Tourist In My Own Town

Square Parks' Ruled!

2011-07-04T00:03:00.061-04:00

This tour rocked. It was a photo takers dream from beginning to end. Saturday July 2 started early in the anxious AM as my good friend, Antonio Champion, who took the tour with me and was my inspiration to return to doing this had us aim for an 8 a.m. start. Thank you mucho amigo! We planned to start at the location by 8:00 a.m. but got there around 715-730 a.m.

We took the L to Union Square 14th Street and exited at the southern most exit for the train station which started us actually on 14th Street. The first item of notice was George Washington on horseback. This statue is actually one of the first to depict the Father of our Country in such a manor to elevate him stoically.

Following the card was rather misleading and it was used as a rough reference tool from here on in. Where the card was a plus is that we did go on a Saturday in which the Farmers market is in full swing and is well recommended. The smells of fresh baked goods, fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables, etc. were fantastic. The urge to pull out the cash was hard to fight. But as we were looking around we noted these bronze plaques of copper in the ground. Now with all the historical statues and the word "Union" would lead you to believe the park is named for the Union of a nation but it's just a Union where the two main roads of the time when founded met for the Old Bowery and Broadway.

The plaques in the ground depicted what the area looked like and represented to those who lived in the 1800's. There were several of these in the ground and are available in the slide show. This is one example of many at the southern end of Union Square park. Some were covered in gum or some other kind of muck but were an absolute delight to gander over.

As we passed along the western side of the park we passed this fountain. It was actually one of the first pictures I snapped even before George Washington. With the weather as perfect and the flowers so beckoning that day the beauty of it was too much to avoid making it my first click.

I really dug this statue. It puzzled me to no end when I saw it as it was about midway up the west side of the park. Antonio would research it and I'm now committing to plagiarizing his efforts: "...the James Fountain (1881), a Temperance fountain with the figure of Charity who empties her jug of water, aided by a child; it was donated by Daniel Willis James and sculpted by Adolf Donndorf." Directly behind it was a beautiful floral arrangement and I couldn't resist getting behind this statue and taking pictures of them.

As we began to approach the northern end of the park we cut across to the east side and in doing so passed the statue of Abraham Lincoln. More historical American figures and dedications to them were abound on this tour and a desire to know one's heritage being important humbled me quite a bit. Especially stumbling upon Lafayette.

On the northern face of the pedestal it reads a quote from this French General, "As soon as I heard of American Independence my heart was enlisted." By the by, 40% of American's do not know what year it was that we declared our independence. Most of New Yorkers walk the streets and/or come to the stops on the train for Lafayette and have no idea who this is. It was this man who aided George Washington a great deal in coordinating the French provisions and troops against the English and trained a good amount of the armies formed in revolution during the eh, hmmm, what war was it...oh yeah REVOLUTIONARY WAR. In fact, this joke is going to go over your head if you are part of that 40% I just mentioned....His heart was enlisted when he heard he could kill English for another good reason...ha, ha, ha....because the French had been fighting with England for like ever....anywho. Look him up please.

The card had recommended coffee at the Coffee Shop at the corner of Union Square West and 16th Street.

Outside of the broken cup decor and retro set up inside the coffee is eh. So eh, I think the wall decor was made from people going out of their way to try the coffee at a place called the Coffee Shop with all the neon and hype and smashed their cups in disappointment.

While we were waiting for the Coffee Shop to open we walked from Union Square West to 5th Avenue on 16th Street and came across this very intriguing place called Olde Good Things. The window display was so cool I took about 10 pictures of which the following were the only ones worth sharing:

After viewing the window display at Olde Good Things we ventured to the corner of 5th Avenue and 16th Street and found the following plaque on the northern corner building: Levi Parsons Morton outside of all that which is on the plaque, drove the first rivet in the construction of the Statue of Liberty. Was originally asked to be the Vice Presidential candidate for James A. Garfield and had that happened and history continued as it did, he would have been president after Garfield's assassination. He was Vice President for Benjamin Harrison from 1889 to 1893. As a morbid fact, the man died on his birthday, the only Vice President to have done so at the age of 96.

After our sub par coffee we continued north up Broadway to get to Madison Square Park. On the way we passed a statue dedicated to Andy Warhol. 1968 to 1984 Union Square had a factory where Andy Warhol did his thang! Artist extraordinaire, the specific spot where his statue stands is where he signed and gave away copies of Interview Magazine. It's a bit eerie to look at and to make matters more weird, someone for reasons unknown hung cherries on a string on the statue. If anyone knows why let me know. Something tells me there is a significance to that in the way they were so perfectly hung.

From Andy we wondered up to the corner of Broadway and 23rd Street to enter Madison Square park. At the entrance was a statue of William H. Seward. I had no idea who this was so I had to look him up. He ran for president but was such an outspoken candidate talked his way out of being elected. If this nation thought Lincoln wanted slavery abolished, may we quote Mr. Seward, "there is a higher law than the Constitution" was his quip at the South and their slaveholdings and further stated on the subject, "either entirely a slaveholding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation." In translation, practice what you preach America! Lincoln had him as a member of his war cabinet. In fact, when Lincoln was assassinated, William H. Seward barely escaped an attempt on his life the same night as he was as much a target as Lincoln as the South wanted it's ability to still succeed from the Union. He and several family members were brutally attacked and all survived their wounds, the only one to perish from this in time was his wife from the stress of the whole situation. However, this was a man more famously remembered for purchasing Alaska which was considered such a fools aquisition it was named "Seward's Folly". In fact when asked his greatest acheivement William H. Seward replied, "The purchase of Alaska—but it will take the people a generation to find it out."
After passing the statue of William H. Seward we passed this fountain. Very serene and peaceful it would have kept my attention longer if not for the art piece in the center of the park...

This piece is called Echo. Daunting in size and haunting in it's pale white casting it stands just at or short of 4 stories in height and is dead center in the park. Jaume Plensa is the artist responsible from this work. The piece represents his neighbor's 9 year old daughter from Barcelona Spain. It is exactly 44 feet tall and the pictures I took do not translate it's awesome affect on the viewer. It was amazing.

Well...David Farragut, Aye, Aye Captain..Admiral...SIR! What did he say? "Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!" That's what he said, during the Battle of Mobile Bay. Here is a monument to him at the north end of Madison Square Park.

So, remember a few pictures/paragraphs ago we learned of Levi Parsons Morton missing his opportunity to be President by declining the Vice Presidency under James A. Garfield? Well, here's the guy who took the job instead and became our 21'st President following Garfield's assassination. Chester A. Arthur's statue is also in Madison Square park at the northeast corner. This man was another famous Abolitionist whose remembered as "The Father of Civil Service." This President pushed a law that makes those working government jobs to pass tests to be promoted and not due to who you knew and blew. On his way out of office Alexander K. McClure wrote, "No man ever entered the Presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted, and no one ever retired... more generally respected." Even Mark Twain who was so far left before being left was popular stated, "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration."

Ah, the Flatiron Building. I snapped this shot upon leaving the park and crossing Broadway to get a good shot of it. Built in 1902 it is named the Flatiron Building because it sat in what was known as the Flatiron district. The building was originally named the Fuller Building. The wind sheer and gusts during storms cause a very interesting wind affect which the term "23 Skidoo" may have originated. It is said to have been coined by police officers for men waiting for women passing the building in their dresses to get a peek up a woman's skirt when it flew up from the wind blowing off the building's triangular corner at 23rd Street and they would yell it at the men "HEY! 23 Skidoo!". Now, it's debatable that this is the true origin as it was part of the lexicon of the pre 1920's mostly around the end of World War I. But, I buy that's where it comes from. Basically, "23 skidoo" means to beat it, get lost or carry on. Watch some old Hollywood films and you'll see that's what this means or is intended. It's a very impressive building to peer at for certain.

One of two tombs to historical figures in Manhattan lies William Jenkins Worth. Now I stumbled on this, wasn't looking for it as I was crossing Broadway to snap pictures of the Flatiron Building. This man fought in so many wars it amazes me a bout of Cholera took him down. His many achievements in uniform include negotiating the surrender of the Mexican city of Matamaros during the Mexican-American war. He is also required learning of military cadets for the following West Point's "Bugle Notes", a book of knowledge all cadets must know by heart. They are as follows: "But an officer on duty knows no one -- to be partial is to dishonor both himself and the object of his ill-advised favor. What will be thought of him who exacts of his friends that which disgraces him? Look at him who winks at and overlooks offences in one, which he causes to be punished in another, and contrast him with the
inflexible soldier who does his duty faithfully, notwithstanding it occasionally wars with his private feelings. The conduct of one will be venerated and emulated, the other detested as a satire upon soldiership and honor."

Each spike of the cast-iron fence surrounding the memorial is topped with a plumed helmet, reflective of the plumed helmet Worth is shown wearing in the memorial.

Now there was a lot of amazing skyline photo's I snapped but they weren't really part of the tour. They are in the slideshow and like I said this tour was a camera nut's paradise. So much to see and learn and was well capped off by Antonio's decision to have lunch at Katz Deli. A good 2 miles give or take walk from where we were but you need to make room in your stomach for a Katz sandwich. Worth every step and penny spent for my pastrami on rye. This tour was great and I can't wait for the next one.

There's A Return To Tour

2011-07-02T04:37:00.003-04:00

Anxious to get going this morning, I will be doing a tour of Union Square during their Farmer's Market and walking past the infamous Flat Iron building walking to Madison Park. As always, any and all were invited and welcome. It's thanks to my good friend Antonio Champion that I make this return to touring. Can't wait.

I Hate Being Sick!

