Well, every trip must have at least one disappointment just so that you will have something to measure the greatness of the balance of the trip by. Day three was our disappointment. When I booked our trip, I had booked an all day tour along with it. The tour was scheduled for Sunday. We had to meet at the Grayline office on 8th Ave. around 8:30 Sunday morning. We did so and were first in line for our bus, because after all, I am my mother's daughter. That was the last good thing that happened until the tour ended.
Our tour guide was a cute little man with a thick Israeli accent who could have been great if he had stopped arguing with the bus driver for about 10 minutes during the day. The driver had a lot more common sense then the guide. Among other unspecified sites we were supposed to go to the World Trade Center site, (they no longer call it ground zero because of the negative connotations....) Wall Street, the Top of the Rock and do a short harbor cruise that would take us out near the Statue of Liberty. We boarded the bus at 9:00 AM on Sunday and the guide insisted that our first stop MUST be St. John the Divine church at 112th St. The bus driver argued that it was a bad time to visit the non-denominational Christian church, but the Israeli guide insisted that he knew best. So we all climbed out of the bus at the church and filed inside where a church service was taking place. Then the guide actually began to give us information about the building talking over the minister so that we could all here him instead of the church service!!!!! Really, dude?
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| Inside St. John the Divine |
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| David the argumenative tour guide |
After a few minutes he gave up on that and we left. So then since we didn't really get to see much of the church, he decided to take us to Grant's Tomb which the police had roadblocked just north of Colombia University. The police wouldn't let the hard headed man through so, we didn't see it. As we went from site to site throughout the day, the guides single biggest concern was that we beat all the other buses to the sites. He didn't seem to care that the sites weren't really worth seeing. After the "un-site" we stopped in Central Park where my niece was introduced to the oblivious foreign tourists who seem to think that the world revolves around them. A number of the people on the tour, probably two thirds of the bus, were from Asia and although many tourists from Asia are very polite and friendly, none of those people were in our group. These were self entitled people who looked down on all American's and especially female American's. Each time we stopped, we waited for the same man who smelled as though he hadn't bathed in weeks to get back on the bus. When he came rushing on, sweating, he always walked down the aisle of the full bus who had been waiting on him for 5 to 10 minutes with his arms held above his head so that we could all get a good whiff. Once it began to rain, his body odor intensified to approximately ten times the original potency. It was really lovely.... NOT!
Following the Central Park stop, we headed to Little Italy at a breakneck pace zooming past the Empire State Building, Washington Square, the Flat Iron Building and so on with practically no commentary on what we were passing. Commentary would have interrupted the constant updates on where the other buses were in relation to us. Lunch was good and quick at restaurant called Grotta Azzurra. We ate from a limited menu but it was really great. Then we had a little bit of time in Little Italy to roam around. By the time lunch was over, I was really dreading getting back on the bus with the rude Asian tourists and the argumentative guide, but we had paid for the harbor cruise and the visit to the Top of the Rock and I didn't want to sacrifice those two things. So we got back on board the bus and then waited for the rude smelly man to board the bus 10 minutes late.
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| Lunchtime at Grotta Azzurra |
When he finally came on board, we headed to the location where we were supposed to board our harbor cruise. But first we were supposed to go by Wall St., the World Trade Center area and St. Paul's Chapel. We sped past Wall St. so fast that you couldn't see it at all and I barely saw the street sign. Then we spent 45 minutes driving around and looking at the new buildings that are being built for the World Trade Center. So here's the question.... Why would I want to speed past Wall St. and the NY Stock Exchange to spend 45 minutes starring at new glass and metal buildings still under construction? We have new glass and metal buildings in Dallas. I see them all the time. Obviously, they are being built on a historical site. But it doesn't change the fact that it is just a bunch of glass and metal.
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| World Trade Center Building Two |
We got off the bus once again to go into St. Paul's which is the oldest building on Manhattan. I had been inside before and I like visiting the church. It played a huge part in the ground zero clean up efforts. Rescuers, firefighters and searchers slept there on cots between shifts as they searched for bodies. Additionally George Washington attended church services there. So, it has played a part in our nation's history.
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| St. Paul's |
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| Bell at St. Paul's |
When we arrived at the Southside Seaport, David the tour guide, had to go buy our tickets and told us to stay near the bus and under the overpass while we waited since it was raining. Once he had the tickets he had us all walk down the pier to get in line. We stood in line in the rain for about 25 minutes before they let us board. I'm still not sure why we couldn't have stood out of the rain, but whatever. The foreign tourists have no sense of personal space and continually bumped into us and crowded us out of our spots while we waited aggravating Rebecca and I to a point that was nearly homicidal. I seriously thought I would literally have to hold her back.
Once we were on the boat, we found a spot outside thinking that the foreign tourists would stay inside out of the rain and crowd
those people. Wrong! By the time the boat left the dock, they had forced us out of our seats. As an act of revenge we stood on the rail in front of all of them refusing to move so that they couldn't see. When they tried to get us to move so that they could take pictures in our optimal spot, we drew the line and really became rude Americans. But honestly, it was long over due.
