Japantown is pretty much an outdoor mall (Japanese Village Plaza) and its surrounding streets. The plaza has a good mix of the stores you’d expect. Sanrio (Hello Kitty), traditional style souvenirs and apparel, authentic cuisines, bakeries and grocery markets. Sneakers are covered with Footland Sports. They stock a good range of current items including colourways and styles that you’d expect from a much larger store. Very few of the items have prices, when asked, they’re all around standard RRP but with a “I give you a special price” post-fix, so there’s a bit of bargaining to had if you’re purchasing a few items. There’s also a sale wall at the back with old season stock.
Sanrio - Japantown LA
Outside the mall the sneaker fun continues with RIF LA, the downtown consignment answer to West Hollywood’s Flightclub. Similar range, though the prices were higher. As with any bricks and mortar store, the benefit would be being able to go in, handle the shoe and try it on rather than taking your chances on ebay and the like.
RIF LA
On the northern side of the plaza is easily one of LA biggest and best anime stores, Anime Jungle (second store on the southern side). Huge selection of Manga, cosplay outfits, Gundam model kits, tees and anime related merch. The store itself isn’t very obvious with “Cure shop” on its front window but its unmistakable once you walk in.
Anime Jungle
A block to the west you have Weller Court, a small mall with a nature strip and Japanese gardens, perfect for taking a rest from all that walking! The last stop is Q Pop, a mid size store with a good selection of vinyl collectibles, clothing and books. It differs from the usual with a more advent guarde approach to the clothing and artworks, a bit more twisted and a little less cute, there’s also a selection of finer arts like paintings and sculptures. They of course still have the cheek squeezing super cute stuff if that’s more to your liking.
Q Pop LA
Q Pop LA
Next up, we ditch the shopping bags and hit up a string of sight seeing and entertainment!
Los Angeles 2011 part #1 – Arrival, Melrose Trading Post
Los Angeles 2011 part #2 – West Hollywood shopping, Mulholland Drive
Los Angeles 2011 part #3 – Downtown shopping – Fashion District
Los Angeles 2011 part #4 – Downtown shopping – Japantown
Los Angeles 2011 part #5 – Steel Panther @ The House of Blues 17/5/11
Los Angeles 2011 part #6 – Hollywood sign, Farmer’s Market
Los Angeles 2011 part #7 – Peterson Automotive Museum
Los Angeles 2011 part #8 – Greater LA area shopping
Los Angeles 2011 part #9 – Hollywood sight seeing with Orbic Air
Los Angeles 2011 part #10 – Driving in Los Angeles/California
Complete Los Angeles 2011 photo gallery here
Downtown LA
Most cities around the world tend to have a CBD which is based loosely round a large mall or group of shops, not so much for LA. Its CBD is strongly focused on the ‘B’ and can throw off first timers expecting more, very much like ourselves. First stop and possibly only stop for most people is the infamous 100 block “fashion” district. I use the term “fashion” very loosely as it seems like its more targeted to certain demographics and it seems one of the biggest markets are middle age to elderly women, not too unlike the mother of Nanny Fine. You know the look, big loose clothing with violent clashes of colour and patterns or an unashamed overuse of glo-mesh and bedazzling.
Coming a close second are the hoochie mama outfits. If you finally got that part as “background dancer #14” in your friends rap video (yes we know, it’s a foot in the door till your boyfriend/manager sorts out that demo for you) then this is the place for you! Store after store of leggings that look like jeans, jeans that look like leggings and mannequin bums that look like two pigs fighting under a blanket. Starting to see a pattern yet?
YA RLY
Unfortunately the guys gear isn’t much better, while some of the prices are good, the range is limited to basic work wear, athletic gear and Ed Hardy styled fashion. On the upside there are plenty of suit stores and tailors, a lot with questionable designs and dated cuts to go with their outlandish sitcom drug dealer style shirts but there are some good places with classic designs and vintage flare.
One thing to note is a lot of the stores are wholesalers (some don’t actually sell to the public) so the prices can get very good if you’re looking at buying in bulk eg. For your team, school, work. One of the Dickies sellers mentioned he supplies a few stores in NZ and AU.
But remember these are the UDM (US domestic market) work wear variety, not the “Dickies Street” version sold by stores like City Beach in Australia, which incidentally have very little difference to the work wear ones.
In the way of sneakers, you’re best to just keep walking. The few stores we ventured into were a mixture of fakes, factory seconds and low end “rubbishy” models. There were a couple worthy toy stores with less commercial product, one I found in the most unlikely of places selling wind chimes and jewellery, everything BUT toys. But they did have a shelf in the window of collectible vinyl in a hiphop/graffiti vain which look liked they’ve sat there for years. Pieces which I’ve seen around the traps ranging from $50-200US as limited runs in selected Kidrobot stores and the like. When asked on prices, they were clearly made up on the spot from a guy that should really never play poker! I’m sure I could’ve haggled a better price out of him, but with numbers between $10-15US it was hard to keep a straight face. Needless to say, I cleaned them out 😉
The rest of this precinct is divided up for flowers and textiles. The flower section has a huge selection of cut flowers and potted garden flowers and plants along with associated accessories. Obviously the weather dictates a lot of the seasonal/regional flowers but its still a surprise to see massive 10-15 flowered Phalaenopsis orchids for a throw away $10ea. Similar items would fetch between $50 and $100 mark here. The cut flower arrangements are what can only be described and typically American. Big, bold and brash, like a brand new Escalade with chrome wheels or your mum’s hair style from the 80s, they feature a fanned peacock tail arrangement with a random selection of “pretty” flowers. Roses, sunflowers, tulips and ample Baby’s Breath are all slapped together in a tribal head gear fashion with cohesion and colour blocking coming in with a DNF. If you really want to dazzle your loved one you can even go for the pieces that feature a large plastic gold plated ornament! Needless to say, if you are buying cut flowers, you’ll do better buying a couple bunches and putting them together in the dark 😉
Textiles on the other hand, while still having the patterns/styles of a Rugs-a-million clearance rug, are saved by sheer variety. Even if you have a brief passing interest in sewing its worth a look, if you’re at the other end of the scale and are already thinking how many fat quarters you can get into a suitcase then you may want to consider ditching some of those sneakers :-0
iPhone case anyone?
