Last day in my new favourite city

Thursday morning we awoke early with a mission! We were going to get a Cronut!

So as we dressed I looked out and saw that since it was already raining it wouldn't make any difference if I wear grey as it is already wet out there. Oh wow was I wrong.....

Subway down to Canal Street we walked up to the bakery. I had read a little bit about the Cronut craze and knew that people lined up early for the bakeries opening at 8am. We got there at 8am and saw this.....





And around the corner, this....





So we joined the line and slowly made it around the corner. People chatted and passerbys stopped to ask what was going on, "lining up for pastries of course!".

As people came out of the bakery they had wide smiles and held there bags of goodies close to their chest. As we neared the front we saw a couple with a couple of boxes. They were going up and down the line stating they had an extra box and did anyone want it. Yep, they were Cronut scalpers!

After waiting for an hour in the line, a bakery employee came out to inform us that we wouldn't be getting any Cronuts..... They were sold out! (Sorry mum)

So off to the Carnegie Deli again for breakfast and to plot the rest of the day.

Mum was still interested in going to MOMA and as I had a desire to head up to the Top of the Rock on top of they Rockerfeller Center, we went our separate ways and agreed to meet at the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station.

The trip to the observation deck was uneventful and although wet, the view from the top across the city was spectacular.








The trip down to the bottom took a little longer and I got stuck behind a bus tour of seniors who seemed to talk more than walk however I eventually got back downstairs.

My next stop was to buy tickets for one last show on Broadway. I had decided that we would round out the trip with The Book of Mormon and 9 time Tony Award winning production cowritten by the creators of South Park.

Now remember how I said that wearing Grey would be ok since it was already raining? Well, seems I just made it worse. The rain was pelting down, the streets of New York were flooding slightly and the rain was actually bouncing back up. Somehow under and umbrella I got soaked through. The umbrella turned inside out at one point and I cursed myself for wearing grey.

After grabbing the tickets I walked back to Grand Central to meet up with Mum for lunch. Then as I was feeling a tad cold by then we headed back home to rest up before the show. And rest I did. Seriously I think we need a nap room at work.

Before the show we went to a place on 49th Street, Oceana, and what a find it was. It was a bar/restaurant and we just wanted a drink and bar snacks before the show and it definitely fit the bill.

I don't think mum had any particular expectations about the show however by the end of the second number she turned to me and said that already it was Number 1 in her book.

This completely politically incorrect show was fun and colourful with great song and dance numbers and a stellar cast (one of whom I saw in Spring Awakening on Broadway 6 years ago). We laughed the whole way through and it was the perfect way to end our Broadway experience.

We headed back to Oceana and the wonderful waitress simply asked "want the same again?" and brought us our drinks. It really is a great place and only in America could a dessert menu include a cookie plate.....





So that wraps up our last night in New York. We head home tomorrow and I will admit I'm a little sad. These two weeks with mum have been fantastic and have loved spending time with her discovering this city.

The blog isn't finished quite yet, I will be back to give an overall wrap up however I've got to go and pack now.

Signing off.......

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Blitzes, squirrels and museums

One of the main reasons for coming to New York was the museums. Mum had been to a couple of them however we hadn't as yet been to The Met.

Another item on our bucket list was breakfast at a New York deli. So off we went aiming for one of two, the Stage Door Deli and Carnegie Deli. The Stage Door Deli on Seventh was one that dad and I went to 6 years ago where the waitress figured I wanted potatoes and there was no telling her otherwise. However we soon found out it has closed/relocated. So Carnegie Deli it was.

Sitting surrounded by photos of celebrities, we ordered our big American breakfast. For those who don't know about the Carnegie Deli, they take big to a new level. So as you can imagine we didn't finish our breakfast (although the waitress was insisting we eat up or take it with us).

We got out of there without a doggy bag and set off on the 30 block walk up to the Met. Instead of walking up 5th avenue we decided to take the scenic route through Central Park.

Central Park was alive with colour and sound as family, kids, runners, cyclists and people in horse drawn carriages enjoyed the awesome weather.

As we were crossing one road, we found out that the local squirrels seem to understand the road rules when one started to cross however suddenly went back to the sidewalk to wait for a proper break in the traffic. Squirrels were everywhere and definitely friendly. I filmed one that came so close I was convinced it was going to start to climb up me!





At The Met we plotted our time there and tried to work out the map. We had a few exhibitions we wanted to see and decided to start at the top and move down. For those who have been to The Met you will understand, those who haven't....... Take a compass, water and a packed lunch just in case you get lost! The Met is a maze of rooms over 3 floors and it is very possible to get caught turning one way and coming out the other.

