TLinden16
Scotty and Ray at Jelly Rolls are the best!
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2002
- Messages
- 16,243
A lot of folks have asked me about my trip to New York, so I've put together a trip report for you.
I went to New York with my sister March 4-6 to go to Saturday Night Live and Regis and Kelly. We took the Amtrak train from Boston to New York on Saturday morning. The train ride was smooth and relaxing. I watched a DVD on my laptop, and enjoyed the ride.
We checked into the Sheraton New York and Towers on 7th Avenue, and our room was not ready when we arrived, so we stored our bags and headed to the TKTS booth to get tickets to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. We grabbed a slice of pizza at Rays ($7.50 for one slice of pizza and a medium diet Pepsi--welcome to New York), and headed to the theatre. We wound up with excellent seats just a few rows from the stage in this very small theatre. The musical was pretty funny, but the music was nothing special. They had some people in the audience participate in the spelling be, and there was one guy who was very funny. We enjoyed it, but I wouldnt rush out to see it again.
We then headed back to the hotel to go to our room and get settled. The room was small, and showed some signs of wear, but the beds were very comfortable. The rooms werent very soundproof--we could hear our neighbors talking at moderate levels, which was annoying the night the guys checked in from overseas and were up all night talking because of the time difference.
We then headed out and walked through the craziness in Times Square to go to Madame Tussards wax museum. Im amazed by how lifelike some of these wax figures are. The Whoopi Goldberg one is fantastic, and we both had our picture taken at a table with George Clooney set up to look like he was proposing to us.
After the museum, we walked around Times Square and popped into a few shops. We spent quite a bit of time looking around Toys R Us. My sister liked the Ferris Wheel inside the store, although we did not go on it.
We then went in search of dinner. We were going to try to go to Ruths Chris Steak House, but the wait was too long, and we would be cutting it close to go to Saturday Night Live. We decided to head to the Olive Garden, which also had a long wait. We were going to leave and find someplace else to eat when a manager offered us a table in the downstairs dining room, so we took it. We had a great meal--I got a tour of Italy, which included lasagna, chicken parm, and fettuccini alfredo. My sister got some kind of fish.
After dinner, we stopped back at the hotel for a quick break before heading to NBC Studios to catch Saturday Night Live. Natalie Portman was the host, and Fall Out Boy was the musical guest. We were instructed to arrive at 10:15, but we got there a little before 10:00. I didnt know how early people got there, and I know that they often give out more tickets than they have seats, so I didnt want to risk not getting int. It was a long wait to get into the studio. They didnt start taking people up to the studio until about 10:30, and by the time we got through security, it was about 10:45. We had to wait in another line for about 15 minutes, and were finally seated right about 11:00. We had what we felt were decent seats in the front row of the upper level at one end. We wouldnt be able to see everything, but we knew that going in.
Before the show, Don Pardo took the stage and talked to us about applauding. Then Darrell Hammond came out and did about 10 minutes of stand up, which was pretty funny.
The show was a lot of fun. Im not going to give a big long review of the show itself, but will talk a bit about the experience of being there. Being in the audience really gave me a new appreciation for the show, and just how much work goes into putting the show together. There were about three sets set up when we arrived (in addition to the permanent sets where the hosts do their opening monologue and the musical guests perform. I was surprised to see how compact the sets were. They really know how to use forced perspective to make you feel that they are big wide open areas when they are on TV, but the sets were only about 12 feet by 12 feet (if that).
It was interesting to see the crew members setting up the sets. They bring in the walls on wheels, and move all the props in. They only have a couple of minutes during commercials to get the work done, and its amazing how they get it done.
They really keep the hosts running. At the end of each sketch, someone would grab Natalie Portman by the arm and literally run her backstage. The first time we saw it when she was wearing heels, we were pretty amazed, and they just kept on doing it. The cast members ran off the set after each sketch. It was amazing to see the energy level of everyone involved.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of going to Saturday Night Live, and would definitely go to see it again. It was definitely a lot of fun, although we probably watched three quarters of the show on the TV monitors as we couldnt see all of the sets, and cameras were in our way a lot of times. But it was very cool to be there.
On Sunday morning, we woke up and went to church at St. Patricks Cathedral. I always try to go to mass when I am in New York because I really like going to St. Patricks. Its just beautiful in there--the stained glass is amazing, as are the statues. I love just looking around, and hearing the music fill the cathedral.
After mass, we took a walk around Times Square and then headed over to the Museum of Modern Art. I was looking forward to going to MOMA, as I hadnt been there since they renovated it just over a year ago. It seemed a lot more wide open than I recall. There was an interesting exhibit on Spanish architecture, and another on Edvard Munch (the artist who created The Scream). Its always fun looking at the beautiful artwork by Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol, and other modern artists.
