New York City, USA - Day 2
Day 2 in NYC and all was good. Still slightly full from Rubb we set out to do some touristy things. First stop was the Radio City tour. The 12 acre complex in midtown Manhattan known as Rockefeller Center was developed between 1929 and 1940 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The Radio City Music Hall was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style. It was stunning. For anyone who is a fan of art deco design this is the place. The entire interior was marvelously presented and the stage has to be the biggest I have ever seen in my life.
Radio City has 5,933 seats for spectators; it became the largest movie theater in the world at the time of its opening. It also had an amazing operational stage fully hydraulic. The Great Stage, is 20 m deep and 44 m wide, resembles a setting sun. Its system of elevators was so advanced that the U.S. Navy incorporated identical hydraulics in constructing World War II aircraft carriers; according to Radio City lore, during the war, government agents guarded the basement to assure the Navy’s technological advantage! We even met a Rockette from The Rockettes are a well-known precision dance company. During the Christmas season, the Rockettes have performed five shows a day, seven days a week, for 75 years. Their best-known routine is an eye-high leg kick in perfect unison in a chorus line. It’s impressive!
A visit to Grand Central Station is worth it for the stunning architecture:
Lunch in the nearby Rockefeller Centre was an eye opener also. We had a salad. True it was $8 but still the price does not do the size of it justice. It was just massive. And delicious. Took all of two minutes to make in a subway style production line of workers. Again another company that could franchise into the UK and make a lot of money!
A brief visit of the 9/11 site was surreal. If you did not know you would just assume it was another building site. What struck me was how big the site is. It is huge. Around the financial district there are lots of great eateries. But the great success was finding Kitchette. It is a small cake and bakery shop but had fantastic lemonade which they served in old style jars. It was something else and well worth a visit at 156 Chambers Street, Tribeca.
Another success was visiting Century 21. A huge department store where all brands are discounted. Managed to find some Converse shoes for myself so I was pretty chuffed!
However, to top the day off we went to Stand burger bar. Burger bars are a common sight in NYC and this one did not look extraordinary but the burgers were incredible! Mine was done rare – a thing that is not so common these days because of health and safety and the fear of being sued! But this was more blue than rare – one squeeze of the burger and blood dribbled out. Granted, this may not be to your tastes but for me it was heaven! Check it out at 24 E 12th Street between University Place and 5th Ave.