Sally Albright: Well, I guess we’re not going to be friends then.
Harry Burns: I guess not.
Sally Albright: That’s too bad. You were the only person I knew in New York.
One of my all-time favourite movies is When Harry Met Sally starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. At the height my passion, I could quote whole tracts of dialogue and to this day I can’t see pecan pie on a menu without descending into a silly voice – “But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie. Peeecaan piiiieeeee.”
(Interestingly, in doing some research for this post, I discovered that the silly voice scene was improvised by Billy Crystal and he dragged Meg Ryan along (you can see her look over at director Rob Reiner in confusion at one point).)
So on a recent jaunt to New York City, how could I not be excited to find myself in places where Harry and Sally once stood?
It’s not that I went on a When Harry Met Sally scene hunt. (Although, I have been known to do that. Harry Potter in Oxford, Doctor Who in Cardiff, James Bond in Monte Carlo…) Most times we just stumbled across it or were there for other reasons and the movie connection was just a bonus.
Of course, no visit to New York is complete without a visit to Katz’s Delicatessen.
I told myself I was there for the pastrami but really, why go to New York and not visit the site of that infamous orgasm scene?
Eating at a diner one night, I ordered apple pie for dessert (of course).
When the waiter confirmed, “Pie a la mode?” it took all my willpower not to launch into a complicated pie request for heated/not heated, vanilla/strawberry icecream, real/canned cream.
We had very limited time on our visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (I know, I know, we managed our timing badly. So sue me) so we picked out the ‘must see’ items in our guidebook. One of these was the Temple of Dendur.
It was only when we walked into the space that I realised it was where my favourite pecan pie scene was filmed. I also love Harry’s view on hieroglyphics.
I only purposely hunted down one site from the movie. I had assumed the archway where Sally drops off Harry in New York was at Central Park.
Running around the park twice a few days after we arrived, I could not see it anywhere. But on a visit to the top of the Empire State Building, there on the mounted guides of what we were looking at was the arch. It’s at Washington Square Park. So off we trekked and found it.
We found it full of people with pillows. We’d stumbled across International Pillow Fight Day. Well, that was just a bonus, really.
While I didn’t find the arch in Central Park, we did pass the Loeb Boathouse restaurant and Bethesda Terrace on our rambling travels one day which also feature in the film.
I’m sure, had I thought to watch the movie before we left, I could have gone to more locations both intentionally and accidentally but in the end, I loved the spontaneous and serendipitous nature of it.
Hm. Speaking of Serendipity, this place was familiar.
Oh, that’s right…
That pillow fight looks like so much fun! So does your trip…..nice when the stars align in an even greater way than you first expected, huh?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so wish I’d realised it was International Pillow Fight Day – I would have joined in! I’ll have to stick it in the diary for next year along with World Toilet Day, International Talk Like A Pirate Day and Towel Day (actually that last one is coming up soon). And if you think I’m kidding that those days exist, you can look them up. 😀
I love it when unexpected things like that happen. When we arrived in Certaldo Alto in Tuscany on one trip, we found red carpet down the main street (cars aren’t allowed in the old town). Turned out they were having a big food and wine festival that weekend. Such a lovely bonus!
LikeLike
Did you know that Sunday was World Naked Gardening Day? You could add that to the list, although personally I think participating in that activity would just be asking for trouble!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did know that, actually. 🙂 I chose to ignore that one. For occupational health and safety reasons. I am somewhat clumsy especially with sharp implements. Hedge trimming on that day would not be wise.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought pruning the roses would be a very unpleasant job.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I envy you, because When Harry Met Sally… inspires me everyday. It inspires me to write better. It inspires me to have more meaningful conversations. It inspires me to be wolfish like Harry. It inspires me to be more optimistic like Sally. It inspires me to maybe believe in love.
Maybe I’ll make it to New York one day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Paul! It is inspiring and witty and clever and one of those films you can watch a hundred times and never tire of it. I hope you make it to New York one day. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the welcome.
Until I read your post I’d actually forgotten that the Bethesda Terrace was a location in When Harry Met Sally… I always associate it’s fountain and “The Angel of the Waters” statue as the backdrop for George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer in One Fine Day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ok – I’m impressed. Really impressed. I doubt I could ever reconstruct scenes from movies or TV shows in the locale they were filmed.
… now I get your reference to Peeecaan Piiiieeeee 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, sorry it took so long to explain that little bit of madness. 😀
I tend to do that a lot. Lots of places I go it’s a case of “Oh, look! That’s where…blah blah blah…” I have the best photo of the boys standing on the steps at the entrance to the Mirabell gardens in Salzburg reconstructing the scene from Do Re Mi in the Sound of Music. 🙂 In hindsight, I should have put myself in it as Maria! 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for the memory! This was great fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Kayti. It was fun for me too! (Gave me an excuse to watch the movie again. 🙂 )
LikeLike
You’d be a New Yorker in no time if you stuck around long enough for it to get into your blood. I loved much of that movie too, Heather, especially this part. I’ve always felt couples who have their own little language/dialects have something special going on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I’m becoming fonder of the place the longer it’s been since we were there. Who would have thought, when I went so reluctantly??