We then went to Ollies Noodles for lunch. I got General Tsos Chicken, which was just OK, and my sister got Shanghai Noodles with mixed meet, which were very good. We also shared some steamed dumplings, which were excellent.
After lunch, we went back to the room for a break, and then went to the World of Disney Store. We then headed over to see if we could get the $25 lottery tickets for Avenue Q, but we did not win. We considered getting tickets to see Harry Connick Jr in the Pajama Game, but decided we didnt want to spend $111 on the tickets (theatre has gotten so ridiculously overpriced).
We then went in search of dinner. We went to Restaurant Row, and none of the places really hit us (there were a lot of small places with no people in them--there were a couple of Italian restaurants that looked good, but we werent in the mood for Italian as we had that the night before). We wound up heading over to Chevys for Mexican food. We shared a chicken Caesar salad, which was pretty bland. I got a bowl of tortilla soup, which was excellent--very spicy with lots of flavor. My sister also got a beef enchilada, which she enjoyed.
After dinner, we walked around Times Square a bit more before heading over back to the hotel to watch the Oscars and relax.
On Monday morning, we packed our bags, checked them at the hotel, and went took a cab to go see Regis and Kelly. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a nearby diner, and went to get in line for Regis and Kelly. We were the last people in line!. Bill Paxton, and the winners of Skating with Celebrities (Lloyd Eisler and Kristy Swanson) were the guests (although the skaters werent in the studio--they were at Central Park). Jack Nicholson called into the show while we were there. The show was kind of boring because we watched most of it on TV, but I got some pictures of Regis, Kelly, and Bill Paxton.
After Regis and Kelly, we walked back towards mid-town through Central Park. We stopped at the Trump Plaza to use the rest room. When we were heading out of the building, we walked out through an atrium and left through a different door. We walked by the residence entrance to the Trump Plaza, and heard the doorman say, Hes coming down now to a limo driver. We walked to the corner, and watched as Donald Trump exited the building and got in a limo.
We then went over to NBC and decided to do the studio tour. The tour was pretty interesting--we got to see a few of the news studios, and also got to go into the Saturday Night Live studio. It was interesting to see the studio without the sets after being there two nights before to see the show. One of the crew members heard our tour guide mention Chris Farley, and the guy told us some stories about Chris Farley.
After the tour, we went to Virgils for lunch. I got a pulled pork sandwich, and my sister got a chicken Caesar salad. We both really enjoyed our lunches.
We then headed to Penn Station to catch our train home to Boston. It was a quick and busy weekend to New York. We had a lot of fun!
I went to New York with my sister March 4-6 to go to Saturday Night Live and Regis and Kelly. We took the Amtrak train from Boston to New York on Saturday morning. The train ride was smooth and relaxing. I watched a DVD on my laptop, and enjoyed the ride.
We checked into the Sheraton New York and Towers on 7th Avenue, and our room was not ready when we arrived, so we stored our bags and headed to the TKTS booth to get tickets to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. We grabbed a slice of pizza at Rays ($7.50 for one slice of pizza and a medium diet Pepsi--welcome to New York), and headed to the theatre. We wound up with excellent seats just a few rows from the stage in this very small theatre. The musical was pretty funny, but the music was nothing special. They had some people in the audience participate in the spelling be, and there was one guy who was very funny. We enjoyed it, but I wouldnt rush out to see it again.
We then headed back to the hotel to go to our room and get settled. The room was small, and showed some signs of wear, but the beds were very comfortable. The rooms werent very soundproof--we could hear our neighbors talking at moderate levels, which was annoying the night the guys checked in from overseas and were up all night talking because of the time difference.
We then headed out and walked through the craziness in Times Square to go to Madame Tussards wax museum. Im amazed by how lifelike some of these wax figures are. The Whoopi Goldberg one is fantastic, and we both had our picture taken at a table with George Clooney set up to look like he was proposing to us.
After the museum, we walked around Times Square and popped into a few shops. We spent quite a bit of time looking around Toys R Us. My sister liked the Ferris Wheel inside the store, although we did not go on it.
We then went in search of dinner. We were going to try to go to Ruths Chris Steak House, but the wait was too long, and we would be cutting it close to go to Saturday Night Live. We decided to head to the Olive Garden, which also had a long wait. We were going to leave and find someplace else to eat when a manager offered us a table in the downstairs dining room, so we took it. We had a great meal--I got a tour of Italy, which included lasagna, chicken parm, and fettuccini alfredo. My sister got some kind of fish.
After dinner, we stopped back at the hotel for a quick break before heading to NBC Studios to catch Saturday Night Live. Natalie Portman was the host, and Fall Out Boy was the musical guest. We were instructed to arrive at 10:15, but we got there a little before 10:00. I didnt know how early people got there, and I know that they often give out more tickets than they have seats, so I didnt want to risk not getting int. It was a long wait to get into the studio. They didnt start taking people up to the studio until about 10:30, and by the time we got through security, it was about 10:45. We had to wait in another line for about 15 minutes, and were finally seated right about 11:00. We had what we felt were decent seats in the front row of the upper level at one end. We wouldnt be able to see everything, but we knew that going in.
