The sail into New York must rank up there with Sydney and Venice as one of the best in the world, passing as you do a flood-lit Statue of Liberty on the way. It was just before 5 am this morning when we spied her from our balcony and after taking a few (dozen) photos we returned to our bed to await immigration clearance.
Arriving in the USA is always prone to delay especially as the authorities insist that every one on board must clear the US Border control. With almost 3500 guests aboard this ship all eager to explore the big apple it was always going to be a logistical nightmare. Just to put it into some kind of perspective this is the equivalent of around 7 jumbo jets landing at the same time and in addition alongside us was the Norwegian Joy with a similar number of passengers, To cut a long story short we eventually got off the ship at around 12.30, an hour and a half later than planned.
Having visited the city on a number of previous occasions we wanted to do something a little different this time. Last May when Sylvia and I went to London I completed a musical tour of Soho and the West End visiting places that impacted on the music of my youth. So I thought it might be nice to see if I could travel around New York City in the same manner. Having researched the walk prior to the cruise I worked out a route albeit a little different from London as no “Blue Plaques” or the equivalent exist here and in addition many of the buildings have not survived. But here goes.
The tour starts in the East Village near Tomkins Square Park where a large mural appears of The Clash’s Joe Strummer.
The punk rocker was a regular at the Niagara bar on whose wall the mural appears.
Skirting the park we then made our way down St Mark’s Place to attempt to replicate the cover of one of rock’s greatest albums, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti. The buildings are still intact but unfortunately one of them is currently covered in scaffolding.
If you don’t recognise it from this perhaps the original may jog your memory.
New York in the late 60’s and early 70’s was rocking to the sounds of the West Coast bands and impresario Bull Graham opened a version of his San Francisco ballroom , The Fillmore and named it the Fillmore East. Here groups such as The Doors and Jefferson Airplane played regularly. Unfortunately although this building is still here it is no longer used as an entertainment venue, in fact it looks a little sorry for itself.
Leaving the East Village behind us we made our way into Greenwich Village proper, walking along Bleecker Street, This street is best known for being the home of the Beat Poets and many singer-songwriters in the 1960’s. At 147 stands the oldest Rock club in New York City, The Bitter End. Still operating today it was here that the likes of Joni Mitchell and James Taylor both got their first big breaks. It also operated as a comedy club showcasing such acts as Joan Rivers and Woody Allen.
A little further into the village stands another great institute for music the Cafe Wha? It was here that Bob Dylan made his first appearance in the city, in addition to being the launch pad for such artists as diverse as Velvet Underground and Peter,Paul and Mary. It was opened in 1959 by Manny Roth, Uncle of Van Halen’s vocalist David Lee Roth and is still operating today.
Just around the corner from this venue is the place where Bob Dylan was photographed for the cover of the album “The Freewheeling Bob Dylan”. I tried to recreate the shot but too much has changed to make it recognisable. I was able however able to find the place where the cover of my all time favourite album was photographed. This is the place…
….and this is the album.
One last stop on my musical journey was outside Electric Lady studios on West 8th Street. Opened by Jimi Hendrix in 1970 he unfortunately only used it for ten weeks before his untimely death. However many classic records by David Bowie, Stevie Wonder and others have been recorded here.
Having dragged Sylvia around on my musical reminiscences it was only fair to treat her to a good traditional New York Diner lunch so we choose the Waverley Diner on nearby Waverley Place. This diner has been voted one of the top twenty in the whole of the USA and it didn’t disappoint.
Sylvia choose a burger…
….while I went for a toasted pastrami sandwich and my did it have some pastrami in it.
Much of Greenwich Village is now occupied by New York University and many of the old buildings have been destroyed to make way for modern office blocks and student accommodation. Some nice examples of the architecture still exist though such as these.
In the centre of the village sits the vibrant Washington Square Park full of people playing chess, busking or just relaxing by the fountains.
After eating and relaxing in the park we caught the subway to the Rockefeller Center and emerged in to the hustle and bustle of Broadway and Times Square,
Resisting the temptation of the food stands…
…we thought of buying a tee shirt but were undecided on which to choose.
We returned to the ship to recharge the batteries for tomorrow’s adventure.