'WFE' - NYC Adventure - Part 1 by Chilbunch

Last year when I went to NYC for the “Remember Me” premiere, I thought to myself…never again. I was not sure I could handle a lot of people in a barricade again without freaking out like I did for Remember Me. Ever heard the saying “Never Say Never?”  It turns out to be true…well at least in my case when it comes to Rob. Trust me I hear it all the time from my family and co-workers….”You’re doing what?”

But when I heard that “Water for Elephants” was going to premiere in NYC and it is only a two hour flight from Orlando, I thought I would give another shot for a premiere. I considered it full circle to see the red carpet because I loved the book and was impressed with the production of the movie. With my going to GA/TN during the summer for the filming I really wanted a perfect ending to this adventure. Plus getting a chance to see Rob would be a bonus and I shouldn't get started about Reese...I am a huge fan of hers! 

So this is the beginning of my adventure. I was waiting until everything kinda died down on the coverage of Rob on WFE to share my experience.

New York Skyline from the New Jersey Side 

I left Florida the Friday before so I could sightsee in NYC before all the madness of trying to see Rob while he was promoting WFE. After sightseeing on Friday I was ready and excited to meet some fellow “Rob Fans” on Saturday morning for a “Remember Me Tour”. The tour was going to start at the Pearl Diner, where they filmed Rob as Tyler for several scenes. Everyone was set to meet for breakfast and honestly I did not know what to expect when I arrived. I was pleasantly surprised that the first girl I met was also from Florida. It was meant to be for me to meet Jeri and we just clicked as if we knew each other for years. It is just too bad we both were sightseeing in NYC on Friday alone and had no idea someone else from Florida was in town for WFE.

Pearl Diner - "Remember Me" Film Site.

I don’t think the diner was ready all of us that showed up for breakfast. I wonder what was going thru the other customer’s minds to see a bunch of girls taking turns sitting at a particular booth and posing for pictures.You would have thought it was a King's Throne. But it was all in fun and I was able to meet the girls from “Thinking of Rob”, “Twi-Fans” and meet and become friends with Mandy from “Malicious Mandy”, Katina and of course meet up with my good friend Yvette who runs this site!

After breakfast we started walking over to WTC (World Trade Center) area to Ground Zero. I have been here several times, including on Friday, but every time I’ve gone I discover something new. First we came to the spot where they filmed:"Tyler walking his bike calling his dad for the last time" for the film. So it was picture time for a few minutes. Across the street from this location was the Trinity Church that many people seeked help during and after 911. After we looked in the church we walked down to WTC - Ground Zero...what is always very surreal.

Close to WTC where "Remember Me" was filmed.

World Trade Center - Ground Zero

Then we were guided down to the Fire Station right on the corner where there is a beautiful memorial on the building and “Old Glory” flies high and proud on the corner of the building. That morning, right there at that moment I think everyone took a moment and realized the impact of the situation of what happened. It really is one thing to see it on TV and actually standing there where the event of 911 changed us all.

Fireman's Memorial - Fire Station at Ground Zero

Flag flown on the Fire Station - One of the new building's at WTC to the left.

It was time to move the tour over to Washington Square, to get there we had to take the subway. We all had to hurry to enter the subway so we could all fit in the same car to stay together. Let’s just say it was interesting and cozy at certain points until the car emptied a bit. 

  

We arrive at Washington Square and we all start talking and debating on where certain scenes where filmed. It is not a large park but it is a beautiful spot in the middle of NYU and other buildings. We found the corner where Rob and Tate filmed discussing the “S.L.U.T. Kit”. It was fun going to that corner and checking out the NYU building recreation room from the big windows where Rob also filmed..

Washington Square 

NYU  - corner where they filmed  Tyler and Aiden discussing the S.L.U.T. 

and inside the windows (by pillars) is where Tyler approached Alli for the first time.

Next on the tour was the bookstore “The Strand” which was actually really, really cool to go too. This bookstore was definitely not a Barnes and Noble! You could actually smell the old books when you walked in.  A couple of us girls found an employee who knew about the filming and he told us how they changed the books around for the filming and really had the books in the order that Tyler talked about.He took us over to the spot where Rob and Tate filmed and told us that one fact was not accurate for the movie.He said the bookstore only hires full time employees so Tyler would not be employed part time. He said filming was long and Rob fell off the ladder quite a bit. That corner was like the booth in the diner...everyone wanted a picture on a ladder there.

The Strand 

This is the section where Rob and Tate filmed 

The day was getting away from us and we all had the H20 Cocktail party that night so it was decided to get back on the subway and head to Central Park to the “Alice in Wonderland” that was in several scenes. I was really looking forward to this because I went to this the year before when I came to NYC for the “Remember Me” premiere. Unfortunately at that time it was covered with snow and I sat on the wrong side for my picture. As we all came up onto the street from the subway the rain started coming down in and Jeri, Mandy and myself were the only ones who decided to proceed to see Alice. We figured we had come this far, what’s a little rain? We caught a taxi to take us directly to the entrance instead of walking halfway thru the park. As we got to Alice the rain was just drizzling so we were able to get up on Alice very carefully but I did not dare sit and end up with my pants wet. While it was a bit on the miserable side going to Alice was so worth it.

Alice In Wonderland at Central Park

This should look familiar the view from Alice and where 

Tyler and Alli were towards the end of the movie.

After checking out the Alice in Wonderland we decided to call it a day for the Remember Me tour. It was time to go get ready for the party and we were looking forward to meeting Sara Gruen and Mark Povinelli at the party. Little did we know what we had in store for that night!

Stay tuned to “How Crazy Am I?” coming soon……