After seeing the red Carpet at the Metropolitan Costume Ball, I was interested in the Punk to Couture display and the clothing was incredible. Not a lot I would wear however I definitely appreciated it.

We found the Civil War displays and a few modern art exhibitions (after a few wrong turns).

After the Met we went to eat at the Boathouse however no luck. There was at least an hour wait. So it was time to go home and my usual afternoon nap (wonder if work will allow me to continue that habit when I get back....)

The play for the night was chosen before we started the trip on a recommendation from Neil and Pat, and it actually won Best Play at this year's Tony Awards. It was also one that mum had some difficulty in getting the name right. So we were off to see..

Sonya and Tonia and Chuck and Spike
Vanya and Tonia and Truss and Sonya
Vanya and Sonya and Marsha and Ted

No wait....

Vanya and Sonya and Marsha and Spike!

This comedy starred David Hyde Pierce and Sigourney Weaver and 4 of the actors were nominated for Tony Awards. It was a great show and definitely deserved the accolades.

Home time with the knowledge that we only really have one full day left......

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Is it possible to have a walk in New York without rain?

One thing in particular that Mum wanted to do while we were here was walk around the area known as SoHo.

The area is just south of the apartment so we set off down Greenwich Street without a cloud in the sky (I wasn't wearing grey today). As we were walking along we saw a couple of paintings on the side of a building that some how we just hadn't seen before.









There were two particular things that mum wanted to see in this area. A six storey high mural by Richard Haas on Greene Street. It was an incredible mural where a plain wall has been artistically painted to look like a lot of windows. We found it fairly easily however it was disappointing to see some graffiti on it.





Our next stop was the Singer Building, I particular it was the architecture and facade that Mum was particularly interested in. As we neared it, it became obvious that the curse of Clare had hit once again. Oops sorry Mum





We continued through the district which now houses a lot of designer stores and boutiques. I recalled that the bakery which was the home of Cronuts (a hybrid croissant/donut) so we went on the hunt for these little pastries. Finding the bakery was easy however there wasn't a Cronut in evidence.

Being lunch time it was time to tick something else off my New York eating list..... A New York Slice. And yep that's exactly how you order it, you simply ask for "a slice". And what you get is a small piece of pizza.......





As it was likely to be the last fine day before the storms rolled in again, we continued walking east and headed up the Bowery back north. We popped back into Strand Books (Mum reads a lot and quickly!), back to the Pop Pub and then home.

Tonight's entertainment was Newsies which one a couple of Tony Awards last year. I chose Newsies because I know that Mum is nota huge fan of musicals however does enjoy dance. Newsies won Best Choreography so I figured we were on a winner. And...... It was a hit. Great production and a lot of fun.

Wow, we leave in just a few days. This time is going fast......

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I found a sure fire method to ensure rain.....

Mum was heading off to Connecticut for the day so I was being left to my own devices. Mum left early, I fell back asleep only to be woke by sirens. Oh the joys.

So I got dressed and took my News Anchor hair and set off. Got downstairs looked out and......

Let's try this again.... So I got dressed, took my News Anchor hair AND grabbed an umbrella and set off.

First stop 50th street subway. Now I should explain, one thing I had not done to date was eat vendor food of any description so today was a "vendor food day". All food to be consumed was to be purchased from vendors. And before anyone points out that vendor food is perhaps not the best.... Museums are closed on Mondays and therefore Mondays must also be calorie free days. Makes sense to me.

So get off at 50th street and walk into the nearest Starbucks (ok it's not a vendor but come on, it's Starbucks!) As I was trying to work out how to order my triple shot grande latte with 2% milk, no whip and a shot of sugar free vanilla (I so could have done that a la Meg Ryan), I look up and the heavens smiled upon me. Right there on the board was "Skinny Vanilla Latte". Seriously did they know I was coming?

Next stop, pretzel vendor. The rain started getting heavier as I balanced my coffee and pretzel. I wandered to my desired breakfast spot....




After eating about a quarter of the pretzel, geez they are salty,

I continued up Fifth Avenue towards my next destination. I actually took a little detour and scooted over to Madison Avenue for a look around and stumbled across the Carlyle Hotel where one of the post Tony Awards parties were held however no celeb sightings. I headed back to Fifth and continued north towards 89th street.

Flashback 6 years......

