For the last sixteen years New York has been my favourite place to visit. Subsequently, it was no surprise to anyone that my husband chose to take me there with a party of our family to celebrate my 50th birthday in September 2000. When the planes crashed into the World Trade Centre towers on 9/11/2001 my daughter telephoned me and asked if I had kept our entrance tickets to the buildings from the previous year and if I had, to look at them.
Our tickets were timed 10.15 for that same date. Our party arrived downtown at a subway station situated immediately under the Trade Centre buildings early on the morning of 9/11/2000, visited the ATM in the basement of buildings, leisurely looked at the shops, and had a coffee. If I had been born a year later we would have been in building at the time that the planes hit.
We visited New York again early in 2002 and were touched to see the change in the attitude of the people. My husband speaks slowly and more than once on previous visits he had been hurried up; once an impatient assistant in a delicatessen actually banged the counter and told him 'today guy, today!' However, this time, the famous New York brashness was temporarily gone; the people took the time to make small talk and there was a feeling that they were comfortable to share their experience. We were genuinely sad at their loss and disorientated by the huge hole in the ground and the changed landscape. Free 'timed' tickets were available to visit Ground Zero, to give visitors enough time and space to stand and just think or to look at the photos and reminders of the people who had died, which were in evidence all around the site. Anybody who visited the Trade Centre before 9/11 will remember the magnificent Globe sculpture set in the centre of a fountain which stood in the middle of the Plaza complex. The Globe was badly damaged in the attack, but was retrieved from the rubble and moved to Battery Park; early in 2002 it was a battered, almost defiant, symbol surrounded by candles, messages, and flowers. Last month, we went back to New York and were very sad to see that it now stands in the middle of a rather unkempt oblong of grass, and the eternal flame in front of it needs some care and attention.
On this visit we were spending nine nights in New York and five nights in Washington. We had arranged the holiday ourselves with the help of a tour company and, for the first time, had daytime flights both ways. The wonderful views as we flew down over Long Island were only outdone by the even more fantastic views as we flew home from Washington. The plane flew right over New York, and we could clearly see the buildings and Central Park. We were concerned after reading about the recent upgraded security checks, because flying into America has never been the most welcoming of experiences. In fact, the process this time was much better than we had experienced in the past, albeit that we did have to queue to be finger printed and photographed. There are taxi rank supervisors operating outside JFK airport now to stop the rogue unlicensed taxi drivers from ripping people off. We were silly enough to have been caught by one once, even though we had been warned they operated, and the taxi fare was outrageous; it certainly taught us a lesson.
Unfortunately, the day we arrived, two firemen had died in a fire at one of the buildings still being demolished at the World Trade Centre site. This dominated the local news and television for the entire visit and resurrected the debate about the site. The funeral of one of the men was held in St Patrick's Cathedral a few streets away from our hotel and the entire area around Fifth Avenue was closed for the procession of hundreds of police and firemen in honour of their colleague. The service was broadcast over loudspeakers and, although we obviously didn't know the man, we were caught up in the huge sense of occasion. When the fire engine carrying the coffin, which had been draped in the American flag left the cathedral, it was flanked in the front and at the rear by hundreds of police, ambulance and fire vehicles flashing their blue lights. A bagpipe band playing the American Anthem accompanied the procession; along with the thousands of people who were there, we were deeply moved.
New York is a wonderful multicultural city where anything goes. We enjoyed the sight of shop girls singing and dancing at the door of their store to attract customers (and very well too!). After a walk through Central Park, we called in at The Boathouse to watch the turtles and have a beer. We spent a very pleasant hour talking current affairs, politics and the customs of different countries with the two very well informed young barmen, one a Czech and the other a Croatian. They were happy and positive and full of plans to return home one day to their own countries, which they clearly loved. My husband had read that a visit to the 'Stage Deli' was a must, so we called in there for an evening meal. The sight of the house speciality, which is absolutely enormous mounds of greasy pastrami balanced between two slices of bread, held together with sticks, being eaten by everyone around me wasn't pleasant, but my husband manfully worked his way through one. I thought that I would be safe and have an omelette. Curiously, when it arrived, the omelette was served with a bagel and strawberry jam. It was an interesting experience, but never to be repeated by us, even though the atmosphere in the deli was fantastic!
