Visiting Manhattan

 I did have an opportunity to visit Manhattan a few years ago, had no idea what to expect, will never forget the wonderful experience!--Gail M Baugniet - Author

The Empire State Building. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Visiting Manhattan

        After reading some of my Manhattan themed  A to Z posts some of you might be a bit more interested in visiting the island city of the New York Metropolitan Area.   Many of you indicated your desire to do so in comments made in my original post that asked "What Does Manhattan Say to You?".   In this current post I'll be presenting some of what a few of you said on the topic of "visiting Manhattan".

         From Patricia Stoltey there was this thought:  

        When I hear "Manhattan," I think of NYC in the fall of 1984 when I was there for computer software training. I had never been to NYC before, and I had a little time off from work, so I went to the top of one of the World Trade Center towers. I will never forget that day, and I will probably never go up in a building that tall again.

         I never made it to the top of the World Trade Center myself, but sure wish I could have had that experience.  Patricia, you experienced a bit of history so at least you have that memory.

         Ruth from Welcome to Me recollected:

         I have never been there. I do remember my dad talking about going through there when he was in the army. He was going to West Germany and in the 60's they took a truck to New York and got on a boat to go over there. He said it was dirty and smelled. Garbage laying all over.

        Ruth, my dad never talked about going to Manhattan although a few years ago--over 20 years after his death--I found an old photo of him and some buddies on a night out in NYC, a story to which I referred in my post Drinking and Manhattan.   Maybe your dad had the unfortunate circumstance of being in Manhattan during one of their infamous garbage strikes.  Then again maybe it was just the times and the places they were in.

        A frequent visitor to my blog who does not have a blog himself  but comments under the blog handle of  Sheboyganboy VI told his own interesting Manhattan story: 

       What comes to mind first is the borough of New York City. Not the drink, since I don't drink! I've been to Manhattan twice, once earlier this year for a touristy visit that included restaurants, jazz clubs down in Greenwich Village, Central Park, and the Metropolitan opera. The music was great... the glitz and crowds, not so much.

      But I'd say what comes to my memories first is my 1st trip there in 1974 when I was 19 years old. Four girls, my room mate and I made a cross-country trip from San Diego to Boston and back, which included a one-day jaunt into Manhattan. By the time we got to NYC we had picked up another girl, also. We had two vehicles: a 1968 VW Beetle, and my dad's propane powered pickup truck. As we were heading for the Holland Tunnel we saw a sign that said propane bottles were not allowed in the tunnel. Since I was carrying 200 gallons (!!!) of propane, we had to park the truck on a side street and ALL SEVEN of us piled into the VW and made the trip thru the tunnel for an afternoon of visiting Manhattan. The only person without a girl on their lap was the driver! It was a "trip," man!

      That sounds like a "hippie excursion". What a memory!  Those were the days my friend. 

       Bish Denham provided her own story from back in the day:

     When I think of Manhattan I almost immediately remember the time I spent there in the summer of 1967. For a teenager from a tiny island, it was awesome. Went to the Empire State Building, the Cloisters, Lincoln Center, took the ferry to Staten Island, drank "virgin" drinks at Cafe Wha? and listened to a band - who knows who? Friends and I stood on a street corner, stared up and pointed until we had a crowd around. Ate at my first Greek restaurant. Saw an off Broadway show about Jelly Roll Morton.

      It was noisy and dirty and the smog was so thick that from the top of Empire State Building the streets below were almost invisible. I have pictures.

      It was the time of my life. Except for one brief overnight on my way to somewhere else, I've never been back. Though if I had the opportunity/money, I just might.

       What a fantastic memory, Bish. I can imagine how exciting it must have been for you to have spent a summer there as a teen. Manhattan has a lure, but it can be an expensive destination.  I hope you can return one day.

One More Before We Go...

        Finally, from the blog Forty, c'est Fantastique ! with the author's permission I'm reprinting here the blog post she wrote in response to my Manhattan question.  It's too good not to include here. 

New York, New York !

By jetgirlcos, February 5, 2016

Ah, New York…

One glimpse of this skyline, photo taken from Central Park, and anyone will know where you are. Hundreds of songs have been written about this city, hundreds of movies made there, millions of people have walked its streets, and been captured by its sense of adventure. It is the original “melting pot” where so many cultures can be found in one place.

It is the city that represents the US to the people of most other countries…tell anyone in a different country that you are from the US and they’ll say, “Oh! You know New York!”  Up until a few weeks ago I’d have said, “No. I’ve never been there.” But now, I can say I have been there. There there, and not just “Airport” there. My husband and I visited Manhattan. One and a half days there, and he is wondering if we could move there. Who knows? Tout est possible!  But no, I’m not packing up just yet

