I Love This Town

Does the title of this post sound familiar? They're the words echoed by one of my favourite Ghostbusters – I have four in total – from the 1984 classic when the guys are covered in marshmallow after giving the giant sticky sailor what for on top of the apartment building now dubbed “Spook Central.” And seeing as you all by now know I’m a huge fan of the franchise, and having just been to the Big Apple itself, it won’t surprise you to know that said-trip involved Ghostbusters quite a fair bit, as well as the welcome onslaught of the smell of burnt marshmallow (not so much being covered in it) and even that once-creepy building as mentioned where refrigerators and kitchen counters just aren’t to be trusted.

With a city like New York though, it’s always hard to know where to start. So seeing as it’s called the Big Apple, I’ll start with its core, which I guess would be Times Square. We stayed near Penn Station so we were just a few blocks’ walk from the lively hub. Naturally, that was our first visit (albeit a very sleep-depraved one, meaning overnight flights are terribly ill-advised). We had been to New York before though, during our 2014 American tour, and I had also been way back in 2010. But the great thing about this city is that even if you haven’t been before, it’s ridiculously easy to navigate the blocks with its grid system (the numbered streets that go horizontally across Manhattan Island and the numbered avenues that go vertically rely on your knowledge of pre-school level maths to get by).

I love Times Square. And I also really kind of don’t. To say it’s swarming with thousands of people is a huge understatement, but then it is the hub of one of the most hugely populated and hugely popular cities on Planet Earth. What does one expect? At least the streets here are wider than they are in London, but then I guess there are more people so it makes it even harder to move, so I don’t really know where I was going with that. By day it’s a dazzling assortment of colours with its billboards showcasing everything on Broadway from Wicked to The Book of Mormon; its countless stores including Disney and M&M World or restaurants like Planet Hollywood (where we got cheekily drunk next to the Power Rangers from the 1994 movie…); and its massive TV screens advertising the latest or upcoming blockbusters from Transformers: The Last Knight to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. And by night, it’s a vibrant, electrifying, colour-soaked spectacle. In many ways it reminds me of Vegas, with the two main differences being that Times Square actually has charm and authenticity and isn’t as half as tacky in broad daylight as Vegas is.

Planet Hollywood. Both Batcave and Command Centre.

They were bustin' some morphin' moves up on that stage.

Sian thought she'd turn into a Power Ranger. 

I was planning on climbing the wall and joining them on display.

Egon's Ghostbusters II flightsuit in Planet Hollywood

Times Square. One word: alive.

More colours than the rainbow

That said, there are the tacky, tip-hungry Mickey Mice, Spider-Men or Cookie Monsters who you just want to slap in the face for looking so cheap, but mainly for stupidly positioning themselves right outside the likes of the magical Disney store and the awesome Madame Tussauds where they’re going to be inevitably compared to their quality-counterparts by the people exiting those buildings. The street vendors here aren’t that annoying though, nor are they likely illegitimate like many who plague Hollywood Boulevard. They offer you a leaflet and if you shake your head or raise your hand, that’s it. So there’s more to love about Times Square than there isn’t, and it’s more a crime to be in the area and not watch a show on Broadway (where we wound up watching the hilarious The Book of Mormon) than it is to be in New York and not have a slice of pizza…

Following Google’s advice, we visited a highly-ranked, top ten pizzeria just next to our hotel called NY Pizza Suprema. I had margherita and Sian had veggie, and sure, they were yummy, but they’ve still got zero on my all-time favourite Chicago Town takeaway (which I eat frequently here in the UK, just in case you think I’ve actually been to Chicago). It will surprise you to know that this was my first slice of New York pizza despite having been twice before. I did try one in the Natural History Museum on my last visit though but I don’t know if that counts as “authentic New York pizza”. Either way, next time I think I’ll seek the advice of four friends I know in the city, who just happen to be pizza connoisseurs.

Speaking of food, we also visited Carlos’ Bakery in Times Square. You might recognise the name from TV’s Cake Boss, though we didn’t see Buddy and his family in there as I believe they’re based over in the original store across the water in New Jersey (yeah, no thanks). The pastries in here are a little too sweet rendering them quite unremarkable, but the coffee is just delicious. Either way it was cool to visit and a much deserved treat after our awesome Ghostbusters Dimensions experience at Madame Tussauds. For that, check out the next post.

Imagine that last sentence in his voice. Go on...