2010-03-27T17:02:00.002-04:00

Remember when you were a kid and you felt the only acceptable time to be sick was when you had to go to school? That's how I feel about this beautiful week-end. I originally planned to go to NoLita this week-end. However, on Thursday, I began feeling a bit under the weather and wound up home sick from work on Friday. Then this morning I thought I was feeling better until lunchtime. I was all set on making the journey by myself until after I ate and began feeling nauseous, tired and chilly. So, I laid my head down and slept 5 hours and only woke up just now. So, next week probably, although I hope tomorrow, or who knows when but I want to get back on the flippin' horse and get back to touring. This month has been a bit disorganized and maybe April I'll have better luck. My son has gotten out of his cast but is now off for the week from school for Easter Holiday and so, I'm still fighting for time on the computer. If this blog is a bit of rambling nonsense, it fits how my head feels. Hope I feel better soon.

SOHO Tour

2010-03-21T19:23:00.012-04:00

Another Georgeous day in New York for a tour so with friends, off I went. Today I was joined by my friend and his wife, Tony
and Maricel. We grabbed the L train to 6th Ave and grabbed the 1 train going downtown. We got off the 1 at the Houston Street stop to begin our tour at Seventh Street and Houston. Upon exiting the train we saw this interesting tile art on the wall. There would be a lot of art today, but I can't help but appreciate the art that's in the Subway that goes almost completely unnoticed by the ample majority leaving and entering the train stations. I'm not sure if this comes across in the photo you see here, but looking at it in person it had this 3D effect that made you feel as if the turtles were truly floating in air as they are displayed as being submersed in the waters, maybe of the train station we were in. Well, I liked it.

The tour led us east on Houston to 6th ave, south to Prince Street and due east to Sullivan. For those of you who can't remember which compass direction the sun rises and sets, in more simpler terms, we zig zagged a bit based on the map on our card until we came upon Sullivan Street between Spring and Houston Streets. The first stop on the card was supposed to be Sullivan Street Bakery at 73 Sullivan Street which is now the Grandaisy Bakery. We stopped in as most of us were starting to get hungry as it was getting to be lunchtime. We foolishly figured, eh we'll stop and have us a nosh. So we walked in and living on the edge I literally asked what they recommended. The counter person recommended 4 different pastries to which I said we'd have one of each. This was the magic words as she not only bagged us one of each, she gave us a ton of samplers. We went outside and sat on some benches set outside of the door to the place and took a taste of each item. There were chocolate pastries, citrus cakes, flat-bread pizza's, and all kinds of heavenly yum-yums. I went back in, dropped a good tip in the jar and grabbed a business card. If you are in the area, I highly recommend stopping in. Their website is www.grandaisybakery.com. They actually have a few locations in Manhattan so give em a try sometime.
After leaving the bakery, we walked up Sullivan Street from Spring walking toward Houston. The weather was so good, it looked as if the Empire State Building was a block away. So I snapped this picture just to give you an idea how nice it was outside today.

The next point of interest was this location called Once Upon a Tart. The window display was georgeous and unfortunately, the glass was so clean it reflected my image and not what you could see beyond the glass. Their window display makes it appear as if Strawberry Shortcake lives there. Very pretty, but very cramped interior. We were so full, we couldn't make ourselves order a tart but they were all so very pretty.

Upon leaving Once Upon a Tart we headed up to Houston where at the corner is St Anthony of Padua church. Built in 1866 it is one of the oldest Catholic churches in New York. Built by mostly Italian immigrants it's interior is loaded with marble and fantastic stained glass windows. Now, I always feel uncomfortable with just snapping pictures inside of churches so you'll have to go for yourself to be awe inspired by it's rich interior architecture.

Now, we followed the card to 150 Thompson Street where there is supposed to be a great antiques shop called Eileen Lane Antiques. It's this building by the way. Inviting looking isn't it? We walked up to the door which was locked and had a series of bells to enter the building. We rang the one that appeared correct for the antique shop but nobody answered or buzzed us in. So, we walked on.

We were lead by the card to West Broadway to walk between Houston and Broome Street. The street is full of art galleries inside the buildings and artists who have made their own on the street. I felt it rude to just snap pictures of work these men and women prided themselves on and were selling for varying and large amounts of money. Now, we have a very rude saying in New York that goes, "If you kick over a garbage can you'll find a starving artist in New York." Many of these people in my opinion did not deserve this saying to be rested upon their shoulders. It was a very culturally enriching experience and for such a beautiful day was an absolute pleasure. Why go to an art museum you have to pay an entry fee for when you can see a fantastic one at no charge. This was the most significant part of the walk to me.

Somewhere along our walk was the place called Pet Bar with what appears to be a giant paper mashey(how do you spell this word?) of this 5 foot dog. It reminds me of my golden retriever Max who stands about this tall when he jumps up on you. Except, you'll never see my doggie in such a nice bow tie.

Now I somehow missed a bunch of things on the card with the exception of Balthazar's on Spring Street. There is Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Anthropolgie, Broadway Panhandler, Jacques Carcanagues Antiques and Kelley & Ping in this area. Maybe I was too engrossed in the artwork along Broadway to care, but if you decide to go to this area, send me some photo's of these places.

Now, when I went to City Hall I had walked up to this area near to where the tour ends at Spring Street and Crosby.
About a block or so away is Rice to Riches. I'm not a rice pudding fan.
But members of my household go mental if I don't bring them home good rice pudding when I'm near it.
37 Spring Street between Mott and Mulberry Street is where you can find this rice pudding ...museum which the gift shop is rice pudding. If you think I'm nuts for writing that, you have to go there to understand. These pictures are only a small sampling of the signs and pictures throughout the store. Even in the bathroom are signs hailing the plight of the gravitationally gifted and their quest for an exquisite treat. When you go to get your rice pudding, there is a display glass like that at Baskin Robbins but a lot nicer. Multiple flavors to choose from as well as "Jesus Droppings" which are the toppings for your rice pudding. The flavors all have interesting names also. My favorite to mention is "Sex, drugs and Rocky Road". So, I brought home the goods for my wife and my father-in-law and took a good nap. After all the walking I did this week-end a good nap was well deserved. Until next tour...

Williamsburg Bridge Tour

2010-03-21T09:10:00.031-04:00

This was a beautiful day to be walking in New York. The weather was in the low 70's with virtually no humidity and very little to no cloud cover. A very early preview of what weather is to come and I hope for very many more days like this.

The card recommended I start in Manhattan, but I chose to start on the Brooklyn side. I took the J train to Marcy Ave. At the Marcy Ave station I took a picture of one of the stained glass art windows there. When I exited the station I followed the signs which pointed to the Williamsburg Bridge.

Before reaching the bridge I walked through a park just before the bike/run/walk path for the bridge. The park is dedicated to Valley Forge with a statue of Washington upon his horse.

Right at the entrance to the pedestrian path of the bridge was a bike dedicated to the death of someone struck by a car as a bicyclist. "CYCLIST KILLED HERE DAN VALE 26 YEARS OLD FEBRUARY 18, 2009 REST IN PEACE" is what the sign above the bike reads. You might not be able to see this in the picture, but there are several signatures on the bike from loved ones to this man.

Following the memorial I entered the path to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge. Now there are clear instructions on the floor all the way across that indicate that pedestrians running and walking are to be on the left side of the divider and bicyclists on the right. NOBODY seemed to care except me. Key word is "seemed", because the New York attitude is of general indifference and those who were not on the correct side may have been wished excruciating death by slow torture by their "fellow" New Yorkers. Most of the view was obstructed for picture taking by this heavy metal fencing. Since we have to stop people from killing themselves, I couldn't take all the pictures I would have liked. Here's an example so you know what I mean.

The first picture worth sharing was the your leaving Brooklyn sign. Oy Vey?!? Really? Anywho....

As I was walking the bridge I was able to get up close to the fence and snap a shot of a rooftop that was well painted in a mosaic. Didn't think I knew that word did ya? Actually, I'm not sure I used it right so, it was all artsy and stuff and I liked it so I took a picture of it.

As I got near the first tower of the bridge there was a bronze plaque that had been graffitied over telling you the start and finish date and probably the history of the bridge. However, I could only read the opening year which was 1903. I'd have taken a picture of it, but it was truly disgusting to see and I didn't want to save it. The view of the Manhattan skyline was amazing. I did my best to take photo's of it. Very few were worth saving. I'll post the ones of interest here.

After I made it to Manhattan, I made a trip into Brooklyn on the F train. At the Essex and Delancy station for the F train there was some interesting tile art on the walls that I snapped a few pictures.

My day ended with a walk along the shoreline of Brooklyn looking over at Staten Island with my good friend Joe. However, this was not part of the tour. But I thought I'd share the picture I took of the Verrazano. Hope to see you next tour.

The Williamsburg Bridge Today

2010-03-20T08:11:00.002-04:00

I have not blogged in ages because getting to the computer has been impossible. To be fair, nobody has really asked what's going on. So, today I plan on crossing the Willey-B. I'll make some calls to friends who have come before or have been interested in joining me in the past to see who is game. Maybe, I'll stop at Peter Luger Steak House for lunch?

Tonight Cancelled

2010-03-13T17:13:00.002-05:00

Due to the weather and my wife not going to bed last night and sleeping all day and not waking up and leaving me with our son the one foot wonder, I will not be touring tonight. I will probably do this tour another time and take on another one next week. Sorry fans. Calling it a night.

It Has Been Impossible.....

