Approaching Ellis Island.
Finally on Ellis Island.
The first display, set in the lobby.
The displays on the ground floor.
The famous registration hall.
It was so eerie walking through the original hallways, now leading into the museum displays; it reminded me of the hallways in an insane asylum in a horror movie hahaha.
Some of the interesting displays in the section focusing on how things worked at Ellis Island; the 6th photo is my favourite, I couldn't help but smile when I read the quote.
Some of the things I found interesting in the section focusing on the journey of and attitude towards immigrants.
The type of clothes immigrants wore.
A look at the registration hall back in the day.
Showing the gradual development of Ellis Island.
The view from the second floor of the registration hall.
Some of the old pillars were preserved, which show the things new immigrants wrote and drew on the pillars while waiting at Ellis Island.
An example of the temporary housing provided at Ellis Island for those detained.
Back outside. I actually just missed the ferry while deciding whether I should stay and have lunch at Ellis Island or wait until I got back to Manhattan. So with plenty of time until the next ferry came, I ended up eating lunch at Ellis Island. The chicken burger I had actually wasn't too bad, and I got to watch a family throw out half of their lunches just because they didn't like it...I don't know what more to say about that haha.
Waiting for the next ferry to arrive.
Back on the ferry to Manhattan. I honestly had no idea visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island would be almost a full day trip - I got back to Manahttan well into the afternoon, and I had initially thought I'd get back shortly after noon. I had no more time the rest of the day to really see anything in daylight.
Back in Battery Park, there was a group of 3 street performers just about to begin their little show, so I joined the crowd and watched. They were pretty decent, but they were hustlers at heart. They hyped up their final trick, one guy jumping over 5 people in ascending height taken from the crowd, and then collected money from the crowd to before performing their finale. I was smart not to give anything, but they actively pressured so many people into giving something - really gives a bad reputation to street performers. I real felt sorry for one young European couple - the guy generously gave them a $20 USD bill(!), and then the performers had the nerve to pressure them for another $20 (which he gave!)! And of course, the finale was nothing spectacular; after lining up all 5 people, they ended up taking away the 2 tallest at the end, and then asked the 3 to crouch down, and then one of the performers jumped over them...very misleading since they had all 5 people standing lined up the whole time while they were hyping up the finale. The best thing about all this was that a few metres away, some guys had just begun to set up a cart selling "I (heart) NY" hoodies as the performers finished, so I was able to pick up a hoody for only $15 USD (the cheapest I had seen the whole time in NY, but obviously you get what you pay for...very cheap quality)!
After resting for a bit back at the hostel, I actually went up to Times Square again, this time to the TKTS booth. I was so impressed with "A View From The Bridge" that I just wanted to see another! I really had my heart set on seeing a musical, especially Wicked, but because Wicked was regularly sold out, they rarely appeared at TKTS (they heavily offer discounted tickets to Broadway and off-Broadway shows). So I ended up buying a ticket to "Time Stands Still." I had seen an ad for it in the program for "A View From The Bridge," and decided to see it because it was another limited engagement show, and it starred Laura Linney (I remember her from "Fraiser"), who I knew was a good actress and had a good reputation for her theatre performances. It also starred Alicia Silverstone and I was interested to see how she performed on stage since all I remembered about her was her portrayal of Batgirl in "Batman & Robin" hahaha.
And then I was off in search of Burger Joint, rated as one of the best, if not the best burger place in NYC! I remember reading about it in English chef Heston Blumenthal's book "In Search of Perfection." Being a food buff, of course I had to pay it a visit, but I actually almost completely forgot about it - I had thought about it before arriving in NYC, but had gone the entire trip up until this point without even thinking about it! It would have been such a shame to miss it. And then while out and about on the streets, I almost didn't find it! I spent a huge costly chunk of time (I'll expand on that soon) trying to find the Le Parker Meridien hotel, since Burger Joint is located inside the hotel. The problem was I completely memorized the location wrong when I searched it up on Google Maps earlier, and it wasn't until I passed by my old lodging at the Rockefeller Center Hotel that I finally found my way! Once again, the Rockefeller Center Hotel served me well, only bolstering my opinion of the place. Out of all the hotels I passed in the area (and I'm pretty sure I passed almost all of them), it was the only one I could get a usable Wifi signal with my phone while standing outside their lobby, and so I was finally able to search up the location. The problem was compounded by the fact that the Le Parker Meridien really did not stand out; if anything, its exterior is designed as if it doesn't want to be found!
Passing by Carnegie Hall while looking for the Le Parker Meridien hotel.
I finally found it! See what I mean? Unless the location was previously known, anyone could easily walk by without noticing it was the Le Parker Meridien hotel. But I soon found out all the searching was worth it.
Tucked away in a dark corner, all that indicated there was even something there was a single, small neon sign that anyone could easily pass without noticing. I remember reading in Blumenthal's book that the Burger Joint could be hard to find because it was quietly tucked away in an inconspicuous corner of the lobby, and he was right, but luckily since I had read about it, I found it with ease. The first photo is of how the entrance really looks, and the second photo is the same photo which I greatly brightened after editing to show dark it really was.
Some looks around the tiny, constantly crowded Burger Joint while I stood in line to order. I could instantly tell how popular this place was among the locals. I haven't altered the photos that much, it really was that dim and orange inside the place. And I really liked the quirky decorations along the wall - mostly movie and TV posters signed by cast members who ate at the restaurant before and other signatures of celebrities and professional athletes.
