What I Didn't See

I didn't see any celebrities.  I suck at spotting celebrities but think I would notice them because of paparazzi around them.  I saw no paparazzi and no celebrities.  I thought there might be some at Hamilton on Friday evening but there weren't.

Bob & I left the city on Saturday and Shelley informed us that on Sunday there was a Nipple Pride Parade with topless women parading from Columbus Circle to Bryant Park.  We missed that.

Part of our time in New York, I went one direction and Bob went another.  While I was seeing interesting things, Bob was seeing others.

Here are a couple of his photos from One World Observatory which is on the 102nd floor of the new One World Trade Center.  Unlike the Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building where you can go outside, here you are behind glass.

Bob went out to Governors Island even though a worker on the ferry said there was nothing to see but a park.  She was wrong as there is an old fort and you can take free guided tours.  Bob was the only one on the tour so he had preferential treatment!  With a $1 ferry ride and a free tour, he felt he hadn't overspent!  It was a great place and a great experience.  Don't try to correct my punctuation; for some reason Governors Island doesn't have an apostrophe in it.

He had beautiful views of Manhattan from there.

Friday Farewell

Today is our last day in NYC as we fly back to Minneapolis tomorrow morning.  We didn't waste the day.  We went over to Brooklyn again and went down some streets of beautiful brownstones.  They look pinkish here, but they are brown.

We had great views of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.

Bob's pointing out something.

This old pier is now being used for sports such as basketball and handball.

This pool has the loveliest setting.

We lunched at Grimaldi's which definitely has an efficient system going.  Everyone working there is male ... I wonder if there's a reason.

After lunch, Bob headed to Governor's Island (the ferry costs $1) and I had an agenda of my own.

I stayed down by the East River in Brooklyn longer and stopped at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory which is housed in a 1920s fireboat house. 

After that I spent time in Soho, Tribeca, and at the Public Library.

Tonight we saw our last show Hamilton which is the must-see show around here.  All the reviews I read were raves and I understand why.  The show was swirls and swirls of voice, movement, and lights.  Elizabeth, Dad will definitely want to tell you about the lighting.  It was a privilege to see this show.

Thespian Thursday

Score!

After a three and a half hour wait in line, I got us free tickets to Shakespeare in Central Park's Cymbeline.  To be honest, they needed to have a superior performance for me to like it more than Saskatoon's Shakespeare Lab's version.  The Central Park performance featured Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe plus seven more and it equaled the excellence of Shakespeare Lab's.  It was an enjoyable evening in perfect weather.

Many bring picnic lunches to have before the show and some picnic with the beautiful Belvedere Castle behind them.  The Delacorte Theater is really near the Belvedere.

The waiting in line for free tickets this morning was a great experience.  I asked the young people who were first in line when they arrived.  They had waited outside the park (it's closed at night) starting at 11 p.m.  I got there around 8:30 and was 189th in line.  Tickets were given out at 12.

Time passed quickly because of an endless conversation with the 45 year old man next to me.  We covered travel, investments (his line of work), marriage problems (his, not mine), the Bible and religion, good books, Russians laundering money through NYC real estate, travel, condos and houses, pets , American/Canadian politics and much more.

Here's the line near me:

And here is the beginning of the line.  These people aren't dead ... they're sleeping. 

The path we waited on was shaded by these enormous trees so even though it was hot in the sun, we were comfortable,

I entered the park with a man who let his two big dogs off leash as soon as we were in the park.  His dogs ran over to other dogs and the fellow was saying that he and his dogs have a whole network of people and dogs who are their friends because they are all in the park at the same time.  I like how "small town" that is on an island of 1.6 million,

Once I had the tickets, I hoofed it through half of Central Park to meet Bob and we caught the subway to Brighton Beach which is New York City's Little Russia.  We knew of Tatiana's because it's been on Blue Bloods and Diners, Drive Ins & Dives.

Even though it was a hot day, we couldn't resist the borscht.  Bob went for the traditional beet while I tried the spinach.

I like Brighton Beach more than the adjoining Coney Island because it is much less busy.  However, there are old geezers in Speedos and ladies even larger and older than me in bathing suits so maybe that's not a good thing.  And for the first time, I saw a topless sunbather there.

It's not a very long walk down the beach to Coney Island.

It was a good day to be at the ocean.

Wandering on Wednesday

I have to report this is my second day with no Naked Cowboy sighting.  Oh, dear.