2010-03-13T10:20:00.002-05:00

I've been trying desperately to get on here and blog. Due to long hours and days at work and my son at home with his broken foot, I've had little opportunity. I am sooooo going on my tour tonight even with the rain. Everyone that was going has bowed out due to the rain. The irony is, this tour is supposed to be indoor art galleries and restaurants. The info is on the left side view bar with the start point and start time. If anyone is interested, you need to email me. You could even post a comment. Until people start going again, I'm going to continue going and blogging about it. As always...I hope to see you on a tour.

The Lower East Side Tour

2010-03-08T19:52:00.027-05:00

Thank God I love my child. He erased most of my pictures from my camera as well as the video I took. I will allow him to live another day. However, a few pictures did remain and I will of course update these as I go.

First off, this was the longest tour I've done. It lasted 6+ hours and covered a great deal. It started with a camera failure and ended with a meal that made my tummy very happy.

The camera I had been using so far on these tours contained an internal rechargeable battery that no longer wanted to recharge. I got it for my birthday. Not a birthday a decade or even a few years ago, but the one that just passed. So, not making that mistake again, I went and got a new one at Toys R Us. Why there? They had a large camera selection there and with the aforementioned child I was familiar with the store and where everything was, so I made my purchase there. Boy would that come back to bite me in the buttocks! To begin, the store's parking lot is on the roof and you have to ride an escalator about 5 stories down to the store and then 5 stories back up to get to your car. Once inside the store I chose a 10 mega-pixel camera. I know squat about mega-pixels. All I know is more is better than less so I bought the one with the most. For all I know a pixel is made of fairy dust and somewhere Tinkerbell is dying. So, with Tinkerbell's demise I hope everyone will enjoy the pictures I take. So, the camera can take pictures but not keep them unless I buy a memory card. So, with the help of a Toys R Us sales aid, who was barely escaping puberty, I bought a memory card and the fun began. After making my purchase I ran up the escalator with joy and excitement to where I had parked my car. Thanks to all the thieves in America it was wrapped in plastic strong enough to make the blood vessels pop on my head and the veins bulge from my neck. Of course once I broke through them with a nail clipper's pointy part of the nail file I keep in the car(cause I'm such a prissy-sissy) the package cut my hands real nice. With sweat poring from my head, I get all the extra plastic encasing off the camera and I pull out the memory card from bag. Now, I go through the same torture removing the memory card from it's protective plastic to discover the memory card is smaller than the slot on the camera. So, down the escalator I went in a run. Now, let me mention I am very overweight and running confuses my stomach into thinking there's a cheeseburger at the finish line or it's time to digest, it never knows which. So, I go to the returns counter, they get the same brilliant young pubescent stranger to come to the counter, see my problem with camera in hand I might add and he goes and brings over a memory card adapter set. With the exchange I actually save $2.00 and get a small refund. Yay me! Maybe I will afford the cheeseburger and avoid the toilet? Well, with glee out the store I go and run up the escalator to my car again. Once I get the memory card adapter into the camera which did fit, the camera comes on to tell me the memory is full. HUH?!? I take it out, turn it around several times and make sure I stuck it in the camera correctly as if maybe the ritualistic act of spinning the memory card around will confuse the camera, I stick the card back in and still reads memory full. Back down the escalator I go and now my stomach is realizing no cheeseburger will be coming so it's time to evacuate the doo-doo factory. As I approach the counter I am standing in great discomfort and crossing my legs as behind myself as possible to avoid actually grabbing the derriere cheeks with my hands in front of the brilliant staff at Toys R Us when again they get the same jackass kid to come to my rescue. On his return from behind his counter(for the third time) he realized, he didn't have to sell me the adapter at all and could have just given me the full sized card for this camera the whole time. I wish a pimple to grow on his face, swell up and then back down, and reappear on his but making it impossible for him to sit or do what rhymes with sit. So, after my acquisition, this time I try it at the counter and it worked...THANK GOODNESS...and off to the Toys R Us bathroom I went. With all the toys to play with at Toys R Us, wouldn't you think people would have other things to play with instead of what's in the bathroom? I leave you with that thought and move on to the actual tour from there.

I rode in on the J train to Essex and Delancey to catch the F train. At the Delancey station is fantastic tile artwork. Unfortunately, the pictures I took of this were deleted. The F train took me to the starting point when I got off at the East Broadway station. Now, the card had totted there would be very few linen shops but at least one would remain by the name of Harris Levy at 278 Grand. When I arrived there, there was no longer a linen shop and after the next major stop on the tour I would discover why.

The Tenement Museum is located at 97 Orchard Street, but you must go to 108 Orchard Street where you buy a ticket to go on a tour into 97 Orchard street. 108 Orchard is a shop which has an amazing display of books, post cards, nick nacks and all kinds of goodies that range from New York City memorabilia to toys to ethnically traditional items.You would have to go there to understand what I'm describing. But, I wanted to do a tour, so I got on line to buy a ticket. On your way up to the counter you are literally given a menu of the tours available.Each tour provides something rich in history of this once heavily crowded and culturally diverse area of New York using the building at 97 Orchard Street as a portal to the past in it's mainstay from 1863 till eviction day in 1935.I chose the tour "Getting By: Past and Present". It just so happens to be a very interactive and participant driven tour and lasts 2 hours.It was rich in history and culture. The tour guide, Adam, brought us into the building and sat us in what is called the kitchen. Inside this first room you enter are multiple tables and chairs. What I did not realize was that these tables were antiques and were made of metal. They were exquisite in design and really sturdy. We were invited to sit down around these tables and to introduce ourselves and divulge if comfortable our ancestry. Fortunately, all were very comfortable and we openly shared our histories. With each introduction and divulging of what countries our families hailed, the guide was quick to point out very intriguing and impressive facts. Queens, the guide pointed out, now is the hub of where foreign born Americans now settle when they come to New York, over 45%. One of the members of my group was African American and either her great or great great grandmother was a slave. From this, we delved into the history of the Jim Crowe laws and how her family migrated from the South to the North to escape those segregation laws. With this open forum, each person was permitted to ask a question and I had the fortune in my life to once meet a Tuskegee Airman. I shared how this airman told me how he joined the Tuskegee Airmen to get away from those same prejudices only to discover they existed up north as well, but with less segregation. This led my group member of African American descent to tell the tale of her mother working as a chambermaid and how hard it was to get work outside of these labor intensive occupations as an African American. Low and behold, this had the guide describe how this would come back to be an important part of our tour that day. From here we gathered up and entered the hallway. These buildings were not made with running water, proper lighting, proper spacing, safety or even proper toilets. When it was first built, it had 4 outhouses outside with the clean water pump right next to them. To set up disaster, these apartments were not made with comfort but greed in mind. 5 floors housed 20 apartments and on average had over 100 tenants residing in the building at the same time. Reason being, mostly immigrants moved into these tenements trying to build and start a new life. So, they say you shouldn't crap where you eat. Well, neither should you drink near where you poop. All that waste near the fresh water supply contaminated the water and a great many got Cholera and died. Now, there was a ton of info, so I'm gonna jump to facts to keep this rolling:
-Attending school was the law but not strictly enforced until the Great Depression. Why? Men were out of work and started taking the jobs the children used to do and since the children were out of work, families figured they better have their kids do something to fill their time and keep them out of the way of the parents trying to work and make ends meet so off to school they went. So, the Great Depression is greatly responsible for education taking hold in America for all children.
-Each law that came to upgrade the building was not retroactive or supported financially by the government so, the tenants were forced to pay or forced to leave. With the huge number of immigrants coming into America, new tenants willing to pay the higher rents were easy to find.
-Many of the tenants in these buildings ran their own businesses making garments in their homes.
There are plenty more facts and items of interest in the tenement building. But, it wasn't until near the end we discovered why Harris Levy disappeared at 278 Grand. After the tour of two apartments in the museum we got back together for tea and cookies and a closing round table discussion. One conversation lead to another and which point it was discussed that September 11, 2001 interrupted the busy season for garment workers. For those that don't know, the busy season is September to October for the Christmas rush. As a result of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, the city closed down almost completely around the busy season. As a result these small garment shops went belly up as they couldn't ship within their own city. Till this day, retailers in NYC get their garments from New Jersey and Connecticut. What a shame. All the Tenement Museum pictures come from their website www.tenement.org. As always, there is much more to that location, but you either had to be there or hopefully, you'll go there and check it out. I highly recommend it.

After the museum, the card had me walk all over the neighborhood and had me walk backwards from how they lay out the next series of food attractions.

Katz Deli was supposed to be last per the card, but it was the first I was led to. Let me tell you all the bad, it's CROOOOOOWDED. There were no available tables also. Each sandwich was more than $15.00. Now, hold your hats...IT WAS AAAAAALLLLLLLL WOOOOOORTH IIIIIIIIITTTT!!!! When you get up to the counter and order, they cut the meat right in front of you and give you a taste while you wait. God himself must have cooked the meat. I'm drooling remembering. I ordered a Pastrami on rye and 3 other sandwiches of which some where Corned Beef for my lazy family waiting at home. I shoulda ate them all on the train if I knew the sandwich was gonna taste as good as it did. This location is where the famous When Harry Met Sally scene is shot. I don't think Meg Ryan faked it...I think she was reacting to the food. WOW! If you never had one, and you are anywhere near Katz, get a pastrami, corned beef or Ruben sandwich. You'll thank me...and God for Katz.

Next was Russ and Daughters where great caviar is sold. I was too late to go in, so I don't know what else they really carry.

