Hello Upper East Siders!
After the success of the Sex and City tour, it was only a matter of time before Gossip Girl got her own. After all, the hit show is completely shot in the streets of New York. It's truly a miracle given all these tourists. I was stunned to learn that it costs between $10,000 and $60,000 to close a New York City block only for one day.
Each episode takes six 16-hour days to shoot and costs $120,000 to produce. That doesn't include talent costs...We're far from Canadian TV budgets.
I have to confess, I was pretty excited to be part of the very first tour, regardless the extreme «cheezyness» of getting on a bus to listen to an overexcited guide gossip about Gossip Girl. But it was worth it, it's the best way to know where all the cool clubs, restaurants and bars are in New York. Butter, Butai, Geisha, Gilt, Spring, Centolire, Oak Room and The Box... these are the new names to put on your «to try» list.
For the neophytes, Gossip Girl is a show based on the book series of Cecily von Ziegesar. She was inspired by her own childhood spent at the posh Nightingale-Bamford School on 92th Street. The series revolves around the lives of rich and spoiled teenagers growing up on the Upper East Side and drinking martinis in preppy clothes. It is narrated by the omniscient and never seen blogger Gossip Girl (Kristen Bell). The second season just ended, they will start shooting the next one at the end of the summer.
The tour starts in front of the Palace Hotel on Madison avenue, where the Van der Wooden live. If you have a big wallet, you can feast on the «Gossip Grill», a black-truffle grilled cheese, who became a hit after Serena (Blake Lively) ate it during the show's pilot. It's 50 bucks...
We then head to the Constance Billard School for Girls, Gossip Girl's kingdom. The school doesn't exist, they shoot the facade of a Russian Church on 93rd street!
Blair Waldorf's (Leighton Meester) penthouse is on 5th avenue and 95th street. By the way, in the first episodes,
Leighton Meester was wearing a wig because she's blond. It looked so fake that the producers convinced her to dye her hair. Lindsay Lohan was suppose to play her part in the beginning. Not sure what happened, but the insurance costs were probably too high...
For Nate Archibald's (Chace Crawford) townhouse you have to go further south on 74th street between Madison and 5th avenue. The block is the only one guarded by private security in Manhattan. Go figure.
Next stop is at Henri Bendel's on 5th avenue, the Mecca of every fashionista. This is where the stylist of the show, Eric Daman, loads up on Blair's famous headbands. The 2009 version of a crown. According to the salesgirl, the $398 Swarovski-encrusted model sells like hotcakes. Some people are really immunized against recession...
The tour wouldn't be complete without a stop at Grand Central Terminal where Serena is «spotted» in the very first episode. You can pose on the West Balcony, snap a cell-phone picture and immediately post it on Facebook and Twitter! One of the best kept secret of this place is the Campbell apartment, an out of time place where Serena and Nate have their famous affair on the mahogany bar. You can indulge on the Prohibition Punch, it's $16.
You can't talk about Gossip Girl without mentionning Chuck's (British actor Ed Westwick). He was suppose to appear once in the show but the producers loved him so much, they built a lead part for him.
Three hours and 40 locations later, it was time to say goodbye. The guide left us with that famous phrase from the show: «You know you love me XOXO».
Photos: Marie-Joelle Parent
www.screentours.com
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