We were surprised to see that the Plaza Hotel has been sold and is being turned into luxurious apartments with a starting price of $1.3 million. What a wonderful place to live, right next door to Central Park. At the weekend, the park is where the whole of New York seems to relax. We have always enjoyed the atmosphere on a Sunday: the traffic is stopped from driving through the park and the roads are taken over by cyclists, walkers and joggers. Baseball players enjoy the specially designated areas and groups of people either roller skating, dancing to their boom boxes, practising Tai Chi, or just reading seem to rub along side by side without any friction in the huge space the park provides. There are places to eat and drink and, of course, the Central Park Zoo is always worth a visit. It is small but very well presented and all the animals look cared for and happy. There are parts of the park that look so wild it is hard to believe that it is not natural. We walked around the track, which runs around the huge reservoir in the park and it is not hard to imagine Jackie Kennedy (whom the reservoir is now named after) and her entourage on their daily jog.
Thanks to my husband's well-thumbed book listing the best dive bars in New York we found 'Old McSorleys Ale House'. This pub is amazing! Opened in 1854, the pub refused to admit women because the landlords wanted it as a refuge for men after a hard day at work. They stuck steadfastly to this rule until a court ordered them to admit women in 1970. There is still a slight feeling that women are begrudged admission; this is demonstrated by the fact that there is only one large sign for the toilet, but it is for men. There is no indication that this is the case until women do as I did, and walk in off the pub floor and come face to face with a man!
There is sawdust on the floor and the only beer you can have is light or dark served in half-pint glasses. However, the dark walls are lined with old paper cuttings and pictures and it is a very interesting place. When the pub's regular customers were called up for national service during the First World War, a full turkey dinner was cooked for each man and the wishbone was hung over the light fitting on the bar, ready for them to collect when they returned. The enormous wishbones belonging to the soldiers who didn't come back still hang there. Pete's Tavern in the East Village is another pub worth a visit; it was opened in 1864 and the writer O Henry wrote Craft of the Magi in 1905 sitting in the booth by the door. Today there is a picture of him by the booth to help you to identify the spot.
My favourite pub was Jeremy's Ale House near the Fulton Fish Market. Jeremy offers beer in huge 32 ounce Styrofoam cups, but he is the friendliest barman in New York and warmly welcomes the British. For some reason the entire ceiling space is taken over by bras hanging like flags. I didn't like to ask why, just in case my curiosity cost me an instant penalty and I would have to forfeit mine to join the rest. Jeremy gave us a car bumper sticker, which now proudly sits on the rear of our Astra, and in turn we sent him over a British donation for his ceiling. If you do ever visit this bar, have a look for the Union Jack offering which is hopefully hanging somewhere.
We also re-visited Sammy's Romanian Restaurant which is situated downtown in basement premises that you could easily walk past and not notice. Sammy prides himself on being the rudest host in New York but actually he is very, very funny. There is always live and lively Jewish music and the guests are able to join in the dancing and singing, encouraged by a very jolly waitress. Sammy asked us what wine we would like and when we gave him our choice he told us what was available, from the choice of one, for us to have! Some of the food is not for the weak stomached, because it is liberally mixed with chicken fat at the table, but the steaks are definitely wonderful and the evening is always good fun even on a rainy Wednesday. My husband had arranged for us to eat in the Rainbow Room grill because it offers stunning views of the Empire State Building. The seating is arranged so that all the tables face the view.
The only thing that spoiled the visit was the rather haughty waitress presenting us with the bill for our meal and an additional bill for 44 dollars for her tip. Seems she thought that, as we were English, we needed to be especially billed for the tip. I have found this attitude on many occasions and it always disappoints me that the staff can't wait to see if you know how the system works before assuming that the English don't tip! Left to our own devices we usually over-tip rather than under value the usually excellent service we receive in America. The portions, the value for money and the attention from the staff make it worthwhile. We have also found that if you use the same bar a few times and tip the barman he will remember what you drink and often will buy you a drink in return.
We went over to Roosevelt Island on the cable car which leaves from next to the 59th Street bridge. The views are wonderful and the short trip is smooth and well organised; better still it only costs one subway ride each way. Roosevelt Island has a very interesting history and has been used in turn for isolation of contagious diseases, as a place of correction and as a nurses training centre. There is work due to take place to try to restore the old buildings and make the most of the space. I look forward to going back in a few years to see the result.
New York is always changing and the speed with which buildings appear is astonishing. Donald Trump seems to have taken over the space leading down from Riverside Park to the Hudson River and has erected what the locals refer to as 'Trump City'. Again, there is work here to improve the waterside and walkways planted with grasses and shrubs and a new pier have almost been completed for people to make the most of the river. Any visitor with time to spare should visit the Frick museum. It was a private house and the collection belonged to Henry Clay Frick, who bequeathed it to New York City when he died. The charge to go in is reasonable and worth paying. They have the painting of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger and facing it Holbein's painting of Thomas Cromwell, who was responsible for More's death, as well as other British and European works of art collected by Mr Frick.