It’s such a cute scene. And I agree with you. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh I love it!! Mad, crazy, eccentric post – so wonderful! I love ‘When Harry met Sally’ and I’m also fond of ‘Serendipity’ too. I don’t often re-watch movies but I have to confess to doing so with those two. Peeecan Piiieee is brill. Thank you H, I shall go to bed happy 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jude! I have a family dinner coming up for which I must provide dessert. I think it might have to be pecan pie. 😀 (I do so adore that scene.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
As long as they know what they are letting themselves in for when you serve it
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are a clever one, MOSY. You inspire me to put New York on my bucket list and eat a piece of pie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pecan or a la mode? Or both? And I don’t think I ever expected to be the person inspiring people to go to New York, of all places. 😉
LikeLike
I’ll take my pie plain, thanks. I have a bit of a dairy insensitivity, so ice cream is a once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence. I think it’s funny that people from around the world have been to New York when there are people in the States that only wish they could visit. I’m one of those people!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never seen Uluru, if that makes you feel better.
LikeLike
A little. I haven’t seen the Grand Canyon either. Then again, when I was married and we took vacations on the motorcycle, I saw quite a bit of the country. I will always be grateful for that and the stories that came from those trips.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you share those stories one day. (If you haven’t already. Before I got here. Or when I wasn’t paying attention.)
LikeLike
If you go to the search bar and type in motorcycle, the biker chick posts should appear. I’ve written a few, but perhaps it’s time to write a few more. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Done. And yes, write more. Please.
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK, will do. As soon as I can find a little extra time. I need to dig out old biker photos and reminisce first.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great fun to base your sight seeing around a long time love. I recognize a few of those spots from our own recent trip. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought you might, Sue. 🙂 And it was fun. I always love that little element of recognition. It’s like having a personal connection to a place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now, why didn’t you join in the pillowfight? I’m sure there would be a spare pillow around somewhere… 😀 Seems like you managed to squeeze in quite a bit of sight seeing. Some spontaneity is always nice on a trip…you never know what you can discover or recognise 😉 Or maybe it was luck for you.
When Harry Met Sally was one of those movies I watched each year when it came on TV around the holiday season. Not a diehard fan of it, but certainly a movie that made me chuckle.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, they did have a pile of them sitting there because people were encouraged to donate a pillow to the homeless so they were collecting them as people finished. But I think it would have looked a bit ordinary to pinch a pillow from the poor even if I was going to bring it back. 😀
I love the spontaneous and unexpected surprises on a trip. Well, as long as they’re good ones. But even the bad ones give you a good story to tell in the years to come. “Remember when we stayed in that hotel in Geneva and there was something living under the bath and we ate breakfast with the prostitutes and drug addicts who lived there?” Just an example. It might be true….
I think it’s a movie that’s easy to come back to for a repeat viewing. 🙂
LikeLike
It would be odd taking a pillow for your own fun when it’s meant to go for a charitable cause. Maybe next time…or your could always have a pillow fight at home 😀
I wouldn’t want to go on a holiday and find something living under the hotel bed…I really don’t. You are certainly more game than me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll have to watch the movie again. I was stunned to see how young Billy looked! Now a request: a sound clip of MOSY saying “pecan pie”. Pretty please? With ice cream on the side?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is 26 years old….
And… no. Not for all the icecream in every Baskin Robbins in the world. I hate the sound of my voice when it’s recorded. Sounds nothing like it does in my head.
LikeLiked by 1 person
[whining, pleading, nasal-y voice] aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a treat. Thank you so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Hilary! (Sorry, missed your comment somehow.)
LikeLike
Bought the video ‘When Harry met Sally’ from Aldi this week, so am looking forward to seeing it! Also making pecan pie tomorrow! Loved your photos Heather, it gives a real feel for the New York seldom seen by someone who has never been there. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, that’s fantastic, Barbara! 🙂 🙂
Will you share your pecan pie recipe? I have a family dinner in a couple of weeks. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Shall post it tomorrow, all being well Heather!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re full of surprises, MOSY. You’re one for the sentimentals alright. 🙂
International Pillow Fight Day?! 😀 I was well trained in the art of the pillow fight by my brother. Would love to take him on these days
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s my life’s mission not to be predictable. 😀
It’s on every year and all around the world. Keep an eye out! Doesn’t seem to have a set date as such but looking back at previous days (on YouTube), seems to occur around Easter.
LikeLiked by 1 person