May 27, Tuesday. Had made arrangements for accessible taxi to
take us to Garwick Airport which was more than an hour away. from hotel in London. Got to see a different part of the city and
along the Thames for quite a while.
Rainy of course. Easily made it
to IcelandAir desk. Had to go through
customs and they confiscated Jack’s tools for scooter, etc. Jack had to have
scooter scanned and mirror to look underneath. IcelandAir very helpful. Flight
to Rejkavik Iceland was only 2 hours I think.
The airport was jam packed with many planes departing. I was randomly selected for security check
pat down. Jack led to plane without me.
Great plane and listened to movies, etc. all the way to Newark Airport. Total trip 10 hours although 5 hours on the
clock. Again with customs when we got to NY.
Very long walks but nice red cap (don’t call them that any more) helping
us. Our big suitcase had opened--zipper split but easy to fix and nothing lost. Very
difficult time with taxi. Finally got cabbie who would agree to take us to hotel and ended up
helpful. Had to dismantle scooter. Arrived at Warwick Hotel a little hassled. Great doorman and everyone helpful though. Old hotel built by William Randolph Hearst
for his paramour, Marion Davies. Recently renovated. Great rooms, great bar, so-so
restaurant. Just went to bar and had a
WONDERFUL hamburger! And to bed after a
very long day.
JACK SEZ: I was not concerned when Kas was taken away while I boarded. I had previously ascertained that tales of Icelandic air stewardesses are still true and at least one of the matured group gave me considerable attention including some calming strokes along my back. Icelandic Air also has an innovative system to allow purchase of rather tasty snacks.
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JACK SEZ: I was not concerned when Kas was taken away while I boarded. I had previously ascertained that tales of Icelandic air stewardesses are still true and at least one of the matured group gave me considerable attention including some calming strokes along my back. Icelandic Air also has an innovative system to allow purchase of rather tasty snacks.
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May 28, Wednesday. Didn’t want to do Warwick breakfast buffet so
crossed street to the Hilton. Also
buffet but they had a coffee stand with sweets, etc. It was OK.
Then decided just to walk to Times Square, etc. – kind of roaming the
area rather than taking city tour. Just
needed to chill a little. Stopped into the NYC Public Library. Just beautiful and very busy. Made it to
Grand Central Station Oyster House. I
just loved it. Had clam/oyster
roll. Jack had oysters on the half shelf
assortment. More walking, then taxi to
Lincoln Center for New York City Ballet.
Compared to Royal Ballet, only so-so I thought. First was Concerto Barocco - Balanchine to Bach. Then Other Dances which was Chopin music. Then Neverwhere (black leathery and fancy lighting things going on) and Who Cares? which again was Balanchine to Gershwin that was supposed to remind the audience of NYC (according to the program). I thought the London performers were just better at dancing and interpreting.
May 29, Thursday. Breakfast at the hotel. Problematic for my honey bunny. Toast not toasted, eggs got cold, etc. etc. Then walked to Museum of Modern Art just up the street. They have great audio tour and can take pictures on the device that are then sent to you. Unfortunately, I can't open it now to get pictures. I love this museum. Just great and they had a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit that was really good.
JACK SEZ: Rusky Tea Room pissed me off. We had reluctantly accepted 4:30 reservations--way too early--because it was our last night and was on wife's bucket list--plus, I travel by scooter & was relatively convenient. Got there to find one other table occupied. In hour plus, while we were there, never more than 20% full. So you sit there feeling like chump. Still, the re-opened room is lush, service good but not #1--that mostly reflects fact that maitre 'd walked past us 6 times while patrolling empty room. Never, stopped to inquire of us.
FOOD: Good, but..........Wanted to test something Russian so had beef stroganoff. Got piece of steamed "soupmeat" on top of well done sauce with some noodles. BUT YOU CAN'T STEAM BEEF...........so stringy and dry. Very long time since my last visit to Tea Room. Suspect it is now more about tourists. As result, we came to Gentlemen's with that added taint. All told, just too much for a Gentleman to overcome. Obviously very clever libretto, lyrics, staging, performances. One distraction from sitting so close, we were able to see one actor who often spewed spit when doing the accent. Thankfully we were not in center. In the end, Gentlemen's was just to damm precious. I think all that cleverness plays to the theater insiders, which accounts for good reviews and awards.
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JACK SEZ: Rusky Tea Room pissed me off. We had reluctantly accepted 4:30 reservations--way too early--because it was our last night and was on wife's bucket list--plus, I travel by scooter & was relatively convenient. Got there to find one other table occupied. In hour plus, while we were there, never more than 20% full. So you sit there feeling like chump. Still, the re-opened room is lush, service good but not #1--that mostly reflects fact that maitre 'd walked past us 6 times while patrolling empty room. Never, stopped to inquire of us.