I mentioned already in a previous post that we saw a Broadway Musical that weekend, with the aid of the beloved “Two-fer” tickets. This post is kind of a “Two-fer” too, in fact it is almost a “Three-fer” because it fits in with both the Thursday and Friday versions of  The Bee’s “Love is in da Blog.”  For “Traveling Thursday” it is a place I think I am falling in love with. For Friday, it is a “Blog Love.” I really have a hard time choosing a “favorite blog!”  So I’m not going to say this is my favorite, just that it isa favorite, and the one that is on my mind tonight.  So, because I am sort of writing this in response to a question that Arlee Bird asked on his blog “Tossing It Out” — namely, “What Does Manhattan Say to You?” my “Blog love” is going out to Arlee this week. For those of you who don’t know, he is the mastermind behind the “A to Z April Challenge” which really got Forty, C’est Fantastique  off the ground. I’m gearing up for my 3rd time doing this challenge in 2016! Arlee “Tosses Out” all kinds of interesting topics on his blog! I don’t always get involved, but I do read silently from my email box, and when a topic strikes a chord with me I just jump in! I love that Arlee really engages in conversation with his readers who comment. He’s thoughtful. He loves music and hosts a “BoTB” post on his site. I really don’t know how he does all of it. In any case, I highly recommend making a trip to his site to see what he “tosses out.”

So to answer his question (and I hope it isn’t too late!)

What does Manhattan say to me?

After a long flight, we walked, wide-eyed, out of the airport, searching for the metro, or a bus, some way to reach Manhattan. After a short search, we found ourselves on a bus, where we were able to figure out, with the help of a native New Yorker, the system by which one buys a Metro card and uses it to get a little ticket for the bus, which no longer accepts cash. You have to get a metro card and then use that at a kiosk to get a ticket. The lady in question did not have enough money on her Metro card for the ticket, and since the bus driver didn’t take cash, she gave us cash and we ran to a kiosk at the next stop and used our brand new metro card to get her a ticket. Then she told us some cool things to do and see in the city, and I have stashed that advice away for next time we go, because with just a day and a half we really had to choose one or two things. We rode the bus until the end of its line and then switched to the train. I’m not sure that was the most efficient, but we did end up at Times Square, which was just a couple blocks from our hotel.

We got off the train and said, “Hello, Manhattan.”  Manhattan said “Hello! You’re going to have a fabulous time.”  The lady at the hotel desk sang the word, “fabulous.”  She said, I can find you a fabulous restaurant, and she did! We had a very nice seafood dinner, not too far away from the hotel, and we walked around Times Square and gawked at the lights. Funny thing, but Manhattan does say to me that it is somehow okay to be a “tourist” there. It’s okay to stop and gawk at the skyscrapers whilst the real New Yorkers walk around you like water flows around pebbles in a stream.  It’s a much different feeling than say, San Francisco or Paris or Dublin. In those cities, I felt a desire to “blend in” and hide my tourist status. In Manhattan, I didn’t find that to be necessary, even when we encroached upon a somewhat more “local” bagel shop. There was a pleasant mix there of locals and tourists. And the bagel was fantastic. They say it’s the water. You think?

New York is elegant and refined, but at the same time it is loud and gaudy. It is Prada and Louis Vuitton, and it is also tourist shops. It is classic high-heeled pumps, but yet it is also brightly colored Converse. And “puffy down jackets.” Lots of puffy down jackets. I’m glad that at least our jackets fit in a little bit  I’m not really sure why this is a trend all of a sudden. Marty McFly would be proud. 

We went walking around Times Square on a Friday night, and a couple asked us to take their picture. Then, they offered to take one of us. Why not? They asked where we were from, and we told them, then asked them the same question. They told us they were locals, just out for a date night while their kids were with family. Isn’t that great? To go to one of the most touristy places in your own city just for fun? They looked really happy, too.

So what did we ask Manhattan? We asked it to show us some of its glamour and some of its traditions. It happily complied, and we came home happy, having seen the “Home Alone 2” Christmas tree, the skaters at Central Park, horse-drawn carriages, beautiful homes that we could never even dream of living in, Times Square, and a Broadway Musical. We ate NY bagels, NY pizza, and NY cheesecake. My husband even had one of those hotdogs from a street vendor. We rode a bus and a subway, and we rode in a NY cab. We looked in the windows of some designer stores that we didn’t dare set a foot into. We truly began to understand the French expression lèche-vitrines, which literally translates as “licking the windows” but really just means “window shopping.” Somehow the French expression is more descriptive! We walked (according to FitBit) eleven miles. It was glorious. So in the end, what did Manhattan say to me? It said, “Come back soon!”  I can hardly wait!

https://fortyandfantastique.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/new-york-new-york/


         Do you have a story to tell about your own Manhattan visit?   Are you planning a Manhattan visit anytime soon?   What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about visiting Manhattan?

Literature and Arts (#atozchallenge)

 The author of this image is me, David Shankbone. Taken 6 August 2006. The Bowery Poetry Club on The Bowery, New York City. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Manhattan:  Literature and Arts

        When I asked the question What does Manhattan say to you?, many of the comments mentioned references to things related to literature and the arts in general.   This is what first comes to my mind as well.  I've seen so many movies and television shows that take place in Manhattan and heard songs inspired by the city, as well as knowing about the many creative people who have come from or made their names in this famous New York borough.