Its probably best to just park your car as close as possible to the area you’re visiting, then move it to the next area and pay the few bucks again as the blocks are loonngg. If you want to brave it or aren’t driving, walking does have its advantages in stumbling across stores and flea market style centres with electronics, souvenirs and general plastic crap, not too unlike your average Asian shopping “centre” and all at prices less than the usual tourist spots. For example, souvenir tees were around 20-40% less than places like Santa Monica and the Farmer’s Markets.
Big Man Bakes
As you’re venturing north take a detour to South Main street for Big Man Bakes, nothing as suss… or big …or manly as it sounds! Simply some very tasty gourmet cupcakes. Try the Red Velvet – a traditional southern style cake, the caramel apple or the “old school” – yellow cake with chocolate butter cream icing; the list goes on and they get cheaper the more you buy.
Further north is the “Toy District“, which was in all accounts disappointing. A whole district of toys?? Yes please! Unfortunately, from the several blocks we walked through it was nothing more than novelties and knick knacks bar a few remote controlled helicopters and cars. There’s also a scattering of home wares and car accessories stores. There’s a Hello Kitty store, or should I say a store that sells Hello Kitty items. Hard to tell if they were real or not but the branding and packaging looked authentic as did the HK car mats. Hello Kitty as a robot with Astro boy styled rocket feet flying through a rainbow? Just try and stop me!
By now you’ve probably ready to hurt someone if you see another battery powered car that flips over when it hits a wall or a “live” ball with a tail, but don’t despair, Japantown is just around the corner.
Los Angeles 2011 part #1 – Arrival, Melrose Trading Post
Los Angeles 2011 part #2 – West Hollywood shopping, Mulholland Drive
Los Angeles 2011 part #3 – Downtown shopping – Fashion District
Los Angeles 2011 part #4 – Downtown shopping – Japantown
Los Angeles 2011 part #5 – Steel Panther @ The House of Blues 17/5/11
Los Angeles 2011 part #6 – Hollywood sign, Farmer’s Market
Los Angeles 2011 part #7 – Peterson Automotive Museum
Los Angeles 2011 part #8 – Greater LA area shopping
Los Angeles 2011 part #9 – Hollywood sight seeing with Orbic Air
Los Angeles 2011 part #10 – Driving in Los Angeles/California
Complete Los Angeles 2011 photo gallery here
So we’re back in West Hollywood. Kinda like catching up with an old friend really. You know their quirks, you know what you have in common, you by pass the touchy subjects and jump straight into reminiscing.
We covered the bulk of the West Hollywood stores previously here and here, but just to quickly recap, Flightclub LA and Sportie LA are always good stops for consignment/pre owned gear, though some of their prices are starting to get a little greedy. If you worry more about how good you look while skateboarding than how good you can actually skateboard then you might wanna pop your head into the stores of
Supreme, Diamond Supply and Crooks and Castles. Each trying to out do each other in hipster arrogance and poor service. What’s worse is none have the inventory to back the attitude, with limit range and sizes, give the glorified check out chicks a miss, there’s nothing you cant buy online or at another store for cheaper.
Flightclub LA
Sportie LA
Johnny Cupcakes is always worth a stop in for in store exclusives. A recent subtraction from this cluster of shops is Loyal Army, sadly they pretty much upped and closed their store overnight with very little notice. They are however still selling online and from their San Francisco store in Haight.
Japan LA
On the plus side, JapanLA has moved on to Melrose not too far from their old location to a newer and bigger store. Still the same good selection, abundance of Hello Kitty merch, friendly staff, sale items and now also sporting a small gallery room at the back with works from local artists.
Meltdown Comics
Last stop in West Hollywood was Meltdown Comics. Easily one of the biggest comic stores we’ve seen in awhile. Huge selection of comics and just as big selection of collectibles, figures, toys and plushes ranging from movie/comic based items to urban vinyl collectibles and blind boxes. They also have the complete range of So So Happy merchandise, which means if you’ve got a sweet tooth for the sickly cute and colourful you’ll no doubt go into a diabetic coma here.
Pop Killer
While you’re there, pop over the road to Pop Killer. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling of vintage and vintage styled new items. Mostly clothing but also a range of accessories, knick knacks, novelties and house hold items.
Mulholland Drive
As the sun slowing slipped away at a leisurely 8pm we took a drive up to Muholland Drive. Just follow the road up to the lookout (with fixtures and signage, not just dirt!), even though there are spots before this, parking is a little hit and miss as is the view. Don’t forget to take a jacket as well, those mountain breezes are very unforgiving! The view here is mostly of west LA, to see more of downtown follow the road around and head east through the tiny residential streets. You will eventually go over the mountain and start heading down, half way down on a rather Mt. Akina style of road, there’s a dirt spot to pull over to get your cityscape pano on.
LA cityscape (click for big)
Next up, we hit the downtown area where dodgy and awesome go hand in hand like Jesse James and Kat Von D!
