I said Hallelujah, praise the lord

Another Sunday morning, another trip to church to do some gospel singing. I met up with my tour group that would be heading into Harlem for a Sunday morning church service followed by a Soul food brunch. After some mucking around we were off and heading to Harlem for the 10am service. The tour guide took us the long way and introduced us to his Harlem. In doing so, he tried to debunk the myth of Harlem being a dangerous place due to its history of infamous people like Frank Lucus. However, as we drive along the streets through Harlem I cant help but see the run down projects and think it is definitely a place I would not want to live. I’ve been told already by other locals that the area isn’t one you’d walk through alone, especially at night, but that it has improved a bit over time. Along the way the tour guide points out places of interests, such as schools and musicals institutions. Nothing particularly stuck with me so I can’t report much here. We got to the church service at Greater Central Baptist Church. Before we head in we are told not to take photos and to participate in the singing. Prior to getting on the tour we are warned to dress proper, i.e. no short skits, t-shirts, halter tops. We are taken to the upper rafters of the church whilst the members of the church sit down below. What strikes me initially is the fact that all the church goers wear white and wear a hat. Very proper. As we walk in we hear the sounds of some very upbeat gospel music. It was really fantastic as I’ve never seen it live. They have fabulous voices and I like the boppy music! The minister’s assistant starts off the service with singing and then prayer. One thing I love was the passion of the congregation and the minister’s family. When someone says something, the church goers yell out, ‘praise the lord!’ People start to take photos after being told not to which is slack but equally it’s a moment not to forget. I sneak a couple of photos in sans flash to remember my trip to Harlem. They pass the bowls around for donations and I put a few bucks in whilst seeing that my neighbour put in a quarter. What a tight arse! If they can afford the tour I’m sure they can do better than a quarter.

We finish up about 45 minutes later and are instructed to leave whilst the congregation carries on with the second half of the service. I make my way back to the tour bus and get geed up for some soul food lunch. 10 minutes later we are outside Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant where we are to have a buffet brunch. The restaurant is surprisingly super busy with lines outside waiting to be served. Outside of the restaurant there are plenty of street sellers selling Barack Obama themed merchandise to the passing parade. I bought myself a badge. After waay too much hanging around we go and and sit down for our meal. I notice I am one of very few people speaking English at my tour’s table. One thing I have noticed about touring New York City is that it is such a melting pot of people from all over the world. There are a lot of Europeans, which might have something to do with the weak US dollar.

The food comes out and I munch down some corn bread, fried chicken, cold mashed potato, mac and cheese, rice, and to top it off, banana pudding. Overall, the food was really good and I didn’t mind the mix. I could never have this food on a daily basis but I can see why it was termed soul food. During our meal, two people are walking around singing gospel music to everyone. It seems that it is the place to go for a meal with the family after a church service. I don’t want to hang around waiting for everyone else to finish and get the bus back so I decide to leave myself and get the subway.

I got off near Central Park and decide to walk around. I check out some of the shops and go to Loweman’s. It’s another high fashion discount store. These places are great. You can get yourself some serious bargains. I then go to Filene’s Basement and have a quick look. I decide to get onto the subway and head downtown to go to the famous Century 21 department store and the World Trade Centre site. Century 21 is awesome. I got some amazing deals on Pucci and a Betsey Johnson bag. I almost got a D&G shirt for $50 from $400! I go and check out the World Trade Centre site. There is a Visitor’s Centre and Museum next to the site but I elect not to pay and go in as I didn’t want to bum myself out and I knew what to expect. The site itself isn’t much to look at. It’s still just a hole being constructed on and isn’t likely to be completed until 2010. I want to make Comedy Night at Times Square Arts Centre so I get onto the subway and head back to my hotel.

I quickly got myself changed and head out to Comedy Night. I was looking forward to seeing how good the comedy talent is in NY at these cheap comedy nights. $20 later I am inside and waiting to get the show started. One thing that peeved me was the ridiculous prices of drinks. I had an $8 Bud. Pleeease. The MC comes on and she’s rubbish. Like all she got from me was pity laughs, not good. But then two other guys go on and then the headliner and they are an absolute cack. The theme running through a lot of the comedy was black vs white differences in behaviour. There’s always something in peoples cultures, and that’s what it is here. Overall, the comedy was great and I’m glad I checked it out.

After getting a headache from laughing so much I head back to my hotel around the corner and call it a night.

What I learnt in New York City today:

• Harlem may have gotten safer but I really had my wits about me when walking around there by myself and getting the subway. I held my handbag pretty close to me!
• There’s something almost uneasy about the fact that the WTC site is such a tourist attraction. Maybe because it’s still so new.
• See some comedy if you can. Even the dive comedy venues have great acts that are just trying to make it big.

Princess Diana at Madam Tussauds.

With Johnny Depp at Madam Tussauds that i visited yesterday.

The Gospel choir doing their thing.

These artworks are all over the city to commemorate the All Star Game happening at Yankee stadium in a couple of weeks. A final farewell to the stadium.

Rockefeller Centre Plaza.

The World Trade Centre site.