Finally I ended at Yonah Shimmel Knishery. I went in and asked what they recommend. They were actually soon to close so I grabbed what they had. I had no idea they made so many kinds of Knishes. The knishes were okay. I liked the fact they had so many options but my goodness where they filling. Boy did I have a stomach ache after I ate my Katz sandwhich and a quarter of a piece of four different knishes. One was a regular potato, one was a raspberry cheesecake, one was blueberry and the other was kind of a meat-pie kinda thing. Eh, I'd pass on the knishes and get the sandwiches at Katz. Well, it took 4 days to get this thing up here. Hope you appreciate it. Till next time.

Lower East Side Tour TO BE POSTED

2010-03-08T06:59:00.002-05:00

Sorry followers, I got home really late from yesterday's tour and have yet to download video and pictures. I assure you there will be plenty to share and show. It may take more than a day to get it all up here so, please be patient. Usually I get home before 5 p.m. after a tour. Yesterday I got home after 7 p.m., I was exhausted and starving. By the time I finished dinner at 7:45 p.m. I was ready to pass out. I went to bed around 9 p.m. and slept like a champ or down right dirty bum, your choice. The tour was awesome and another solo adventure. I did and saw a lot and can't wait to write about it later today. Look forward to feedback from those of you who read these, so I assure you, it's a goodie. Till later tonight....

Sunday March 7-Lower East Side 1

2010-03-05T06:51:00.004-05:00

Haven't had a chance to blog as my son has broken his foot, he was on the computer more and I got a stomach bug and was bed ridden so, I couldn't get to the computer. This was the first real opportunity I've had so I hope you all don't think I forgot about this.

This tour starts at Canal and Essex Streets. Best way to get there is by taking the F train to East Broadway. Sites include Harris Levy a linen shop, the Tenement Museum and it's shop at 90 Orchard Street, Eldridge Street Synagogue, Romanian-American Synagogue, Yonah Schimmel Knishery, Russ and Daughters and Katz's Delicatessen. By the way, I will not be doing any faking of any kind in the delicatessen as Meg Ryan should not be topped. Katz's is where the famous Harry Met Sally scene occurred.

Gonna grab a knish at the Knishery and a sandwich at Katz, so I won't be bringing a lunch. If you come along, I'd recommend the same. As always, hope to see you on tour.

Mmmmmmm, Homemade Pizza and Mozzeralla and Tomatos

2010-02-28T12:35:00.004-05:00

Little Italy, you don't stop amazing me even after I've left. My wife rocks too by the way! She made this amazing white pizza with the tomato and mozzarella salad on the side from the fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese I bought at Alleva. Oh my God was this delicious. Then we went out and rocked out with the rock band Black Ice at Woodhaven House here in Queens. Couldn't help but post this after yesterday's amazing day. Hope to see you on the next tour which will be of the Lower East Side. Until next time...hope to see you on a tour.

Little Italy Where Have You Been?!?

2010-02-27T17:27:00.022-05:00

WOW! This was another GREAT tour! I went solo as too many people were all blahzey about the cold, the snow, the slush, the itch in their behind, etc. From start to finish, I had a great time. It started with an Andean Music band in the subway at the Union Square Station. Give them a looksie:

Not only did I drop a buck for the performance, I picked up a CD for $15.00. Call me a sucker, call me what you will, but I like the sound and I'm listening to it now and I like my purchase.

I took the R to Canal and had to walk a bit to get to the beginning of the walk which starts at Canal and Mulberry Street and heads north. Restaurant after gorgeous restaurant fills the Street. To give this place some extra pizazz is the Matre D's outside yelling to the passing couples to come in and try their restaurant in competition with a Matre D across the street or next door yelling over them right in front of the potential customer(s). The exchange goes something like, "Hey, you come on in and enjoy the BEST Italian Cuisine" and across you'll hear something like, "Hey, don't listen to him, he may be better looking than me but the food here is sweeter! We got better cannoli's too." It's hysterical to watch and extremely warm and friendly all at the same time. All the guys have smiles wide across their faces and I couldn't help but laugh good heartily at them doing this. As I walked up Mulberry Street and reached Grand Street, I found a little museum that I highly recommend:
The Italian American Museum is the former Banca Stabile. This was a humongous Cog in the wheel that made Little Italy what it is. Many Italian American's when they came to America relied heavily on this bank to make their transition into becoming Americans. Money exchange, rooms to rent, registry for the birth of your children, setting up transport of packages and people, communication to the mother land all took place at this bank from 1885 until the great depression destroyed it's solvency in the 1930's. Now home to a small yet growing museum of Italian Heritage in America, it is definitely a site to see. The suggested fee is $5.00 which I gladly paid.
The museum had lots of dedications to art, the history of the bank and history of some famous New York Italian Americans. Give the pictures a gander and enjoy.

After a thorough visit at the Italian American Museum, I bought a couple of shirts to aid in support of this establishment and it's endeavor to some day expand into more exhibits. Once I left the museum, I went down Grand Street a little to a pastry lover's paradise: FERRARA!!
Before this place, I was sadly mistaken...I thought I had already tried Cannoli's. I wasn't even a fan of this highly toted Italian Pastry. However, this place has been around since 1892 and was recommended on the card as a place to stop in and have a cappuccino and pastry. I waited patiently to be sat down and ordered my cappuccino and asked the very well dressed waitress what pastry she would recommend. She asked if I had ever been there and told her I hadn't. She recommended the Canolli and I figured, eh, okay.
Once this plate and cup came over I snapped the pretty picture. What you don't realize is how big this canolli and cup is. It's bigger than you think and I should have put something on the table for scale but failed to do so. My jaw dropping made it hard for me to concentrate. After I began digging in and placing the first bite of this desert into my mouth I felt the need to have the waitress come back over and smack me for my insolence. How dare I be so ho-hum about this phenomenal treat! I felt young again. In fact I think I gained back precious minutes of my life with every bite. I heard music in my mouth and my head was alive with visions of skipping in a park watching unicorns frolic under rainbows. If you go to Little Italy and do not stop here, YOU NEED AN EXORCISM TO REMOVE THE STUPID OUTTA YA BODY! I made sure to bring home a taste for the wife with a mini canolli. After she had it, she wanted to renew our vows and swore to divorce me if I don't go back soon and get her more.

Alleva is across the street on the corner of Grand and Mulberry and had homemade mozzarella and ricotta which I bought a pound or so of each. When my wife opened these we had a taste of each and I have no idea what I've been eating before this. More MOUTH WOWS! Buy some of this when you go to Little Italy. My wife is making magic with our purchase: A Caprese Salad and a White Pizza. Yummy! As you can see from the picture, this is an establishment that has been here over a century. And from the taste of the fresh homemade cheese it is no surprise.

Umberto's was on the card as a place of interest. Not that it recommended eating here, but that it survived the locale which once housed the old police headquarters. So, I stopped in and had a lunch special with a little red Cabernet. I ordered calamari in red sauce which came with choice of soup or salad. I chose the salad and wasn't impressed and wished I had the soup. The salad was a mixed greens with red vinaigrette that was very bland in flavor. Then the entree came and the calamari sat on top of a bed of pasta. The calamari was a little tough and the sauce was nothing to write home about. It wasn't awful and not great. The wine was good and without that I'd have been really disappointed. If mom had made it, I would have eaten it, said thank you, walked out the door and not spoken of it or looked forward to left overs of it but I'd have eaten it again. However, at this place I paid for this experience. This was an eh, meal. The restaurant wasn't anything special to see and the restaurants at the start of the walk looked far more appealing. Next time, I'll stop at one of those and you can count on me returning to this location. WOW! This tour was great and all the little shops along the way had great T-shirts, posters and other nice bricka-bracka. When the San Gennaro festival in September comes around, I will be going back. You can count on it!

Yes...I'm Going Tomorrow!

2010-02-26T18:42:00.004-05:00

There has been plenty of time to clean up this slop so I'm going into the city tomorrow. Otherwise, if I sit on my duff in fear of snow, I'm gonna go crazy. I did call into work today as when I woke up this morning, it was actively snowing like crazy, there was over a foot of snow on the ground and they hadn't plowed my street. My job is in Long Island and is a 26 mile drive for me and all the video I was seeing of the highways showed cars traveling, using the Force(don't sue me George Lucas) as there were no lines on the roadway and they were driving on top of ice. Now, I can drive in that stuff, but I've seen enough morons on drive's in this stuff and I don't trust anyone other than myself.
When there wasn't a mound of snow on the ground, as I walked to the bank in my own neighborhood on Wednesday, I found this memorial that's been sitting right out in the open. It's a Word War I memorial to the men who served and died in the Great War who were residents of my town, Glendale. I've found that since I've started doing tours of New York, I sometimes forget to look at the things in my own back yard. If you wonder where to look for this if you are ever in Glendale, it's on the corner of Myrtle Ave and Cooper Ave. It sits across the street from a fantastic German restaurant. Give it a read if you ever pass by it. Until tomorrow...hope to see you on a tour.

Saturday Feb 27- Little Italy

2010-02-24T12:21:00.003-05:00

What happened to me you wonder? Was I so blown away by Chinatown I had a Chinese Adventure Hangover? Nah, family issues. Can pick your friends but not your family, but I pick my nose quite often so what exactly does it all mean huh? Actually, my family rocks and I'm glad we got together when we needed to, but that's a personal issue that I am not going to share on here. This Saturday I will tour Little Italy starting at 2 p.m. The walk begins at the heart of Chinatown and takes you up Mulberry Street. Too bad I wasn't doing this walk during the San Genaro feast but I may go back there for it depending on how this walk goes. The card recommends a stop at Farra's on Grand Street just west of Mulberry for pastry and cappuccino. Then to stop at Forano's at 128 Mulberrry and check their selection of books and housewares. I must pick up some fresh homemade ricotta and mozzarella at Alleva's and Di Pala's. Then there's Umberto's Clam House at the end. It doesn't say if this is a place to eat or not, but I'll give it a peek.