Los Angeles 2011 part #1 – Arrival, Melrose Trading Post
Los Angeles 2011 part #2 – West Hollywood shopping, Mulholland Drive
Los Angeles 2011 part #3 – Downtown shopping – Fashion District
Los Angeles 2011 part #4 – Downtown shopping – Japantown
Los Angeles 2011 part #5 – Steel Panther @ The House of Blues 17/5/11
Los Angeles 2011 part #6 – Hollywood sign, Farmer’s Market
Los Angeles 2011 part #7 – Peterson Automotive Museum
Los Angeles 2011 part #8 – Greater LA area shopping
Los Angeles 2011 part #9 – Hollywood sight seeing with Orbic Air
Los Angeles 2011 part #10 – Driving in Los Angeles/California
Complete Los Angeles 2011 photo gallery here
“You can stick your well laid plans up your well laid ass!”. Ah yes, another pearl of wisdom from Mr. Jackson and nothing short of the truth for the opening leg of our latest trip. It’s true, there’s no amount of preparation that will prevent curve balls from external influences.
Things started off with a nervous check in thanks to our travel agent putting completely wrong passport numbers into our flight booking. Not the best thing to have against your name flying into the states with their current “everyone is a terrorist” standing. Luckily, after half
an hour of “Border Control” TV show style questioning, accusing glances and hushed phone calls it was all sorted and we were on our way around the world!
We scored some crazy cheap flights via star alliance, which led to the bulk of the flights being covered by Lufthansa. I’ve only flown once domestically with them which was fine for a short trip but I was a little skeptical with what the service would be like on a long haul – no thanks to a lot of comments and :S faces from friends and random strangers. However I’m happy to report it was great (: Service was good albeit it a bit hurried at times and the accommodations were nothing short of lush, being on a 3 week old A380 definitely helped with this. Exceptionally quiet, engine noise was easily half of a regular A300 or 747. Seats were comfy and the touch screen LCD complete with 3 external live cameras was great for in flight entertainment. Don’t forget your LAN or USB cable to plug your devices into your arm rest 😉 Best of all, it had that fresh off the floor, new plane smell.
Noisey kids, idiots bumping our seats, jet lag and the inescapable 2 hour crawl through LAX customs/immigration later, we were free from the clutches of commercial transit. Grabbed our rental car from Dollar Rentals (review here) and headed straight for West Hollywood.
(tips on driving in California in a coming installment)
The biggest speed bump I always find on holidays is store trading hours. The majority of places I have travelled to in the world (except Australia), retailers open around 10-11am (sometimes 12 or later for boutique stores), some bigger stores/malls might swing the doors open around 9. This might work well if you’ve had a big night but it seriously eats into your day when you’re travelling. So a good thing to try is to tee up sight seeing or community events to do in the morning while you’re waiting for the stores to open.
Random bits and pieces
First stop for us was the Melrose Trading Post at Fairfax High school which is pretty much what you would expect for a popular Californian market. An abundance of quirky brick-a-brack, hand made arts and crafts and vintage items galore from cute plush monsters to taxidermy to thousands of random photographs and negatives from people’s personal collection. How? Why? Who knows, it’s LA baby!
Vintage Coke Esky
Hand made plush toys
Framed butterflies
Vintage photo frames - $5
Buy someone else's personal photos
There’s also a selection of vintage and modern cameras and accessories. Forget over bidding on ebay for a used Vivitar flash, they were available here for throw away prices. Plenty of army surplus items as well, right down to aircraft instrumentation and war memorabilia.
Camera stuff... and hand mirrors
More camera stuff
Ammunition case
Aviation memorabilia
Photo tip: while there are plenty of tourists and arty types snapping photos, take care when shooting some of the stalls, especially the ones of the local designers who seem to be very particular with others “stealing” their ideas. I witnessed a guy get chased down and verbally abused by one owner. While the empty threats of “That’s stealing! I’m calling the police” may not mean much, it is definitely a conflict best avoided. Or at least wait till you’re about to leave anyway :p
Travel tip: Head to their website for half price entry coupons
Depending on how thoroughly you browse, it only takes about 1-2 hours to do the whole event. Take advantage of the food and (especially) toilets while you’re there. Parking is free when you drive into the grounds, (just follow the directions from the traffic controllers) so to save a few bucks, leave your car there and check out the surrounding shops, most of which should be open by now….
Next – Shopping in West Hollywood and a spot of sight seeing at the famed Mulholland Drive.
Los Angeles 2011 part #1 – Arrival, Melrose Trading Post
Los Angeles 2011 part #2 – West Hollywood shopping, Mulholland Drive
Los Angeles 2011 part #3 – Downtown shopping – Fashion District
Los Angeles 2011 part #4 – Downtown shopping – Japantown
Los Angeles 2011 part #5 – Steel Panther @ The House of Blues 17/5/11
Los Angeles 2011 part #6 – Hollywood sign, Farmer’s Market
Los Angeles 2011 part #7 – Peterson Automotive Museum
Los Angeles 2011 part #8 – Greater LA area shopping
Los Angeles 2011 part #9 – Hollywood sight seeing with Orbic Air
Los Angeles 2011 part #10 – Driving in Los Angeles/California
Complete Los Angeles 2011 photo gallery here
So you’ve done the sight seeing and are down to your last day. What’s left to do? More shopping of course! With funds running low at the end of your trip, you can’t go wrong with sales and good ol fashioned bargain hunting and the place for it? Soho. Think of it as (if you’re in Brisbane) a West End, Stones Corner (before it when to crap) and Teneriffe/New Farm all rolled into one. Boutique stores aplenty, peppered with large clothing and shoe stores with great specials.
