Jean-Georges

Memorial Day Concert

Long awaited ticket

Memorial Day concert! I was searching for things to do in NYC during the memorial day weekend and chanced upon an event ad that said the New York Philharmonics was going to play for free at this Cathedral, St. John the Divine. 

The concert was to start at 8pm. As with all free things, you definitely gotta queue. So, the plan was to queue for tickets at 4pm and be the first few in line so that we'll be one of the first to receive the tickets at 6pm and then we can go for dinner at 6:15pm. The cathedral is located on Amsterdam avenue, where restaurant street is, so it is very convenient. 

Handicap friendly taxis

We spent almost 2 hrs in the queue by 6pm, so we made friends with the japanese ladies in front of us and other people from California behind us. Such a joy it is to make friends in a foreign land. They were all americans, and one of them asked if Singapore had good handicap services. This taxi above shows a ramp that can be extended from the taxi to allow people on motorised wheelchairs to get on themselves. The taxi driver would then have to secure the wheels and stow the ramp.

I haven't seen such fancy taxis in Singapore but we've taxi drivers who help the patient in and store their wheelchairs in the boot. But ya, that also means that someone who knows how to take care of handicapped people will have to be around to assist the driver. 

So, okay, it was 6pm and performers from the orchestra had arrived. Finally at 6:30pm (not 6 as stated on their official website), people started giving out tickets. I finally got mine at 6:45pm. The seating time for the concert is 7:30pm. There's barely enough time to sit down and eat. 

Then, the organisers said that they were going to keep the queue. Ie, the queue for tickets is now the queue for entry. Meaning if I stepped out now, I would have my ticket but I'd have a lousy seat in the 'concert hall'. We refused to go for dinner and stayed in line till they began seating the people at 7:30pm. 

:( It was a whole tonne of waiting, but there was a sense of achievement when I entered. Got a seat in the first few rows but I was annoyed. Because in front of the rows of seats open to public was a partitioned area with 10-15 rows of seats for people with special tickets - friends of the orchestra. I think these people must have made huge donations to the orchestra in order to get those seats.  

This cathedral is long and narrow, so it is important to be seated in the first few rows. This is because,  it takes time for those sound waves to travel down the narrow cathedral. And while it moves, it loses energy, causing the dynamics to go softer and tone to get muffled and hence compromises on the sound quality.

From where I was seated, the sound wasn't too muffled but it definitely isn't as clear as if I was in a concert hall. The stone walls of the cathedral did little to absorb noise as well, the sound wasn't as pure as I hoped it would be. But its the new york philharmonics! I am amazed they can still sound so good in a place with this kind of acoustics. But I did lower my expectations while listening to them as I took into account the place. I wish I didn't need to lower my expectations and still think they were awesome.

Shostakovich & Beethoven lets go!

Anyway, I always thought Playbill was a production of companies or something. I saw that sign on the bottom of my Lion King booklet too. Then I was told by the sister that it is a company that prints the programme notes for an event. So I guess, new yorkers don't call this the programme booklet but the 'play bill'.

The hour and a half concert was over :) Shostakovich's piece written after the cold war lasted over 40mins. This was abit too long for my parents to take, I think even my sisters found it a little too long. But none of them complained which was a huge surprise! Aw. I think they really do support my love for music, not even complaining after a day of waiting and discomfort sitting on the ground outside only to finally watch a concert that they couldn't appreciate. 

In that moment after the concert ended I was exhilarated of course! The music was so good! So angry, sad, sinister and then so happy and joyous. Very Shostakovich. Did you know? Shostakovich uses his initials DSCH as musical motifs (D E-flat C B-natural in German musical notation)? How cool is that :O

Now thinking back, if I had known what the whole experience queuing for tickets and not getting to have dinner till 10pm, I would have skipped the concert without much thought. This isn't a kind of activity that's worth the time if you're only gonna be in New York for a short while. Neither was it a pleasant experience queueing under the summer sun. And to put my parents through that was horrible. Glad I did it once, won't do it again. 

Shake Shack, Upper West Side

Located at the corner of the American Natural History Museum, this Shake shack is very accessible. It's also near central park, so in the summer you can ditch the indoor seating and grab some food for a picnic in the park. 

