NYC: Ground Zero, Bars & Broadway

Yesterday morning, I wandered down to Grand Central Station, just to see it. It's one of those things that you have to go and look at if you're in New York City for the first time, and it is ridiculously stunning. I was going to go to a breakfast place across the road that Starry had recommended to me, but the line was out of the door and down the street, so I didn't go in. I had a lot of things planned, including travelling down to Lower Manhattan and back, so I had to get started.

I went down to the financial district to find a specific street sign. It's become a family tradition to find this street sign, ever since my Gramps visited New York when he was younger. Since he was a boy, he'd always gone to a working man's club near his home on a street called Morris Street; even now, in his 70's, he still frequents the same working man's club, with his group of equally insane old friends. So, when he visited New York all those years ago, and found a street named Morris Street, he had his photo taken beneath the sign. Since then, my Vati and stepmum, my brother Liam, and now I have all had our photos taken with the same street sign, at the intersection of Morris Street and Broadway, and everyone who will visit NYC in the future will continue this little family joke.

Having fulfilled the family tradition (with kudos to the pleasant French tourist who took the photo for me), I ambled over to Ground Zero. Walking into the area is the strangest feeling: It's still right in the city, but all the sounds become almost muffled as you approach the memorial site. People aren't rushing around, but walking slowly, stopping, looking around them. The memorial pools where the towers stood are so unbelievably huge, it's impossible to imagine the sheer size of the devastation that occurred there. It was incredibly eerie, strange and sad.

Yesterday was also the first time I got a bit lost in the city. I say 'lost', it was very easy to reorient myself, but I suddenly found myself over in the rough end of Chinatown with no idea how I'd managed to get there. It's not too far from the 9/11 memorial, but I was heading somewhere completely different, so I was slightly bamboozled. I found a cute pair of velvet shoes in H&M, which was handy because my Converse had absolutely shredded my feet by this point (and I needed slightly dressier shoes for the theatre that night). 

I headed on over to Times Square, as I wanted to visit the Hard Rock Cafe before I had to go to the theatre. Times Square was utterly packed, and there was so much to look at while being buffeted along by the crowds. I didn't hang around for long as there was an Iron Man and a couple of Minions accosting people, trying to con them into getting photos with them (which you then find out you have to pay for). 

I was really surprised when I went down in to the cafe part of Hard Rock, and was immediately seated. More impressively, I was sitting next to the very guitar that Kurt Cobain smashed up in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video:

Hard Rock also wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be (though still a bit pricey). I had a massive burger with chips, and a huge slice of Oreo cheesecake, and it was heaven. I tried their signature cocktail, the Hurricane (orange, mango and pineapple juice; Barcadi superior and select rum; Amaretto and Grenadine - gorgeous!), and had a cheeky Jack Daniels and coke to round it all off. I spent a while in there, and took my time with my dinner. They played things like Avenged Sevenfold, which made me happy, and there was plenty to look at while I hung out there. I had a little wander about the place when I was done eating, and was glad that it wasn't ridiculously packed (still hugely surprising, considering it was a Hard Rock Cafe, in Times Square, on a Saturday night).

I found myself heading towards the Majestic waaay too early, and was just wondering what I was going to do when I spotted a bar that looked perfect for me. It's called Jekyll & Hyde and it was a sort of bar/restaurant/haunted house attraction combo, which is basically everything I love. The whole place was decorated in Victorian-era style, there were oddities and skeletons hanging around everywhere, and a sign outside said 'eccentric explorers and mad scientists welcome'. It was the coolest bar ever! 

The bartender who served me, Rich, was fab, chatting away to me about my adventures in the USA and how I was enjoying New York. I mentioned that I was going to be seeing Phantom soon and he was excited for me. I had three cocktails from this fine establishment - Sweet Poison, Kiss of Death and the Transformation Cocktail, before I realised that it was time I got down to the theatre. I said to Rich, "What time do you finish work? Yes, I am hitting on you." and he gave me his number! S-c-o-r-e. I left the bar feeling incredibly pleased with myself, and moseyed down the street, where I couldn't exactly miss the theatre I was heading to:

The gigantic Phantom mask kind of gave it away.

I went in and was handed a Playbill, another classic New York Moment. I bought a beautiful program, then scuttled in to the main room. I knew I was in the front row, but I was still overwhelmed at how close I was to the stage. I could lean forward slightly and see over the low wall in front of me, into the orchestra pit. It was utterly magical. Here's a cheeky snap of the stage before the show started, not zoomed in at all!

The show itself was utterly amazing - I will be writing a proper review at some point, so I won't go into masses of detail. I was crying by the end of it, and I was one of the first people on their feet at the curtain call. Everyone gave such an amazing performance, and I was so honoured to be right at the front where I could see every little detail. Also, Norm Lewis was bloody incredible as the Phantom - he absolutely owned the stage and gave such a believable performance. He was mostly the reason I started blubbing in the first place! I also thought I was going to see Sierra Boggess as Christine again, but she didn't do Saturdays. Instead, I got Mary Michael Patterson - she was ridiculously good though, and it was interesting to see a different Christine. I'm so glad I decided to go see Phantom on Broadway, it was so worth it.

When Rich finished work (past 2am), he came to meet me at my hotel. We soon sought out a bar and he ended up footing a $60 tab! I could not believe his generosity. We chatted for ages, and he cracked me up by saying if he was a flavour he'd be beef jerky, and saying that his dog looked like Bryan Cranston. I also laughed when he likened some crazy woman at the bar to Nicki Minaj. It was a really nice time, and we may have kissed each other. And he may have come back to mine for the night. May have.

Today, I planned to go to Central Park for the day, but I've had to cancel. The terrible blisters on my feet have gotten worse, and when I got up today I could barely walk. I managed to hobble down to the nearest CVS and grab some drinks, painkillers and blister plasters, then I hobbled back in agony and I've been resting my feet all day. I think I'll be able to carry on with stuff tomorrow, and if I shift a few of my plans around, I can get a short time in Central Park into my schedule.