        Woody Allen practically made a career making movies that take place in Manhattan.  Greenwich  Village has long been a bohemian center of the arts that nurtured many greats of music, literature, and all other art forms.  In an earlier post we already looked at Broadway and the Bowery--both centers of theater both highbrow and the more plebeian.  And we mustn't forget the many museums, galleries, and bastions of education in the arts.   Manhattan is brimming with creativity in all artistic forms.
     

   Jan Morrison...I would like to sit in the Algonquin and have a martini with Dorothy Parker.      

        Jan's reference to the legendary daily Round Table luncheon at the Algonquin hotel is one that many writers might fantasize about.  That heyday is long gone, but many writers still find their own forums and social gatherings.   Then there are the conferences and other events that draw writers from throughout the continent and even the world.  One upcoming conference that is a yearly event is the Writer's Digest Annual Conference, where writers can hobnob with other writers as well as agents, publishers, and others connected to the world of literary arts.

Other Voices on Manhattan

Michele Truhlik said:  

        When I hear the word Manhattan, the first thing I think about is Sex and the City. I love how the city was portrayed in that show and how it was a character in the story just as much as any of the actors. When I see Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte meeting up for breakfast to talk about their love lives or glamming up for a night out on the town, I so want to live there, even if for a short time.

       I've only been to Manhattan a few times but I remember fondly the times that I was there. I remember being shell-shocked at the sheer number of people on the streets when I emerged from Grand Central Station. I remember walking through Central Park.

      When I hear Manhattan, I think of the night I spent laughing my ass off in a comedy club as the comedians poked fun at New Yorkers (especially the cab drivers) and flirting with the drummer there. I remember seeing Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd on Broadway. I remember going to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and bar-hopping. That was the night I met the guy who was the baby featured in a classic TV commercial (which I can't think of right this second).

      I can see why Manhattan is often referred to as the greatest city in the world. It has a lure that calls me sometimes...and one of these days I just may answer that call...    Michele at Angels Bark

      Sheena-kay Graham came up with another idea:  "Have not heard Manhattan in a long time. Just thought some place in America. Then I thought deeper and came up with Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen. Jamaicans are deep like that."   That certainly works for me though I'm not familiar with the character or the graphic novel series.  

Manhattan and the Movies

       Loni Townsend said the same thing as many others similarly expressed:  

The first thing that comes to my mind is: Movies. That's the only way I've experienced Manhattan myself.

       That's the closest some of us will ever get to visiting Manhattan and actually it's not a bad way to see the city up close and in a greater depth than we might ever see by going there in person.  Loni, you're probably in a majority as the many people who have actually been to Manhattan are likely vastly outnumbered by those who have only experienced the city vicariously through movies and media.

        Karen Walker added her own personal story along with an astute observation:

      I was born in NYC, so Manhattan was just one of the five boroughs making up the city I lived in. But as I grew up, Manhattan became the magical place where stars appeared on Broadway. Where lights twinkled as brightly as the stars in the sky. Where high finance ruled the world from Wall Street. People think Manhattan is New York City. Woody Allen's movies helped form this perception. They never take place in Queens or Brooklyn or the Bronx or Staten Island.

       For some a specific movie comes to mind when thinking about the metropolis on the New York island.   "Muppets Take Manhattan!" was the response of  L. Diane Wolfe. 

        Others might think of a particular image often seen in movies where Manhattan is the setting.  G. B. Miller expresses one that might be most common for many of us in this generation:

      Manhattan...Hmmm...considering the last time I was in NY State was some eight or nine years ago and the last time I was in NYC was my sophomore year of high school, Manhattan doesn't really mean that much to me. Except I get a strong dose of sadness whenever I see old t.v. shows that feature the WTC in the opening montage (i.e. Barney Miller and the Billy Ray Cyrus show called "Doc").      I Are Writer!

      I've known that sadness on more than one occasion. Most recently it was when I watched the film The Walk which was about the tightrope walker who crossed between the towers on a cable strung illegally between the towers.  My eyes welled with tears at the end of that film as I considered 9/11 and what had been lost on that day.  There are so many times that we see those towers in films and television shows.  Seeing them is like seeing an old photo of a lost loved one.

Just Thinking on Manhattan

       Here are a few other thoughts on Manhattan:

        Debbie at Doglady's Den reflected,  

Manhattan, borough of New York City: Sophisticated, urban, Broadway, skyscrapers, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Eva Gabor (from "Green Acres": ♫ New York is where I'd rather stay. I get allergic smelling hay. I just adore a penthouse view. Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue. ♫)I've never been there, but it's on the bucket list.

         Then one more introspection from diedre Knight:

Black ties and pillbox hats with matching handbags. Delicious aromas wafting from nearly every doorway, Publishers, Symphonies and Art Galleries. Always busy, lots of pomp. :-) But that was long ago.

          So I leave you now with a bit of Manhattan music suggested by Jemima Pett.  Here is the fabulous Manhattan Transfer singing about that legendary Manhattan jazz club Birdland.

1. 1. 
      

     More Manhattan inspired music tomorrow in a new Battle of the Bands presentation.  Be sure to come back and vote on your favorite selection.

         What other artsy Manhattan thoughts that come to your mind?   Have you visited any of the museums in Manhattan?    Have you ever or do you plan on attending the Writer's Digest Annual Conference?   

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