Up, Up, Up and Away; I'm Taken Around The Pacific

[Alanslegal]

New York City!

How good is New York City?! Whether it’s your first time, tenth time or simply returning to your home. It’s the world’s financial capital, the hub of all things, the home of the Pretzel & the Gyro, a place where dreams are made, and sadly the epicentre of the current Global Financial Crisis.

As a returnee traveller to NYC catching public transport is no big deal. The subway is quick, cheap and convenient if you know you’re going. The AirTrain shuttle connects you to Howard Beach or Jamaica Station before its one subway, and all the way into the heart of Manhattan. Otherwise you can choose to catch a cab – being a flat rate of US$55 plus tip.

My destination is Bleecker Street Station, where my mate’s apartment is very close by. The locals know this area as NoHo – which is really short for North of Houston (Street). Within a two mile radius there are enough areas of NYC to keep me occupied for the next 72 hours. Starting to the east and going clockwise, the East Village, Lower East Village, St Marks, Chinatown, SoHo, Tribeca, Greenwich Village, then the West Village, Meatpacking District, Chelsea, Midtown, Union Square, Gramercy Park and then back again. With trendy bars, superb restaurants and a great vibe all round – this is New York City baby!!


To keep the report short & simple, here are a few photos to highlight my tourist-y New York adventures;-

At the top of the Empire State Building, which is actually my first time;-

I believe this is a pigeon, resting 300+ metres above the ground and giving me a sharp look;-

Times Square and the vibrant colours;-

The M&M’s store, chocolate anyone?

Grand Central Station;-

 

[Alanslegal]

New York City!

Union Square;-

After exploring tourist-y things, it’s time to do what locals do best; and that’s enjoying brunch! New Yorkers love their brunch and they sure know how to do it well. Come weekend and there’s line after line for the popular brunch places. If you go early, which is before midday, the queues are less but they’re not allowed to serve champagne. With this in mind, when to have brunch can be a dilemma. I was recommended quite a few popular local spots but chose the Friend of A Farmer which is just off Union Square. It’s a cosy little bakery cafe with wooden tables and matching chairs, the walls have a floral design and are complimented by the bird paintings in gold finish wooden frames. The quaint setting gives this cafe a very country side feel, one that can be found in many small towns littered all over Australia.

My brunch is the Boomer Special, consisting of scrambled eggs, buttermilk pancakes and sausages;-

 

[Alanslegal]

New York City!

After brunch, I did a bit of shopping around Union Square and bumped into these Kangaroo shoes which look much like our Flying Kangaroo aka Qantas.

Apart from shopping, New York is renowned for its shows namely the ones featuring on Broadway. Although there are many good shows there; I was directed away from Broadway and to go see Fuerza Bruta near Union Square. It’s an interactive stage where the performance moves around and the audience are ushered to move during the show. The highlight of this show is the floating swimming pool, which appears above the audiences heads and it slowly descends down. Performers are splashing and frolicking, and when the bottom of the clear pool is just a feet from our heads we can reach up and touch the pool. I more so poked it (which we’re not suppose to) just to see if the performers can feel my poke. It’s an interesting concept but wildly entertaining. Later the dancers come off stage to part-ay with the crowd, and the DJ squirts out water onto the arena whilst keeping to the heavy beats. It was really fun and highly recommended.

Lining up four hours before the show for limited availability cheap tickets US$25 each;-

Three female performers splashing around, on the clear bottom pool, just above my head;-

As much as there was to see and do, it was time to go, but I must give a shout to the bars and restaurants around Lower Houston / East Village, and to St Marks of all I had good visits to. Next time when I’m back in NYC, I’ll definitely visit the Ninja New York Restaurant which is a theme restaurant with Ninja’s as your waiters. I hear that ninja’s jump up and out in front of you just to scare the daylights out of you. And they also use katana swords to prepare your food. Now that would be fun!!

Next; Flying the Winner of the 2008 Highest Satisfaction Award for North American Low Cost Carriers; it’s Jet Blue all the way to New Orleans.

 

[Skyring]

He tells me that there are no suite rooms that he could upgrade me to however have chosen a quiet executive floor room facing away from the runway. I quickly ask him I prefer the view of the runway so I can see the jets land, and he quickly changes room allocation.

