Roadtrip!

I’ve traveled from Regina (a.k.a. home) to Eastern Canada several times now (and back again). But this time, we took a slightly different route by dipping into the States. I added to my state-count by 4, but we actually went through 8 (for the curious: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota). Unfortunately, I can’t say that we saw much besides the scenery on the interstate. We did catch a bit of Illinois by popping into Chicago (if an hour and half drive through heavy traffic to downtown can be rightly called a pop) and Minneapolis.

At the same time, there is a certain joy and freedom to a roadtrip. There’s always the possibility that there’s something waiting for you just off the interstate. Wisconsin is actually a surprisingly great state for tempting you off the interstate. Signs abound for antiques, cheese, and resorts, complete with waterslide parks, which we unluckily only glimpsed longingly from the highway. We did stop at one of the antique shops. I have to admit that this one did not appear to have any swanky antiques: it looked like a grandmother’s house. Then again, I have never been good at finding either antiques or vintage clothing.

By contrast, Chicago was a nice place. I liked the vibe I got from Chicago. It felt like a cultural oasis in the mid-West. My favourite part of town was Millennium Park. This park included neat modern art, a cool fountain, and, a performing arts auditorium in the signature style of Frank Gehry (Guggenheim architect) with a large grassy area in front for outdoor performances. I wanted to go to the symphony, which was playing for a summer festival, but it poured rain that night. We hung out at Gino’s Pizza instead waiting on some traditional Chicago deep-dish. I have to say this pizza was something else. I use that phrase because I can’t say that it’s the beats delicious Italian thin crust, but it had a distinct flavour and texture all of its own. The crust had a fluffy, goldeness to it that was distinctly American. I think they might have added cornmeal to the crust to make this texture, but I’m not positive. I enjoyed the green spaces of Chicago, although we spent most of our time at the shops along the Magnificent Mile. Weirdly, Chicago had lots of honourary names for streets, such as the Magnificent Mile, which is really on Michigan Ave. The picture below is my favourite honourary street so far in my limited experience of Chicago.

The last place of any significance that we stopped was Minneapolis. We learned our lesson in Chicago so we stayed out of downtown Minneapolis. However, the developers were onto us because they built us a shopping complex, The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, near the interstate. I can only describe this complex as a pedestrian downtown-like centre with oodles of parking on the outskirts. It had several boutiques, mixed in with box stores, a plan which was designed to give one the illusion of a quaint, downtown shopping experience. I have to say it made for a lovely stop and I bought a cook book and some coffee.

Those were the major stops along the route from Kingston to Regina, but there is one more little thing to mention. By North Dakota, we had entered my beloved prairie. The traffic lightened up and you started to be able to see your dog running away for three days. For me, being able to see for miles in every direction makes me feel free. Definitely, the landscape of my childhood and my heart.

Times Square and the Theatre District: Bigger is Better

No trip to New York would be complete without taking in a Broadway show. We actually saw two shows: a classic, The Phantom of the Opera, and one of this year’s darlings, Promises, Promises. The sheer magnitude of the sets and special effects of Phantom forces you to feel the glitz and glamour of Broadway. Need I even mention the amazing score? Its 20 year run on Broadway attests to the power of this musical. And we joined the mass of fans who loved the musical. I have to admit to thinking before we went that it wouldn’t be that much better than the movie. But seeing it on stage was something special. The closeness of the sets brought you right into the action on stage: the chandelier rises from stage at eyelevel to eventually take its place right above your head. All the time with you watching, thinking “it must be magic.”
Warning: English-y part coming up. I also found, as an audience member, that the meta-theatrical references and parody of the operatic form were heightened. I especially love the moment when the theatre owners suggest that their lives could be an opera. Also, the use of the ballet replicated the use of ballet in the French opera houses, a practice which has since ceased. And there was just something wonderful about sitting in the beautiful Majestic theatre, in the pit I might add, that made me feel as if I was at the Opera Populaire in Paris.

Promises, Promises was definitely a good show, but it lacked the glitz and glamour of Phantom. Fortunately, it made up for this lack with sheer talent. Sean Hayes, of Will & Grace fame, and Kristen Chenoweth, from Glee, were the leads in this show. I have to admit that the resonance of seeing them on stage together made the show for me. Kristin Chenoweth has a phenomenal voice and it was really cool to see her on stage. And Sean Hayes, well, he’s just hilarious. He has great comic timing that shines through at the start of the second act when he (while drunk) picks up a drunken woman in the bar. The plot and the music are quite forgettable, but it is a fun show. For me, it resonated because I knew both of these actors and they just brought the cool factor up for me. I have to admit to being a bit start struck . . .

