#i decided to cover take out for my moma nd I

[butterflies-and-bumble-bees]

girl help i've spent more in the last week than i have in the whole month prior

[manchattanskyline]

Empire State of Mind. And Cake.

Today we will get up-close and personal with the shining tower that greets, in the mornings, from midtown and fill ourselves with tea (coffee) and cake , at The Plaza.

But first, we must tackle that famously confusing and intimidating beast that is THE NEW YORK SUBWAY. This was made much easier by actually talking to a human being, at the Canal St subway station. I’ve travelled on the NY Subway before , but only a couple of times so I was excited to really try and get to grips with it. As we decended the steps from the busy street, the warm, oil and dirt smell that wafts up from the vents suddenly becomes a lot stronger and wee were thrust into the underworld of the Manhattan Transport Authority.  The lady in the kiosk confirmed that as we’d be taking less than eleven trips during the next seven days, we’d be better off buying and topping-up a Metrocard as we go, rather than buying a seven day pass, for $30. We handed over the cash and I took huge pride in swiping my Metrocard, at just the right speed, to allow me entry through the barriers and into the mild bewildering mini-concourse. I’d looked at the tiny subway map in the back of my trusty mini-map so I knew we needed to catch the N or Q train, going uptown to 34th St. iO was prepared for for this being easier said than done but to my surprise, it was really easy. I’d deduced that an open circle on the subway map meant it was it was a Express stop and filled in smaller circle was a local stop. With this in mind, I also knew that we could get an Express train, which from memory I knew would dramatically reduce our journey time.

Where we started

Express Train

Pristine train carriage

The Express Q train pulled in, we boarded, took a seat, and got off just eight minutes and two stops later, at 34th St. Now which exit of 34th St I have idea as depending which line you come in on, and depending which exit you get pushed towards by the stream of fellow passengers , you could easily come out a good four blocks north, south, east or west of where you think you will. The most important thing then is to orientate yourself, usually by asking someone which way is uptown or downtown, and then going from there. I can see how this would be frustrating, at first, but no rigid time-scale and happy to wander about a bit, this was rarely a problem for us. If you did the trip most days, you would of course learn which exit was best for your destination and avoid needless human contact. Nowadays the subway is clean, safe, and even has WiFi (patchy but  works OK stations). Gone are the graffiti-ed carriages and people shooting up in corners. that’s not to say we didn’t see the odd crazy person or homeless person, or person asking for any job leads, but its a long way from the dirty and dangerous subway of the 70’s and 80’s.

A short stop-off in Starbucks for a coffee and a maple cream-cheese Bantam Bagel , before we headed into the Empire State Building, around the corner. Bantam bagels were a new discovery for us. They come from Bantam Bagels, on Bleecker Street, and we’d walk past there, a few days later. They’re served in pairs ( in Starbucks, anyway) and are small dough balls with various fillings. In this case, maple flavour cream cheese. Who knew that such thing existed?! They were absolutely delicious and I could easily have eaten nine of them.

We’ve all seen photos of and from the Empire State Building but, as with all of New York, it doesn’t really sink in that that is now what you’re really looking at. That this is where you really are. The lobby is so beautiful and every inch of it is pure deco design. It’s as shiny as it would have been on opening day, in May 1931. Unbelievably, excavation of the site only started in January 1930, with construction beginning on St Patrick’s Day (March 17th) the same year. Taking only sixteen months from breaking ground to grand opening, it may only be the 29th tallest sky-scraper in the world now but for me, it will always be the greatest for it’s innovative design and construction, in an era that that was to put it’s stamp on so much of New Yorks architecture.

Downtown

Plucky pigeon

The Chrysler and Queensborough Bridge

The views from the main observation deck on the 86th floor are, obviously, astounding. Now that we had a better idea of the geography of Manhattan, we could search out places and landmarks and trace out where we’d been and where we were yet to go. A word of warning, the top of the Empire State Building, in January, gets quite cold. Bitterly freezing, in fact,and there’s only so long you can stand in full force of the Arctic Winter blast. We headed back inside to take the lift the further sixteen floors to the 102nd floor. We’d paid a extra to go further up and it was well worth it. You’re inside on the 102nd floor, for obvious reasons, but it gives you that bit further of a view, and a chance to warm up, whilst not missing the view. The lift back down to street level is ear-poppingly quick and we were soon back on terra firma, looking back up at where we’d just been.

Entrance

Decor

Tiny cakes

We headed back up Fifth Avenue, for twenty-five blocks, until be reached The Plaza Hotel. We had a booking for afternoon tea at 3pm and although we were a little early, we headed up the plush carpeted steps and through the giant gold  doors, into the light and airy lobby of the Hotel. Opened in 1907, the hotel is everything you would expect,a nd more. Attentive staff, beautiful decor and money, everywhere. It has it’s fair share of gawping tourists (us, amongst them) but there’a also old money here. Old New York Money. Having said that, the building’s design and the The Palm Court especially,(where afternoon tea is served), is incredibly European. The Palm Court is almost Monegasque in it’s structure and decoration and the many palm trees and central display could have you thinking you were in Monte Carlo. Needless to say that the neat little sandwiches, the tiny tiny cakes and the still-warm scones were the best I’ve ever eaten and, much to my relief , I was not chucked out for asking for coffee instead of tea The flavours were distinct but harmonious and the presentation could not be faulted. The delicate details (monogrammed saucers) and reassuringly expensive touches (one cake fork was almost heavier than my entire cutlery set at home!) made for a truly unique afternoon. We’d decided to splurge and got a glass of Champagne each, too. This was practically frugal compared to the whole bottle and three afternoon teas (at $75 each) that the woman next to us copped the bill for. She didn’t batter an eyelash as she signed the check, huge solitaire diamond flashing at us from her left hand. Not long before we left a group of young girls, still in school uniform, rocked up and settled down to afternoon tea, for eight. School children. Having afternoon tea. Without any adult supervision. They seemed so confident, so at home, and not at all phased. Only in New York! We were satisfyingly full afterwards and after I made an obligatory trip to the ladies loos, we had little wander around the ground floor of the hotel. Mosaic floors, chandeliers, brass covered walls and private entrances to private residencies had us reeling and we headed back out into the waining day-light, having tasted, for a short while at least, how the other half lives.

Having blown two days budget in the last two hours, we were now headed to ‘free entry night’ at MoMa (Museum of modern Art). We sued to for the cued for the compulsory coat and bag check and then immersed ourselves in some of the worlds most breathtaking and famous pieces of Art. Every room we entered was filled with images you’ve seen a hundred times, in books, on Tv and in films but these are the real deal. Not versions of, not copies of, not homages to but the real pieces. Warhol after Pollock, after Rothko, Monet, Klimt, Mondrian, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gough, Khalo… Below is just a small sample of what we saw, through amazed and awe-inspired eyes.

At around 20:30, and back in the warmth and crowds of 34th St Subway station, we stood to watch a really cool band, but eh name of Lawrence Rush, play an equally cool cover of Stairway to Heaven, before travelling back downtown, to Canal St, and back to hotel.  The rest of the evening was spent uploading photos, digesting food and marvelling and what we’d just seen.

WORDS AND PICTURES: An English Girl in New York – Day 4 Empire State of Mind. And Cake. Today we will get up-close and personal with the shining tower that greets, in the mornings, from midtown and fill ourselves with tea (coffee) and cake , at The Plaza.