Tourist First: New York: We Take Manhattan

Thursday, August 4, 2022

New York: We Take Manhattan

New York cool: You step into the circle while the water is off and then it sprays
up for a few minutes You get to cool off and stay dry, though there were a lot
of kids running in and out of the water. This was at Rockefeller Center,

A couple of blocks north of Times Square on a hot Sunday night. I took this on our
walk from Jazz at Lincoln Center back to our hotel at Bryant Park.

Jane and I worked for years in Manhattan, she at Rockefeller Center and I in Times Square. On our July 2022 trip to the East Coast, we decided to grab a couple of days in the City, a Saturday and a Sunday. We stayed two nights at the Park Terrace Hotel overlooking Bryant Park in the heart of Midtown, a block east of Times Square. Even though the temperature was in the mid-90s and the humidity was unbearable, the city was full of tourists. The sidewalks and parks seemed more crowded than ever.

Fortunately (or maybe not) I had made two dinner reservations at jazz clubs for Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday was at Birdland where we were treated to Gunhild Carling, a Swede who plays trombone, trumpet, flute, piano, sings and tap dances. At one point she played three trumpets at once. She and a band consisting mainly of her daughter and three nieces played original songs that sounded like Dixieland jazz. To me, this was a novelty act. I would have liked to hear some of the standards that she does in her videos. Sunday night found us at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Here the trumpeter Jon Faddis was celebrating his 69th birthday and was joined by four other trumpeters and a guitarist (in addition to the members of his quartet). It was straight-ahead jazz, including a memorable and lengthy exploration of "On the Sunny Side of the Street." A sixth trumpeter eventually took the stage, the 12-year-old son of Faddis's drummer, Dion Parson. He held his own with a solo on "Autumn Leaves." That evening was one of the best jazz sets I've ever heard.

Before going to Dizzy's, we spent most of the day walking from Bryant Park to the World Trade Center site, which neither of us had visited since the memorials were built. It was a very long and very hot walk, but the memorials are worth seeing and it was nice to see the waterfront there flourishing again. The next day, a Monday, we picked up a rental car near Penn Station and continued our East Coast trip by driving to Maryland.

Here are some photos from our time in Manhattan:

Chess games seem to be a thing in Bryant Park, which is just west of
the New York City Library's landmark building.

This carousel wasn't in Bryant Park when Jane and I
left New York in 2007.

Rockefeller Center's famous ice-skating rink
becomes a roller-skating rink in summer.

Rockefeller Center offers many
examples of Art Deco adornment.

Commerce in Manhattan.

There's nothing I say about this one.

The Freedom Tower as seen from SoHo. The building is officially known as
One World Trade Center, which was the name of the original North Tower.

Water flows endlessly at this memorial at what was the
base of the North Tower. The South Tower site has an
identical memorial.

The Statue of Liberty as seen from
Battery Park City, across West Street
from the World Trade site.

Boats fill the marina at Battery Park City.

Jon Feddis, a protege of Dizzy Gillespie, at Dizzy's Club at
Jazz at Lincoln Center. Central Park South can be seen through
the window behind the stage.

View from the terrace at the
Park Terrace Hotel. The trees
are in Bryant Park.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.