We headed to Harlem this morning and for awhile there was only Bob, a lady, and me in our car.

We were so far into Harlem that the subway was above ground.

We had hope for an Apollo tour but the building was booked for a special event for the next three days.

Here's Bob and his new best friend.

There was a noon hour concert in the little park between the American Folk Museum & Lincoln Center.  It was sponsored by TD "America's Bank".

I love this man's instrument.

There was free lemonade and brownies for everyone.  Does that ever happen in Weyburn?

We relaxed outside the Juilliard School before our afternoon show at the Lincoln Center.

 Kelli O'Hara was exceptional.

Finding Neverland, which we saw tonight, has moved into my number one spot for shows we've seen so far on this trip.  Matthew Morrison should never have wasted his time on Glee and he should be on Broadway the rest of his life.  That man is a triple threat:  acting, singing, and dancing.

We sat beside 54 year old twin men from Maine and in the time before the show connected completely.  One was a regional actor, the other very involved in church music.  Both were extroverts (compared to introverts Bob & Brenda)  and we had a fun time with them.  Their wives were there too but didn't speak at all.  I'm sure the wive are used to being audience to the two husbands.  One interesting bit of trivia is the family has forty pages of documents showing their family has owned their farmland in Maine since 1777.  The other trivia is that when we said we were from Saskatchewan, the one wondered if that was a very big town.  Rather than pulling his leg, we educated him.  

My friend Susan said if she was ever to write a book, it would be What's Your Story.  The random conversations we have with strangers show how valuable all people's stories are.  And I haven't even told you about the five 75 year old women who shared the elevator with me.  Their friendship started in high school and is still going strong.

We're staying at the Hotel Edison and I never tire of the lobby.  This is the third fresh bouquet showcased in the lobby since we got here ... there is barely any wilting before the flowers are gone.  I hope some staff member takes them home and enjoys them for a few more days.

Wish me luck for tomorrow.  I'm going to line up for hours in Central Park in the hopes of getting free Cymbeline tickets.

Traipsing on Tuesday

Happy 30th, Rob King!  No one will ever guess that you & Nathan aren't really smiling here, but rather saying "cheese".

Bob went to the observation deck of One World Trade this morning and felt the senior price of $30 was well worth it.  While he did that, I went to the Strand bookstore and Union Square.  The Strand has a place at the door where you can write and mail the postcards you buy there.

I'm not hauling home [many] books in my suitcase, but I enjoy searching through their outdoor, cheapy stalls.

It wasn't too late in the morning before I needed to find the shade of Union Square as today was another scorcher.  Look.  Someone put a birdhouse high in a park tree.

Then I headed to the Brooklyn Bridge and stopped to admire one of my favorite buildings in Manhattan.  Bob and I agreed to meet at the park by the Brooklyn Bridge where we had been with Lyn & Colin.

Since we were obviously meeting on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, I walked across it again.  No Bob.  After a phone call, I learned that he was on the Manhattan side.  Oops!  We had been to parks on both sides of the bridge with Lyn & Colin and each of us had only remembered one ... unfortunately not the same one.  

Before we straightened it out, I sat on a bench in the "right" park, and read one of my new purchases.

 

I had no intention of walking the bridge one more time, so went into the subway and went down and down and down.  Since the subway runs under the river, it has to be deep, but the escalator was downright scary and there were no other people around.  Creepy!

I took the subway to Chelsea and walked the Highline until I felt my sunburn starting.  Today's trivia:  there is talk of creating  a Lowline on a deserted subway line.

These window washers above the Highline didn't have a platform, just buckets tied to their waists.  Perhaps they were daydreaming of summiting Everest.

It's fun looking down from the Highline.

It's a mess under the Highline, but work is being done.

From there I headed to the Lincoln Center area where I saw this Juilliard student.  I bet when he was little, his mom wanted him to play the flute for easy transport, but he had heart set on this instrument. 

I was in the area to visit my favorite museum.  It's the first time photography wasn't allowed inside.  The show was Folk Art and American Modernism and from it I learned that quilts weren't considered an art form until 1971.

The washroom sign made me laugh.  I know transgender is very much in the news, but there are still only two genders so you can't use the word all.

Tonight's show was fun and the audience was crazy for it.  

You know I have no fashion sense, but I can tell you about a fashion trend that is big here - one piece short outfits ... think short jumpsuits.  Just telling you ... start wearing yours in Weyburn now.