New York City Trip: Continued

            I’m so far behind. I need to get my New York City trip documented up before I can begin on the latest Brick Swap I attended this past weekend!  So, back to New York City, October the 14th.

Billy and I arrived safely at the Port Authority. From here it is kind of a haul to the Lexington Hotel at 58th and 7th ave. This hotel is quite a change from the Y! We were too early for check in. We stored our bags and headed out. It was lunch time! Billy had a place in mind, Katz’s Deli on Houston St.

There was a subway stop right near the hotel at 57th St. It is times like this I’m so indebted to my Aunt Fran who taught me back in the late 1960’s how to navigate the NYC Subways. I’m still frazzled in getting the fare cards though. I’ll always be a “token boy”. I charged my old card from last year with some extra money to get me through this visit. We had to get Billy a ticket. This nice young girl showed us how to get him just a single fare. All the while this was going on this guy kept saying how he would let Billy through on his card. I learned long ago to avoid this kind of street person…Billy and I both gave him a deaf ear.

We took the F train to the Broadway LaFayette stop. It was an easy walk to Houston St from here and then east to Katz’s Deli. What a place. I have never seen anything like this before. Lines of people in front of meat carvers hand slicing the deli meats. You have a ticket that is filled out as you get your food at the different stations. Billy and I split a huge pastrami on rye. It was so good. Billy picked up the check on this. The line was so long to check out. I was able to exit by the “In” door by surrendering my blank ticket. If you lose your ticket it is an automatic $50.00 to exit! There is so much history here. One review says the food is so good the native New Yorkers put up with the tourists who mob the place!

From here Billy and I walked off lunch by heading back towards the village. Neither of us were in the mood to do any shopping or explore any stores. We ended up on Christopher St and walked to the river. I’m still in awe how this entire area has been gentrified. We crossed over the West Side Highway and enjoyed the waterfront. We started working our way over to get to entrance of the High Line. Billy has never been on this. He was so amazed! This green space has so transformed this part of the city. We walked the entire line. We were thirsty afterwards, so we stopped for a beer at The Blarney Stone. This German Girl was tending bar. She was enamored by my Utilikilt. She told us “bartending stories” and the different places she has been to. I love to get this kind of perspective of city life from the people who live and work here.

We headed back to the hotel. Billy has not been to Times Square since it has been all changed. He could not believe how “Disneyfied” it has become. For the first time in my life I was given an idea of what well known people must handle daily. It was not pretty. A walking Mickey Mouse grabbed my arm and started talking to me in an Irish bough about wearing a kilt. Then this blue Smurf jumps in front of me repeating over and over in a falsetto voice, “Look at me, look at me, look at me!” I actually imagined I was in a horrible movie or TV series and was being set up to be robbed or murdered! I threw my arms over my head and just ran to get away. Billy could not believe it, and neither could I. In the 40+ years I’ve visited Manhattan I have NEVER experienced anything like this or felt so vulnerable. I’ve felt safer leaving the Spike back in the 1980’s at 3:00

a.m. with rats scurrying around on the street by the garbage cans in that nasty part of the city than I did in brightly lit Times Square, lousy with tourists in the late afternoon!

All in all we walked a little over 5 miles to get back to the Hotel from Houston St. Now we were able to check in. The room was quite a step up from the “Y”. I have never stayed in a hotel with such a powerful shower. It was heaven to have that hot water blasting all over me! The rates here are quite reasonable by NYC standards.

We got ready for the show. We just had to walk down a few blocks and then west on 54th st to get to the Iguana for Vince’s performance. This new space is not as well laid out as his old spot at the Club Sophia. Billy and I got a small table that had a great location as far as viewing the stage and being able to hear.

There was a great varied audience from young people to the older folks that just oozed class. You can just tell this kind of people; they carry gentility and are never in your face. There was a table with musicians who perform with Diana Krall who Vince was talking with during the first set. Billy and I were really not hungry for Mexican food. To tell the truth the food did not look that good and I overheard some comments, “Well you don’t come here for the food.” We did split a Nacho Platter.

During the second and third sets musicians popped in and out to jam with the band. It was so New York! I felt really privileged to be able to witness this. During the break between the 2nd and 3rd set I had to use the bathroom. You never really “own” beer! In places like this I can get really “pee shy”. I was in luck; the room was empty as I approached the urinal. Then an attendant entered and stood by the sink and I could feel his eyes boring into me! A trumpet player from the band entered just as I was finally able to let loose. When I finished the attendant turned on the water for me to wash my hands!  The trumpet player finished up by this time. He said he liked my Utilikilt! I thanked him and told him he got extra points for knowing what it was!

For the third set Diane Krall and her husband Elvis Costello joined the table with her house band. Diane and Vince interacted some. I have never been so close to celebrities as I have been on this trip! The entire show was phenomenal. Vince did encores and finally shut it down way after 11:00 p.m. I was standing at the table when Elvis Costello passed by. We made eye contact, smiled and nodded to each other.

Billy and I stopped at a loud “yuppie, Irish” place on the way back for a beer. It was full of locals who were on good terms with the bartender. A group of girls were drinking shots getting totally hammered. I can’t imagine what their bar bill would be, just glad I won’t be paying for it! The food menu was not that good so we passed and just headed back to the hotel.