This will be a one tour week-end as that Saturday night I plan to go and see a local rock band play at Woodhaven House on Woodhaven Blvd. Their name is Black Ice and a good night of beers and heavy metal is just what the doctor ordered and I plan to attend and endulge. If you wish to join me for both or one or the other, let me know. Until then, hope to see you there.

WOW!!! CHINATOWN TOUR RULED!!!

2010-02-21T18:41:00.015-05:00

Talk about a night and day experience. This tour was the most amazing I've been on. I had accidentally picked the week of Chinese New Year to go which made it all the more amazing! The only down side was the heavy duty glare going on. In fact, most of the pictures and even the video come up a little short because of it. Also, my paleness dissipated and a little color crept onto my face and stings to the extent that I am now applying aloe vera to it. Outside of that it was a total party atmosphere with confetti flying and people gathering, laughing, smiling and having a really good time. The card started us at the corner of Canal and Centre Street. I was waiting for my cousin's fiance Joe to arrive when I heard this loud drumming coming from around the corner. So around the corner I went and shot some video of men dressed up in what I would call a dragon costume and doing a traditional dance. Check out the video:

As I was taking the video a really nice older woman began asking me to take photo's with her camera phone but to make for a very entertaining exchange, neither her or I truly knew how to use her phone. I got her one picture as I continued to take the video. You can actually hear us talking about taking photo's with her phone in the background during the video. I took her daughter's phone number so I can get an email for my pictures and video to be sent to her. Shortly after this, Joe arrived and the dragon dancers repeated their performance a bit and Joe and I gave it a look. The dance Joe got to see was much shorter but was a great kick off to the rest of the day. We funneled through the crowds and followed the traditional parade route for the Chinese New Year as the card recommended. We walked Canal and turned on Mott Street and through the crowd around Bayard Street and around Mulberry Street. Now, I used to be in the Navy on a submarine so claustrophobia shouldn't be a problem for me right? WRONG! Maybe because I've heard of crowds smooshing themselves to death in places with crowd gatherings on top of truly being one of hundreds of thousands of people slowly moving through a people current which was hard to keep up with or not be controlled by and physically forced in a direction I had to be sure I wanted to go, I had developed a true sense of this phobia today. Several times I had to find a way to get to a people shoreline and catch my breath a little. We walked all over Chinatown and though lots of alley ways admiring the location.

After walking around the first four streets we kind of just ventured around blindly walking up one alley after another. Eventually we decided it was time to eat. We were really hoping somehow against the odds we'd find a Chinese Food restaurant in this locale! As luck would have it we somehow found one in Chinatown. Now (I'm speaking to stupid people right now and they can't read inside of parenthesis) if you go to this location and want to know where to go for Chinese food, don't ask me. I'd like to keep the stupid in this location to a minimum so if you need to plan ahead for a good Chinese food place to eat in Chinatown, I'm not gonna tell you and hope this detours you from coming and ruining the place with your stupid.
Now there is this one restaurant I had been to before in Chinatown that I had to go back to. Outside of calling it "69" I don't truly know it's name or exactly what street it is on. But, this location has money all over the entire restaurant. Literally it is covered in money. It's somewhat a traditional thing to do here is sign a bill and hang it like a "Mark and Joe was here". We of course did that before we left. We had a fantastic meal and paid very little for it. As we started walking around the crowds were gathered for the parade which had not started. As soon as we exited the restaurant, the parade was underway. I snapped a short video of it as it was hard to see and wasn't sure the camera would capture it as well as we were experiencing it. So check the video and I will post as many pictures I can below it that are of good enough quality to see.

You may not be getting the full effect here about the confetti. It was everywhere. All throughout the locale, store were selling these large tubes full of confetti which every float seemed to be loaded with and each float shot them out over the crowd. Inside of each tube, beside the confetti and streamers, is a parachuted saying in Chinese writing that comes floating down that the kids went crazy to grab. I didn't know the significance so if anyone can share that with me, I'd greatly appreciate it. I had to get down on the ground and get a pic of me holding some with it littered all over the street so the camera would capture the magnitude of it.
OH WOW! There I is! I think this may be one of the few photo's I actually took of me and the only one on the site beside my profile photo actually. Well, there's proof I go and actually exist.

After the parade we made our way over to Confucius Plaza. There is a plaque below which the picture is extremely grainy. I realize I usually post the plaques but they are hard to read on the site so I decided to transcribe it for your pleasure: "When the Great Principle prevails the world is a Common-wealth in which Rulers are selected according to their wisdom and ability. Mutual confidence is promoted and good neighbourliness cultivated. Hence men do not regard as parents only their own parents nor do they treat as, children only their own children. Provision is secured for the aged is secured for the aged till death employment for the able bodied and the means of growing up for the young. Helpless widows and widowers orphans and the lonely as well as the sick and the disabled are well cared for. Men have their respective occupations and women their homes. They do not like to see wealth lying idle. Yet they do not keep it for their own gratification. They dispise indolence, yet they do not use their energies for their own benefit, in this way selfish schemings are repressed and robbers, thieves and other lawless men no longer exist and there is no need for people to shut their outer doors. this is the Great Harmony(Ta Tung)"
Following Confucius Plaza we made our way down to Chatham Square.
The archway reads the following: "In memory of the Americans of Chinese Ancestory who lost their lives in defense of freedom and democracy".

Due to the crowds, this was as close as I could get as I snapped a shot of the Mariner's Temple Baptist Church. This church has been here since 1795 and is now the gathering place for a thriving African-American congregation. After this photo, Joe and I tried to locate the Pearl River Mart. We couldn't find our way to it but I did take a nice photo of the entrance/exit to the Manhattan Bridge on the Manhattan side(for the stupid to be involved).

For anyone that follows, Joe owes me a wallet. I happen to have an ancient looking decrepit wallet and Joe felt moved to both laughter and sorrow over the fact I have this thing that I keep my money and cards and pictures and stuff in. I would have photo'd the old and new wallet but Joe couldn't find a place that had one. Your mission, DON'T LET JOE WELCH! I write that because I love him so! Till next time, hope to see you on tour!

The Booring Tribeca Tour

2010-02-20T22:36:00.025-05:00

Ugh...I looked forward to this tour all week and I felt a little let down. The company that came with me was the best part. Without my friends Mike, Tony and Tony's wife Maricel I'd have been completely let down. Unfortunately, Joe did not make it due to train issues on Staten Island, but he promises to meet me for tomorrow's tour of Chinatown.
The tour started promising with these fascinating little statuettes in the subway station for the L and A, C and E trains at 8th Ave.and 14th Street. They covered the station in all kinds of nooks and corners throughout the station. Here are just two but there were a bunch I took pictures of.
Apparently the artist had a thing for pennies and subway tokens and this was a common theme among these little guys. Most of the subway riders passed them with absolutely no care or attention as I was snapping shot after shot as if I were in a museum. To give you a sense of their size, they each stood no more than 2 to 3 feet in height and depending on what they were depicted as doing the range from a foot in width to a couple of yards. The platform actually had larger layouts of these characters but our train came to the platform as soon as we came down so I missed taking shots of them. The platform ones were a bit more grand and even more interesting.
The tour begins with Bouley Bakery. Without some assistance from Maricel, I would have missed this location completely. I had expected more interesting building designs or buildings with a more historical look or value. This along with the rest of the pointed out stops fell short on my expectations in a big way. Most of these places did not even seem inviting for a look inside so I didn't get to go. In fact, two of them that I wanted to see the inside of were actually closed. I will show what the card pointed out and hopefully not turn any of you off to the idea of coming as I assure you, usually there are far more interesting stops and scenery as experienced on previous tours.
About a block away is the Odeon. It was an early Bistro hit for it's time. Oooooh, aaaaah. Next....

Here is how much I stink as a reporter...any pictures of the actual park? No! Well, to be fair, there wasn't much park to see. Duane Park was less than a standard city block in length with an even shorter width. This is the first dedicated public park in New York City's history. History wise, this would be the only significant stop.
Anyone who goes to this area, if you are hungry, you'll find something to meet your pallet desires. We stopped at Dino's for their brunch special. This was located on Greenwich Street just before reaching The Tribeca Grill. For $12.95 per person you had a nice selection of choices of which three were pizzas and it came with a choice of four alcoholic beverages to accompany the meal of which I chose a mimosa. The rest of my group skipped the alcoholic beverage option and went with soda's. The irony, they drank several glasses of soda which ran up the bill a bit, but with the tax and gratuity we added divided evenly it came to just around $20 per person when it was time to settle up. It was very filling and included a bread and olive oil basket while we waited. I could not finish my entire pie. By the way the pie you are seeing had spinach, eggs, bacon, sauce and cheese and was brick oven cooked to perfection. It was a real sit down experience and very pleasant.
CLOSED!!!
What the hell? The city that doesn't sleep seems to fall out on me every Saturday. Guess what....

This was closed too!!! So as punishment, no other pictures. The Bazzini's Grocery and Tribeca Grill were the main two places toted by the card and supposed to be frequented by Robert De Niro. Especially the Tribeca Grill which is owned by Mr. De Niro. With both being closed there would be no elbow rubbing for sure. In fact, the Tribeca Grill had a private party going on inside. I was actually going to walk in and ask to see the artwork on the wall that Robert De Niro's father was supposed to have created, but I didn't want to be rude and when I peeked inside I was not all that blown away so I moseyed along. The Tribeca Film Center was also not a to go out of your way place to see and I took no photos.
Bubby's is the pic to the left....okay, next.