Dave's Quality Meats - NYC
Starting at the northern end around Bowery and 4th is Dave’s Quality Meat. Nope, not a butcher, but one of those fashion stores with an identity crisis. Unlike Johnny Cupcakes, the store is unfortunately not set up like a butcher, just your standard run of the mill clean and tidy boutique store style. They stock lines similar to that of other designer sneaker stores like Supreme and Undefeated with a selection of tees, fitted caps, watches and sneakers and like those other stores, nothing outside the normal range without a drop or quickstrike on the horizon.
My Plastic Heart - NYC
Further down Bowery St. on Forsyth is My Plastic Heart, a small store speicalising in collectible vinyls in the vein of Kidrobot. The day we were there was a day of a Sketchbot custom launch! However, this didn’t start till 6pm and the store was subsequently closed in preparation. Bummer!
Sketchbot Custom - My Plastic Heart - NYC
A couple more blocks south on Elizabeth st. is Classic Kicks, another smaller shop with a leaning towards skate wear but with a bit of spice, like the SSUR x DC collabo in the window. Unfortunately this too was closed. This leads me to remind you to check trading hours where possible, especially on the weekends. General rule of thumb though, most smaller stores open late in the morning and close later in the evening.
Classic Kicks - NYC
If you’re after a bite to eat head further south into Chinatown.
But what about the bargains you say? Why they’re all on Broadway, I reply. From about Grand st. up, there are clothing and electronic stores galore. Most I didn’t catch their names but they’re very hard to miss with their large display windows and “twofa” special tags. The most memorable would be Transit. Not just for its subway car and vintage turnstile at the back of the the street level but also for their great deals. Very similar to Dr. Jays but instead of going every brand under the sun, they’ve chosen the most popular and stocked a very worthy selection of each. Nothing too exotic by international standards but by domestic AU standards its more than sufficient for those stateside colourways and models.
The cherry on top is the aforementioned “twofa” deals. Basically you save $10-20US when buying 2 similar ticketed items. Some examples: 2 x Adidas Attitude highs = $50US, 2 x Nike Air Max 90 boots = $160US, 2 x Air Max 90 premium/Air Max Free = $140. The list goes on with Superstars, Jordans, Airforce 1s and more. There are similar bargains to be had in the way of street tees and jackets, check out the clearance rack at the back of the street level.
For more specialised clothing and even more sneakers, head down stairs to find another wall of sneakers, Nike apparel and a separate room dedicated to The North Face gear: hardshells, ski jackets, parkas, backpacks, bags and more.
Couple doors up is one of the nicest looking skate shops I have ever been in, Blades, coming across as more a higher end fashion store than a street clothing store. For more, skate orientated brands, this is a good stop, though, sneakers and caps are a bit limit. Head upstairs for skate and ski hardware and a small clearance rack.
Not too far off is another store with a wood finished exterior, missed the name of this one and thanks to the ancient (2007) version of Googlemaps, I can’t even find the building, let alone the name! Anyway, bargains galore none the less. Street level is clothing a plenty. Jeans, tees, jackets more in a street, sport vein than straight hiphop style but again some very reasonable prices. Downstairs is a whole floor of sneakers all at reasonable prices even without being on special. The clearance racks were a proverbial gold mine. Vintage styled KangaROOS complete with zip pocket for $9US?? Yep, we’ll take those.
KangaROOs sneakers
A side mention, a lot of adult sizing of American clothes can be way off with cuts especially in lengths. No doubt for all the ‘ballers and festivally plump types, but if you normally wear a medium, have a look in the kids or “big kids” section and try an extra large, they tend to fit very similar. This could be the difference of about $10US on tees and $20US or more on jackets.
Another note is a lot of these stores’ service is a bit hit and miss and the lines for the cashier can sometimes be very long (6 staff on the floor looking bored and only one on the register?? Riigghhtt..) so be prepared to chase them up if you find yourself waiting more than 5min for them to bring out your size shoe or for your items to make it to the counter.
New Era Caps Flagship store - NYC
Heading back up to 9th street, the New Era Flagship store is worthy of a look in even if its just to see the cool hidden drawers where all the caps are stored. In general they didn’t have too many rarities but they did have every colour of all their standard offerings as well as their EK series and snapbacks. They also have a good range of branded apparel and accessories for the discerning and meticulous owners. A nice little bonus from shopping there is all the caps come classily boxed and bagged, something you wont find at Lids. Lids however do have sales and multi-buy specials, so if by chance the Flagship store doesn’t have your size, they will be your next bet (easiest to find store is the Times Sq. one).
New Era Caps - NYC
Other stores of interest in surrounding blocks are Dr. Jays, Kidrobot, Tokidoki (which again disappoints in size and range, it seems TD stockists are still the better option for price and variety) and the Burton flagship store. For those that just cant buy “off the rack” sneakers, the Nike Sportswear Flagship store complete with Bespoke customising section is the place for you. Choose literally thousands of different colour and material combinations to create your one offs with the help from a Nike iD designer. Just remember you have a set time to design your shoe via an appointment, so some pre-thought wouldn’t go astray and its not like getting photos developed, you will have to wait a few weeks for them to be made.
Kid Robot - NYC
So that’s it folks! Our whirlwind stop in NYC. If you plan on hitting the other burroughs or travel upstate, then try and allow more than a week! NYC is also our last stop on our holiday. For highlights and photos from the other cities, see: Tokyo here and Los Angeles here.
Next on the agenda is a world tour set for later this year and of course there will be plenty of shopping and sight seeing tips and photos (:
San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Beijing here we come!