(followed by a picture of QF107 coming in)

Heh! I'd do exactly the same thing. I've been watching these big bright metal birds land and take off for decades now, and I'll never stop loving the spectacle!

Great TR! Lots of pix, lots of colour. I think I spotted that same pigeon on the Empire State Building last October.

As a cabbie, I love seeing the yellow cabs whipping around the streets full of fascinating people and places.

The Yanks certainly do food in an exuberant fashion - I had lunch at the Carnegie Deli and my jaw dropped to the ground at the size of the sandwiches. Which was good, because I needed every millimetre of mouth just to take a bite.

I'm heading back for a couple of days next month. Must make sure I stay up to date with my TR from the back of the bus - I usually kind of run out of puff halfway through...

 

[Alanslegal]

With JetBlue to New Orleans

JFK – MSY B6 119

Economy Class – Seat 8A – A320

JetBlue now has its own spankin’ new terminal! After a year or two of constructions including the mandatory keeping of the original TWA building, it is finally complete. Well it has been complete for a while now but this is the first time I get to see it.

As typical with most domestic check-in, everything seems to be done manually and the onus is on the passenger. Self serve check-in it is, select seats, print out passes and head to the bag drop off agent. It’s through security for the first and only time before walking into the new concourse of shops, fast food and the terminal gates.

I head straight to the waiting gate and quickly jump online – complimentary wi-fi circulates the whole of Terminal 5 – and I’m quickly checking AFF he..he..he..he!!

Boarding is five minutes behind schedule, push back is similarly late, but we are now stuck in a queue of about 20 other planes wanting to take off at this usually busy JFK airport. Again it’s a prolonged wait for our turn to depart and I recall we were close to an hour behind schedule when the twin jet engines are put into action.

After a quick climb to a safe flying altitude, the sounds of the ding means it’s Ok to get out of your seat and rush to the toilet if need be! An announcement is made thanking us, the passengers, for choosing to fly JetBlue and “that JetBlue was the recently awarded as having the Highest Customer Satisfaction for a LCC in a survey conducted by the respected J.D Power and Associates”. The flight hostess proudly walks the aisle holding up the trophy that was awarded;-

After the trophy parade, the same hostess comes around handing out packets of chips, peanuts, and snacks;-

And the exclusive to JetBlue famous Blues Potato Chips, yes they are really blue in colour and they’re not bad tasting either;-

With such a delayed departure, as always, the pilots seem to be able to extract a bit more power out of the plane and reduce flying time by 20%.The captain soon announces our descent into MSY and that it can get a little bit bumpy along the way. It didn’t help my nervousness with clouds and turbulence when I read earlier that there were tornado warnings within Louisiana. Yes I have a feverish dislike for clouds and turbulence but luckily we only encountered a few little bumps and soon land smoothly into the Loius Armstrong International. It’s off to the baggage carousel where my suitcase is unfortunately one of the last ones to come out. I’m quickly out of the terminal and into an awaiting cab where the next stop, is my hotel, The Renaissance Pere Marquette. A review of this hotel can be found here .

Next; Exploring New Orleans

 

[Alanslegal]

Apologies To Those With Slow Internet Connection

As my reports are photo intensive - I'm sorry to those who have slow connections. I did reduce the photos to 512x380 so hopefully its a bit better and they were iirc all less than 40kb per photo.

 

[Alanslegal]

New Orleans!

First stop is Bourbon Street! Everybody who visits N’awlins heads to Bourbon Street, in fact some never get away from it. It’s a stretch of restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars, and strip joints – where boozing is legally allowed every minute of the day.

In this place of the town, everybody seems to be nocturnal and it’s only when the sun is down, that the people comes out to part-ay and booze up. Naturally the bars become rowdy, the crowds become loud, the music rocks on and the (so-called) promotional ladies – well they are standing by the doorways in skimpy costumes trying to persuade passer-bys to come in and enjoy some nightly entertainment.

I did pop into a few rock ‘n’ roll bars and was bar-hopping all night, and it was pretty wild. I also tried this mechanical bull ride – ah that was fun – but it very quick as the operators wanted the men off very fast, and preferred the ladies to be playing that game, given that some female riders went topless whilst bull-ing around!! OMG!