They have the Natural History Crunch-stellation concrete (ice cream) at this branch 

Located at Columbus & West 77th

Express Line

They're clear about what's served in the queue what isn't. This is great if you're just there to grab a drink or an ice cream; you wouldn't need to join the long queue for hot food.

Shake Shack Menu & Prices

If you ask me, I think shake shack is quite expensive. Its pricey considering the size of the meal. For about the same price, you can get five guys (post here and here) which has much bigger burgers. But of course, Five guys originated in Virginia and Shake Shack from New York City; so when in New York, have Shake Shack!

Frozen Custard - Coffee

Shack-cago Dog

Smoked Shack Burger

Tuck In!

New York City Central Park

If you're in New York City you've just gotta visit central park regardless of the season. This post covers some things you can do around Central Park :)

Central Park 77 - 84th Street.

1. Go on a picnic!

Its summer! The best way to celebrate that is to grab some food and head to the green lungs of the city, Central Park! My apartment was 3 streets away from the park so I went picnicking not once but twice!

Sunlights so great here! And I finally get to wear my halter neck polo ralph top that my mum got more than 10 years back. Its summer all year around in Singapore, and the radio station said temperature might go to a high of 40deg today! But I never get to wear this cos' anything that's not a tee shirt is seen as skimpy, or perhaps I'm just too self conscious to wear this out - asian girls are thin!

Nothing fancy, just some bread, some butterhead lettuce, some mustard, tomato and a hard-boiled (or supposed hard-boiled) egg.

Table under the shade near the Great Lawn

In the early summer, temperatures can dip to 12 degs suddenly and this is especially possible the day after a heavy rain. Been having crazy temperature fluctuation, hence I appreciated a picnic much more! The sun was greatly missed :)

Sandwich with Pastrami from Katz's

No pictures of Katz's but this the restaurant, located in lower east side. This deli was established in 1888 and the pastrami here is fantastic! The man behind the counter gave us a really huge slice of pastrami even after we'd bought some to go. :) Smokey, salty, moist, tender, its everything you'd want in a smoked meat! Haven't had better pastrami. I think its even more juicy than the one I had in schwartz's in montreal (Read about that here)! Of course its not fair to make a comparison like that, so try both out yourself! Montreal is a mere 1.5 Hr flight (of 10 Hr train - Amtrak) out of New York City :)

2. Listen to a busker :)

What's better than a picnic? A picnic with music of course! Totally serenaded by this busker who brought us popular musical theme songs.

3. Visit the Belvedere Castle

Mini Castle :)

The mini castle is the official location for the weather station in Central Park! They've info boards telling you about the biodiversity of the park. And if that doesn't interest you, perhaps this view would! Great photo op :)

View from the Belvedere Castle

Playing with my miniature mode - Broccoli 

Check out the people frolicking on the green, its a lovely cool summer day!

4. Visit the Natural History Museum

Check out the map on top, the natural history museum is located on the west of the park entrance between 77th and 81st Street and Central Park West. I did a post on this on my previous trip there, do check it out here!

Stegosaurus!

5. Grab Shake Shack!

Post here.

6. Watch a play at the Delacorte Theatre!

What? This is the 53rd year that Shakespeare in the park is running! Every year, Shakespeare's plays are performed here. 

Cost? Thanks to the Bank of America, we get to watch these productions absolutely free! Nothing ever comes completely free, so you have to queue for tickets in the morning or join the last-min queue in the late afternoon at about 4pm. There is no guarantee you can get tickets so if you're really keen on watching a play, I suggest you head down in the morning. 

One saturday morning, I entered the park and saw a queue around 92nd street. Puzzled, I asked what was on and was told its Shakespeare in the park! Means the queue spanned almost 10 streets because the box office is on 83rd. 

This year's schedule is here. 

I was really lazy to get up early to queue for tickets. It had been raining for 2 days straight now, so I didn't have high hopes that the show was gonna go on. But anyway, I eventually did join the queue at 11:50am (considered very late cos people start queueing at 8 or something - that's what I heard). 

