We finally managed to score tickets to a Carnigie Hall tour. I ventured to the box office and arrived at 11am on the dot and scored two. The tour was set for 2pm so we took it easy in the room before heading out and I spent some time discovering the massive Christmas decorations along 6th avenue.
The tour was pretty good, our guide was a bit less than worldly in the history of the building but we still learned a lot
The insides of the building is acoustically perfect. It’s also very plain so as to not take away from the performer. The lighting was installed by a chap named Thomas Edison. The first symphony was conducted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1891. So it has a rich history. Sinatra, Yo Yo Ma, Judy Garland, Lisa Minelli to name a few of those who have performed here.
After the tour we tried to get a table at Serendipity. A 90 minute wait, so we opted to go to the Bloomingdales cafe. We got straight in and had burgers. Yum.
After lunch, we walked around the store for a while before making our way to the Bronx and the Botanic Gardens for a tour of miniature NYC made from organic materials. The train trip was long, you don’t realise how big the five boroughs of NYC are until you get off Manhattan. It took around 40 minutes on the train and then a 15 minute walk in pouring rain. Then when we got to the garden we had another ten minute walk to get to the Conservatorium.
It was worth it. The display was fantastic. Check out the photos. An amazing array of buildings recreated. We spent a couple of hours wandering around before heading home. We opted for a cab to get home. It was pouring and we were really a long way off the beaten track.
We asked the driver to drop us off at Serendipity to see if we could get a late night table, but no a 90 minute wait again, so we just headed home. A great day.