I saw this store front with these pretty dresses through the window so I had to snap a picture.

Puffy's Tavern. Now, my friends were not going to indulge in an alcoholic drink and I wasn't going to force anyone to wait for me to have a beer by myself so we did not stop in. It actually looked inviting, but it was on to see Nobu. Nobu restaurant smelled amazing on the outside and had absolutely no aesthetic appeal on the outside. I took a picture of the sign and to avoid the yawning noises you might make, I didn't put it up here...nyeh!
This is the Square Diner. This is actually a very cute little diner. They are supposed to be a great place to have a cheeseburger but we had already eaten lunch. Mike and I felt a major urge for milk shakes so we stopped inside. It was really, really cute. However, in a diner in Manhattan the unthinkable happened. They had only enough Vanilla ice cream for One Vanilla ice cream milk shake and both Mike and I wanted Vanilla.. So I gave in an had chocolate and unfortunately it wasn't that great.

On the way home we saw three street performers. Two on the moving train so I did not video them. The one in the station I snapped a short video. If you have a second give it a look. Until tomorrow then...

I'm So Excited and I Just Don't Hide It

2010-02-19T22:41:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow now has a total of 4 people pledged to join me. It will hopefully be me, my friends Mike, Tony and his wife Maricel, and my cousin's fiance Joe. I know that there are some of you following this blog from the phone calls and questions I've been asked in person. If you want to join the group on a tour, just send me and email or give me a call if you have an interest to meet up. If you'd like my number, please send me an email and if I already know you I'll give it to you and if I don't I'm sure after a few emails we can work it out. Hope to see you there!

Chinatown February 21st

2010-02-18T19:35:00.002-05:00

SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! Officially my first Sunday tour will be covering Chinatown. The tour will begin at Canal and Centre Street. Plenty of trains to get you to the starting point. Take the J, M, N, Q, R, W, Z or 6 to Canal Street. This tour will include Chatham Square, the route of the Chinese New Year Parade, the First Shearith Israel Graveyard, the Mariners' Temple Baptist Church, Confucius Plaza and the Pearl River Mart. I think while I'm there I might just have...wait for it, wait for it...Chinese Food! Hopefully, the fortune cookies will bring really good fortune being so surrounded by Chinese heritage. Hope to see you there!

TRIBECA February 18th

2010-02-18T06:13:00.003-05:00

TRIBECA actually is short for Triangle-below-Canal. Thank you Joe and the Cards for the insight on where Tribeca gets it's name. This tour is supposed to be great for the food and possibility of running into celebrities, especially Robert De Niro who owns a few of the establishments in the area as well as being a resident there. Places of interest include Bazzini's grocery, the Tribeca Grill, Odeon, Bouley Bakery, Duane Park, Washington market, the Tribeca Film Center, Bubby's, Nobu, Puffy's Tavern, Chanterelle and Square Diner. Most of these places of interest are food oriented. The card boasts that walking this location makes walking Park Avenue less rewarding. To be honest, I've never truly walked Park Avenue either so I'll have to thank the Cards for potentially ruining walking Park Avenue for me. Now, Joe and my friend Mike have pledged to join me this time. Will Mike's wife tag along again? Hope so, as she knows where the food is, even though it'll be all around us. However, Joe may have to battle Brenda on this topic as he claims he knows the best place to dine. I say we go to Chinatown and let them beat each other with wet noodles, except for the fact I'm going to Chinatown the next day and don't want to get ahead of myself. To get to the starting point of Chambers and Church the cards recommend taking the A or C to Chambers St. As always, hope to see you there.

Two Tour Weekend Coming

2010-02-16T18:17:00.002-05:00

This weekend will cover Tribeca on Saturday February 20th and Chinatown on Sunday February 21st. I'll update an itinerary for each on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. This will be my first two tour week-end and I can't wait.

I wanted to put this blog up yesterday but had a serious Migraine and off to beddy-bye I went. Fortunately I don't get them often, but when I do I become a total wimp and need my blanky and pillow ready to curl up in the fetal position. My wife gets them at least once a month so her life really SUCKS! Better her than me.

Just to vent though, what is with weathermen? I wish I could make the number of mistakes and wrong guesses they do and still get overpaid and be on television. Either they predict too much or too little snow. All the predictions up to today varied from we would get rain, to a dusting, to a foot of snow. Fortunately, depending on where in New York you live, you either got rain, a dusting or a foot of snow. However, no broadcaster specified a region with their predictions so I count that as another blown prediction. Since this weekend is expected to be dry and sunny, I'll make sure to stock up on salt. Till tomorrow people.

Hidden Treasures

2010-02-14T16:51:00.008-05:00

Each of these tours has sites and experiences that the cards don't mention or prepare you for. Before each tour I'm riddled with anticipation of the sites I'll see; now, since I've done five of these tours, I know there will be more than what I am eager for each time.

Street performers:

I've taken video of only one so far. Each time I go on a tour I've come across a few. The South Street Seaport tour had three that I remember well, but unfortunately I didn't have the video capabilities I do now. What I am getting at is that street performers add spice to the New York City experience. You went out to take in some sites and got a show in the process. You don't even have to pay for it, but the guilt could haunt you if you don't support the creative desires of these talented nomads. To confess, I once did Stand Up comedy for a year in many establishments on amateur nights, so I understand the drive to be noticed and appreciated. These performers should know, if I have a dollar or two in my pocket, I am sure to drop it in their hat. Please be encouraged to do the same if you ever stop to enjoy one of these shows.

Art:

The city is covered in art. So much art that New Yorkers who walk through their own city have become callous to their flavor. Some of you might wonder if I'm hungry, so I'll admit dinner is coming up, but the truth is the appeal to my city is it's recipe for attraction and wonder. Sometimes when I stopped to snap a picture I'll here someone scoff at me. I find it a shame that they cannot appreciate what they are taking for granted. If the artist were standing beside it while I took the picture, would they grumble or make offhanded comments. If a tree falls on jackass in the woods does the populations IQ increase if we aren't there to laugh at it?

History:

I don't know it all. In fact, I don't know enough of my history. Each tour I take I learn a little more of what I should. Don't feel ashamed if you know less than I and please don't pride yourself for knowing more. As a nation we fear the experience of another Vietnam although so may say we are experiencing one now in the Middle East. Some are sure we won't survive this economic downturn, and I assure you we have as a nation before and I have seen remnants of it scattered all over this city. The past comes alive every time I touch and see it. I love when I stumble across it when I wasn't looking for it. In the ingredients bag, this would be the most essential part that if left out would make the presentation of my loved city unappealing to me.

What I don't include in these blogs:
It would be impossible to photograph or write about it all. An exercise in futility is to get you to feel and acknowledge the sensations which you were not present in the moment to experience. Hopefully, there is a temptation you now possess that may get you to tag along or to venture to these places I've been on your own. For those of religious stature don't let the word temptation leave you to believe I mean you will be steered toward the path of evil. Rather, understand my intention is to say, I hope you are lead properly to pursue an adventure that has merit and value. As always, I hope to see you at the next tour.

City Hall Tour

2010-02-13T15:44:00.052-05:00

This was the fastest tour I've done yet in the deck. Mostly because a great deal was off limits today. Be it the weather or it's just not for the public I didn't get to see all that I wanted to. Almost everything on the card was seen in all of 45 minutes. This time I had company with me. I was joined by my good friend Mike and his wife Brenda.
Their company was terrific and I'm looking forward to them joining me again. So let us dig into what we saw today.

After riding the train and getting off the 2 train at Park Place I saw this great tile art recreation of the Earth.

The tour begins with the Woolworth Building at the corner of Broadway and Barclay Street. This was the tallest structure in Manhattan until the Chrysler Building. This was a time when men were in a race to show who had the bigger...um...building. The Woolworth Building was the tallest structure from 1913 until 1930. Inside is supposedly great architecture from a Byzantine ceiling to great busts of the founder.

However.....

Seriously? This great achievement is not permissible to tourists which the city heavily relies on for revenue or even fellow New Yorkers who help out the city financially by paying taxes. I feel I had a right to go in to the umpteenth power. So the only architecture of note for this place was the outside facade below:

If anyone wishes, feel free to flip the angered people who were so rude as to make off handed comments to me as I shot these pictures the bird should you visit this location. I know I did. So, after making new friends, we moved along to City Hall Park across the street.

I know you can't tell by looking at this picture, but the lamps at all four corners of the park's centerpiece are gas lit lamps that were actively running. Aren't my friends such a cute couple?
Heading north from this spot you can see city hall emerge from the tree branches in the park. So I snapped my next photo below:

After this photo, I found a plaque providing the descriptive of a statue to the American Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale that was off in the distance.
For those who don't know, this is the man most famously quoted during the American Revolutionary War as saying, "I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country." Thou it may be hard to see, the statue depicts the man with his arms tied behind his back. This is how he is commonly depicted in his approach to the gallows when he was hung for treason. A simple school teacher turned spy against Britain during the war should not be forgotten. I found it interesting that shortly after I flipped someone the bird, here I am remembering a man who posthumously gave the finger to a whole nation in our bid to freedom. Not only was Mr Hale not on the tour card, neither was Horace Greeley:

This man's statue was erected as a tribute to a man who's paper truly exercised the First Amendment to free speech. Get this, when this man was around, Republicans were considered liberals. In fact, he is most noted for his work as editor for the New York Tribune at a time which he ensured his oppositions to slavery were published during the 1840's until the 1870's. He passed away while running for President of the United States.

Behind City Hall is Tweed Courthouse which is now home to the Department of Education. So's when yur childrens aint learnins right, you knows where to gos.

