Monday was a great day, going up in the empire state building, but tuesday was equally fantastic.
we went back to erin’s fancy gym, but this time i got to take a yoga class which was really good. i was a little intimidated at first, not knowing what to expect, but the instructor was not only fantastic but also funny and knowledgeable of course (a high-end place like that wouldn’t hire any slouches). she was older, which surprised me because most of the people at this gym seemed to be young, and i think she was indian.
great class.
afterwards, bev and i headed down to the rockefeller center for lunch with bev and justin. we ate at the cafeteria connected to the gym erin works at across from rockefeller center. here was our view, as i enjoyed a delicious breakfast burrito.
bev and i went to the Schoenfeld Theater because she wanted to see about rush tickets for the show that’s in previews called “come from away.” i’d never heard of it, and she hadn’t either, until she read about it when we got to the city.
the guy had two tickets left; they were in the 7th row, but partially obstructed view, and we hemmed and hawed for a few minutes, and then got them.
to celebrate, we went next door to Junior’s, famous for their cheesecake. here’s me as bev is taking a very important call.
and yes, i did get a piece of chocolate cheesecake as big as my head. it wasn’t actually chocolate cheese, but rather a slab of cheesecake mushed together with a sinfully delicious piece of cake, all stuck together with an obscene amount of to-die-for chocolate frosting.
bev got the classic cheesecake, which had cherries on top. i ate 3/4 of my piece even though it was very very very cholatey and sweet.
meanwhile, kevin sent me this photo of a crocus which had popped up. spring!
we waddled out of junior’s after dallying there for a good long time, and i had to take a picture of this “hello dolly” poster which is opening very soon and starring bette midler. where are the photos of bette, i ask you??? very puzzling. it’s not like it’s going to open in a year; it’s opening in march and you know they have to have some photos somewhere.
times square always looks much better at night. fog was rolling in.
we still had some time to kill before the show and i suggested going back to brooklyn, but that would have been a long trek in rush hour. instead, i suggested that we try the lobby of the marriot marquis, right across the street from the Schoenfeld Theater. i’d gone into this hotel plenty of times to use their bathroom, but today there were suddenly signs saying RESTROOMS FOR HOTEL GUESTS ONLY. and they were locked. drat.
i suggested that we try the lobby, and it was an awesome place. huge, grand, with plenty of comfy couches and chairs. and the bathroom didn’t even have a door, so it’s my new go-to place when in NYC. we settled into some comfy chairs and enjoyed sitting there and people-watching.
the 70’s futuristic elevators shot up and down as we watched.
plenty of people were hanging out, working on the computers. or at least doing something on them. we texted justin and invited him to join us; he’d been working on his computer at the library all afternoon and i told him that this place was much comfier and nicer.
i can’t tell you exactly how long we were there, but a good time was had by all. then we strolled over to the theater.
“come from away” is a musical about the 38 planes that were grounded on 9/11 in the small town of gander, newfoundland after the US airspace was closed. yeah, i thought, do i want to see a musical about 9/11? how fun would that be.
very. it was an awesome show, and i’m delighted that bev found out about it and was so eager to go. there were only 12 people in the cast and hey portrayed the islanders, who were shocked at the fact that about 7,000 people were going to show up in their town of about 7,000, and they also played the passengers on the jets. the people had to sit on the planes for 28 hours, not knowing what was going on, no cell phones to tell them what was happening.
it was powerful and funny and just delightful, and like i said, so glad we went. it was the only broadway show we saw in NYC, but that was totally fine with me.
a really funny thing is that last year when we were there, we saw the great “school of rock,” and happened to be there when they were doing “kids on broadway.” this program encourages parents to bring their kids to shows, and afterwards there’s a Q&A. the one at school of rock was fun. but this was the night for the kids on broadway again! so a few of the cast members sat in chairs on the stage after the performance and answered questions, as did the writers of the show, a couple who had gone to gander and interviewed many people when they had the 10-year anniversary. lots of people who had been on the planes went back to gander for the anniversary, and they got many stories.
a good time was had by all.
when we finally got back to erin’s i finished off my giant piece of cheesecake.
ok then.
mrs. h.