Varun's Daily Diary

Saturday 9 January 2010

Last night I wandered down to The Rockefeller Center - 19 buildings built by the the great man ("D") that all interlink! I went to a winebar called Morrell's ... which has a GREAT list with rather knowledgeable staff ... nice ... by the way, one of my favourite TV shows at the moment is "30 Rock" ... which is set ... HERE!

The Rockefeller Plaza by night ...

0815 at Radio City Music Hall - 1620 Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave) ... it's MINUS 6 degrees ... and I am not happy ... but I am happy too! The lovely PR Cara Epstein had already met us to ensure that we were happy and promised us a great morning .. she did not disappoint.

My guide was decade tour guide veteran Joyce Hancock. Radio City opened in 1932 ... and has been the "showplace of the nation" ever since. It became a "Landmark Building" in 1978 ... and has seen 300 million people through its doors since opening. The name came from the boss of RCA - David Sarnoff - who thought that it would glorify his radio company ... which it did! The brains behind the early years was Roxy Rothafel ... who filled its nearly 6000 seater auditorium with music-lovers, cinema-goers and fans of radio. He was gifted his own apartment ... an enormous space with plush living areas. We visited this. The building is ALL art deco ... and VERY impressive indeed! I saw David Bowie do a set here once ... Lady Gaga has sold out a few shows next week and the likes of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Bette Midler and McCartney have played here too ... a FUN place to visit!

OK - what does $15,000 US buy you in New York? The Peninsula Suite! It's 2-bedrooms with a third attached ... this is the main bedroom ... mine .. with king bed!

the main bathroom - jacuzzi bath, shower with rain head ... and it's warm!

my changing area ... with one of my new Robert Graham shirts!

my office - from where I write postcards and email and write THIS diary! I am there now listening to Ravel's Bolero after a HUGE dinner with the boys!

ALL the drinks are complimentary in the suite ... including champagne and whisky!

my dining room sits 10 ... I have played musical chairs here and I won!

my butler's pantry! that fridge is FULL of goodies!

so - I went for a walk around the city and bumped into Davidoff on Madison .. and had a cigar!

my afternoon was highlighted by my new jewellery-designer friend Christy Feaver! We froze as we wandered around 5th ... (anyone spot where we are?)

Back at my suite ... I am 19 floors up and have THIS view down 5th! AWESOME!

Oh - my living room has a baby-grand piano! I popped into FAO Schwartz today ... and met two old & dear friends who just had to play the piano with me!