Behind City Hall and Tweed Courthouse I couldn't resist a shot of the Brooklyn Bridge:

If you read about my previous tours, I am now going to get into the most moving moment of this tour. After I crossed Chambers I made a left and walked down Elks to Duane Street. Here there is a monument to the African Burial Ground. I will post all the pictures I took and then write my comments:

Why is African American History important? Visit this location and you'll scratch a small surface as to the reason why. The answers are more than this atrocious black mark in our nations history as there are many accomplishments to be celebrated by the contributions made in our nation's history by African American's. This is a darker page of it and should not be overlooked. If you can't read the plaques from these photo's, let me paraphrase: Slaves were not even considered to be people and were not permitted proper rights to bury their dead. In fact, it was illegal for them to do so. So, the slaves would go outside the city border of the time to bury their dead secretly. However, once we expanded our settlements more to the north, it was decided to just desecrate these grounds and build over them. This monument is all that there is to remind us of this burial site. It disgusts me to think human beings could be so callous and heartless. It was not open to public viewing today as with much of the sites on this tour so I did not get a chance to go inside. I someday hope I will return.

Not far from the African American burial ground is the the U. S. Courthouse and New York City Supreme Court Building one on top and the other on the bottom respectively. I did not approach them closer or look to see if I could go in. My group was beginning to get hungry and Brenda had an idea on where to go for lunch.

With the camera tucked away, we came to Pinche Taqueria located at 227 Mott St which is between Prince and Spring St in Manhattan. What looks like a hole in the wall dive, makes fantastic Mexican food. The place can maybe seat 18 people maximum and I did not see a bathroom. But the cost and the food was fantastic. If you are ever in the area and like Mexican food, stop in and order some to go. You will not regret it and it won't break the bank. I'm sorry I tucked away the camera as the look on Mike's face as he at his fish soft taco's could only be described as sheer ecstasy. Had I snapped a shot, anyone viewing this page might run down and overrun this place.

Sorry, but no video on this tour. I had wanted to film another subway performer on our way to our tour but Mike and Brenda were apposed to it. To be fair, the performer was not extraordinary and I'm sure I will see better and get film of them in future tours. Well, hope to see you on the next tour.

Who's Coming?

2010-02-12T20:05:00.002-05:00

Looking forward to my tour tomorrow. My good friend Mike has confirmed he is coming with me. Next week I may be joined by my cousin and her fiance. Hopefully over time the group I go with will be more than can be counted on one hand. However, it is a start. Weather be damned I can't wait for another tour of my favorite city. Hope to see you there. Yeah, this one's a short one, but tomorrow will be pics, maybe some vids and I'm sure some good stories.

Ughhhhh, How Do I Improve This Blog?

2010-02-11T21:24:00.004-05:00

I'm going crazy with this blog site. There were several additions I was trying to add here from slide shows to a primary blog list. However, none of the applications work as they should. The slide show does a show of it's own pics, not mine and the blog list just jumps you back to the top of this blog site and not to the primary blog I want you to see. I'd like to highlight the blogs of my actual tours but don't know how to organize it, and then I realized something. YAY! Thanks to all this chaos I now have something to write about. How wonderful for you right? You were going, "boy, if only this guy would write about the frustrations of his self-important narcissism's so that I just might have to forgo the enema I was gonna punish myself with for not reading a frustration rant about improving ones blog today." Then you had this to read and your anus was so happy you instead set off a road flare in your crotch. Oye! Hopefully I'll be able to organize this overall blog site better. But until then, I will share my mental ramblings to save your rectal cavities, but you groinage destructo maximus con flame broiled barbecue magic is an on your own problem that I just can't save you from.

Is It Just About The Cards?

2010-02-10T20:03:00.002-05:00

Just so you know, there will be more of New York on this blog besides what the cards inspire me to do. A significant part of this Blog will involve the Deck of City Walks New York cards. However, there will be visits to New York baseball games, visits to Upstate New York, a trip to Coney Island and more I'm sure. My intentions are to keep you apprised where and when I'll be going and give you the opportunity to come along. Hopefully friendships will be made, adventures shared and most of all to live life and experience all that New York has to offer. The cards inspired me to share the adventure with others on top of my desire to be an attention junkie and have a place to dump my insanity upon a screen for others to view. If I keep it all inside, my only sites in New York will be surrounded by padded walls and my shared experiences with you would be about the flavor of Jello enjoyed following extended elbow painting sessions in extra long "I love me" jackets. I promise to do my best and update a blog daily or as close to it as possible and I hope every time there is good reflection you can envision and a hint of humor to keep you reading. Please comment and challenge my disturbed side. Who knows, maybe I'll discover more about myself then even I knew existed.

Memories of Previous Tours

2010-02-09T21:15:00.004-05:00

Every tour will leave you with one or two memories you can not shake. For example this past tour on February 6th I will not forget my trip to Fraunces Tavern or the awe inspiring site of seeing the New York Stock Exchange in person and I can't seem to shake the music from the dance performance I filmed in the subway. In fact I have had several dreams since February 6 that have that music in it. If anyone can tell me the name of that piece of music I would be eternally grateful.

My first tour involved seeing Ground Zero where the World Trade Center Towers once stood. Now, as my memory serves, every time I would leave the E train at the Twin Towers I walked the mall and when I exited I would always turn to look up at those towers. Now, I'm not saying this to claim I admired them, because I didn't. When you exited them, you could feel their domineering presence behind you and I always felt I had to turn and look up at these buildings which dominated that lower Manhattan skyline like they were in need of your devotion as if a deity placed them there. I do the same thing when I go near the Empire State Building. Maybe it's a complex I have for dominating structures in our city's skyline but when something that huge is suddenly demolished, you feel a sense of loss and longing for their return. The death and terror that went with that day only compound this feeling I describe buried beneath. So, when I went to Ground Zero for the first time in person since the towers were gone, I felt a part of my soul drawn into the hole where they once stood. There is a gravity sucking in my depth perception in this place the likes of which the feeling of vertigo only scratches the surface. To intensify the experience, I entered the graveyard leading up to St. Paul's Chapel. Not only can I not forget the history of the past at this church where our founding fathers had gone for religious service, but the history of the recent past of 9/11/01 and the fact that many of those who worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of that day came to find peace, comfort and religious direction during that horrible campaign to find the missing and dead and excavate that ground in search of what was salvageable and the rubble which so much was not. My religious convictions are such I believe that in the collapse of those buildings the fact this church remained mostly unscathed fortifies my beliefs in a greater being. To express my feelings further in this matter is an exercise in futility and I only wish others find what they feel they have lost by visiting not only Ground Zero but this church directly North of it.

When I toured Battery Park and Battery Park City, the point on the tour that sticks with me is this acre of land listed at the end of the tour dedicated to the Irish and the Irish Potato Famine. It sits across from the Winter Garden and is awe inspiring to me as a significant part of my ancestry hails from Ireland. It is a very unique piece of land that is so out of place for where it sits in the concrete jungle, yet you get the feel of those who came to America in hopes of escaping that awful famine.

The South Street Seaport tour had a lot of interesting street performers and museums to see. But the one monument there that amazed me most was a light-tower memorial which is dedicated to those who lost their lives on the Titanic. The funny part was, I had passed this structure several times without paying it any mind. In fact the day I followed the touring card to see this monument, the plaque on it was hidden behind a hot dog vendor stationed in front of it. With the help of this card I now was drawn to it and as I approached the dirty water dog distributor became defensive of my approach and with his hot dog fork in hand challenged my approach as if he were ready to fence me back with his nitrate horse meat deliverer. In fact, this man's heavy accent almost made me laugh in his face as he began grumbling at me, "hey, jou whattaya want. Whattaya WANT!" When I showed him the card and advised him there was a plaque I wanted to see, he went silent, stared at me with disdain as I approached but allowed me to view the plaque. His uncomforting stare would not cease but I got a good look and found it a shame such an amazing dedication to this moment in time was so easily overlooked and not thought important enough to avoid being concealed behind an ugly angry man whom I assure you I did not buy anything from nor will I. Alas, many did stop at his stand and went unknowing of what was behind this recycled jackass cased meat stick peddler. Well, at least I wouldn't forget it.

In closing, I can't recommend more coming along on one of these tours. Something may stay with you forever that would be a shame to miss and not make a part of your life. Probably a part of your life forever that you will be so glad you had a chance to be a part of. As always, hope to see you on the next tour.

Saturday Feb 13 - City Hall

2010-02-08T19:41:00.002-05:00

We will be heading out again around 12 p.m. at the starting point for this tour which is at Broadway and Fulton St. The card recommends taking the 2 or 3 to Park Place and don't worry there's no Boardwalk to pay double the rent...uh...never mind. The tour begins at St Paul's Chapel and has us see the Woolworth Building, City Hall, Tweed Courthouse, an 18th century African Burial Ground, the NYC Supreme Court Building and US Courthouse, Cardinal Hayes Plaza and the Municipal Building. On the return to the subway the tour takes us on a large pedestrian arch to a beautiful subway entrance which sounds like an oxymoron but that's what the card claims.

So far I have one person pledged to join me. Please comment or email me if you have interest in coming along. Generally as a rule I don't bite. In fact it's a law that I'm not allowed to bite. So, don't be shy, reach out and contact me. Till tomorrow!

Tours and the Week-ends

2010-02-07T11:34:00.002-05:00

Superbowl Sunday put a damper on going today and Valentines Day will put a damper on going two days next week-end. My wife would kill me if I didn't remember to love her on February 14th because I need a holiday to accentuate that feeling...yay. However, I do plan to eventually take on two tours a week-end. I would like to finish the deck before the year is over. As I did prior to the previous tour I will put up an agenda, probably tomorrow, about next Saturday's tour which will be of the City Hall area.

