We had packed an overnight backpack and got a ride with my Aunt and Uncle, this time to their office in Brooklyn which was also located in Chinatown. It seems that New York has three Chinatowns, one in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn and a newer Chinatown in Flushing. We explored the Brooklyn Chinatown which had much shorter buildings and brunch in a Sichuan restaurant before taking the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a beautiful sunny day so we wanted to walk over the historic Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge is probably one of the three most famous bridges in the world, along with Lond Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. There were quite a few people also walking across the bridge and enjoying the spectacular views of Manhattan. After crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge we took the subway to Times Square.
In Times Square checked into our hotel which had a nice view of the surrounding buildings and then we had to rush around to find a rapid Covid test for Olivia. Broadway shows required guests to be either fully vaccinated or have a recent Covid test. Since Olivia couldn’t be vaccinated we had to find a rapid Covid test. Fortunately we were able to find a free testing site that provided results in 1 hour although we were very nervous since we would have been out $300 if we couldn’t get a negative Covid test result for Olivia. It all worked out though and we still had time to get a chicken Kabob at one of the street stands for $7 before the show started.
The show itself was very good with all the popular songs from the movies along with a few new songs. The costumes and set were very well done. Since we had seen the movie several times in the past the there was no problem following the story.
After the show it was a nice warm evening so we wandered around Times Square to enjoy all the lights. Sitting on the raised steps in Times Square, watching all the people, traffic under the lights of the huge brightly lit billboard screens really made us feel connected to the city. We stopped at another food stand to get a chicken Kabob but this time they wanted $12. We protested that we had gotten the same thing nearby just a few hours early and threatened to return the food before the vendor relented and accepted $7. None of the food stands have prices displayed and later on we asked around and it seems that the prices at the food carts can vary wildly depending on time and location. Also none of the New Yorkers we talked to normally ate at the street stands.
Afterwards we returned to the Intercontinental to sleep on their overly soft beds.
The next day we slept in late and went to Margon, a local Cuban restaurant for lunch. We had been eating Asian food almost exclusively in New York so we wanted something different. We had a Cuban Sandwich, tripe and pig’s feet soup with beans and rice and a Ceviche. It was all quite good and the place was bustling with local regulars getting lunch so we knew we were in the right place.
After that we went shopping. Can’t go to New York without shopping. First, we went to Rockefeller Center and the FAO Schwarz there. There we bought some present’s for my two cousin’s children. After that we went to the Nintendo store, the American Girl Doll store and the Lego Store, all of which were near Rockefeller center. We managed to get through all three of those stores with just a box of Legos.
Then we took and Uber to B&H Video, a huge camera store with a major online presence. We were considering getting some wireless microphones but ended up just getting a cell phone stick for Holly. Finally we went to a golf store were we purchased a box of rather expensive $50 golf balls and a golf GPS watch for my Uncle who was having a birthday in a few days. Our shopping complete we met my Aunt and Uncle at a Chinese Restaurant in midtown called Hutaoli. This is a modern Chinese restaurant filled with the 20 something year old kids of rich Chinese families. There was live Chinese music and fancy, leafy decorations and expensive takes on Chinese food such as baked chicken served in an actual bird cage. The food was pretty good but a bit on the expensive side. After dinner we returned to New Jersey where we were happy to sleep back in our own beds.