The trip to Washington on Amtrak took three hours on a spotlessly clean train and we arrived to scorching heat and the very loud singing of the cicadas in the trees. I have never heard singing like it and spent days trying to catch sight of what was causing it. I eventually managed to photograph one of the enormous cricket- like things that fly.
I had been told that Washington was violent, but we saw absolutely no evidence of this at all. We stayed in the Mayflower Hotel, which is famous for its entire block long lobby. It is a very friendly, clean hotel with wonderful facilities. The restaurant serves delicious food, the clam chowder is a must and the staff are superb. Everything that we wanted to see on this trip was within walking distance and we spent five very relaxing days visiting some of perhaps the best monuments in the world.
We went to the top of the Washington Monument where the views are unbelievable. There are free timed tickets, a guide to tell you the history and you are able to spend as much time as you like taking photos and spotting the various landmarks. The Jefferson Memorial, next to the Monument, is built on the edge of the tidal basin and is a beautiful cross-shaped structure, even more so if viewed from the water on one of the pedal boats that are for hire. You are made to wear a safety jacket, which is understandable, but they were dirty and smelly. To be fair, we were there at the end of the season, so perhaps they started out clean and fresh.
On the other side of the Washington Memorial is the White House and, in a direct line from the Monument one way, are the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials and the Lincoln Memorial. In the other direction are the Capitol and the Smithsonian Museums, which are all free to visit and all within comfortable walking distance. The Air and Space Museum is fascinating and I was truly awed that John Glenn went into space orbit in such a tiny capsule. The gallery that contains the Wright Brothers’ plane and the accompanying film is interesting, especially when you think that man went from that flimsy type of plane to space travel in the space of a hundred years.
We walked over the bridge that crosses the Potomac into Georgetown, to look at and climb the flight of steps where they filmed The Exorcist, and to see the house that John Kennedy lived in when he was a senator. He went from there to the White House. Arlington Cemetery has his grave and that of Jackie and two of their children in a grand plot with an eternal flame. It is hard to stand still, concentrate and recall the images of his funeral, because of the crowds jostling for pictures. Just around the corner from JFK's family grave is a small simple wooden cross that marks the grave of Robert Kennedy; the guidebook tells you that it was his choice to have no headstone but it looks so poignant. A visit to Arlington could take an entire day, not only because of the historic and celebrity graves but because it also is the site of Arlington House, the home of Robert E Lee. The house is built on the highest point and was taken from Lee during the Civil War. After the war, it was impossible for him to return because the civil war dead had been buried in what used to be his wife's garden, so it was handed over to the government. It is free to visit the house and the slave quarters next door.
President Lincoln was a powerful American president, famous for his rousing speeches. We visited the theatre where he was shot and the house across the road from the theatre where he was taken mortally wounded. Again, it is free to visit the house where you are made welcome and allowed to look at the rooms where Mrs Lincoln waited and the actual room where Lincoln died. The most touching thing is that Lincoln was laid in a bed on the ground floor. He was a very tall man, and the bed was short, so the President was laid diagonally across the bed with his feet hanging off the side and this is how he died. There are some paintings depicting the moment of his death, lying comfortably in a large room, surrounded by important people. In reality the room was a very small, dark place that could only accommodate the bed and the doctor: a very sad end for such a powerful man.
The Washington underground system was such a surprise after New York. In contrast to the dark, grubby spaces in Manhattan, the Washington system is spotlessly clean and runs on time. There is a strict rule banning eating and drinking in the subway, and this was absolutely adhered to, without exception, from the outset. I read that the result of this tough stance has been that the citizens respect the system. They believe that, if the authorities could be so tough on such a small issue as breaking the eating and drinking rule, then what would they do if a real offence against property or person were committed? The authorities have taken control and it has produced a system that is pleasant to use. They have a row of lights embedded in the platforms that light up and flash when the trains are near which is such a nice touch.
Back at the Mayflower Hotel on our last evening, we were talking to a Vietnamese waiter called Tam, who has lived in Washington for 11 years, and his Cambodian colleague who has lived there for 25 years. We ended our holiday as it started - discussing the World Trade Centre, this time with Tam who wanted to share with us his impressions of that day and the effect it had on the infrastructure of Washington when the Pentagon was hit.
Our plan is to return for longer next time, as we really only scratched the surface of a very interesting city. From the time we arrived to the time we were put in the taxi arranged for us by the concierge at 5.00am to leave for the airport, we were treated extremely well. The hotel left a different little treat for us in our room every evening and made us feel welcome. We look forward to going back.
First published in VISA 78 (April 2008)
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