Quirky things to do in NYC next week

[mrspigdoc Member Find all posts View Profile Close mrspigdoc]

Hubby and I are headed to Manhattan Club next week, and would like some of you NYC experts to recommend some things to do. We have been to most of the standard sights in past years. We did a walking food tour of Greenwich village last year and enjoyed that. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Teresa

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Um... .how "quirky" do you want to get?

Lips is fun Drag Queen place in the Village....

Give us an idea of your interests...

[mrspigdoc Member Find all posts View Profile Close mrspigdoc]

define quirky

Perhaps I should have said unusual but interesting. History is good. My husband and his brother like the arts/theater. We went to the Museum of Sex one year; that was an odd place, and it certainly was different. (my husband liked it more than me...too many creepy people.)

We like to learn when we go places. It is easy to get the standard version of things, but it is sometimes more interesting to learn the little known stuff. I like to have the feeling "I didn't know that!", and be pleased that I learned something new. (maybe the teacher in me)

Walking, eating, seeing new and different stuff...I think we are open to all sorts of suggestions...not sexually speaking though:

I'd like to go home and say "you'll never believe what we saw/did in NYC"

not kinky or dangerous, just different and interesting
Thanks,
Teresa

[rklein01 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rklein01]

Have you been to The Cloisters?

The Cloisters—described by Germain Bazin, former director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, as "the crowning achievement of American museology"—is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Located on four acres overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, the building incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters—quadrangles enclosed by a roofed or vaulted passageway, or arcade—and from other monastic sites in southern France. Three of the cloisters reconstructed at the branch museum feature gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and poetry, garden documents and herbals, and medieval works of art, such as tapestries, stained-glass windows, and column capitals. Approximately five thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from about A.D. 800 with particular emphasis on the twelfth through fifteenth century, are exhibited in this unique and sympathetic context.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I was going to suggest the Cloisters, from an art/history perspective it should be worth the somewhat inconvenient location.

Another "off the tourist path" art appreciation trip would be to the numerous galleries in West Chelsea, a few blocks offers dozens of small galleries.

Since you enjoyed the tour of Greenwich Village, I would recommend a walking tour of the Lower East Side... lots of immigrant history there, and the area is experiencing a remarkable "rebirth" as a youthful/hip neighborhood. I can't recommend a specific tour, but google "walking tour Lower East Side" and you should come up with something.

Chinatown also fun, just walking around there during the day would be interesting, and you can combine that with an exploration of Soho just to the north.

If you haven't yet been to the Museum of Modern Art, it is within walking distance from the MC and is spectacular after its major overhaul a few years ago.

Both the NYC Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera are in season at Lincoln Center. If you don't want to hassle with tickets ahead of time, stroll up there from the Manhattan Club and arrive 30 to 45 minutes before showtime - you have a good chance at reasonably priced tickets from people outside whose friends can't make it. And a little known secret for those opera lovers who can't afford tickets: some subscribers are so jaded that they leave after the first act for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the performance, and there is a tradition of passing ticket stubs to students and others outside so they can enjoy the remainder of the show... and the Met permits the stubs to be "reused" after intermission - they sort of turn a blind eye, or perhaps give a nod, to this method of sharing the wealth

If you're into Jazz, there is small jazz venue at Lincoln Center that books outstanding artists. And Sunday nights at Birdland (also walking distance from the MC and a famous institution) the house Afro/Cuban band is outstanding.

That's what comes to mind for the moment, since you're not into the alternative scene

[bigrick Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigrick]

I think you're back now so tell us what you did in NYC. I don't know if we'll believe you but go ahead and tell us.

[mrspigdoc Member Find all posts View Profile Close mrspigdoc]

Yes, we're back. We didn't do very quirky things I'm afraid, but here is what we did:
1. went to a choir concert in St Paul's chapel...a college choir from Wales...they were excellent, and it was contribute what you like
2. walking tours I had read that you could pick up maps at a Nike store on 42? st, and they gave directions and information for four different tours, all about 10K each. We did one, and it was very informative.
3. saw The Bodies exhibit My MD brother in law and DVM husband were fascinated. I thought it was interesting, but I wouldn't go again. I kept thinking about the people they once were.
4. met a friend of a friend at a gay bar. Wasn't too different except for the bartenders were only wearing underwear! an eye opener for me
5. got a back stage tour at a Broadway show from another friend of a friend. We got to see the dressing rooms, lighting, lots of cool stuff. I liked being up on the stage. I didn't know that the stages are sloped...my fun fact to know and tell
6. walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset
7. went to two off Broadway shows Altar Boyz and Forbidden Broadway, and laughed and laughed
8. Saw A Chorus Line (free courtesy of the Manhattan Club sales tour)
9. visited my parents in NJ one day
10. ate a dozen pastries from Ferrara bakery Also did lots of walking, so it only cost me a pound
11. took a free walking tour of Union Square. Wow, it was really informative. It was given by an American History doctorate student. loved it
12 went to Mass at St Patricks on Sunday and heard the choir and the organ
13. bought a $4 hat in Chinatown before the big raid (the police seized one million dollars worth of knock off merchandise) later in the week, there were tons of closed booths...no one asking...watches, handbags as you walked by

back home for a rest
Teresa

[bigrick Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigrick]

2. walking tours I had read that you could pick up maps at a Nike store on 42? st, and they gave directions and information for four different tours, all about 10K each. We did one, and it was very informative.
...
back home for a rest
Teresa

Welcome back and thanks for the list. I made some notes for our next trip. Can you tell me more about these walking trips? What's 10k each mean? Were these trips self-guided via the maps? And the Nike store on 42? st and what?

Sorry for all the questions but I know if I wait too long those fond memories will be full of holes!

[mrspigdoc Member Find all posts View Profile Close mrspigdoc]

The free walking tour at Union Square was sat at 2pm. just show up at the lincoln statue

I think that I googled free things to do in new york city, and received a pretty comprehensive list.

got to run...
Teresa