I'm not a huge fan when it comes to museums. I mean I appreciate what I appreciate however I don't usually seek out museums. However the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum called to me for one reason and one reason alone, the building. An iconic structure I wanted to stand in front of its grandeur and when dad and I made the trip up Fifth Avenue that faithful day 6 years ago, I held my breath as we neared and saw this.....





NOOOOOOOOooooooooo........

So as I neared this time, I took a deep breath while trying to main some semblance of dryness is the increasing horrible weather. And......





Yay!

I decided to venture into Central Park and somehow came out the other side (seriously no idea how that happened) so I wandered up and down so,e of the streets of the West Side and then decided to wander back.

Outside the natural history museum I decided to grab the next course in my vendor food day, a New York hotdog





Ok let's keep going, got a long way to go. See my plan for the day was to walk back from 90th street to the apartment, approximately 80 blocks or 4 miles. I knew it would be easy however the weather seemed to have another plan. The rain started come in sideways and can as shoes and an ill timed step in a puddle meant that I was wet, the shoes were wet and new blisters were forming quickly.

So walking along streets like these ......




I made my way to the 59th Street subway and on my way home.

Now you'll recall I said I still had my News Anchor hair from the Tonys? Well um.....





That was with an umbrella! And that top, not that dark a grey when I started.

I finally got home, peel my socks off and wrung them out, had a hot shower and then a nap before mum got home.

For dinner, we scooted off to Charlemagne on the corner and then turned in for the night.

Tune in next time (and I promise to update soon), to find out what cronuts, pizza, scaffolding and newspaper boys all have in common....


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It's Tonys Day....... Need I say more?

We have now been in New York for a week and it is finally Tonys Day!
Our morning was spent in a very exciting way...... we did laundry. Yay for us! (No no really. That's a good thing)

We decided to eat in for lunch, seriously the sushi from D'Agostinos is pretty good. While we were there, I was was wandering around separate from mum and suddenly she came screaming up the aisle telling me to follow her as she had just seen an actress. I played it cool while we went back down the aisles scoping it out and when I'll played it cool just glancing around, Mum kind of poked me and whispered "there she is!" as Anna Kendrick walked by.

Couple of things:
1. Mum could not recall the name of the actress even though it closely resembles her mother's name, and
2. We will really need to teach her to play it cool when around celebrities or otherwise I'm going to be black and blue by the end of the Tonys.

Ok enough embarrassing mum stories.

Then it was time for our pamper afternoon. We were going to a salon just 2 blocks up that I found and booked online. Had absolutely no idea what to expect. We were shuttled into separate rooms and it started.

I had washed my hair to rid it of the city grime and it was still wet whenI got there. W discussed possibly a half up do and she started to dry my hair. She kept remarking that I had a lot of hair (Mel, my hair dresser would understand that statement as usually I have 2 people drying my hair). At one point she stated that I had about 3 times the amount of hair than the average person.

She then proceeded to put my hair in huge rollers before setting about doing my make up. I could hear mum chatting away in the other room. After the lady completed my makeup which was understated and really good, she started to take out the rollers and the decision was made right there and then to simply leave it out as, in her words, I had "news anchor" hair. Hair was just sitting right and looked great.

After mum finished up with her manicure and makeup, we headed back to the apartment to get ready and head to Radio City Music Hall.

As we neared the venue we could see the barricades and large police presence. The taxi dropped us off and we headed up to Del Frisco's (almost becoming regulars now) for a bite to eat before entering the venue.

I had never been inside the Radio City Music Hall and I was a little excited. Most of the people at the event had certainly taken the Black Tie requirement to heart with a lot of suits and beautiful dresses. The line moved quickly and before long we were in our seats in the second mezzanine. I guess the view was ok:




Just before the show started I popped out to grab a drink and the wonderful lady at the bar asked me for ID. For an almost 40 year old, I wanted to kiss her!

The Tony Awards ceremony was fantastic. Couple of comments:
* Neil Patrick Harris should host every awards ceremony around the world. He could make a career of just doing that.
* Opening number was electric
* being broadcast live there were ad breaks and as we came back we were told when to applaud (no cheesy "applause" sign just a voice over guy who seemed to like to keep himself entertained)
* do not wear an elaborately beaded dress if you intend to applaud a lot...... That hurts after a while
* saw plenty of celebrities but managed to escape relatively unscathed

After the ceremony and fighting through the crowds we headed towards our luxury transportation for the return home .... the subway.

We walked Jane Lynch to her SUV. Ok perhaps it was just a coincidence that we were walking in the same direction. Although she did smile at me, however have a feeling the it was a "please don't be a crazed fan" smile more than anything.