So, finally we got close enough to Lady Liberty to get our pictures and then we immediately went inside and found seats near the bar where I got a beer and Rebecca got a Gatorade while we calmed down and tried to think about anything other than rude tourists. By the time I finished my beer, we were back at the dock and at this point I was thinking very seriously about exiting the tour and doing our own little side trip to Wall St. even though it would mean sacrificing Top of the Rock which was already paid for. But we sucked it up and went on with the group.
Our last stop of the day was Rockefeller Plaza. Going up to the top is much quicker than the Empire State Building so we were in and out again within 30 minutes. I would estimate that we spent less than 5 minutes at the top just because we were so over the entire tour at that point that it was difficult to enjoy anything. Our biggest goal was to get away from the people we had been stuck with all day. Upon leaving the tour we went into the NBC shops and then headed back toward Times Square so that Rebecca could do some shopping.
After she struggled with options for things to get her boyfriend she finally settled on having a caricature done on the street in Times Square. I thought it was a perfect gift for him and it was fun watching the guy draw Rebecca.
Once we dropped our purchases off at the room, we headed back to Little Italy via taxi for dinner. Rebecca is a pasta fiend and so we ate it every chance we got. It continued to rain off and on as we spent the evening in Little Italy, but I kind of liked the effect on the atmosphere and it made for some nice photos.
We had dinner at
The Italian food Center pictured to the left. It apparently has replaced the Grande Italian Food Center which closed after 50 years in Little Italy. The new restaurants website is not up yet. The food was good. My tortellini was a little more al dente than I would have liked but all in all, it was 5 times better than anything I could get at home and 1000 times better than Olive Garden. After dinner, we sought out the best cannoli's in NY and quickly found them at
Caffe Palermo... as their banner states. The cannoli's did not disappoint. I also enjoyed a glass of port with mine which made it kind of magnificent!!!! While we enjoyed the cannoli, a man playing an accordion came past and you can see the video
here. It just made the atmosphere that much better. Next time you are in NY's Little Italy, do NOT miss
Caffe Palermo. Following dinner, we took another taxi back to our hotel and called it a night. On Monday we had to get up and catch our Amtrak train to Boston so we were going to have another long day ahead of us. Tune in tomorrow for the train ride and the first day in Boston.
Have a great Sunday!
Our tour guide was a cute little man with a thick Israeli accent who could have been great if he had stopped arguing with the bus driver for about 10 minutes during the day. The driver had a lot more common sense then the guide. Among other unspecified sites we were supposed to go to the World Trade Center site, (they no longer call it ground zero because of the negative connotations....) Wall Street, the Top of the Rock and do a short harbor cruise that would take us out near the Statue of Liberty. We boarded the bus at 9:00 AM on Sunday and the guide insisted that our first stop MUST be St. John the Divine church at 112th St. The bus driver argued that it was a bad time to visit the non-denominational Christian church, but the Israeli guide insisted that he knew best. So we all climbed out of the bus at the church and filed inside where a church service was taking place. Then the guide actually began to give us information about the building talking over the minister so that we could all here him instead of the church service!!!!! Really, dude?
Following the Central Park stop, we headed to Little Italy at a breakneck pace zooming past the Empire State Building, Washington Square, the Flat Iron Building and so on with practically no commentary on what we were passing. Commentary would have interrupted the constant updates on where the other buses were in relation to us. Lunch was good and quick at restaurant called Grotta Azzurra. We ate from a limited menu but it was really great. Then we had a little bit of time in Little Italy to roam around. By the time lunch was over, I was really dreading getting back on the bus with the rude Asian tourists and the argumentative guide, but we had paid for the harbor cruise and the visit to the Top of the Rock and I didn't want to sacrifice those two things. So we got back on board the bus and then waited for the rude smelly man to board the bus 10 minutes late. 
Once we were on the boat, we found a spot outside thinking that the foreign tourists would stay inside out of the rain and crowd those people. Wrong! By the time the boat left the dock, they had forced us out of our seats. As an act of revenge we stood on the rail in front of all of them refusing to move so that they couldn't see. When they tried to get us to move so that they could take pictures in our optimal spot, we drew the line and really became rude Americans. But honestly, it was long over due. 
We had dinner at The Italian food Center pictured to the left. It apparently has replaced the Grande Italian Food Center which closed after 50 years in Little Italy. The new restaurants website is not up yet. The food was good. My tortellini was a little more al dente than I would have liked but all in all, it was 5 times better than anything I could get at home and 1000 times better than Olive Garden. After dinner, we sought out the best cannoli's in NY and quickly found them at Caffe Palermo... as their banner states. The cannoli's did not disappoint. I also enjoyed a glass of port with mine which made it kind of magnificent!!!! While we enjoyed the cannoli, a man playing an accordion came past and you can see the video here. It just made the atmosphere that much better. Next time you are in NY's Little Italy, do NOT miss Caffe Palermo. Following dinner, we took another taxi back to our hotel and called it a night. On Monday we had to get up and catch our Amtrak train to Boston so we were going to have another long day ahead of us. Tune in tomorrow for the train ride and the first day in Boston.
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