As for Times Square, well, that’s the biggest and brightest part of New York. I think it’s just as iconic as the Statue of Liberty and, for me, it definitely lived up to images of it as bigger than life. I especially liked the colour from all of the ads. It just screams at you to try to take in all the excess. In an attempt to experience the excess, we visited two massive American chocolate shops: Hershey and M&M. I have to admit that M&M wins the excess contest because it had three floors worth of M&M paraphernalia. I mean three floors? How much stuff can you possibly emboss with the M&M characters (albeit cute characters)? Then again, who doesn’t love chocolate? We definitely indulged.

From the distant past to the present, New York has remained a presence in my imagination. Ok, so it proves that I watch too many American movies, but still there was something special about New York City.

Upper West Side: Chillin’ like I’m from New York

This area was my favourite. I liked it because it is quieter than other parts of New York and less touristy. Also, the best cookies in New York live in this area at the Levain Bakery. This tiny bakery, with a counter the size of an average desk, serves only 4 types of cookies, but they are definitely the best. When you arrive, you walk into a wall of ooey-gooey good smells and you leave with a bag of the heaviest cookies in the universe. Did I mention that portion sizes on cookies was also ginormous? I think these cookies could have been a meal all by themselves. I did not restrain myself to cookies, but also tried one of the cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery (it is the bakery where Miranda and Carrie buy cupcakes). While Magnolia Bakery has become a chain that even has a shop in Grand Central Station, Levain Bakery has remained small and artisanal. I might add that the cupcakes still taste good though. However, I think the humble (by which I mean the double chocolate peanut butter variety) cookie has stolen my heart and wins the award of the best thing I ate while I was in New York.

Besides, a delicious bakery the Upper Westside has many other restaurants that are a bit more reasonably priced than those in other areas. I am slightly biased about this area because I reconnected with two friends in New York and we explored this area together. Eliza met us at the Metropolitan Museum of Art so we could gossip with famous works of art and antique items within eye sight. On a serious note, the Met rivals any museum in Europe. Like the Louvre, the collection spans many different time periods and geographic regions around the world. My mother loved the impressionist section, which I have to admit was lovely, but the Cypriot section won my heart. As you might have noticed, I have a bit of a thing for the underdog. In my travels so far, including a trip to the ancient history museum in Istanbul, I’ve never seen Cypriot works before. I really liked the style of these works because they combined both Egyptian and Greek ancient statuary. Anyways, you can do more research in order to form your own opinion. If you’re going to be in New York sometime soon, I would suggest seeing the “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” exhibit at the Met. It is both an exhibit on American national identity AND a fashion show. They take you from the elaborate ball gowns of the late-nineteenth century heiress to the screen goddesses of the 30s and 40s. My favourite bit of this exhibit was the Gibson Girl clothing. The Gibson Girl was a marketing phenomenon in the late-nineteenth century. She embodied greater freedom and liberty for women through physical activity. However, I have to say how she skated or played tennis in long petticoats remains a mystery to me. But good on her for leaving her needle point behind.

However, the best part of the Upper West Side is the proximity of Central Park. The green space provides a welcome relief from sounds and smells of New York (although the sewage does seep into the part a little). Kevin and I were lucky enough to have Line, my Danish friend, show us the statue of Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Andersen. My beloved European fairy tales even have a little home in Central Park. Line If fairytales aren’t your thing, Strawberry Fields is also in Central Park with a monument to John Lennon who lived in the Upper West Side. I also loved the rented motorized sailboats floating on the lake. Central Park allows you to take a break from the rest of what makes New York special. Oh, and of course, it’s also supersized.

Lower Manhattan: Exploring the History

Since taking a course on nineteenth century American literature about the city of New York, I have wanted to see old New York (a.k.a. Lower Manhattan). This itty-bitty area was all there was in the beginning; a New York that was walkable instead of just cabable. We visited the reconstructed docks at the South Seaport Museum to attempt to get a taste of this history. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. Yes, the docks have been reconstructed. But now they include shops and loads of dockside restaurants. Needless to say, Melville’s New York feels quite distant. However, there is one spot where old New York can be felt quite easily: the print shop.