Before the show, Don Pardo took the stage and talked to us about applauding. Then Darrell Hammond came out and did about 10 minutes of stand up, which was pretty funny.
The show was a lot of fun. Im not going to give a big long review of the show itself, but will talk a bit about the experience of being there. Being in the audience really gave me a new appreciation for the show, and just how much work goes into putting the show together. There were about three sets set up when we arrived (in addition to the permanent sets where the hosts do their opening monologue and the musical guests perform. I was surprised to see how compact the sets were. They really know how to use forced perspective to make you feel that they are big wide open areas when they are on TV, but the sets were only about 12 feet by 12 feet (if that).
It was interesting to see the crew members setting up the sets. They bring in the walls on wheels, and move all the props in. They only have a couple of minutes during commercials to get the work done, and its amazing how they get it done.
They really keep the hosts running. At the end of each sketch, someone would grab Natalie Portman by the arm and literally run her backstage. The first time we saw it when she was wearing heels, we were pretty amazed, and they just kept on doing it. The cast members ran off the set after each sketch. It was amazing to see the energy level of everyone involved.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of going to Saturday Night Live, and would definitely go to see it again. It was definitely a lot of fun, although we probably watched three quarters of the show on the TV monitors as we couldnt see all of the sets, and cameras were in our way a lot of times. But it was very cool to be there.
On Sunday morning, we woke up and went to church at St. Patricks Cathedral. I always try to go to mass when I am in New York because I really like going to St. Patricks. Its just beautiful in there--the stained glass is amazing, as are the statues. I love just looking around, and hearing the music fill the cathedral.
After mass, we took a walk around Times Square and then headed over to the Museum of Modern Art. I was looking forward to going to MOMA, as I hadnt been there since they renovated it just over a year ago. It seemed a lot more wide open than I recall. There was an interesting exhibit on Spanish architecture, and another on Edvard Munch (the artist who created The Scream). Its always fun looking at the beautiful artwork by Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol, and other modern artists.
We then went to Ollies Noodles for lunch. I got General Tsos Chicken, which was just OK, and my sister got Shanghai Noodles with mixed meet, which were very good. We also shared some steamed dumplings, which were excellent.
After lunch, we went back to the room for a break, and then went to the World of Disney Store. We then headed over to see if we could get the $25 lottery tickets for Avenue Q, but we did not win. We considered getting tickets to see Harry Connick Jr in the Pajama Game, but decided we didnt want to spend $111 on the tickets (theatre has gotten so ridiculously overpriced).
We then went in search of dinner. We went to Restaurant Row, and none of the places really hit us (there were a lot of small places with no people in them--there were a couple of Italian restaurants that looked good, but we werent in the mood for Italian as we had that the night before). We wound up heading over to Chevys for Mexican food. We shared a chicken Caesar salad, which was pretty bland. I got a bowl of tortilla soup, which was excellent--very spicy with lots of flavor. My sister also got a beef enchilada, which she enjoyed.
After dinner, we walked around Times Square a bit more before heading over back to the hotel to watch the Oscars and relax.
On Monday morning, we packed our bags, checked them at the hotel, and went took a cab to go see Regis and Kelly. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a nearby diner, and went to get in line for Regis and Kelly. We were the last people in line!. Bill Paxton, and the winners of Skating with Celebrities (Lloyd Eisler and Kristy Swanson) were the guests (although the skaters werent in the studio--they were at Central Park). Jack Nicholson called into the show while we were there. The show was kind of boring because we watched most of it on TV, but I got some pictures of Regis, Kelly, and Bill Paxton.
After Regis and Kelly, we walked back towards mid-town through Central Park. We stopped at the Trump Plaza to use the rest room. When we were heading out of the building, we walked out through an atrium and left through a different door. We walked by the residence entrance to the Trump Plaza, and heard the doorman say, Hes coming down now to a limo driver. We walked to the corner, and watched as Donald Trump exited the building and got in a limo.
We then went over to NBC and decided to do the studio tour. The tour was pretty interesting--we got to see a few of the news studios, and also got to go into the Saturday Night Live studio. It was interesting to see the studio without the sets after being there two nights before to see the show. One of the crew members heard our tour guide mention Chris Farley, and the guy told us some stories about Chris Farley.
After the tour, we went to Virgils for lunch. I got a pulled pork sandwich, and my sister got a chicken Caesar salad. We both really enjoyed our lunches.
We then headed to Penn Station to catch our train home to Boston. It was a quick and busy weekend to New York. We had a lot of fun!
In fact alot of the shorts are GREAT this year.
