New York City – A Whole Other World

I attended my first and only tree-lighting ceremony in the winter of 2003 at Rockefeller Center. Our company had sponsored a trip for some of the top performers in our territory to spend a couple of days in New York City. In conjunction with the trip, we were promoting our new branding in New York, as we had recently opened a couple of new branches.I remember that the weather was really cold, which was surprising due to the number of people who attended the event. I have never seen so many people in one spot, packed like sardines. Fortunately, there was a festive mood in the air, and everyone was really friendly, contrary to what the common misconception is regarding the people of New York.

If I recall correctly, the tree was a Norway Spruce and was donated by Frances and Adolph Katkauskas from Manchester, Connecticut. The ceremony was, of course, televised by NBC, as their headquarters are located right at Rockefeller Center. This ceremony has occurred every year since 1931, when workmen decided to place a tree at the worksite of the center. It has been a yearly tradition ever since.

This year, there were 30,000 bulbs used to light the tree, which was 79 feet tall, weighed in at about 9 tons, and was 50 years old. Some of the entertainment at the event were Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson; the cast of The West Wing, who dedicated the tree lighting to the American soldiers fighting for freedom; Harry Connick, Jr.; Gloria Estefan; and Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard from American Idol. Al Roker and Ann Curry hosted the event.

While attending the event was fun, I think that I will be watching it from the warmth of my living room from now on. Unless I get another free trip…

While on a business trip to NYC in 2003, I was able to spend a day strolling Madison and Fifth Avenues in the Midtown area with my friend Carolyn. We felt like the upper-crust locals who had nothing but time on their hands and money to spend, except we only had one afternoon and the limits assessed to our credit cards.We started by heading south on Fifth, intending to make our first stop FAO Schwartz. After all, they had just declared bankruptcy that week and it was only a block from the hotel. As we crossed 60th, we noticed a slight commotion to our right on the other side of Fifth in front of the Plaza Hotel. It was then that I remembered it was awards week for NASCAR Cup drivers. It seems that Richard Childress, a very prominent car owner on the circuit, was promoting his latest driver. Carolyn and I decided to go and check it out, as I am a fan of NASCAR. Skulking around like we were paparazzi, I attempted to get a picture of the new AOL-sponsored car that was going to be driven by Johnny Sauter during the upcoming 2004 season. I mentioned to Carolyn that my dad was a big fan of Richard Childress, and it would be great to get a photo with him. Carolyn suggested I just ask, so I did, and as a result, I was able to get a picture with both Mr. Childress and Johnny Sauter. I had to call my dad, at work, right then and there to tell him what happened.

Our next stop was FAO Schwartz. I remembered watching the movie “Big” with Tom Hanks and went in search of the giant piano where he played Chop Sticks. I found it on the second floor after riding the escalator past the giant stuffed animal jungle display. There was not much else to see. Personally, I prefer Toys “R” Us.

After leaving FAO Schwartz, I was drawn to a more adult toy store. Get your mind out of the gutter, that’s not what I meant. I am speaking of Tiffany’s jewelry store at 57th Street. All that gold and glitter just enthralled me. Not that I could afford anything in the store, but, hey, it never costs anything to look and dream. They have a wonderful selection of gold and silver jewelry, including pieces designed by Paloma Picasso and Elsa Peretti, and of course, the signature stamped Tiffany & Co.

After Tiffany’s, we felt like we could visit any Fifth Avenue store and fit right in. How wrong I was! We crossed the street to enter Bergdorf Goodman on 58th Street. This was the ultimate in high-end shopping. Here you could pay over $300 for a pair of jeans. A PAIR OF JEANS!!!! How could I work in the yard in a pair of pants that cost that much? I would have to frame them and hang them on my wall. But again, it was fun imagining what we could buy if we had the moolah. Here they sell clothes and accessories for both men and women. We did not spend too long here.

Stepping back out onto Fifth Avenue, we decided to continue down to 49th Street to Rockefeller Center and the skating rink. Our company was having a huge branding promotion this week in conjunction with the tree lighting. As a result, we noticed that the zambonee was decorated with our company logo. We took the requisite photos and then decided to enter NBC Headquarters located right behind the rink in the GE Building and see when the next NBC Studio Tour was taking place. We found out they start every 15 to 30 minutes and last approximately 1 hour. We chose to stick around and see what it was all about. The first thing we saw was a video tour, narrated by Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, all about the history of NBC. Next was a walk through of the actual studios used on TV. We were able to visit the NBC Sports and Saturday Night Live sets. Surprisingly, they were much smaller than I expected. Sometimes the tours are lucky enough to watch a taping of SNL; today was not one of those times. Next, we stopped at a control room that had been scaled down specifically for the tour. Volunteers were able to become meteorologists for a short time while learning how a green screen works. Lastly, we were lead to a demonstration of a three-screen-wide, high-definition television.

By now, we were getting a little hungry and needed sustenance to keep us strolling down the streets of New York. We saw that Dean & Deluca was right across the way. Walking over, we noticed that it was a little crowded but decided to take a chance and see what it was all about. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. Besides being crowded, the service was cranky, the food was mediocre and expensive, and the place was not that clean. I guess we learned what it was like to eat at a trendy spot during the holiday rush in New York.

After lunch, we moseyed on over 1 block east to Madison Avenue. Here we did not stop at too many places, but we did find one of our newly opened branches. We also found Bauman Rare Books at 535 Madison Avenue. This reminded me of what real bookstores are supposed to be like. According to their website, Bauman Rare Books was founded in 1973 by David and Natalie Bauman with a location in NYC and in Philadelphia. Three-story high cases of rare finds lined the walls. I myself am a huge Stephen King fan and have always dreamed of owning a first edition copy of one his earlier novels. One of the women there was kind enough to look and see what they had in stock. They did have a copies of Christine, Cujo and The Stand, all priced at much more than I could afford at the time. I still hope to go back and pick up something I can put into my collection.

We also stopped at Leonidas Famous Belgian Chocolates at 485 Madison Avenue. Leonidas was created by Leonidas Kestekides, a confectioner from the US who visited the 1910 World Fair in Brussels and won a bronze medal for his chocolate entries. While in Brussels, he met a girl, got married, and opened a shop. Now Leonidas chocolates are available all over the world. The New York shop was the first opened in the US in 1991. We, of course, tasted samples and purchased some to come back to the office with us.

By now it was getting late, and we decided to return to the hotel before that night’s requisite company dinner took place. We were pleasantly tired and felt we had walked enough to warrant a decadent dinner.

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I was treated to this grand hotel while on a business trip to NYC back in December of 2003. This was my first stay in NYC accommodations, and my impressions were mixed. As I entered the lobby from the entrance ... [Continue reading this entry]

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