NYC July 2011 – Day Five (and Six) – The Closing Ceremonies

Well, I can’t really tell you what our second to last morning in NYC looked like, because we pretty much missed it.  Closing down the bar is hard work (haaaard wooork!  Sorry, inside joke with my coworkers).  Let’s just say we took advantage of my travel perks rewards, which included a 4PM checkout.

Before hailing a cab and schlepping all our stuff over to our friends’ apartment, I had one last errand to run.  After being lured to the knish place’s neon display the other night, I knew I couldn’t leave the city without a knish shirt, like the ones that had beckoned to me in the dimly lit storefront.  We stopped in, where I was able to scope out the actual space and dig through a huge box of shirts (obviously, we weren’t the only ones entranced by the storefront display).  Although I admit I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get greeted in Yiddish (as they greeted my husband the day before), I still scored a bright yellow shirt with all the appropriate stuff on it: name of place, address, phone.  Designed to advertise, not win any graphics awards.  Which works for me.  Below, I bring you Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery:

Apparently, you also don't have to be Jewish to be greeted in Yiddish either... (at least in hubby's case):

Guess we weren't the only ones who thought a souvenir from Yonah was mandatory:

I enjoyed our stay at the Thompson, but nothing really completes a visit to a new city like spending the final day in the company of good friends, hosting you at their very own abode.  Oh, and having a BBQ in their backyard (yep, they lucked into a rare amenity for Manhattanites – outdoor space).  Even though I know the joke is on myself, there’s a certain sense of…  what to call it…  ridiculous snobbery… when passing the other tourists whose stay is confined to corporate hospitality, and heading right into someone's home.  It’s as if you’ve received the secret key to join the locals.  And, again, it’s a completely misplaced conceit, considering we just left a hotel ourselves.  Even so, a trip to any city seems to gain a special sense of authenticity when you're shown around by good friends, as opposed to Frommer's.  It was time to say good-bye to our stellar room with a view.


So long...

Farewell...

Adieu, adieu...

To you and you and yooooou...

By the time we arrived at our friends' East Village apartment (“We’ll be there by 1:30,” “OK, looking more like 2:00,” “3:30 at the latest I swear!”), S already had the charcoals on the grill, and drinks were being poured.  While waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive, we kicked back and relaxed on the patio.  The next few hours included brats, burgers, Run DMC and good conversation under the quiet watch of the trees stretching above us.

Neighbors' fancy place (to the far right):

Ahh, the food.  S is a master of the grill (and smoker, don't get me started on his fanfreakingtabulous brisket).  Proof of his mad skills:

The liqueur known as Unicum made an appearance, courtesy of Zwack, courtesy of Hungary:

Oh.  I forgot to mention.  It was also the 4^th of July.

Now, I’ve celebrated our Independence Day in many cities (watching the Pops Orchestra in Boston, a tiny local parade in Maine, several in Chicago...).  But somehow it seems fitting that the best place I’ve seen them yet was this evening in NYC.  After dinner, we meandered up the stairs to our friends’ roofdeck (more roof with a few chairs than a proper deck, but still).  Although the five-story building couldn’t offer us a completely unobstructed vista, it did provide for very entertaining viewing.  Besides the official fireworks, which were launched on the west side, you can always depends on the locals to join in the festivities with a few illegal sparklers.


While this entry is a little shorter on pictures (insert sigh of relief here), I still have a final round of them to share with you, accompanied by a brief video that allows you to hear the locals' antics, as well as see it.  Unfortunately, after numerous attempts to upload another video of what I think may be the best rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (ever), Blogger disagreed.  Try as I might, it ended up a massive fail.  Just imagine it being sung grandly, loudly, and drunkenly off-key.  But, with feeling!


Looking northwest, where the official pyrotechnics would be based.  Wouldn't you know it, I spy the Empire State Building, too.  Show off!

The neighbors over on Avenue D:

Doing their best to see the show:

Opa!

Overall, it was a fabulous show, even with the somewhat compromised views (of the official fireworks...  we had front-row seats for the many impromptu displays).  As we closed in on the end of our NYC trip, I felt as if all of New York were throwing us the most awesome send-off party.  Like our very own closing ceremony for what can definitely be considered an Olympian visit (Gold: Eating.  Silver: Shopping.  Bronze: Margarita-ing ;).


With a flight to catch in the morning, and it being a "school night" for our friends, we turned in comparatively early.  And before we knew it, we were bidding our most excellent hosts a fond farewell, grabbing a cab, and watching New York whiz by us all the way back to LaGuardia.  As I watched cars and buildings slip backwards in the window, I thought of all the amazing things we got to see, eat, drink and, yes, buy.  My brain was already writing a “dang it, we didn’t get to do/shop/eat/drink/see this” list in my head.  Which includes all of Brooklyn, other parts of Manhattan, and some spots in Queens I had been told to check out.


Final scenes from our trip:

Heading back into the tunnel:

Eh.  You can’t do it all.  Even in 130-odd hours of being there.  We were bummed we didn’t get to cover everything.  But there’s an upshot to having unfinished business.

It means we’ll be back :)


Images: all my own