Thursday, Jan.19th it rained on us most of the day in New York. Whenever I’m in NYC I spend too much time walking walking walking and when it’s raining the walking is not so enjoyable. But this time Randy and I did manage to stay dry and inside for quite a bit of time.
We started out at the Astro Cafe again and had another delicious breakfast, although it was closer to noon by the time we got there.
We walked down the Avenue to Rockefeller Center and this reminded us of Bev, who dressed as Gilly from Saturday Night Live one Halloween.
Before Covid, Bev and I spent fair amount of time at Rockefeller Center, lounging at the many tables which looked over the skating rink. It was great to be there when it was bitterly cold. We bought delicious cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery on the corner and enjoyed people-watching in the warm space. I do miss New York with Bev. Maybe someday we’ll travel there again…
I wish I’d taken a photo of what it looks like now; there are almost no tables and chairs, I assume because of Covid, plus there are some new restaurants. It was so much changed, as all of New York seemed to be.
Randy and I exited on 5th Avenue and he hoped to find some special kind of cologne that he likes, so we went to Saks. I can’t recall ever being in the store, I’d just looked at the window displays.
It was very fancy. There were many sales people who all seemed friendly, and one of them showed us a beautiful bottle of perfume in the shape of cupcake. The tops were sprinkled with sparkly crystals.
Swarovski crystals, that is. How much, you ask? Twelve hundred dollars. I asked the sales person if they sold a lot of them and she said, “yes, people buy them as gifts.”
I found one of them online.
Twelve. Hundred. Dollars.
I’m just saying.
We took the elevator to men’s clothing and Randy found an ok-looking sweater on a sale rack.
On sale for seven hundred dollars.
I mean, c’mon. It’s always difficult to wrap my head around people having that much money to spend, and then spending it on…a bottle of perfume? Or a not-great sweater? I walked past a man in the store loaded down with bags.
I will say that the bathrooms there were quite nice. It was fun to finally enter the store and maybe next time I’ll go into another one. Don’t want to rush things.
Afterwards we walked into an art gallery with many originals on the walls. Randy admired a giant Marilyn Monroe…well, I’m not sure what you call it. It was kind of a painting but with many things pasted around on it, like a collage. The gallery guy said it was “Twenty five thousand with a thousand for shipping, but I’ll give it to you for eighteen and free shipping.”
Clearly he was desperate. Randy said it was too big for his walls.
We headed to the Burger Joint, a cool little divey place inside a fancy hotel only a short walk. I’d been there with Kevin, Bev, and Mom, and was happy to show Randy the big velvet curtain hidden behind which was the joint. Here’s me in line – we were there at after two in the afternoon so I figured there might not be a crowd, but there were plenty of people waiting.
The restaurant used to be hidden inside Le Meridien, but now it’s in the Thompson next door. Or it must be that the Thompson bought Le Meridien because the place was the same but only the name had changed.
It was full of tourists from all over the world – the last time I was there it was mostly businessmen in suits, but that was more at lunch hour. The nice waitress we talked to had worked there for twenty years. I’m glad we went, because she said they were going to move and expand it, and then it obviously won’t be this funny little place anymore.
We walked in the rain to the TKTS booth and finally decided to see “Some Like It Hot.” I figured it would be OK, and at least there would be singing and dancing and no intense dramatic drama with the yelling and throwing of furniture.
Before the show we met up with Randy’s friend Joe Johnson, who was a very nice guy except he told us that we could have gotten much cheaper tickets in any number of ways. He’s originally from Springfield and lives near the Mayor’s mansion in NYC.
Joe walked with us to the theater, and then…and then…Some Like It Hot!!!
It was…just so good. I think my favorite musical up to this point has been “Wicked,” but now I feel that SLIH has surpassed even this.
At the end of the first act I suddenly realized I’d been grinning the entire time. The second act was equally dazzling. It was the music, the performances, the orchestra, costumes, sets, the re-worked story of the movie…so so so good. I’m pretty sure the leading lady, Adrianna Hicks, was one of the wives in “Six” when Mom and I saw it in Chicago on Navy Pier, before it shot to Broadway. Everybody in the show was terrific, but I keep thinking of the guy who played the millionaire Osgood, Kevin Del Aguila. In the movie I don’t think he had a huge part, but this Osgood was so very funny. I keep describing how he danced but I can’t do it justice – it’s like his legs were rubber bands, shaking and squirming and, well, twisting like a rubber band, in the most delightfully funny way that I’ve ever seen.
When it was over, Randy and I were ready to see it again. If somebody called me right now and told me they had tickets for the show tonight I’d be there.
It was the absolute perfect final day in NYC. Magical.
Ok then,
Mrs. H.