Eurasians Rule NYC…Ramble

I seem to be collecting my fellow Eurasians (hey Patti Stanger take that term ‘Amerasians’ and lose it, you are leaving out my global brethren.) I love showing off the NY in case you haven’t guessed by now dear readers.

I met up with the Swiss Miss & Her Mister at MOMA for another go round of the Tim Burton Exhibit. A little update for you, due to the overcrowding and probably the endless complaints, you need to either book a reservation online for it or queue up early and hit the information desk for an assigned time to enter. Although it was still overly crowded and poorly laid out, there is a prolific amount to see. I had a chance to see things I missed the first time and actually read some of Mr. Burton’s notes ie to Johnny Depp about a line he had for ‘Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.’ It was on cable the other day and the line made it in there so that gave me a little giggle.

Please Don't Touch!

If you are a huge Burton fan, at the end of the exhibit you will find one sketch from the forthcoming 3-D Alice In Wonderland film. ( I personally love that Johnny Depp snort laughs in the trailer as I am a snort laugher myself! Own your snorts!)

I suggest you also skip watching the Stainboy short films since you can watch them & actually hear them online.

We also enjoyed our fair share of Rothko, Miro, Picasso, and the circle obsessed Orozco. Seriously Senior Orozco you are a genius getting away with having an entire room with just one yogurt cap on each wall. It’s an implied Dannon yogurt endorsement.

We added a little Sex & The City to our day tour by staring at the Manolo Blanik window display and then hitting Magnolia for some red velvet cupcakes.

It was time to get things on track with a little Yum Cha Hong Kong Style which they do not apparently serve in all of Switzerland. How do you Eurasians survive over there without yum cha? Egads! Keeping it young and hip, we headed to the Golden Unicorn just like they did on ….yes, Gossip Girl. Hey, it’s in the top 10 rated Yum Cha restaurants in Chinatown so why protest? I was also very pleased Golden Unicorn serves yum cha until 4pm unlike LA where it ends at 2. I love you New York!

Don't look directly into the blinking eye!

A little bargaining can go a long way so tourists, please do not get your t-shirts in Times Square. Head down to Canal Street and get a bargain. You can negotiate and it’s fun. I rescued several random Swiss guys from overspending last week. I am happy to be paid for my services in….Swiss Chocolate. Oh it is so delicious. I may have to move there!

xoxo Grrlgenius

ps hit up Hopstop.com for subway directions! There are free maps of NYC available in the subway. xx

Other Eurasian Adventures:

Trio

Power Duo

Power Duo Final

Crush of the week: Tim Burton…Ramble

Mastermind

When I was just an intern back in the day at MTV, I was assigned the task of logging a few tapes of an interview with Tim Burton. This entailed hours on end of writing down every single word (by hand at that point) said on the tapes and the timecode so producers can just scan what was said.

The associate producer (Jesse, how far you’ve come!)  who assigned me the task was totally mystified when I came back 8 hours later, task completed.  (Guess the other guy who was paid to do it kept returning with a dozen excuses for stopping.) Why didn’t I stop? Tim Burton is that fascinating. He is truly a mastermind of creativity.

Mr. Burton’s MOMA exhibition has been extended a few extra months to April 26th (originally ending in January.) It is the most extensive exhibit I’ve ever seen crammed with notes from when he was a child, his days at Disney, and throughout his illustrious career.

Moving through the MOMA exhibit at the rate of an LA traffic jam, with collisions every five seconds, loud yelling between museum visitors and security guards constantly berating picture takers, I would normally have bailed, yet every turn provided visions and colors to magnificent to leave.

This year Mr. Burton will head the Cannes Film Festival Jury which takes place in May. Oh how I wish I could be there to watch the films Burton annoints as worthy! It’s also been announced Burton is planning a 3-D version of “Sleeping Beauty.” How I wish our time working for Disney had overlapped! Sigh.

Eurasian Power Duo: NYC Tourist Part Deux…Ramble

While at the gym going over the day’s planned activities, I pondered the question ‘what does an 800 pound mako shark dream about?’ from the movie Deep Blue Sea. Of course, I had to spin it ‘what does a teenager want to see in NYC?’ and in a flash scrapped the day’s events with visions of Dylan’s Candy Bar & Serendipity dancing in my head.

Here are more NYC delights the Eurasian Power Duo suggest:

Why is my drink staring at me?

1. Dylan’s Candy Bar: the sugary smells lure you and it’s hard to stop the intoxicating treats from popping straight into your mouth. Head upstairs for a Frozen Hot Chocolate made with real chocolate shavings instead of waiting 3 hours to get one down the street at Serendipity 3…that is unless Nick Jonas is taking you there and then you’ll get seated right away.

2. Guggenheim – the fabulous Russian Kandisky’s current show (which leaves Jan. 13) is the best overall collection I’ve ever seen at the Guggeheim. After waiting a half an hour in the cold to take part in the Saturday night (5:45-7:45 pm) ‘pay what you want (vs. the regular adult $18 admission) plus we’ll throw in a free audio guide’– my little Aussie was frozen to the bone and had decided never to live in NYC during the winter.

3.

The Apple Store 5th Avenue-– this one looks like the Louvre so much you’ll be looking over your shoulder for Tom Hanks rushing around solving mysteries. This location during the day is pure tourist madness however it’s open 24/7 so busy New Yorkers can get their Apple fix anytime. We exited the building with @brianistuft & another friend singing Ring Around The Rosie, our Apple salesman Justin was so proud we’d been his customers. Hey, it was almost 1AM people need entertaining especially us!

4. The Plaza– you know the hotel where Crocodile Dundee stayed…. has shops, welcomes Eloise fans and contains The Oak Bar. This is another opportunity for you to go all ‘Gossip Girl’ with your young visitors and snap them like they are running from photogs…okay, maybe that’s just me ….

Spotted dashing off E at The Plaza xoxo Gossip Girl

5. La Esquina– while wandering around Soho looking at all the fabulous models, trendy stores and bars, one might need a nice, inexpensive bit of refueling. Add some spice to your life at La Esquina. It looks like a divey taco bar, and seating is rare but it is damn good. If you have more time, head around the corner to the restaurant version.

6.tkts– recently reopened with those red stairs in the center of Times Square, you can re-enact Jay-Z and Alicia Keys belting out ‘In New York these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you’ before you get kicked off and return to the line for discount theater tickets. The Brooklyn Branch has shorter lines but is not open on the weekends.

7. The Staten Island Ferry– it’s free, takes 25 minutes each way and you get incredible views of The Statue Of Liberty without having to shell out $20 bucks just to freeze on Liberty Island as people who booked ahead to climb up the Lady’s dress pass you by. Take the R/W/1/5 to South Ferry/Whitehall. You can also jump on the 2/3 express train, exit at Wall Street, take a few steps to Tiffany’s(much less crowded then the flagship store on 5th Avenue and the architecture is beyond fabulous especially the grand marble staircase that leads up to the engagement rings. Check out my personal fave The Legacy!), snap a pic with Bull and then hit the Ferry. You’ll hear the most incredible real accents as opposed to Matthew McConaughey’s faux-Southern-drawl.

Note: You better have a camera with a great zoom lens and a quick trigger finger as you go by the Statue. It’s like the ride is in slow motion until then but you can get some decent shots, a lot better than the spec you’ll get from The Brooklyn Bridge.

How you doin' honey?