FOOD: Good, but..........Wanted to test something Russian so had beef stroganoff. Got piece of steamed "soupmeat" on top of well done sauce with some noodles. BUT YOU CAN'T STEAM BEEF...........so stringy and dry. Very long time since my last visit to Tea Room. Suspect it is now more about tourists. As result, we came to Gentlemen's with that added taint. All told, just too much for a Gentleman to overcome. Obviously very clever libretto, lyrics, staging, performances. One distraction from sitting so close, we were able to see one actor who often spewed spit when doing the accent. Thankfully we were not in center. In the end, Gentlemen's was just to damm precious. I think all that cleverness plays to the theater insiders, which accounts for good reviews and awards.
May 30, Friday. Discovered Rue 57
on our way to Central Park. What a great place for service and food. Not cheap
but it was good. Headed to visitor
center in the park which was closed so we didn’t have our bearings but just great day to be
in the park. The Arsenal is center for
the conservancy and other administrative city things with little exhibit hall.
See pictures of knitted animals by Ruth Marshall which is called Closely Knit .
Made our way to Tavern on the Green.
Had great drink while we waited and nice lunch. Mushroom soup
with truffle oil swirl was yum. Walked
along different streets back to hotel. Had light soup and wonderful grilled cheese in the bar. I think Jack just shared.
JACK SEZ: Rue 57 is what you should find almost everywhere in big city--but don't--a well managed bistro with careful service and well crafted foods. Also, like many where real estate is very expensive, they serve from a basement kitchen--every scrap of food is carried by runners up 14 steps (I counted). That often slows service and with things like breakfast may make it very difficult to get hot food. Not so here, they had lots of runners. Service was very fast, even to regular setup and always hot.
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JACK SEZ: Rue 57 is what you should find almost everywhere in big city--but don't--a well managed bistro with careful service and well crafted foods. Also, like many where real estate is very expensive, they serve from a basement kitchen--every scrap of food is carried by runners up 14 steps (I counted). That often slows service and with things like breakfast may make it very difficult to get hot food. Not so here, they had lots of runners. Service was very fast, even to regular setup and always hot.
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May 31, Saturday. Checked bags,
breakfast at Rue 57 and then we decided to head towards the UN. Didn’t make it but beautiful day for just
roaming the streets which were not very busy where we were. Very nice
ending to our NYC experience. Had arranged in advance for
accessible taxi to LaGuardia. Jack had found this webpage
dedicated to this. Bell captain didn’t
know anything about it. When I called
down to tell them about it, the weekend guy, said oh yes, he knew?? Anyway, not as perfect as it sounds. I think Jack’s particular scooter throws
people. Young cab driver, very nervous about
the whole thing. Jack had to stay in
scooter because not enough room and it wasn't tied down. It was more than driver could handle. Lots of
confusion but only 20 minute ride to LaGuardia. Airport is no great shakes, pretty small. Nice enough to
sit outside while we waited though. Finally, on
our way home with no hitches.
JACK SEZ: Thankfully, ride to airport was short while I hung on for dear life. Although cab was specially outfitted, cabbie did not understand how to use the tie downs or even how to load the cab. I finally agreed to ride the scooter which was free to move with acceleration, braking, etc. To offset, I took the seat belts from two sides and wrapped them around handlebars. That threw cabbie into a tizzie because he was afraid I'd break them and he'd have to pay.
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CONCLUSION: definitely a wonderful trip with only a very few disappointments. Would love to spend a lot more time in Scotland, go back to York and maybe commute to London from there to spend more time in museums. Wish I knew when things were less crowded. - probably never. New York City requires a lot more time. I think I would do it in sections. We spent our time in mid town, next downtown, etc. So much to do there. Another cruise is not at the top of our list. The scooter presented some challenges with more people helpful than not. We forget how uneven and hilly it is beyond Florida's borders. We had some great meals, bottles of wine and some really not so good coffee and meat. We enjoyed great ballet and theater and learned a lot from city tours and museums. What else could you ask for. Take a peek at the pictures. Link sent separately.
JACK SEZ: Thankfully, ride to airport was short while I hung on for dear life. Although cab was specially outfitted, cabbie did not understand how to use the tie downs or even how to load the cab. I finally agreed to ride the scooter which was free to move with acceleration, braking, etc. To offset, I took the seat belts from two sides and wrapped them around handlebars. That threw cabbie into a tizzie because he was afraid I'd break them and he'd have to pay.
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CONCLUSION: definitely a wonderful trip with only a very few disappointments. Would love to spend a lot more time in Scotland, go back to York and maybe commute to London from there to spend more time in museums. Wish I knew when things were less crowded. - probably never. New York City requires a lot more time. I think I would do it in sections. We spent our time in mid town, next downtown, etc. So much to do there. Another cruise is not at the top of our list. The scooter presented some challenges with more people helpful than not. We forget how uneven and hilly it is beyond Florida's borders. We had some great meals, bottles of wine and some really not so good coffee and meat. We enjoyed great ballet and theater and learned a lot from city tours and museums. What else could you ask for. Take a peek at the pictures. Link sent separately.
