There are a few choices as far as tours go, but I had to go with the TV and Movie Tour. I purchased my tickets online, but I think you can buy them in the city. On your tour date, you meet a tour guide at the designated location, pass over your confirmation and away you go.
Day 3: Acting Like a Tourist
A good chunk of the tour is on the bus, listening to the guide and viewing clips on mini TVs before passing by key spots around the city. Occasionally, you will stop and get out to take photos at the more popular locations. The information and anecdotes from the tour guide are great, but flying by the sites in the bus is not the most pleasant experience. Between the film clips and trying to lean up against the windows to catch the smallest glimpse of each location, you feel like you miss out on a lot. I tried to remember as much as possible so that when I return to New York - and believe me, I'll go back very soon - I can seek these places out on my own and have a closer look.
This is a perfect example of the kind of photos that are taken while driving past each location. This, just in case it is completely unrecognizable, is the statue of atlas that is shown in the opening of Saturday Night Live.
This is what it actually looks like....
I can't fully discount the experience because we did get out of the bus fairly often to take some photos. Below are a few of my favourites:
This was actually near the end of the tour, but I can't start talking about favourite sites without mention of the Friends building. When I was growing up, Friends was THE sitcom. As you'll see from the picture, there is no way that the exterior shot they chose was appropriate to the plot of the show. Anyone who has watched Friends knows that they spent a lot of their time out on the balcony. Well, I'm embarrassed to say that before seeing it the flesh, I never realized that there is actually no balcony on the outside of the building.
Our tour started at 11am, so I was pleased to find out that there was a stop for lunch - of course, they wouldn't stop just anywhere. This is Ben's Pizza, featured in Men In Black II (hence the movie poster in the background). If you remember, this pizza place was where Rosario Dawson's character worked and, ultimately, where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones solve the mystery...I won't give away anymore than that.
Who you gonna call?
This seemed to be the most popular stop for everyone on the bus tour. Except for lunch, only because it took time to eat, this was the longest stop on the tour. This is the fire hall from Ghostbusters, and they certainly do not hide it - note the Ghostbusters emblem in the background. Surprisingly, this is a fully functioning fire hall, though I'm not sure how the firefighters feel about having tourists lounging around throughout the day. We were peering through the windows and blocking the door the whole time...and we were warned to get the heck out of the way if the sirens went off. I would imagine that nothing has gone wrong thus far, since they are still making this stop on the tour.
This was the final stop on the tour, and may be the least obvious. This bar was the inspiration for MacLaren's Pub, a set on the show How I Met Your Mother. The guide told us that the show's writers used to hang out here, inspiring this major aspect of the show. For those who have not seen HIMYM, the cast spends most of their time at this pub, probably more than any other setting. The (real) pub has certainly latched onto this - they have a number of stills from the show all around the interior. I was so hoping to make my way back here at night for a few drinks, but alas, it didn't work out, so this is something else that will have to be saved for my next trip.
As frustrating as it was to miss so many locations along the way, I really think that tours like this are a great way to check out the city. When the weather is warmer, I would definitely try to get on a double decker when you can sit out in the open, free to see the buildings, statues and other sites in their entirety.
Little did I know that my TV and Movie Sites tour wouldn't end when the bus was parked.
That evening, after dinner at the Olive Garden in the middle of Times Square, we ventured to another darkly it pub in Greenwich Village. The Slaughtered Lamb, at 182 West and 4th Street, is one of the locations in the film, New York, I Love You. If I'm not mistaken, Bradley Cooper's love story starts here...don't quote me on that, it's been a while since I saw this film.
As far as dark pubs go, this one is pretty dingy...and fantastic. But, I have to say that Jekyll and Hyde from night #1 stole the show.
I didn't head into Greenwich village on my first trip to NYC, but this experience has made this area of the city one of my favourites. If I were to ever live out one of my dreams of moving to Manhattan, I think I would have to settle here. It's so fun and so full of character and life. What a great way to end my trip to the Big Apple.
New York, I REALLY do love you!
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