New York City 2010 part #1 – The flight in…
New York City part #2 – Shopping: Midtown
New York City part #3 – Bronx Zoo
NYC part #4 – Sight seeing – Manhattan
NYC part #5 – Sight Seeing – Brooklyn Markets and Gardens
New York City photo gallery here
Brooklyn Markets
Like a lot of NYC, if you look beyond the stereotypes you’ll find tight knit communities and lavish culture in the most unexpected places. A prime example of this is the Brooklyn flea markets. Catch the Coney Island subway to Flatbush Av. Station. (side note: Coney Island wasn’t on our list of destinations as it was in the middle of a be refurb scheduled to reopen towards the end of 2010)
The markets are held every weekend, out doors on Saturdays at Fort Greene and Sundays at the multi-level lush (ex-bank, complete with vault) space of Skylight One Hanson. During the cooler months they stay completely in doors at Skylight One Hanson.
Forget the thought of bootleg clothing, loud rap music and hawkers trying to hustle you for your dollars, think of it more like a combination of the Southbank and New Farm park markets (in Brisbane). It’s a huge blend of antiques, repurposed furniture, vintage clothing, collectibles, jewellery, art and crafts and designer items. It even has its own fresh food and food court areas with plenty of free taste testing. Check the website to view vendor layout on the Friday prior. Depending on your tastes, seeing the whole indoor venue may only take you a couple hours.
Sticking with the grown up theme on the day, we caught a bus down Flatbush Av. to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (note: they are on your left heading south. Easily confused (until after 15min of walking and not seeing any exotic plants) with the normal park on the right hand side). Entering the southern entrance, after the $12 fee, its instantly another world. Peaceful, quiet.
The best thing about fully fledged botanical gardens is there are always flowers in bloom all year round. Being the end of winter, we were treated to a field of Cherry Blossoms. Remember these only flower for a couple weeks a year, so if you plan on seeing them, time your trip accordingly. The Aquatic House houses a pond and a rainforest area with tropical type plants that thrive in humid conditions, like orchids. The Bonsai Museum is right next door with many of the tiny guys over decades old.
Further along there are collections of Magnolia’s and Daffodils leading to the Japanese pond and garden feature. Roses, Lilacs, Tulips and Pansies round out the top section of the gardens.
Back to the real world, Flatbush Av. is one of the “main drags” of Brooklyn so there are plenty of shops to venture into. You may, like us, wonder how some of the smaller stores stay open with the poor quality of their service and stand over tactics, we figured it was just their charm.
Speaking of shopping, we round off our holiday with one last bash at the Manhattan stores!
New York City 2010 part #1 – The flight in…
New York City part #2 – Shopping: Midtown
New York City part #3 – Bronx Zoo
New York City part #4 – Sight seeing – Manhattan
New York City part #6 – Shopping: Soho
New York City photo gallery here
Complete Brooklyn Botanical Gardens photos here
So you’ve shopped yourself silly and you’re tired of trekking for hours and not getting anywhere. Time for a bit of relaxing sight seeing, and if you do it right, a lot less wallet intensive.
If you’re staying in Times Square then its an obvious first stop. Try to see it during the day and night for some vast contrasts.
Photo tip: If you wish to get a less cluttered shot at night or some long exposures you’ll have to wait till after midnight, closer to 1am before the bulk of the crowd has left. Worth it to keep the weirdos from standing in the middle of your frame staring at you and messing up your shot.
Ferris Wheel - Toys R Us, Times Square
Our faves in Times Square were of course the Toys R Us and M&M’s World stores. Even if you’re not a fan of toys or chocolate, in which case you may want to consult your local physician, both stores are a must see and are conveniently open late. Toys R Us sports a full sized 60ft Ferris wheel, Jurassic Park T-Rex, Empire State Building Lego replica complete with King Kong, a life size version of Barbie’s two story doll house and many more comic and movie characters. There are also plenty of hands on demos and lollies/candy section.
Lego Buildings - Toys R Us, Times Square
M&M World Times Square
Across the way, is M&M’s World, which, you guessed it, competes with Hello Kitty for the title of the most licensed products. Tees, mugs, stationery to collectible NASCAR models and shower curtains, it if it has a space for a logo then you’ll probably find it here. Also see the great wall o candy and stay on the look out for the M&M characters. Say “wassup” to Blue for me (:
Just in case you didn’t get enough of a sugar fix, a couple doors down is the Hershey‘s store, for those that like their chocolate sweet AND salty. Considerably smaller but just as busy, Hershey’s has the same deal but with Kisses and Peanut Butter Cups instead.
A few blocks north is “Top of the Rock” which, as the name suggests, the top of Rockefeller Plaza (aka 30 Rock, yep, the TV show in which its filmed along with other faves like the “Today” show). Whether you go here or to the Empire State Building is more a personal preference. For us the pluses over ESB were:
– cheaper
– only one security check point
– lines and wait time were almost non-existent
– no additional fees to go to higher levels
– no crazy stair climbing
– 1 enclosed and 2 open air levels
– only a couple stories shorter than the ESB (completely unnoticeable when you’re up there)
– the view is the same
– you get to see and photograph the ESB (frame it right and you can get the Statue of Liberty or Brooklyn bridge in there as well)
Try and get there about an hour or 2 before sunset to beat the rush, find a nice spot and watch the sunset and the city light up. We were fortunate to have decent visibility when we went, but like any big city, be prepared for smogged out days with dirty brown sunsets.
Regardless of which vantage point you chose remember its really high up so as soon as the sun sets it can get quite cool, so bring a jacket. Times 2 plus beanie and gloves if its in the cooler months.
NYC view north from "Top of the Rock" (click for big)
NYC view south from "Top of the Rock" (click for big)
If you chose ESB, you’ll only be a couple blocks away from Grand Central station. The location of many a movie scene’s meeting point, abandonment and “we’ll lose em here” ‘s. Check the Sky Ceiling in the main concourse for zodiac art painted by Frenchman Paul Helleu.