 

[Alanslegal]

New Orleans!

I did manage to get away from Bourbon Street, but only during the day time! So here’s a few tourist-y things that one must do in New Orleans.

Ride the historic St Charles Street Car:-

The Street Car takes you to the Garden District and beyond, where you can stroll amongst magnificent homes:-

Explore New Orleans via foot:-

Jackson Square:-

Inside St Louis Cathedral:-

 

[Alanslegal]

New Orleans!

The Mississippi River:-

Ride the free shuttle ferry across the River and see the city skyline:-

And a statue of Louis Armstrong:-

The ‘must try’ foods when visiting New Orleans include the sweetest Beignets ever @ the Cafe Du Monde. It’s a local and tourist favourite. Everybody goes here to enjoy the beignets with their famous Cafe Au Laits, whilst being entertained by street performers.

Next must try food is the Mufuletta, famous ‘down south’ for its super size sandwiches filled with cheese, ham, and pickled vegetables:-

 

[Alanslegal]

New Orleans!

Also the renowned Po’ Boy sandwich, hearty and very filling, originally meant as a ‘poor boys’ sandwich where cleaners and labourers bought them just when restaurants were closing and offered them at a discount price. Now you can eat a Po’ Boy anywhere and they can be upwards of $20 per sandwich, but the original and arguably the best is at Mother’s Restaurant New Orleans:-

Chargrilled Oysters; super large oysters bbq’ed grilled with butter and cheese was amazingly delicious!! Local favourites is Acme Oyster House which was a beaut of a spot though the popularity meant it took a forever to get a table!

Barbeque Shrimp – simply superb! And the dipping sauce, mouth watering! Had these at Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant:-

I did try Seafood Gumbo, Crawfish Etouffe and Jambalaya which are all original southern cuisine but admit it wasn’t to my taste. Otherwise there is so much seafood on offer – it’s hard to not like something if you are keen on your seafood.

Next:- Flying out of N'awlins and off to see Chicago!

 

[anat0l]

Take a look at all that food!!!

Does thinking about eating food make you gain weight?

Great pictures - love the skylines and the postcard shots.

 

[kpc]

impatiently awaiting the next installment Alan!

 

[Alanslegal]

Flying out of N'awlins and off to see Chicago!

[A huge APOLOGY for the delay everyone - it has just been hectic w everything around me and had to put TR writing in 'stuck in transit' mode! I will be hoping for a completion in the next couple of weeks].


Economy Class – Seat 12B – MD82

I’m off back to the airport to catch AA1768 northwards to Chicago. Getting my boarding pass repeats the same drill as before using self serve check in terminals and I have seat selection at my disposal at this time. A few exit row seats remain unallocated and I’m allowed to choose them but I must admit that I dislike exit rows especially on relatively short haul flights. Why? I have a fear that in the event of the door popping out mid-flight, I’d be one of the first suckers to be sucked out LOL. I guess on longer haul flights, I would consider them if I had the option, and have recently booked and paid for some exit rows on the SQ A380’s in their upper deck.

I’m straight to the gate as it is now boarding time, great timing I think, and although there is a slight delay, we’re soon directed to board at our leisure having nice Priority AAccess printed on my BP. I deliberately not board but continue to take photos of the aircraft, not because I’m an enthusiastic photographer but rather that in the unlikely event something happens to the aircraft, the investigators can hopefully look through my photos and see lots of shots of the plane’s exterior that may give a hand for clues on how or what may have happened. Wimpy, yes! Wanting to travel, never! Such a weird combination!?!?!

Finally I board the MD82 and find my selected seat as close to the front as possible just to avoid those excessively loud jets at the back, and yes those jets are loud! The flight turns out to be uneventful except for the slight delay at ORD as we wait for our arrival gate to be vacated by the other jet.

After retrieving my luggage I soon head off to find some suitable ground transportation for my onward journey to the hotel. It’s now mid-afternoon and sensing some urgency to get on the road before peak hour traffic arrives, I’m soon booked into the mini-van shuttle with another seven passengers all onwards to various hotels. It’s only a few minutes into the trip when we’re stuck, in multiple lanes of traffic, and not moving! This is going to be a long ride indeed!

