Final Day in NYC

 On Sunday morning, we woke up and got bagels & coffee near Bryant Park. The weather was gorgeous so it wasn't horrible to just be outside. We all walked Nalani to Grand Central Station so she could get a train north for a wedding and the rest of us could get Black & White cookies to take home. 

While Beth went to visit cousins on the upper west side, Gabrielle and I got lunch at a Havana Central across from our hotel. After our lunches, Beth and I saw the matinee of Parade. (Gabrielle had seen the show already). We were very relieved to see that there were no understudies for the main cast. Ben Platt has an amazing voice and he was great to see live. The show was very sad and I thought a little hard to follow at times. 

After the show, Gabrielle met us with tissues and we hung out at the hotel before it was time to disperse. Beth flew home to Chicago while Gabrielle and I took the Acela back to Massachusetts. 

It was a great weekend but I am very tired today. :) 

Day 2 in NYC

 Yesterday morning, we ventured out to get bagels across from Bryant Park and then got coffee across the street from there. After breakfast, Gabrielle, Beth & I went to the public library. There’s an exhibit there of treasures which apparently they rotate different things in from their collection. They had things like Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence and also a Haggadah from a displaced persons camp after the Holocaust. They had redone the library shop since I had been there last and we spent a lot of time in there.

We did some shopping before seeing Alex Edelman’s one man show for a matinee. It was very funny and we had great seats. 

After the show we met Nalani at the hotel and regrouped. We went to the lower east side and wandered around before dinner at Trappizino. It was so hot out. 

After dinner, we went to the union square area to see Titianque. Titanique is an off Broadway show that retells the story of the movie Titanic with Celine Dion narrating and the characters singing Celine Dion stories. It was hilarious and ridiculous. A lot of it was improved and you could tell the cast was having a lot of fun. 

After the show, we got gelato and took a Lyft back to the hotel. It was a long but very fun day.  

Girls Trip to Manhattan

 This weekend, I’m on a girls trip to NY with a few friends. On Friday, Gabrielle and I left via Acela to meet Beth (Weisbach not Monaco) who had flown in from Chicago on Thursday. The train was nice and after all the recent family trips driving through Connecticut it was nice to glance over at the highway traffic from the comfort of our business class seats.

After arriving in NY we failed to find either Zaro’s in Penn Station. We gave up pretty quickly because the station was SO hot and gross and we were carrying our bags. After checking in at the Muse hotel, we ventured out to get pretzels for a snack. Our room is pretty spacious and very comfortable. 

For dinner, we went to a Turkish restaurant nearby called AnTalia. We ended up ordering a lot of appetizers instead of main courses. Beth and I got lemonade spritzes which were great. All the food was very good. 

Our show for Friday night was Shucked. We had heard good things but didn’t know a lot about the show other than it seemed to be about corn and Alex Newell won a Tony for their performance. While in line to enter, they offered us corn in the cob. We were relieved to find out there were no understudies last night, then went to the bar to get drinks in souvenir cups. 

Our seats were great and we loved the show. It’s about a small town that’s economy is entirely dependent on their corn crops. It was hilarious and we were laughing the entire show. The show was very original but had some traditional musical structure. There was an Harold Hill like character, and the story had two couples it followed. Alex was of course amazing and you could tell the cast was having fun. We were quoting some of the more ridiculous lines for the rest of the night. I think my favorite is: “I’m not arguing, I’m right and you’re just saying things.” 

After the show we stopped at Juniors for cheesecake slices and black & white cookies before heading to bed.

Today we have 2 shows planned and Nalani will be joining us.