Day 2, and the bad stuff is not yet behind me . . .
The Hampton Inn includes a free breakfast in the rate, but I did not really take advantage of it, because I don%26#39;t come to New York to eat hotel food. I did stop in the breakfast room this particular morning to grab a banana, then headed out to Fluffy%26#39;s Bakery, which I%26#39;d heard was good.
Well, I was a little disappointed in Fluffy%26#39;s. I got the recommended cappuccino muffin, which I found a bit dry and not too flavorful. But it was cheap, less than $4 for that and an iced tea.
My initial plan for the day was to go to the WTC site and St. Paul%26#39;s, then head over to the East Village for lunch at Zerza. I was dying to try chicken bastilla, which has been talked about here. At the last moment I decided to head over to the Top of the Rock because then it would be easier to go from there to the East Village. Have lunch, do a little shopping, then maybe if the weather didn%26#39;t turn bad (it rained a lot while I was there), take a boat ride down at the Seaport.
Nice plan. Didn%26#39;t work out that way.
As I was crossing the street near 30 Rock, I tripped. No big deal, really--except I have plantar fasciitis (heel spurs) and the way I tripped caused excrutiating pain throughout the bottom of my foot. I couldn%26#39;t believe it. I had done several things to make sure my feet were ready for my trip, going to the foot doctor for shoots, buying really good shoes, equipping them with orthotics AND heel lifts--and all that effort was gone in a flash. I was barely able to finish limping across the street.
By the time I found a place to sit down, I was on the verge of tears. The pain kept radiating throughout my foot. After a few moments, though, I was determined to continue on. I crossed the street and went into 30 Rock. It was no use--the pain was really bad. I ducked into the side hallway and started to cry in earnest, because I felt my whole trip was quickly turning into an unmitigated disaster. After calling my mother on the cell and wailing to her (I know, pathetic for a 46 year old woman, right?) I made my way out of the building again.
Naturally, I had left my pain pills at the hotel, but I had some Advil in my purse. I stopped by a Halal meat cart to get a soda. Not having been in New York for a while, I had no idea how much a soda costs from a cart, and when I asked, the guy gives me this LOOK.
';What do you THINK I charge for a soda?'; Great moment for a bit of New York %26#39;tude!
';I don%26#39;t know,'; I gulped. ';A dollar?';
';Of course I charge a dollar, you think I charge TWO dollars like some of these others?';
';No.'; Please, please take my dollar and give me a soda! He finally did.
There were some benches nearby, but of course they were up some STEPS. Now I need to mention that from that point on, nearly everywhere I went had what seemed like miles and miles of stairs or steps! Made me appreciate what people with permanent disabilities must battle every day.
So I sit down and I%26#39;m still crying (the Halal meat guy had not improved my mood). I look over a couple of benches down and notice a young girl who is ALSO crying. These must have been the Crying Benches. (She was with a guy who was earnestly talking to her all the time she was crying. I%26#39;m guessing he%26#39;d just dumped her.)
I wait a while for the Advil to kick in and face the fact that I%26#39;m not going anywhere except back to the hotel. I limp back across town. When I get back to my room, I notice that the toilet is in danger of backing up! Oh, GREAT. Now I%26#39;m stuck in a hotel room for probably hours with a toilet that I can%26#39;t use. I call down to the desk. Bless them, they sent a guy to snake the toilet within moments. At least that got resolved very quickly.
When he%26#39;s gone, I get ice from the machine. Thank goodness I always take a bunch of Hefty gallon bags with me on a trip. I made an ice pack. Then I mourn my chicken bastilla for a while, and wonder what to do about lunch. I remember my many printed out menus from menupages.com. One was for a Chinese restaurant called Ten Den a couple of blocks away. I see they have soft-shell crabs on the menu, and it%26#39;s the season from them, so I order some, with some roast pork buns.
Food arrived within 20 minutes and was very good. The crabs were lightly fried and they had very thoughfully put the garlic sauce I asked for on the side, so they didn%26#39;t get soggy. Buns were good, too. I was feeling better. Called my friend who I was supposed to meet for dinner later, and she told me not to worry, if I couldn%26#39;t make it she would come to the hotel and bring food with her. Watched a couple of soaps, putting ice on my foot for 10 minutes and off for 10 minutes.
By 2 o%26#39;clock my foot was improved enough that I decided I was going to go SOMEWHERE and do SOMETHING and not waste the entire day. I settled on the Museum of Television and Radio. I figured I could sit and watch a show or two and stay off my feet for a while.