How to order(!); they're surprisingly strict about the ordering process.
Watching the beef patties cook; they work fast, which is why they're all blurred.
A look at the counter after I placed my order, 2 cheeseburgers with "The Works" and a Coke. I know, I could have easily just had one burger, but how often do I get a chance to eat at the best rated burger place in NYC? This was surprisingly my most expensive meal while in NYC! I spent almost $20 for the 2 burgers and pop (it was something like $8 USD per burger and $2.50 USD for the pop, I don't remember exactly); word to the wise, don't bother getting pop, that's the biggest rip-off.
A look at the last wall, with a small old-fashioned TV tucked away in the corner.
Like I said, the place was constantly crowded, but I was lucky enough to grab an open seat shortly after ordering just as a group had finished with the table. I was so excited to unwrap my first burger!
So far so good!
Perfection!!! Just the right amount of condiments (you don't feel like you're getting short-changed but it's also not overstuffed, and it tastes quite fresh), oooy-gooy cheese melted over a perfectly grilled real beef patty (not burnt!), juicy flavour-bursting beef that was soft and chewy and just the right texture, and thin buns that perfectly complimented the rest of the burger (it was the right texture and flavour, not like the cheap doughy stuff from supermarkets or that some restaurants and fast food joints offer, thin enough to not take up unnecessary mouth space, but just thick enough so that all the ingredients wouldn't soak through or break up the bread). Honestly couldn't ask for a more perfect burger...worth every penny! I completely understand why so many people love this place. The bun was actually one of my favourite parts! I've never had such a good burger bun that perfectly complimented everything else - whoever designed the burger put a lot of thought into each component. The only flaw I found was that I had ordered medium for both burgers, and they both came out closer to medium-well to well-done.
I came at the right time - when I left, the line had grown even longer, with people lined up all the way out into the hotel's lobby, and the line never once cleared the whole time I was there!
Enjoying my second burger while waiting for the subway. Remember how I said I spent way too much time trying to find the place? Well the reason I was so time crunched was that I had to make the Broadway show, otherwise I would have obviously preferred taking my time to enjoy the second burger in the restaurant. I had to go back to the hostel to drop off my camera before I went to see the show (I didn't know there was baggage check at the theatre!) and then ride back up to Times Square. And then I wasted even more time trying to find the Friedman Theatre - I had no clue where it was, didn't have time to look it up, and ended up having to ask a police officer for directions. Sadly, I ended up getting to the theatre 5 minutes late, so I had to wait in the lobby for another 10 minutes waiting for the opportunity to be seated without disturbing the actors on stage, so I ended up missing around the first 15 minutes of the play!
This brings to mind one of the few complaints I have about the NYC subway system - the time between trains is (surprisingly) waayyy too long, especially for such a big city. Even the TTC runs trains more frequently, and I found even during peak hours the time delay between trains was still over 4 minutes!!! If the subway had run more frequently, I could have easily made the play on time.
My Broadway experience wasn't as good this time. At first I was really excited, knowing I'd be watching a very good actress, and getting 50% off orchestra level seats! But it was a little annoying missing the introduction of the play and just getting thrown in part-way into the story. At first, I quickly got over this because of the well-written story and solid acting by all performers, but my attention kept getting disturbed by the incredibly annoying man sitting behind me who kept coughing and clearing his throat the entire play! At the end, everyone in my row that sat near him commented on how disturbing he was, and I even overheard his wife telling him to stop or to go outside during the play (hahaha)!
But the acting was top notch! Very impressive performance by Laura Linney and the rest of the cast. Alicia Silverstone really played her character quite well, I was really impressed with how well she did. Eric Bogosian was also starred in the play, I recognized him from the commercials for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" hahaha. The set design was very nice, and it was a small cast of only 4 actors, Broadway actor Brian d'Arcy James being the fourth cast member. Very briefly, it's about how a photographer and journalist couple readjust to life at home in Manhattan after recovering from injuries sustained from a road-side bomb while on assignment in a war-torn country. It was a very heavy drama - I had no idea it'd be that heavy, especially since I really wanted to see something light and musical after seeing a drama the previous night, but it was still a good play; I'd definitely recommend it for those looking for something serious. And strangely enough, this time, there was no crowd of people waiting outside to get autographs!?
But then the night wasn't over just yet. After getting back from the show, I headed out to the nearby bar, Nevada Smith's, where the Couchsurfers in NY were having their weekly meet-up. I grabbed a beer (even though I probably shouldn't have been drinking so soon after getting better) and got to meet some locals and other travellers, which was a good change of pace from the hostel, where everyone seemed to keep to themselves there. Nothing wild, just simple meet-and-greets (especially since I got there a little late), and then it was time to call it a night.
And that wrapped up another long day in NYC. I had spent such a huge chunk of my day visiting the Statue of Liberty that it really seemed like I had spent the whole day with Lady Liberty. Honestly, if you're strapped for time and didn't book a crown ticket in advance, I highly recommend you skip the pedestal ticket and just see the statue from ground level - all the waiting just isn't worth it unless you're going all the way to the top. And what better way to end a "date" than with the best burgers in town and a Broadway show, right?
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