Welcome to my Kill to Get Crimson 2008 tour blog!

My name is Isaac, 30 years old from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. I have set this blog up for the purpose of documenting the journey I am taking following Mark Knopfler’s Kill to Get Crimson tour in North America, in the summer of 2008.

The North American leg of the tour, as well as my journey, begins June 24th in Morrison, Colorado and ends on July 31st in Miami Beach, Florida.

Even though I intend to write on a daily basis, publishing the stories onto the server would be tricky. After all, we’re talking about vast distances which will be primarily crossed by driving, and there is no way for me to predict the availability of Internet connection throughout the way.

So… make yourself at home and feel free to drop a comment.

Yours,

Isaac

Friday, July 25, 2008

Afternoon in New York City

So I managed to survive a day in NYC.

After posting the previous post, I went back to Times Square by the subway and started walking. It was a long walk. I went east and west of Broadway, as well as all the way to where Broadway crosses 5th Avenue.

During the afternoon, there were herds of people on the streets. I was amazed. Then came the evening, and it got to a point that I wasn’t just amazed; I was horrified. Coming 5–6pm, you simply cannot see the pavement due to the massive number of people walking the streets.

Other than touring around, I decided to get some taste of New York. Being alone, I preferred to not go to some fancy restaurant—I was content with just going to a small place. I ended up going to Pancho Villa, a Mexican pub/restaurant (sorry, I can’t remember where). Very filling meal, quite good, for $7.

Continued walking until I came across Aunt Annie’s, which is a chain that specializes in pretzels. Someone working there gave me a sample of those pretzels, and whoever knows me can tell you that I am a sucker for pastries. I got an almonds‐nuts pretzel which was amazing.

I am pretty sure that Starbucks took over the city’s cafe scene. There’s a Starbucks literally in every block here. I was craving a latte but couldn’t find any cafe that is not Starbucks, so I ended up stepping into one and getting a latte which turned out to be rubbish.

After walking for so long, I stopped at a bench near Broadway & 5th, for about 45 minutes. I could feel my blood flowing into my poor feet. Then I made my way back to Times Square and took the subway to the hotel.

Jeroen mentioned to me that he’s going to have a drink with a friend of his in some rooftop bar in downtown. We agreed that his friend sends me a text message to let me know exactly where the bar is. At around 8:00pm I got the text message, saying that the place is on 5th Avenue between 26th and 27th, and that you can’t wear shorts and must have a collared shirt. The latter was a problem as I only brought T‐shirts with me. Jeroen agreed that I wear one of his shirts, so I ended up wearing what I believe is the flashiest shirt I have ever wore before.

Went to the subway and found my way to the bar. It is a nice rooftop bar from which you can see some nice scenery—the Empire State building, the Chrysler building and more. You see the kind of life you usually see on TV—bunch of people, well‐dressed, very crowded, having laughs and drinks. The “New York Glamor” which, for me, is kinda fake, and I’ll leave it at that.

I got to meet Jeroen’s friend, Hiskias, had a drink and chatted. I was there for about 30–45 minutes and then Hiskias mentioned he has to leave, so we all left. Jeroen and myself walked to Times Square, I had a pizza and we took the subway back to the hotel. It was 11:00pm and the subway was fully loaded. Millions of people roaming the streets and the subway system.

Now it’s Friday morning. Show tonight at the NJPAC. I convinced Jeroen to come with me to the show, so we will be leaving to New Jersey soon.

Later,
Isaac

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isaac, I love your descriptions of just daily happenings. I'm actually from NYC originally and am kicking myself for not sending you all the nook and cranny hot spots to eat (favorite pizza slice, favorite bagels, etc), you're probably on your way to Jersey by now. If you have extra time, you can do "The Sopranos" bus tour where they take you to all the locations from the show including "Bada Bing" I believe.

Anonymous said...

I am a New Yorker as well - if you're staying tonight at the same hotel, your best breakfast option is EJ's diner on Amsterdam between 80th and 81st. For a true NY experience (and great coffee), Zabar's on Broadway and 81st (I think) is a must. Don't bother with Times Sqaure or midtown.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad no offense was taken Isaac. I figured you'd understand where I was coming from. Sometimes my directness masks my sensitivities for all concerned. One reason I love your blog is that I am quite a bit older than you, and you, are quite a bit older than my son who would love to be doing what you are, following his favorite band around. And I would want to say to him, "don't get your hopes up too high" because back when I was your age, I not only would have wanted to meet my hero, but would have wanted a duet with him (and I don't even sing!).

But both you and my son are wiser.

I teased you about "a substantial doze of beauty", which was of course a typo, but I thought a great line... sort of techie-ish and creative. Since then you have gotten so much more descriptive and it's been interesting to see how you have opened up with that. I'm still chuckling about " I really didn't want to fail that question..." and many others.

It's enlightening watching a smart and thoughtful guy like you move around this big country following the "piper".

Should another tour pass this way we would love to host you for the night.

All the best! (as is said, the tour is not yet over!