When I got to the place to search the database for a program to watch, I was not sure what I wanted to see. Since I%26#39;d just been watching THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS in my hotel room, I thought it might be fun to watch an old ep of the show, so I ordered one. I felt a little silly about my choice until I noticed a guy watching an episode of JOANIE LOVE CHACHI. Hmm, O.K., I%26#39;m not the weirdest person in the room, at least.
I enjoyed watching the show and when it was finished, it was time to go back to the hotel and get ready to go out for the evening. I figured if I was having more foot problems I would just cab it everywhere.
My friend works in Chelsea, so we met at the restaurant East Of Eighth--my choice from my menupages research. OF COURSE we had to climb a long flight of stairs to get to the restaurant. (And my friend has worse foot problems than I do!) However, we found the restaurant to be very nice--a relaxing atmosphere, delicious Cosmos, good New American cuisine. Oh yeah, and my friend insisted later that our waitress was a transvestite. Honestly, I didn%26#39;t pay enough attention to her to be able to say one way or the other, but we were in Chelsea, so I suppose it was quite possible.
I ordered pate and duck, my friend ordered a mezes platter and pork chops. I personally would not have ordered something like a mezes platter in a non-Middle Eastern restaurant. It was O.K., but not as good as in a place that specializes in Mid-Eastern cuisine, IMO. But everything else was very good. We shared a tiramisu, also very good.
I said goodby to my friend and then headed to the Village for my next show--SOME GIRL(S), the Neil LaBute play starring Eric McCormack, Maura Tierney and Fran Drescher. I was not terribly surprised that the audience was comprised of about 80% women. LOL, all the McCormack fangirls (myself included) were out in full force. While I%26#39;m waiting on line to the ladies room, some were discussing the possibility of an understudy appearing instead.
';They better NOT announce an understudy,'; said one fangirl.
So I%26#39;m thinking with the way my luck was going this trip, they would announce an understudy and I would be trampled to death my irate Eric McCormack fans.
Not to worry--this was the ONLY theatrical event I attended on this trip where NO understudies appeared!
I enjoyed the play very much--which surprised me, since I%26#39;m not really a fan of LaBute%26#39;s work. The real surprise, though, was Drescher, who completely shed her ';Nanny'; persona (and honking voice) and really embodied the character she was playing. All the performances, in fact, were excellent.
So the day that started out disasterous once again was saved by a good dinner and show. Although the play ended early, I decided to go right back to the hotel and put more time in with the ice packs.
More later, probably not until tomorrow night. Yes, the disasters diminish from here on out . . .
Trip report, part 2 - disaster strikes. AGAIN.Ah, the Agony of the Feet, sorry about that, it s..cks, but you seem to have made the best of it, what can you do.
Glad the day improved and that you enjoyed Some Girl(s). I am seeing it on its last day, July 8th, and I also have heard that Fran Drescher is wonderful in it. Now I really looking forward to it.
Ok, ready for the next installment............................
Trip report, part 2 - disaster strikes. AGAIN.Sorry, the name of the Chinese restaurant is TEA Den, not Ten Den.
You poor baby. I%26#39;m sorry I laughed when you talked about the Crying Benches. I sure hope things get better from here!
Wow, your foot woes are heady stuff....
I am so sorry for you. But amazingly you fought back and had a Plan B to keep switching to.
In my opinion, you set a benchmark on how to travel. You had alternate sites and meals at the ready. You had your menupages printout so you knew what was in the neighborhood. And you were flexible when you could be.
Well done!!!
About East of Eighth, it is known as a very gay-friendly restaurant, and one of the servers, Topher Goodman, appeared on season one of the tv show The Restaurant with Rocco DiSpirito. Topher is a real class act...don%26#39;t know if he is still there.
Thanks for the kind comments!
I did not see Topher. I would have known him immediately, I was a HUGE fan of that show.
Crikey. Your luck just wasn%26#39;t in was it? I know it must have been a horrid experience, but the way you describe it is very amusing---I love the Crying Benches too!. It%26#39;s great that you managed to switch your plans and still have a great time. Well done, and thanks.
Oh what a tale! Im really sorry to read about your foot. Thats just typical isn%26#39;t it.
I hope its better now.
The Crying Benches made me laugh though. I would have been in floods of tears too.
:o)
What a trooper! So sorry for your foot problems - especially after all the precautions you took! You had me LOL at the Crying Benches! And your encounter with the dollar soda cart guy. Congrats on overcoming some rotten odds to continue on and enjoy NYC. Look forward to the posts of the rest of your trip. Ta. MMM!
Your poor foot! Loved the crying benches
Extremely impressive. Printed out menus from menupages, lots of good food and back up plans. Talk about making lemonade out of lemons! (that watermelon drink has put lemonade on my mind ;)
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