Taking a bite of the Big Apple

The Goyles have now been in NYC for four days. We've done a few gigs, soaked in some culture, tramped around Greenwich Village, gotten lost multiple times, done some busking, annoyed plenty of New Yorkers by bursting into song on the subway, lazed about in the park...generally had a great time because the weather has been AMAZING.

Gone are the days of rain and cold (our first morning in America we'd been greeted by a blizzard of snow)...at the moment it's unbelievably sunny in Noo Yawk.

Our first NYC gig was at Cafe Vivaldi with Six Play, an adult semi-pro a capella group. It was a small and quite cute cafe, and afterwards we got some dinner with some Six Play members, so that was fun. Last night we sang with The Uptown Vocals at Columbia University, very jazzy.

Gargoyles at Cafe Vivaldi

We've done a fair bit of sightseeing- we toured the Lincoln Center, which is pretty much the mecca for musicians (NYC Opera, Metropolitan Opera, etcetera are all here) and we got ridiculously cheap student tickets to see Madama Butterfly at the NYC Opera one night. We were fairly awe-inspired by the singers who had to fill a 4000-seater auditorium without mics. It was a beautiful opera. Managed to stay awake by chomping through a box of mixed nuts bought at intermission.

Gargoyles in the Lincoln Centre at Metropolitan Opera

Central Park has been another much frequented Gargoyle haunt, as has Times Square . Highlights at Times Square included an M&M World (featuring a giant M&M dummy at the entrance dressed as Elvis, complete with curled lip) and a woman in front of Ripley's Believe it Or Not who seemed to be swallowing a sword.

The King

Our accommodation has also been eclectic and interesting. We've stayed at a YMCA just a few steps away from Central Park and from the Lincoln Centre, a night at a hostel which had 12 beds squished into a hankerchief-sized room (they did say the Gargoyles get much closer as a group during tour...), a night at Columbia...and at one point, someone very kindly lent us his flat to stay in- a flat on 34th and Broadway, i.e. slap bang in the centre of town, between the Empire State Building and the world's largest Macy's and the Empire State Building. The Goyles lived the Manhattan life of luxury for a night. Felt like something out of Gossip Girl.

Tonight we're singing for our supper at a Steakhouse. More adventures to follow later in the week.

Ta for now,
xxx