New York In Autumn
Flying to New York always makes me happy. Flying into New York, this time on Emirates Business Class made me very very happy. The short flight to Dubai, the luxurious humongous Emirates Lounge at the Airport, and even what is considered a long-haul flight into the Big Apple, was for me this time, an absolute pleasure. Being a movie buff, the new award winning ICE system, available to all the passengers - with over 1000 channels of programming, which includes the latest of the latest movies on a wider screen, is the ultimate in in-flight entertainment.
I hardly notice the time fly, and almost forget the gourmet cuisine served on board! Champagne and cocktails, followed by a five course meal is enough to send anyone to sleep – and when I do finally decide it’s time to rest, the ever helpful stewardess brings on a lily-white soft thin mattress to lay on my fully stretched-out seat. I am in so much comfort that I am quite surprised to find myself in New York so soon! And of course at the JFK, I could have taken the offer available to Emirates First and Business class passengers that of a chauffer driven car into the city, except of course, my Sri Lankan friend and Hi!! Agent in New York, Vidura very kindly picks me up and takes me into Manhattan. This time I am here in New York to attend the Sri Lanka Medical Association of North America dinner dance held normally in mid November.
Staying at my friends, Dharsh and Dr. Milinda Seneviratne’s beautiful spacious Manhattan apartment on the Upper West side, I am very happy that I am walking distance from my most favourite place of all in New York – the Central Park, which is simply breathtaking in Autumn. But on this trip, I decide to explore some of the neighbourhoods in New York, without limiting myself to Manhattan, which is normally the case. With that in mind, my friend Shiromi and I go out exploring the Meat Packing district, one rainy day! The Meat Packing district is described as the quintessential 24 hour neighbourhood. In 1884, New York City established a bustling outdoor food market called the Gansvevoort Market, after a Revolutionary war hero.
In 1949, the Meat Center was established. That is how the area got its unusual name. Today, the once seamy locale, is the cutting edge of cool, with a roster of trendy eateries, bars, boutiques, galleries and dance spots.
And yes, the area is decidedly hip and happening with so many big name boutiques with some of the most fascinating interiors I have ever seen. The Alexander McQueen store is just the best, whilst the others – Diane Von Furstenburg, Stella Mccartney, Matthew Williamson – all designers feature their signature chic collections in these boutiques to New York’s fashionistas! After all that walking and shopping, we are at a loss to decide where to have lunch – the choice is so many! Every kind of cuisine is available. Many world famous restaurants – Pastis, Spice Market, Buddha Bar,Merkato 55, The Bijoux are all here. We are starving and decide on the Spice Market, which serves Asian street food by Jean Georges Vongerichten, where the ambience and the food really hit the right notes!
Living so close to the Central Park, I decide to walk across to the Guggenheim, which has organized the Kandinsky exhibition as a celebration of its 50th Anniversary. Kandinsky’s art is central to the Guggenheim since its creator; Soloman R Guggenheim started collecting Kandinsky canvases in 1929. The gigantic Anish Kapoor installation titled ‘Memory’ compressed into a tiny room, is actually quite frightening. Meeting up with my friend, Angeline from Sri Lanka who is also visiting New York, we spend a day at the MOMA and the Metropolitan museum. Monet’s famous lily pond painting was on display at the MOMA.
On Sunday, the day after the dance, I wake up at Dr Lal and Rayani Samarasinghe’s fabulous penthouse apartment in the Ritz Carlton Apartments on Lower East Side, which is north of Canal Street. The views from above are stupendous. The Statue of Liberty is seen from one corner, whilst the World Trade Center site is just up the street. Home to Jewish immigrants in the late 19th century, the Lower East Side is a diverse melting pot for historic sites and hip haunts. We take in a leisurely Sunday walk along the jetty, and end up at the World Trade center building site where the new memorial has reached ground level. The devastation is still visible, and has taken its toll on the financial district, the economic hub of the nation.
Rohan De Silva, celebrity pianist and the first Sri Lankan to attend the Juilliard School who is now a Professor of Music teaching there, has invited me along with a few other Sri Lankans resident in New York to the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre where Sri Lankan opera singer Tharanga Goonetilleke is to perform as Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, An Opera in Three Acts. It’s a phenomenal performance by Tharanga, who really does us proud, and we head off backstage to congratulate our fellow Sri Lankan.
A visit to Chinatown. Home to almost ninety thousand people, Chinatown is another neighbourhood which is south of Canal Street, and along the narrow streets and boulevards are the markets, eateries and shops selling everything from jade to birds’ nests. Soho adjoins Chinatown, and is the hip area located SOuth of HOuston St, and has signature cast iron buildings, cafes, bistros, trendy bars and lounges. Lal and Rayani take me to Nobu in Tribeca, well knowing my liking for great Japanese.
Tribeca was thus named after TRIangle BElow CAnal Street. Tribeca has been gentrified with such celebrities as Robert De Niro, Gwyneth Paltrow and Justin Timberlake, who prize its lofts, gritty informality and fine restaurants which include the likes of Nobu, Corton, Acappella and Tribeca Grill.
One sunny morning, I decide to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. Since its opening, it has become an iconic part of the New York skyline. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
Visiting Shiromi in Washington DC for a couple of days, we take in my favourite haunt there – the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture garden, which displays Rodins, Moores as well as ultra modern sculpture from this century in its gardens. We come across a tree at the end of the garden, on which is stuck hundreds of hand written tiny notes. Our heart break when we read out one, written by a mother of a soldier, who is wishing for son to come back home, and for the war in Iraq and Afganistan to end. I thank my lucky stars that terrorism on our soil has been decimated, and we are free!
Back in New York, on my last day, all my friends take me out to drinks to the Empire Hotel roof top bar at the Lincoln Centerand to dinner at the Blue Ribbon, a Japanese restaurant, famous for its sushi.
Emirates send me my complimentary chauffeur driven vehicle to take me to the airport. Flying back home, luxuriating in the comfort of Emirates Airlines business class, I barely notice as we land in Dubai. Even transiting at the luxurious Emirates Lounge is a pleasure, as I then catch my flight back home.
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SHYAMALEE TUDAWE