I hope to be joined next week-end by my good friend Mike who pledged to go. If necessary, I will put on his hat, scarfs and gloves and wrap him up all warm and snugly myself if I have to. I wouldn't want the Mikey-poo-poo to get pneumonia and die on me now. If any of you need me to wrap you up and wipe your noses too, let me know.

If this is the first of my blogs you are reading, please go to February 6th's blog to get a real idea of what this is all about. Until tomorrow gang, I will say...LETS GO SAINTS because my GIANTS decided to lay down and die this season.

The Wall Street Tour

2010-02-06T16:09:00.022-05:00

What 6 inches to foot of snow were you all talking about? If you could find me an inch of snow in a drift in the five boroughs I'll shake your hand. By the way, today's tour went off with only one minor hitch, but I'll get to that later.

My first stop on the tour was Fraunces Tavern which is located at the corner of Broad and Pearl. This building was here before we were the United States of America and I do mean that literally. It's been renovated a ton and is the location where the father of our country, George Washington bid a tearful farewell to his officers in 1783. However, with my brain, I asked a great question to one of the workers there; following a trip the mens room I wondered...what was here before there was a really nice place to go and relieve ourselves with the advent of indoor plumbing and an automatic paper towel dispenser? The answer: "I don't know". As heartbroken as I was the staff did not know the answer to this very important question, I pressed on to see what was on the inside. Unfortunately, no pictures or video are permitted inside the museum which is upstairs from the active and period set restaurant on the first floor. In the museum, which cost $10 to see, they had tons of great artifacts from the days of the birth and discovery of our nation. From the rooms that our president and forefathers of this nation once dined and committed to great acts of politics are many of the original flatware, dishes, furniture and even smoking pipes that were used then. As a nerd for history, I had goosebumps and chills. There is a lot of replicas as well as original letters written by the men who signed their name to the Declaration of Independence and many of our closely treasured documents that helped forge our nations backbone on ideals and government. There were only two floors, but there was a lot to read and I'm not going to paraphrase every article that I perused so if you ever pass by this landmark, stop in and take the tour. Some mild ramblings of my insane mind though are important to note: Many of the roads, bridges and tunnels we drive are named after very important men that played a significant role in the Revolutionary War. Two of these men were General Kosciuszko and General Palaski. So when you drive on their road and bridge, give a salute!

After leaving Fraunces Tavern I made my way over to the Vietnam Veterans memorial which is across Water Street near Coenties Slip. I was surprised that this memorial was so short, but also impressed at how dignifying it was to those who had served. The names of many of the fallen are listed upon plaques leading up to the glass memorial in the picture to the left. I felt it was a very honoring tribute to those who had served, without trying to make a mockery of those who made the greatest sacrifice one can for their country and it's beliefs at the time.

After the memorial, I followed the card and made it onto Stone Street which is very quaint and yet extremely painful on the feet especially in the cold. I walked the cobblestone street for some time and realized I could have just gotten onto the sidewalk and not looked like I was walking on hot coals or broken glass. I found The Wall Street Inn and was not very impressed. Maybe if I were staying there or stepped inside I might have been more intrigued, but it was on the card so I snapped a shot of it.

I then made my way to India House, snapped a shot of this building and although nicer to look at then The Wall Street Inn, again I was a little less than enthused. Maybe it was the cold air hitting my face or my feet screaming at me for not discovering the sidewalk sooner, but I was not very blown away by either of these points of interest on the card.

Interestingly, across the street from the India House is a garden dedicated to England with a picture of Prince Charles on the day the place was dedicated. I found it ironic with most of what surrounds this area is historic to the founding of our country and freedom from Britain that a garden is there dedicated to England. Something is wrong with this situation and maybe there is more behind it. I read a couple of plaques and signs and have no idea the reason for the spot of this garden amidst celebratory points of historical significance to the freedom of our country from Britain, but this garden is here? I'm being redundant I know, but when I get confused I tend to repeat myself at least three times. By the way, did I mention how queer it is that there is a garden dedicated to Britain amongst historical landmarks and battlefronts to the birth of our nation breaking our bonds from England?

Another building I was like, huh? 20 Exchange Place fills a location where nearly 700 buildings burned down in the fire of 1835. Okay...next picture...

Now this is a place to see. Federal Hall National Memorial on the northeast corner from the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street is an impressive building and location to witness. This is where George Washington was inaugurated as President of the United States of America. This building is a dedication to the building that once stood here in it's place which was called (for the morons) Federal Hall. Pictures do not do the massive size of this location justice. Speaking of a photo that comes up short to the experience, check out....
The New York Stock Exchange. I've seen videos, movies and pictures of this location my entire life and had no idea my breath would be stolen from my body. Granted in the cold that's a little easier, but still I was humbled when I saw this building. I snapped the photo and stared at this building for a little while, approximately the amount of time it takes snot to freeze on your lip before you wipe your face again. Wish I could go on a weekday when tours are given between 9:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

After seeing the New York Stock Exchange I made my way to Wall street and Broadway to Trinity Church. I'm always impressed by old churches in their construction and how they withstand the test of time. Around the church is a graveyard with people buried mostly from the days up to and just after the birth of our nation. Although a bit tacky, I did snap a photo or two inside the cemetery as you will see below.

As the trip ends down Broadway, I came across the famous Stock Exchange bull and took a photo from the front. I was tempted to take one from the back but wanted to remain PG on this site.

Where the card fell way short was the Museum of American Financial History. It was supposed to be at the end of Broadway by Bowling Green. However, when I went looking for it, I found a tour map set up by the city on a pole that showed the museum 6 or 7 blocks from where I was. After two hours of walking in the cold, I chose to skip it. So if fate were to have it that if I had gone to this museum I'd have left the little people to mix it up with the rich folks, you should be glad I passed it up so you can have me for at least a little bit longer.

To end this on a high note, on my way to the train a performer was there dancing to a very interesting piece of music which I recorded. So as I say farewell, give the vid a look. I think you'll like it.

I Aint Afraid Of No Snow!

2010-02-05T23:50:00.001-05:00

Aint, aint a word, but snow aint no reason not to go tomorrow. Everyone who told me they wanted to go tomorrow have backed down and/or out due to tomorrows forecast. Well, not this boyscout. If I'm going to go to work when it snows, then I'm going to go and play in it by God. I refuse to let life pass me by and allow one mild obstacle to stop me in my desire to see this town. So, even if I go out on my own, I'm going and that's final. I dare one of you to show up tomorrow!

What You Need for 2/6/10

2010-02-04T21:18:00.004-05:00

For starters bring yourself, preferably dressed, in clothing, non-transparent apparel, enough to cover your no-no places and since it's cold outside, enough to cover any part of your body you'd like to keep for at least that day and maybe the next tour. The last three tours I went on didn't require money, but I carry some dough for the "just in case" type stuff: souvenirs, dirty water dogs(hot dog for the laymen), soda, beer, car fare, etc. I'm demented, I might actually bring a roll of toilet paper with me for any public privy business that I would not like you to be too privy to. Bring a sacked lunch...kinda like when you were in school except, don't bring a permission slip, cause...I don't care if I lose you and I'm not taking ownership of you. Maybe bring a camera. Especially bring a camera if you have dementia, Alzheimer's, on and off bouts of amnesia and want to remember where you went to, how you got there and what horse you rode in on. I highly recommend sneakers or very comfortable shoes. Pogo sticks and stilts are a definite no-no because I will do everything to trip you so I can laugh as you fall down and go BOING-BOING! Email me with any questions and I'll be happy to address anything I did not address here. Hope to see you there.

Saturday Feb 6 - Wall Street

2010-02-03T20:46:00.004-05:00

Wow! If you read the first blog and went on to read this one you are brave and grand in your own personal design(what?). I plan to tour Wall Street on the above date. At 12 p.m. I plan to be at the starting point on State Street by the South Ferry. This tour will cover Fraunces Tavern, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Wall Street Inn, Delmonico's restaurant, India House, 20 Exchange Place, Federal Hall National Memorial, New York Stock Exchange, Trinity Church and graveyard and the Museum of American Financial History. Hope to see you there!

The Mission

2010-02-03T20:12:00.002-05:00

Problem: I am a rotund, over-sized man that is clearly a bit of a narcissist, hence the creation of this blog. In my quest to be loved by others more than I do myself I plan to conquer the Big Apple by touring it. Within my possession is a deck of very special cards. Well...not really special because anyone could have bought them, and actually I have bought them before, lost them, and have since bought two new sets online. However, they are special to me and that is what counts! These super special, totally awe inspiring, note worthy cards HAIL from the City Walks series. The specific title of these cards will be withheld to keep those idiots who come on here in suspense. This magnificent, stupendous and glorious deck contains 50 tours of which 47 have yet to be attempted by me, because if you were paying attention I had this deck before(how I hate helping stupid people along) and have already achieved vast knowledge and legions of people in envy of my journeys and tales told of these adventures from completion of 3 of these tours(because you were too dumb to do the math: 50-47=3). Will any of you join me? I lay down the gauntlet at your feet to dare brave the elements and vagabond street dwellers in our fine city as I yet again go forth with this elite of elite, fantastic, desperately desired by you, if it were a person you would grovel at it's feet and be glad to kiss but the hair of the mole grotesquely growing from between the toes of this king of cards DECK of DECKS to see all that this deck of cards will allow us mere mortals to see. Hope to see you on my tours.