With my love of books and book history, you can imagine that I adored the print shop. Bowne and Co., Stationers have been in business for over 100 years. They might even have been printing works while some of the greats, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, were writing. The beautiful row of old brick buildings (including an old-school lamp post like the one in Narnia) allowed me to touch the piece of New York we’d studied in class. It gets even more exciting inside. They had two nineteenth century printing presses on display with the itty-bitty iron type set letters. Behind the display, you could see the old presses that are still in use in the print shop. We just missed the printer, but I’m sure he would have been happy to explain some of the finer points of these old machines. I am happy to say I did buy some cards printed on these old machines though. As much fun as it is to peruse nineteenth century newspapers on an online database, these cards printed in the here and now on the old presses are more special because they are more tangible. In a world of screens, I think the feel of paper becomes more important since we so often do not get to touch what we read.

The museum also had two restored ships hanging out in the harbour. One was a cargo vessel powered only by wind made in the early 19th century called Peking. This vessel plied the trade between Hamburg, Germany and Valparaiso, Chile. I was shocked that wind powered vessels remained a viable shipping option until well into the twentieth century. Touring this vessel made me realize I never ever want to be a sailor. The close quarters with my ship mates and uncleanly kitchen (the cook would just push dropped food into the corner to rot) would get to me fairly quickly. Plus I like to cook and the bigger the kitchen the better. I wonder if the kitchens are bigger in New York too because I’m all for supersized kitchens.

Anyways, back to the ships. We also toured a little light ship. I was confused by the name at first and started wondering if this ship was for people on a diet, but no, it actually led ships through the shallow channel to the harbour. I also think it would have been boring to shuttle back and forth between two places. I’ve always imagined sailors voyaging to new ports, but, in reality, these ships would probably have plied the same waters year after year. So even the one benefit of being a sailor, exploring all parts of the globe, would have been lost! Definitely not becoming a sailor anytime soon.

At the same time, seeing the ships at New York’s dock was something special. New York made its way in the nineteenth century through trade making the docks the lifeblood of the city. Its status as a financial capital began with the commercial trade of the nineteenth century. The docks also brought new immigrants to New York. From Battery Park, at the tip of the island, Kevin and I saw the most iconic image of New York City that has brought hope to thousands of immigrants: the Statue of Liberty. I can’t say I fell in love with the Statue of Liberty, but it is nice to say I’ve seen her from a distance.

I felt the presence of immigrants most clearly in Chinatown and Little Italy. We had the pleasure of walking in Columbus Park in the heart of Chinatown. This park was once part of the infamous Five Points district (or more accurately slum) in nineteenth century New York. Dickens describes this area by saying, “all that is loathsome, drooping, and decayed is here” (Chapter 6, American Notes). Obviously, it housed one of the poorest areas in America at the time, but also one of the most multicultural. Poverty made this the region that down-on-their-luck immigrants, escaped slaves, and other miscreants gathered. I found the park a touching tribute to this chequered past because it proves any region can be transformed into something beautiful. I especially loved seeing the children playing because they were breathing new life into this area.

Little Italy also felt like a breath of fresh air. The terraces at the restaurants allowed for a special dining experience that at once felt relaxed while engaging in the pleasure of street watching. Our restaurant played classic jazz tunes that melded the Italian dining experience with a uniquely American style of music. We danced (in the way of all the waiters I might add) to a rendition of “Time after time.” Dinner followed by cannoli from a street vendor made my experience of Little Italy absolute perfection and an absolutely perfect ending to exploring historic New York.

Intro to New York City: Hot Child in the City

So, as most of you know, I’m going to Kenya in a couple of months. In honour of the occasion, I’ve decided to start a blog. Also, I just went to New York and obviously nothing could be more exciting to blog about than a trip to the Big Apple.

I have to admit I wasn’t sure I would like New York. I thought it would be big and American (i.e. boring). But it was big and American with style. I kept staring at the sky scrapers that littered the island no matter where we went; eating my way (and usually only half succeeding) through large portions of food; walking supersized blocks; and generally consuming in every which way and loving every New York minute of it.

I’ve decide to split the trip up into geographic sections to explain more easily to all of you wonderful people exactly how cool New York is. It will be split up into separate postings so you can decide which parts interest you or read it all at once or in little bites. Hope you enjoy reading about New York as much as I enjoyed visiting it!