Main Concourse - Grand Central Station, NYC (click for big)
If you want to jump on a train then this is the place to do it, there’s a line that will take you pretty much anywhere and on the chance that you rush and catch the one heading in the wrong direction its only a matter of getting off at the next stop and crossing to the other side of the platform, just make sure your Metro Card is topped up.
One stop that may not immediately ring any bells is Bowling Green, right near Battery Park on Manhattan‘s southern tip. Here you can have a relaxing day in the park, no doubt very popular in the warmer months with is sea side location, but for us it was to take the short walk to the South Ferry Terminal for the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty.
Now you can easily spend big bucks for the countless tours to see the ol’ girl but at a cost of not just money but time in queues and security, not to mention when you get there, Liberty Island (the island its on) is very small, so photos are all upskirts and internal access is limited, so no, you cant climb into the crown and blast Jackie Wilson, Ghostbusters 2 styles. Another misleading note from the same movie is the misconception of its actual size. Its less than 50m high so its not Godzilla or even the Stay-Puff man.
That aside, if you want the cheapest and least competition from other tourists, then the Staten Island ferry is the way to go. It’s a commuter ferry so mostly business/everyday types. We had no problem getting a spot for some photos on either the front or back decks.
Photo tip: Leaving Manhattan the statue is on your right (starboard) side. Take a long lens for a nice tight level crop
Not long ago, you could actually stay on board the ferry and just wait for it to “reverse” back to Manhattan, however now they ask everyone to disembark. Make sure you don’t leave the terminal otherwise you will have to pay, instead just circle back round to the entrance side. If you got a couple minutes to kill, grab a bite to eat in one of the eateries or fresh fruit vendors in the terminals. If not, don’t sweat it, there’s food (and beer) available on board the ferry.
Statue of Liberty
Back on the mainland, head back to Fulton St. station to visit the World Trade Center.
That whirlwind run was all we had time for in Manhattan before we hitched a subway ride to Brooklyn.
New York City 2010 part #1 – The flight in…
New York City part #2 – Shopping: Midtown
New York City part #3 – Bronx Zoo
New York City part #5 – Sight Seeing – Brooklyn Markets and Gardens
New York City part #6 – Shopping: Soho
New York City photo gallery here
Getting to the Bronx Zoo couldn’t be any easier or cheaper. Catch the BxM11 Express bus from Madison Avenue (don’t forget your fistful of quarters!), about 30min later youll be at the stop. Make sure your driver knows you want to stop at the zoo as the stop is not at the zoo itself, you have to walk under a small bridge to get to the entrance. So try and stay awake!
Photo tip: keep your eyes open as you cross the bridge into the Bronx you will see the dilapidated “Welcome to the Bronx” sign, authentic in an unintentionally cliched way.
A measly 15 clams will get you into the Zoo. Remembering, animals are seasonal creatures so different times of the year will mean different things for different animals. In general, the colder months will see less activity, on the plus side, there is less activity from visitors as well, so its very easy to get around and also finding that perfect photoing spot. Walking through the first section its clearly noticeable that they have quite a bit of land to play with and it doesn’t feel like its in the middle of one of NYC’s toughest burroughs.
First stop was one of the biggest aviaries we’ve seen in quite some time. Many smaller enclosures along with a few large “free fly” areas, very easy to lose track of time if you spend too long trying to find each type of bird in each enclosure.
Back on track, everyone’s must see are the tigers. That day, as announced by the rangers, they were a little lethargic and not really in a playful mood so they weren’t treated like circus animals to “perform” for their food.
Heading over to the seals, fans of “Friends” will see Marcel and his mates. The seals themselves seem to love the attention and were only too happy to pose and perform with an uncanny awareness of where the cameras were and which was their good side!
Waterbirds like Puffins and Penguins surrounded the seal areas.
Head to the eatery for some lunch, outside has fastfood staples at less than average fast food quality with meals sitting under heat lamps, good if you like soggy burgers and fries. Inside you can get healthier options with prepackaged salads, sandwiches and rolls and hot beverages. Service was hit and miss at best but on par with just about any place with staff that weren’t working for tips.
Keep an eye out for friendly neighbours like squirrels and peacocks, only too happy to say hello in a scarily over domesticated way (caught a Tienanmen square stand off with a peacock and park ATV transporter). This is a good time to grab a few souvenirs as well and if you missed out on Disneyland or Santa Monica pier, the large indoor carousel is your next best thing.
Last major stop on our way out was the reptile display with all matters of frogs, lizards, snakes, ‘gators and turtles which always make for some good photos.
The park is open from 10am-4.30pm and on the right day you should be able to leisurely see the whole thing in 4-5 hours depending on how many kids you have and the time of year. If you did bus it there, just make sure you leave enough time to get back to the bus stop (outside the main entrance near the bridge, there’s only a little sign, no bench or anything) as they tend to be rather sporadic and infrequent.
The bus ventures back into Manhattan via Central Park so you may want to include an afternoon stroll in there as well.
Next up, we start to wind down our whirlwind holiday with some good ol fashioned mouth opened, eye squinting sight seeing, NYC style.