Standing in line

When it reached me, they asked how many tickets I needed, and I only took enough. But that gave me the impression that you can actually ask for more, then pass them to your friends. o.o I don't know , if you're planning to queue for like 10 people then you should call the event organiser to check.

Was really happy when I got my tickets! But when I got there I realise I had gotten tickets for the highest row :( I guess, the early bird catches the worm! I woke late so there isn't much I can complain about. It really isn't that far from the stage but it was totally miserable at the top where its windy after the sun set and the temperature dropped to 11deg and I wasn't warmly dressed. 

W seats are the top row seats!

I watched The Tempest and Jesse Tyler Ferguson played Trinculo! Its Mitchell Mitchell from Modern Family! :O So cool I kinda got to see a Hollywood actor in real life :)

Cotton Candy Sky :)

This beautiful sky is filled with planes taking off and landing at the nearby La Guardia airport and people on the helicopter tours. 

Was in Central Park in the winter and the atmosphere is very different. In winter, people are balled up in heavy coats, some bury their faces in their scarves. Others enjoy a romantic stroll under the sparse trees which have started collecting snow. In summer, birds sing, ducklings follow their mum across the lake. Dads play baseball with their kids, mums are sitting under a huge shady tree with all the food she's prepared, watching them play. 

Summer, oh dreamy summer.  

Winter before the snow

Ending my post with a photo of Central Park in winter :)  Till later!

Brooklyn Bridge

Visited another borough of New York City, Brooklyn! 

I enjoyed brooklyn cos it's more spacious than Manhattan and its quieter as well. 

I didn't travel far off, we basically went to downtown Brooklyn then head back to Manhattan walking across the bridge.  

First, before the long walk, lunch! I used to have five guys while I was on exchange in Kingston (post here) dining at five guys again brings back fond memories! I love the bacon cheeseburger with most of the black toppings. 

Must have Cajun Fries

These are fantastic! No one does Cajun fries better than Five Guys really. Five guys usually has a board which tells you which farm they get their potatoes from. :) How cool is that, you get to know the origin of these fries.

These cajun fries are.. I wanted to say soggy, but they're not cold and wet. They are indeed soft, but really hot inside, like you can taste the flesh of the potatoes. And you can see the skin fried with the potato that give the fries a lot more flavour! Speaking of flavour, they have just the right amount of seasoning. A&W has awesome fries but this is seasoned just nice, doesn't leave your tastebuds cringing from all the MSG. 

BEST FRIES EVER!

Starting with only 3 flavours vanilla, chocolate & coffee, this ice cream brand first started at this store on November 15, 1976 in downtown Brooklyn. Check out the sign on the left!

View from Brooklyn Heights Promenade

If you walk along this linear park, it brings you to the Brooklyn Bridge Park where you get a much closer view of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was such a warm day I almost died out there. 

Yeah. So we literally just took the sub to Brooklyn just to walk across the bridge back to Manhattan. Its like a tourist must do kinda thing. But was it worth it? 

I'd say, if you have more than a week in Manhattan and you've got time for this then do it. Otherwise.. Don't. Maybe this is a case of when reality doesn't meet expectation. 

Expectation: Romantic Bridge you can get a view of Manhattan/ Brooklyn from. 

Reality: 

1. Not Romantic: Tonnes of tourists there

2. Super packed: On the bridge are two lanes, one for people to walk on, the other only for bicycles. Means, people walking in different directions have got to share one lane. x.x + Those baby prams x.x Also cyclists get really annoyed when people walk on their lane. But the 'people lane' is just so way packed its almost unreasonable that both lanes are the same width. 

3. Exposed to the elements: on the day I was there it was a crazy hot summer day, got off the bridge with a sunburn and the day later my scalp was peeling, how gross :/. In winter, you can just imagine the wind :O

4. Well, there is a view, but its not really a place to stop and take a photo cos annoyed people will stare at you and/or jostle to get around you/get in your picture. Evidently, I didn't manage to take photos on the bridge. 

So I'd say. Nah. Don't do it. Else the reality was your expectation and its still on your bucket list, then. Go for it o.o