Day 13: 22 May 2017, Monday
Our second last full day in NYC, and it’s a cold and wet one. We woke up to 15 degrees Celsius weather and a drizzle that lasted pretty much the whole day. Our original plan was to go on the Liberty Island cruise today but we postponed it to tomorrow instead. Since it’s wet outside, we spent most of our time indoors. After a lazy breakfast, we went back to Macy’s once again for some window shopping.
Just around the corner from Macy’s is Madison Square Garden (MSG), so I popped by for a quick visit. Touted as the world’s most famous arena, MSG is a multi-purpose indoor arena used for professional basketball, ice hockey, boxing matches and concerts. In 2016, MSG was the second-busiest music arena in the world in terms of tickets sales; the top spot went to the O2 Arena in London.
I have great memories of MSG from my childhood days, when I used to watch NBA basketball on TV, and MSG featured as the home ground of the New York Knicks. For the record, I am a Chicago Bulls fan (Michael Jordan FTW!) but somehow the venue MSG just stuck with me more than the Chicago Stadium.
Later on, as I got into music, I associated MSG more with being a concert venue than a basketball venue. Many of my favourite acts have performed at MSG and released DVDs of their MSG shows – Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope Tour (originally a HBO special) and *NSYNC’s No Strings Attached Tour, to name a few. I re-watched those concerts countless times. MSG is like a pinnacle that an artist can achieve. If you’ve sold out MSG, you know you’ve made it. I would love to catch a concert at MSG one day.
When we passed by the Empire State Building, we saw that the top half of the building was obscured by rain clouds. Two days ago, while on the Big Bus tour, the guide had told us that if you can’t see the top of ESB from the ground, don’t waste money to go up because you won’t be able to see anything from up there. This was exactly what he meant. We were lucky that we went up yesterday when the weather was fine.
It was a lazy kind of day so we just did some souvenir shopping before retreating back to our comfy hotel room in the afternoon. For dinner, we ventured to City Kitchen, located at the second floor of ROW NYC, 700 8th Avenue at 44th Street. It is a collection of trendy eateries, like a mini food court, but more hip. We were here to try Luke’s Lobster (click here), which my friend recommended.
Luke’s Lobster prides itself on traceable and sustainable seafood. They are famous for their lobster rolls. One lobster roll contains ¼ lb (or 113.40 grams) of chilled and wild lobster in a split top bun with melted lemon butter, mayo and a secret seasoning.
We ordered a small cup of clam chowder (they replaced it with lobster bisque as the chowder wasn’t ready), a shrimp roll and a Luke’s Trio, which comprised of ½ lobster roll, ½ crab roll and ½ shrimp roll, so you get the best of three worlds. The total bill came up to US$37.56 (S$52.60).
The rolls were all very good. The meat toppings (lobster/crab/prawns) were generous and the seasoning tasted great. However, the portions were understandably small so they weren’t very filling. It left me wanting more. The rolls were good for sure, but I would say the meal was quite pricey. But I’m glad I tried it so I know what the fuss is all about.
Our last activity for the day was THE RIDE (click here). My friend JQ had tried it and he raved about it so much that I decided to go for it too. THE RIDE is a 75-minute interactive tour and show of Midtown Manhattan and Times Square where the streets of New York City are the stage where unexpected performances occur.
You sit in a custom-built bus with floor-to-ceiling glass panels on one side of the bus. Instead of facing the front of the bus like you usually do, you face the glass panel on the side of the bus. Everyone gets a front row seat as the bus drives around the city. It’s a bit like being in a fish tank where people on the streets point at you with curious looks, but you get used to the attention after a while. There are also two emcees on board who provide commentary and interact with all the guests, creating a fun and buoyant atmosphere.
Actually, THE RIDE is best enjoyed if you know the least about it, so that you will be surprised when things happen. Don’t worry, nothing scary happens. All I can say is that it is like a sightseeing tour of NYC’s landmarks, but along the way, performers pop up on the streets at the most unexpected times. It’s quite a unique experience and I’m sure you’ll have a good time. I can’t think of anywhere else having something similar, so I think it’s worth going for it and experience it for yourself. By the way, THE RIDE is included in the list of attractions for the New York City Explorer Pass, so we used it as one of our 5 attractions. And that wraps up yet another day in NYC!
