NYC Diary - Day 6

We had another late start today. Johanna wasn’t feeling great in the morning, so we took it easy and rested in the hotel. We eventually set off around one, with the plan of having another massive walk! We took a wander down to Times Square to get the subway all the way down to Chambers St.

I hate the subway. I can never figure the bloody thing out. The Tube in London? Knew it like the back of my hand. The Metro in Paris? Was in Paris for 5 days and used it like a local. The Subway in New York? Baffles the shit out of me. I don’t know what it is about it, but it always makes me confused and angry. Anyway, we managed to get down to Chambers St without too many mishaps (well, apart from Johanna getting stuck in the turnstile…) and set off on our quest.

Our first stop was a visit to Ground Zero. It’s still a really unsettling place. You get used to New York as a huge, bustling monster; a place where you can rarely see the sky unless you’re looking straight up, where buildings crowd every view. And then suddenly you walk out… and there’s a couple of empty blocks, and giant hole in the middle of the city. It’s still an eerie place to be. I was first here about four years ago, and then it was even more strange – all the buildings surrounding the site were still bound up with scaffolding, there was a huge crucifix made of girders on the actual site, and people walking by seemed to be quiet; there was an air of reverence around the place. It’s not so much now; it’s still a place treated with respect, but the New York hustle is going on again.

We popped into Century 21, across the street – ‘New York’s Number One Discount Designer store!’, apparently. Johanna had been really looking forward to coming down to it, but she ended up being quite disappointed. I didn’t realise it until we got to New York, but she hates shopping! Well, it’s not so much ‘shopping’ as ‘browsing’ - don’t get me wrong, she loves buying new things, she just hates having to rummage through piles of stuff. If the things she wants aren’t right there in front of her – and in a neat order – she just gets frustrated. I’m the absolute opposite, I love to spend all day rooting through shops. She said that’s why she gets so bored when she’s with me in record shops – she can’t understand why I have to go through every shelf in A – Z order (well, she can – it’s because I’m an anal freak).

After that, we set off on a walk back up Manhattan, taking us past some cool places on the way. First off, I managed to find a Games shop that a) wasn’t shite and b) had bloody AC, so I finally managed to have a root around and pick up the games I wanted (CONTRA DS!), as well as a few other bargains. Then, after that, we hit Chinatown.

Chinatown is weird. It does genuinely feel like you’re suddenly in another country. All the hoardings are in Chinese, the streets are lined with carts selling odd vegetables and spices, and there are dragons and little gold cats in every window. The thing is, as a tourist, there’s not really much to do there. See, Chinatown isn’t really a tourist attraction – it’s where the Chinese community actually live and work, so it’s a fully functioning little town.

Little Italy, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. This place is entirely for tourists. Most of the Italian population has moved out, but the streets are still lined with Scarface and Sopranos t-shirts, and there’s red, white and green hanging everywhere. It’s incredibly jarring how quickly Chinatown and Little Italy clash too – it’s literally one street where everything is Chinese on one side, and Italian on the other. We stopped for a bite here – well, mainly for a drink, as it was well over a hundred degrees, and, according to Johanna, my face was so red she thought my head was going to explode.

After Little Italy, we set off back up Manhattan, armed with a map marked with shops I’ve been recommended on t’internet. First up, we managed to find a decent lingerie shop for Johanna. She was determined to blow a load of cash on some good lingerie since she got here, but she’s been completely thwarted so far – mainly by the fact that most lingerie shops here are Victoria’s Secret, which, as I’ve already mentioned, is absolute rubbish. After spending an obscene amount there, we headed to what has immediately become my favourite shop of all time – Video Games New York.

It’s more of a museum than a shop. It’s absolutely chock-full of old consoles and games. Magnavox Odyssey, Intellivision, Pong Machines, Ataris, Game & Watch… pretty much everything from the history of gaming was there, and for sale. I could have spent thousands in there. In the end, I only spent $15 on a boxed official SNES controller (mine’s knackered) – although I was so close to blowing $250 on Radiant Silvergun. I’ve never actually seen a copy of it, so I sat pawing the glass and drooling. I think Johanna might divorce me though – when she realised I was seriously considering buying it, the look on her face was priceless. That game is my holy grail. It will be mine. Oh yes.

And after that we hit Forbidden Planet! I love this shop too. It’s another one that I have to be careful in, or I could be leaving with loads of manga, but no money or wife. As it was, I managed not to spend too much. I did pick up the entire Death Note series though, as they had an offer of three manga for $20! They’re about €11 each in Ireland, with maybe a 3 for €30 offer if you’re lucky. I also picked up a couple of those Japanese mystery boxes for the series. I love those little toys you get inside them, and it’s great at first getting a mystery gift, but by the end you just want to be able to choose the ones you really want!

After Johanna dragged me out of FP, we realised it was time for another great New York tradition – hailing a cab! We had about 3 blocks to go to our hotel, and were already shattered and boiling by this point, so I sent Johanna out to hail one (she’s got nicer boobs than me, they stop faster) and we headed back to the hotel.