Slime is coming. That already sounds wrong

I've already told Jimmy Fallon all about it

He might be the boss of cakes, but certainly not pastries

Got nothin' on Chicagotown (available at Asda, I mean)

Our last day in New York, however, turned out to be a blisteringly hot one – which means we couldn’t have picked a worse day to walk some ten blocks to Central Park for a picnic! Nevertheless, it was still a great day. After all, what’s not to love about the seemingly-infinite in size city park that rescues you both physically and psychologically from the eventual-torture of the city’s relentless and unending hustle and bustle? On our way we crossed Columbus Circle – which everyone’s favourite squishy sailor stomped across back in 1984 – and we also passed 55 Central Park West aka “Spook Central” (my second visit). And if you still have no idea what I’m talking about, this was Dana Barrett’s apartment building from Ghostbusters. Next to Spook Central is also the church which StayPuft steps on in the film. Naturally I’ve added some comparison pictures below.

After melting a lot quicker than our ice cream in Central Park, a steel-grey storm cloud gathered above the city. “Get me the Ghostbusters,” I said to myself as we noticed a particularly dark cloud above Spook Central. And as for the rain that followed, well, you could say it was of biblical proportions. It didn’t rain cats and dogs, though, but it did cause a lot of mass hysteria among the throngs of people. So we raced down designer central Fifth Avenue during an onslaught of bad weather, while for the most part welcoming it after such an uncomfortably hot day. The next morning before we made for the airport, I set out on my own to return to Fifth Avenue’s NBA Store to purchase a stupidly expensive pair of NBA trainers (which I’ve not worn yet…), having really gotten into the sport with Sian during our travels. And with it not raining this time I also took some new pictures of the New York Public Library, as seen in Ghostbusters.

Just remember that Manhattan is more than the likes Times Square and Fifth Avenue. There’s the Hudson River where you can enjoy sights of Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty (she hasn’t moved much since 1989, though), and of course you can enjoy breathtaking views of the city from the tops of The Empire State Building or the Rockefeller Centre. And if that all proves too much then just take to Central Park where there’s more than enough room to breathe and plenty of things to do like rowing around a lake or simply exploring and scouting other movie sites such as Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (though it’s actually impossible to get lost unless you don’t know how to count) and a plethora of others.

Columbus Circle

You'll see my mistake in the next picture

This particular scene was behind me. I was facing the wrong way

Spook Central. And trust me, this angle was not deliberate...

The weather that followed the above picture wasn't too dissimilar

 

Nobody steps on a Church in my town

Except you, dude. Go right ahead...

 

Central Park has its, er, perks

Supernatural storm cloud already gathering

New York Public Library. Ssshhh...

Those Finals really had taken their toll on Lebron James

During this visit we didn’t bother with the more tourist-related things such as Hudson River or the skyscrapers though, but that’s because we’ve both already been there, done that and literally got the tee-shirts. With such a short stay this time we had to be economical with our time. That, and we wanted to experience new things. But that’s the awesome thing about New York - there’s always something new to see or do and the atmosphere is electrifying throughout. Like London, it’s a city I feel compelled to revisit throughout my life. Hell, I’ve still not seen anything at Madison Square Garden or the northern part of Central Park or the Freedom Tower yet. And even to this day, even after the last failed attempt in 2014, I am still yet to see the Hook & Ladder Fire Station in Tribeca. That’s the active fire station that served as the Ghostbusters’ headquarters in both movies, made an appearance in the reboot and technically in pretty much every other medium whether the cartoon show, the IDW comic books or the toy lines. It’s with much regret that I missed it again but there’s very little I can do about the full renovation it’s currently undergoing.

But never mind because I got to experience a whole new, ahem, dimension of Ghostbusters this time. Not only that, New York has served countless movies over the years. The trouble is, where do I start? Perhaps I’ll just tell you what came to mind as we explored. For starters, it was quite easy to imagine Godzilla making an appearance during the torrential downpour, or Macaulay Culkin running around a much colder Central Park from the Wet Bandits, or Spider-Man (whichever version that may be) swinging from one skyscraper to the next, or the terrifying Cloverfield monster launching the Statue of Liberty’s head into the city streets.

Whether you love movies or not, I would encourage anyone to visit New York. Sure, it’s a city and with that comes certain extremities such as oceans of people, miserable taxi drivers, impatient pedestrians, really having to keep an eye on your things as you move, unbearable heat during the summer and a general sense of feeling overwhelmed. But despite its ocean of people and all the other annoyances a city like this one presents, it’s still awesome. In fact, come to think of it, it was my first visit back in 2010 that really awoke my then-dormant love for Ghostbusters in the first place. I guess that’s why I love this town…