Fast forward an hour and something minutes later, the mini-van pulls into the driveway of my hotel for the next few nights, the W Chicago Lakeshore.

 

[Alanslegal]

W Chicago Lakeshore

Damn my PB account is faulty! :evil: Sorry - be back later tonight.

 

[Alanslegal]

W Chicago Lakeshore

Ok, the two second impression, it’s nice with a ‘bling bling’ looking driveway facade, nice relaxing décor, and an inviting entrance – very pretty indeed.

A few more seconds later and I am now stuck in the check-in queue. There is no priority or exclusive lines for PLT guests so I wait….. and wait….. and wait…… I make it sound likes it’s that bad but I am really Ok with waiting as I get to enjoy the ambience. I look around as if it’s my very first time staying in this hotel, absorbing the colours of the W furniture, the setting, enjoying the tunes of the music playing in the background.

When it comes to my turn to check-in, the agent is cold … like the Ice Queen and she does nothing to welcome me to Chicago, let alone to this W. She asked for my name, punched in a few buttons, and handed over the key. No ‘how are you?’, no smile, and not even a single hello. I think I had better service checking in with a self service kiosk than from this young lady.I quickly interrupt and ask “Did I happen to get upgraded to a suite?” when a menancing reply of “No, we’re fully sold out” but the elevator is back that way on the right! – the italics are my thoughts extrapolating what the agent was meaning.

I make my way to the lift and find my way to my room. I insert the card and enter; at least I got upgraded from a view of the City to a view of Lake Michigan and the Navy Pier. I believe they call this a Fantastic room which is really a fancy name for a standard lake view room.

 

[Alanslegal]

W Chicago Lakeshore

I reserved a room with a king bed, and that’s what I got. It’s a functional room which is well laid out with the huge bed against one wall, the multi-function television and work desk against another, and with the large chaise lounge by the window. The red walled bathroom with contrasting black tiles is hip though, and more importantly, the requirement of having a proper stand-in shower is a must. I quickly freshen up and hit the streets of Chicago.

 

[Alanslegal]

Chicago

Chicago is such a beautiful City!! It’s clean, modern, refreshing and vibrant. The people here are just as trendy and they are all very stylish, I am impressed. The W Lakeshore is a good 10 minute stroll away from the Magnificent Mile and this is where all the fashionable are; with high end shops to exclusive boutiques, this is really shopping heaven. Matching cool shopping are countless choices of swish restaurants and cafes – and if you aren’t impressed here, you probably aren’t impressed at all! I have to say Chicago so far is doubly wow!

Magnificent Mile;-

OldWaterTowerBuilding;-

Being 100% tourist, I had to eventually leave the MM and do what a tourist does best, and that is start doing tourist-y things! In no particular order, I started a walking tour of Chicago to have a look at the buildings and the skyline, after all this is the home of the skyscrapers!

Trump Tower;-

 

[Alanslegal]

Chicago

Artist painting the skyline @ the Buckingham Fountain:-

@ MilleniumPark;-

Chicago River by night;-

Dinner @ Gino’s East of Chicago Pizza Restaurant, how could anyone not try the famous Chicago deep dish pizzas?! At more than an inch thick and with loads of cheese, these pizzas are just so way over the top! As expected when eating this stuff, it makes Me want to just lay down and sleep – and that’s what I did too!

The following day, I awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the lake;-

 

[Alanslegal]

Chicago

A lot of folks go to the highest building in the City – the Sears Tower – for an impressive view of Chicago & beyond but I opted against this, and went to the John Hancock Tower instead and visted the Signature Room restaurant perched a towering 96 levels above ground, and where the Lunch Buffet was a bargain price of $18 inclusive of the stunning views!

 

[Alanslegal]

Chicago

Dinner was at the trendy Sushi Samba which is a Japanese-Brazilian fusion restaurant. Food was pricey but definitely delicious! They have restaurants in NYC, Las Vegas, Chicago and a few other major cities;-

There was so much things to do and see in Chicago! And although the photos don’t provide a full picture, this is a MUST visit City when anybody who is in this part of the woods.



Next:- All the way to Tokyo (via a 23hour break in Los Angeles)