We just returned from NYC, and (amazingly) walked these exact streets and had a pickle spear from The Pickle Guys (although I didn’t know they don’t use vinegar). It was a Big Onion Walking Tour, the multi-ethnic eating tour, and the guide told us about the history of the tenements and immigration. Our favorite thing in NYC: the subway musicians were surprisingly awesome, especially The Ebony Hillbillies and an Asian guy playing an odd violin-like instrument that struck us through the heart. Second favorite thing: the taxi drivers. The first one from the airport was hysterically rude. Before we even got in the cab, he said, “YOU PAY FIFTY-ONE DOLLARS, PLUS TIP.” He said this three times, each time emphasizing the PLUS TIP part. Then he gunned it and the backs of our heads hit the seats. The second cab driver was a very soft spoken young Antonio Banderas look-alike who told us he was a former fashion marketer. Before coming over from Pakistan, he was a mechanical engineer. And the last one to the airport was a Muslim from Bangladesh who explained that he was fasting because it was Ramadin and that he was 62 years old and would retire to Bangladesh if his American children didn’t hate it there. Also, he was on the 1971 World Cup field hockey team.
My recommendation for one of your wonderful future NYT articles: A study of the interesting cab drivers.
Guess it’s true what they say: It’s not the destination that counts, it’s the journey.
What a fun, lively piece. I, too, love the Tenement Museum. Such an interesting place. I’m so glad they chose to keep those times alive through the various houses. Sounds like you are having lots of fun exploring parts of NYC through a reporter’s eye.
Ruth Pennebaker, the author of the novel Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough, blogs about everything from politics to pets to marriage. In other words, she doesn’t have a niche.
We just returned from NYC, and (amazingly) walked these exact streets and had a pickle spear from The Pickle Guys (although I didn’t know they don’t use vinegar). It was a Big Onion Walking Tour, the multi-ethnic eating tour, and the guide told us about the history of the tenements and immigration. Our favorite thing in NYC: the subway musicians were surprisingly awesome, especially The Ebony Hillbillies and an Asian guy playing an odd violin-like instrument that struck us through the heart. Second favorite thing: the taxi drivers. The first one from the airport was hysterically rude. Before we even got in the cab, he said, “YOU PAY FIFTY-ONE DOLLARS, PLUS TIP.” He said this three times, each time emphasizing the PLUS TIP part. Then he gunned it and the backs of our heads hit the seats. The second cab driver was a very soft spoken young Antonio Banderas look-alike who told us he was a former fashion marketer. Before coming over from Pakistan, he was a mechanical engineer. And the last one to the airport was a Muslim from Bangladesh who explained that he was fasting because it was Ramadin and that he was 62 years old and would retire to Bangladesh if his American children didn’t hate it there. Also, he was on the 1971 World Cup field hockey team.
My recommendation for one of your wonderful future NYT articles: A study of the interesting cab drivers.
Guess it’s true what they say: It’s not the destination that counts, it’s the journey.
Now, I NEED a pickle. Loved the piece.
What a fun, lively piece. I, too, love the Tenement Museum. Such an interesting place. I’m so glad they chose to keep those times alive through the various houses. Sounds like you are having lots of fun exploring parts of NYC through a reporter’s eye.