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