Oot & Aboot: Dam Yankees

Today I said farewell to Boston, and hello to New York City. I was scheduled to get the Amtrak regional train from Back Bay station to Penn Station in New York City. It did turn up, but it was about ten minutes late. It was a nice change to take the train instead of flying, as I would have loathed getting through all the security at JFK and I wouldn’t have to worry as much about the weight of my luggage. I got on board and grabbed a window seat. I’m told by the customer service folk that it’s a full train thanks to it being a long weekend and 4th July tomorrow (Independence Day holiday). But, I don’t mind as much as there’s plenty of room in the aisles and around the seats. So much better than a plane! And the heavy luggage I was worried about. Well they don’t even look at it or weigh it. All she said to me was just find somewhere on the train to put it. So far, I am loving this. The ride was going to be roughly 3.5 hours long so I spent the time napping and sorting out my digital photos. The time went relatively quickly. The train also has a café carriage where there are face to face seats with tables and a canteen so you can get up whenever and grabbed some food. Suffice to say, I am sold on this way of travel if it isn’t too far a distance. The fact that I was heading to New York City hadn’t really hit me yet. NYC is somewhere I’ve wanted to go to since I was little and have always felt that if there was any city in the world I would fit in with, I think it would be NYC. From watching endless Sex and the City re-runs, loving Seinfeld, and all the movies filmed there, I had decided it was where I would love. I was about 10 minutes from the end of my train journey when I saw it. I saw the NYC skyline from across the Hudson River. It was then that it rubbed in, I am almost in NYC. I got so excited I cannot tell you. Grinning from ear to ear, this is going to be awesome! The train pulled into the station and I saw the sign, ‘Penn Station New York’ and I was pumped!

I lugged my stuff through the super hot subway and got to the street level. It was at that point that I said, ‘oh shit’ because I had no idea what to do then. I winged it and got to one side of the block and joined a cab rank. Five minutes later I was in a cab and directing my lady cab driver to my hotel. My hotel was in walking distance, but given the heat and luggage I chose a cab, plus you need to cab it at least once in NYC. So the cab driver was useless. I had to show her my map about 5 times plus repeat the address another 5 times. So far I wasn’t feeling all that confident. I’m told a lot of streets are one way and that’s why she’s confused, but come on! As we drive down the streets and avenues I am gob smacked. I’m in NYC!! To define it I would say noisy and big. You’re lucky if two seconds passes before a cab honks to another and people jay walking everywhere. 10 minutes later I get to my hotel in Times Square. It is in a fantastic location. It is on Fashion Ave (7th) and one block from Broadway. I check in, and I’m told there'll be a complimentary breakfast every morning (boom) and free WiFi. So far I am impressed and love the funky digs. My hotel room is a shoe box, but I don’t mind. It’s keen and secure, and for one person you don’t need much space.

I had bought a ticket to a Yankees vs Red Sox game for later on so I went downstairs and got information on how I was going to get there. At this stage I was rather overwhelmed by the size of the city. I’m to catch a train uptown to the Yankee stadium in The Bronx from Grand Central Station. I was told last week that I am really lucky to have got a ticket to such a good game, anything vs Sox is hard to get. Added to that fact is that Yankee stadium is to be knocked down this year, so I’m seeing one of the last games played there. The new Yankee Stadium is almost completed and situated literally next door. So I get to walking and try and find Grand Central Station. I ask traffic cops (who are everywhere) and head in the right direction. I then find groups all dressed in Yankee’s gear walking the same direction. So I simply follow them and get to the station. I get to the station, have another ‘oh shit’ moment and eventually find the right track and get on the train. It is PACKED with Yankees fans and I’m quite excited. We get to Yankee Stadium 25 minutes later and I start to hunt down where to go. I feel very strange not wearing anything Yankee themed so I head into one of the dozens of stores around the stadium and buy a Yankees cap. There is a heap od merchandise about the stadium, or 'The House that Ruth Built'.

The game has almost started, so I quickly buy a beer and hot dog and get to my seat. The stadium is packed, the old school music comes on, and the crowd cheers for their players, and boos the Sox. I thought I would be bored watching the game but I was surprisingly loving it and now I actually know how it’s played. The Yankees best players, Jeter and A-Rod, didn’t play too well and Yankees didn’t get any home runs. It started to become clear by half way that the Yankees were losing. Especially evident in the fact that heaps of people started to leave and the people behind me got personally offended the Yankees weren’t playing well. These are some hard core fans. The game flew by and the Yankees lost 6-0. Despite the loss, I had an awesome time, I really loved it. The atmosphere is great and it attracts all sorts of people; old, young, female, male.

After the game and suffering through a SUPER crowded subway I get back to Grand Central Station and take the shuttle to Times Square and to my hotel. I was hanging to start exploring the city tomorrow.

What I learnt today in New York City:

Taxis are everywhere and probably make up half the traffic. They are also insane.
You just walk the streets and everywhere you look you see something familiar or something that you’ve heard of. I walked past the New York Library and instantly thought of Carrie from Sex and the City.
The layout of the city is great and easy to follow. It’s just streets crossed with Avenues. After all these years, New York City addresses finally make sense to me, when they talk about the closest cross section of streets where a place is.