New York City 2010 part #1 – The flight in…
New York City part #2 – Shopping: Midtown
New York City part #4 – Sight seeing – Manhattan
New York City part #5 – Sight Seeing – Brooklyn Markets and Gardens
New York City part #6 – Shopping: Soho
New York City photo gallery here
Complete Bronx Zoo photo gallery here
Stepping out of the hotel, those Arctic winds still can catch you unaware even near the end of March. If you’re travelling round this time of year, keep your softshell on you at all times. Trust me, you’ll thank me for it. Your other senses like your smell might also take a hit from the Air de City Pollute’. Some say its like someone set fire to the Valley (Brisbane), a smoke filled aroma ballasted with rich exhaust fumes, road grime, a dash of hot garbage with a hint of urine. But like any over populated city in the world be it London, Hong Kong or Sydney, its more an expected garnish than an obstacle. Still, would it kill the street vendors to clean their frying grills once every 5 years?? Note, that “seasoning” is added to your – charcoal outside, old tyre rubbery inside pretzel too. Best to stick to retail chains if you want something that resembles bread. The hotdogs are a little better albeit rather small and for $3USD (quite possibly inflated due to the pre-included tourist tax) you can easily find something more filling. Contrary, those roasted peanuts and cashews are absolutely delish and work great as a temp. hand warmer!
When it comes to shopping however, there’s very few cities that come close to NYC, especially when it comes to “street” culture and a weak US dollar. Larger shopping centres and thrift stores like Walmart are off the list in Manhattan but for everything else, you’ll find it here.
We started towards Uptown with Nintendo world – a multi storey store with, you guessed it, everything Nintendo, right down to a mini museum of retro consoles, controllers and portables. Remember to check with the store clerk when buying games, some American versions wont work on AU consoles.
Nintendo world NYC
THE NBA Store a little further north – if you’ve ever had a passing interest in the game then this is the store for you. It has everything to do with basketball; memorabilia, uniforms, apparel, the works; even a life size Lego version of Celtics’ big man, Kevin Garnett. Sneaker wise however its rather limited to sport shoes, no retro or “street” style releases. You can however get a bit of a dose a couple blocks up at Niketown.
NBA Store
While not the mecca some would like it to be, Niketown still has enough oo’s and ahh’s to deserve a good look through, just don’t expect any retros or rarities, in fact nothing that isn’t a current model. They did have a small sale section which had a couple odd/older models and colourways but nothing to write home about. The floors are divided into sporting applications with the ones to note being the basketball level – complete with a display case of every Air Jordan all in a white with red trim colourway and life size Lebron James mannequin. Top floor is the most interesting with the Nike iD studio, wall of sneakers piled behind glass in the change rooms, ceiling art made entirely of white sneaker soles and our new favourite sub-brand “6.0“, targeted at the crowd that spends any amount of time upside down in the air with some kind of sporting equipment.
Niketown NYC - Air Jordans
Niketown NYC
The piece de resistance of the store however would be the very Futurama/Jetsons style tubing that whisk your boxed sneakers from the basement to and from the levels and registers. Cool? Way.
Niketown NYC
Also up that way is the Apple store for you Lemmings ;p and a few blocks north is Dylan’s Candy bar for those with a sweet tooth.
Getting back down to mid-town is as easy as jumping on one of the many buses travelling on 5th Av. If you don’t have a Metrocard make sure you have those Quarters ready as they don’t take notes!
Back to Times Square you’ll be hard pressed to miss Footlocker, Journey, Modell’s and Champs. All with a huge range of models and colours and plenty of items on sale as well. Footlocker had the biggest range and had a lot of the winterized boots on special being end of season. Plenty of other clothing items too including jerseys, singlets, hoodies and tees all reduced, some down to single figures! Girls will need to look no further when they can get a Mets game jersey as a nighty for $20US (yes yes, its still the Mets but you’re sleeping in it, not wearing it to a game!).
Journey’s, as on the west coast has a more alternate/skate range with a wide selection of Dr. Martins, Converse and Vans. They also had a good assortment of Adidas (Superstars and similar skate models).
Modell’s reminded me a bit of Rebel Sport for some reason, possibly the layout, possibly the exuberant prices on some items. Sneaker-wise the selection is similar to Rebel sport, only current models and an unusual selection at that, mostly in the sporty vain. Where they differ is they also have sporting equipment, work wear and jeans. Work wear in the way of Dickies and the like are average priced, possibly a bit on the high side but the jeans are a steal for $10-20US for Mecca Apparel and similar.
Finally Champs is like a smaller version of Footlocker but they had a few “in between” models that Footlocker didn’t. They also had many items on sale, some being cheaper than Footlocker.
The best thing about these stores is they’re open till 11pm-midnight some cases 1am so if you get back to your hotel and realise you just HAD to have those 2010 Spiz’ikes then it’s a only a short walk back to buyer remorse heaven.
Heading south down Broadway take a right on 34th-35th and pop into the Kmart for some bargain clothing or travel amenities. Probably not everyone’s choice of a must see, but for licensed game apparel on clearance its worth a look. Knicks sleepwear, Yankees tee’s, jerseys, jackets etc fill several clearance racks along with the standard “Dad” affair at a fraction of the cost, it was perfect for souvenirs. The work wear re: Dickies were some of the cheapest non-sale prices we came across at around $20US for pants and $13 for shorts. Just hope its after they’ve received an order as a lot of the sizes and colours were non-existant.
About half a block further is B & H Photo for all your camera bits and pieces.