So that is the Tonys experience. It has cemented in me the desire to see more and more productions, plays and musicals and has also confirmed that I am a theatre geek.

Tune in for the next instalment to see what long walks and me wearing grey results in and also, the Guggenheim - did the scaffolding curse strike again.

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High Line and the High Life

After being lulled to sleep by the dulcet tones of a freaking loud storm, I awoke to...... blue skies and sun. Yes weather forecasters around the world are equally able to stuff it up royally.

After another lazy morning we headed off towards the High Line which is an old elevated train line that looked like it was going to be scrapped however has been turned into an elevated park and walk way above the city running parallel to 10th Avenue. The view all round was great and would be a great place to take a coffee and book (seems to be a few of those around here. Not bad for a "concrete jungle")

We the continued up towards Times Square as we had a matinee booked. As we were ahead of time we decided to grabbed a bite to eat. A bar called The Flying Puck caught my eye. I'd love to say it's because I like hockey.....

After lunch we continued up to W45th for today's entertainment, the Divine Miss M in I'll eat you last. It was a one woman show with Bette Midler on stage for an hour and a half. I had a women next to be who would have been 60+ wolf whistling and a guy behind mum who was laughing.....no braying.... at everything!

So 5 shows down and back to the apartment -we are subway queens now huzzah! I updated my blog thanks to some gentle prodding from people back home and then after a quick bid we walked the 2 blocks to tonight's play.

Mum liked the idea to going to a show in a local theatre and Reasons to be Happy fit the bill. The play starred Jenna Fischer, Josh Hamilton, Leslie Bibb and Fred Weller and I'll admit I didn't have high expectations for an Off Off Broadway show however I really liked it.

So here I sit, with a blog actually up to date in a New York Loft apartment, kinda liking this.

Show count - 6
Kilometres walked - 47 (Mum - 41)




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A little bit of rain won't hurt

Friday started off being a dreary kind of day and progressively got worse. We had made the decision to keep the day fairly quiet. We had no shows booked and so lazed around reading etc (ok ok I could have been updating my blog but, oh you know).

Lunchtime came around and we scooted off downstairs to D'agostinos to grab some sushi and salad and a couple of other things we needed.

After sustenance the Speedy Gonzales of reading aka my mum, had finished her books and to stop her cleaning, or worse making me clean I found the nearest Barnes & Noble was just a few blocks over. So armed with our umbrellas we went out, down the increasingly more familiar streets with the rain coming down and the wind picking up.

We got to the corner of W8th and 6th Ave to be faced with a closed Barnes & Noble. As I was started to think up suitable excuses as to why cleaning the oven is not a good idea, mum asked a passerby if they knew of a y bookstores. They point to a bookstore just 12 blocks away (12 blocks is nothing) and we set off again.

We walked through Washington Square park (I will be returning with coffee in one hand and book in the other before we leave) and up Broadway to E12th Street to the biggest bookstore I've ever seen. And when I say big, The Strand boasts 18 miles of books (that's 29 kms for metric people). That's a LOT of books.

As we entered I gave mum my watch and we agreed to meet back in 30 minutes, kinda figured it would be easy to get lost in this 4 storey store with shelves from floor to ceiling. Mum was in a little slice of heaven.

With gathered our purchases and braced ourselves for the weather and walk back. We turned down University Place in the New York University district and went into a little bar called the Pop Pub and had a small bite to eat (mini burgers to be exact).

Next stop was home and we were lucky. While sitting here mum received a Flash Flood Alert and we looked outside and then at each other quizzically. Um, it's not that bad out there. We turned on the news channel and we watched 12 minutes of storm coverage where they warned of puddling on the road. Puddling on the road?!?! That's a flood?

So we decided to stay inside anyway however hunger soon took over and we decided to scoot back downstairs to pick stuff up at D'Agostinos. Get downstairs and the rain was kind of coming in sidewards now. That's not good. It was pelting down and the wind was fiercely blowing. Turned around and decided it was cereal for dinner.

The reason for this weather was Tropical Storm Andrea that was skirting the coast and causing a little bit of havoc. Flash flood warnings were in pace until Saturday afternoon and the strong winds were buffeting the windows and making them creak and groan. Perhaps it was a little fierce out there.

We did head out during a lull to grab food and by the time we were heading back, we were drenched in the 50 metres we had to go.

Safe back in the apartment we plotted the next day and went to bed.

So that's it, we are already 5 days down and the Tonys are just a couple of days away.

Stay tuned ......


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