Back east passing Madison Square Garden (say Hi to Spike and Jack for me) and over Broadway, pass another Footlocker and another Forever 21 (the American Supre/Jay Jays, yes, keep walking) is one of our fave one-stop shops, Dr. Jay’s. If you’re into hiphop clothing then this is the place for you. Every major brand is covered from LRG to Adidas to Lacoste and the unintentional brands like The Northface, its all covered. Caps on street level, a level for menswear then a level of women’s wear. They also have an ok selection of sneakers, some with decent reductions, especially out of season stuff like the Nike winterized Spiz’ikes and Goadomes. Both were the cheapest we saw for $100-120US, so it went with out saying that the Spiz’ikes found a new home. Good selection of work wear and one of the few places that we saw in Manhattan that sold Dickies Girls. For those girls looking for black pants that actually fit them, try the Bullpant or Lowrise models, you’ll never look back 😉
Nike Air Jordan winterized Spiz'ikes
Most of the other clothing was all around standard retail prices though there were quite a few models that we didn’t see anywhere else. Some of their range is available online with some great sale items, at the moment the deal is sweetened with a 20% off all orders over $100. With the AUD at almost 1:1 its definitely worth a quick browse, Dr. Jay’s.
Around the corner is the Empire state building but brave the lines, wait and security at your own peril. More on that later.
Down to W30th Street between 7th and 8th is one of the best anime, toy and collectibles shops that we came across in NYC, Image Anime. They have a very respectable range of figures (inc. Revoltech and Figma), busts, models, Manga, clothing and general knick knacks from all your fave anime and animated shows. Just take caution when buying large or boxed items, you’re suitcase space will disappear very quickly. Also remember that some of the more fragile items will have to go in your carry on, so even less room there. Personal experience acquired from purchasing an 18″ hard plastic Gloomy Bear. At <$30US it seemed like a good idea at the time but when it couldn't fit into any bags and had to be carried separately everywhere it got very annoying very fast! The final point of interest for florists and wedding organisers on W25th between 6th and 7th is the famous event organiser, Preston Bailey. Absolutely stunning work but with an office on the 30th floor and no visible street level show room, its all appointment only, if you can afford him!
Preston Bailey
Next up we swap the concrete jungle for an actual jungle. Ok its more like a woodlands at best, but we’re they’re to see the animals not the trees at the Bronx Zoo!
Times Square NYC
New York City 2010 part #1 – The flight in…
New York City part #3 – Bronx Zoo
New York City part #4 – Sight seeing – Manhattan
New York City part #5 – Sight Seeing – Brooklyn Markets and Gardens
New York City part #6 – Shopping: Soho
New York City photo gallery here
Greatest city in the world? Or just another big city? Have we all been hypnotised by Frank Sinatra’s pied piper call? But like a groupie getting offered a backstage pass at a Gunner’s concert, the lure is too great to not at least take a peak… just nothing below the waist.
We’ll get into that shortly, first, rewind about a day.
Getting up while its still dark is never fun, but with the notion of heading to what some call the greatest city in the world, there was extra motivation to drag ourselves out of bed and make a bee line to our shuttle.
At the departure airport, by now I don’t think I need to tell you that its best to get there early, at least 2 hours for domestic flights. Security is just as bad as international flights along with the snaking of ridiculously long lines and a dog’s breakfast kind of organisation. Moral is, get there early and head straight to the self check in, worry about potty breaks, breakfast etc after you clear security. If you aren’t travelling alone get one person to grab a spot in the baggage check line while the other does the self check in.
A side note when going through security, if you have toys with small parts re: Revoltech or model kits, let the x-ray person know, seems these tend to come up as “suss”. Also remember snow globes are still classed as liquid so you won’t be able to have them in your carry on, make sure you wrap them good to store in your checked luggage.
As far as the cross country flight was concerned, I’d have to say, I’ve had better. We flew with American Airlines, while the thoughts of near and actual disasters were distant before hand, they became a lot more apparent when we boarded the flight. The seats were
slightly larger, no doubt to squeeze in those tubby Americans, but all the cushioning was so compacted you could feel the frame work underneath, not so good for an 8+ hour flight. The general state of the plane didn’t get much better, plastic fixtures and compartments sported a 20 year old computer dirty cream, off yellow colour. Everything shook and rattled like an old railroad carriage, even one of the overheads popping open randomly, just like in the movies.
The attendants weren’t much better. Half looked like their first attendee job was serving moonshine on the Wright Brothers’ airline, while the rest were just not happy to be there, cant really blame them though, you can only be terrified for you life for so long before you stop caring.
Never mind, after breakfast (I think that’s what it was), a couple Neurofen plus was all that was needed to set a drift on memory bliss.
Out of JFK and into the ever reliable Super Shuttle bus. Plenty of stop start peak hour driving through Queens on our way to Manhattan.
Travel Tip: If you’re staying in Manhattan and assuming you know where your hotel is (not too hard to work out even if you don’t, “streets” run horizontal, “avenues” run vertical) its best to just get out at a nearby hotel stop and walk (if yours isn’t the next on the list!) a couple blocks. As our luggage was already getting to the point of “excessive” we opted to stay on. Looking back, it would’ve saved us a good 30-45min if we got out and dragged our way to the hotel.
Speaking of hotel, we stayed at The Comfort Inn on Times Square reasonably priced, rather small rooms (still bigger than Tokyo’s! The big plasma makes up for it), world’s smallest and slowest SINGLE elevator but on the plus side, they did have a free brekky spread, free internet and gym and very attentive staff.
The Trip Advisor whingers will say the FREE breakfast is sub par but come on, its not a restaurant nor does it pretend to be, just a tea room with what you would probably have at home on a normal day. The variety of cereal, bread, buns, bagels, muffins, pastries (including croissants), tea, coffee, juice, fruit and yogurt is more than enough to fill you up before heading out. If you want a greasy start, just head to Macca’s otherwise grab an apple for the road and hit the shops!
Times Square - NYC
New York City part #2 – Shopping: Midtown
New York City part #3 – Bronx Zoo
New York City part #4 – Sight seeing – Manhattan
New York City part #5 – Sight Seeing – Brooklyn Markets and Gardens
New York City part #6 – Shopping: Soho
