Where were we...
Ah yes, New York City! Without further ado, the adventure continues...
Day 3:
Rachel and I were up and at 'em bright and early despite our late Sleep No More evening. I am not a sleeper on vacations-- too much to do and see! Let's seize the day! Rachel was a trooper for getting up at the crack of 9am (despite our 3:30 arrival at home). Rachel and I hopped on the subway and walked through Colombus Circle on our way to meet Blake for breakfast.
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Blake took a train from Washington DC the night before to meet us for the weekend. Blake and Rachel and I met at camp millions of years ago and have been like siblings ever since. They are my people.
The servers almost had to pry us out of our little cafe seats-- what with the rainy day outside and our warm and light-hearted conversation-- we could have sat there laughing for hours. The three of us haven't been together in ages and I have really missed our friendship dynamic.
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| Brr! Rainy day! |
Blake headed to Brooklyn to see The Laramie Project Cycle and Rachel and I took to the streets before our show began.
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| These purses. |
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| Rockefeller Center |
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| ...looking very perky. Calm it down, Wise. |
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| I appreciate your honesty. |
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| Live... from New York...! |
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| I'm already regretting not buying a Brian Fellow magnet. |
Then it was time.
The Book of Mormon time.
My first Broadway show! How exciting!
How beautiful is that? Rachel got us incredibl-e/y expensive tickets. (Woof. Go big or go home guys.) Such an amazing show. The cast was incredible, the music was fantastic and we were rolling in our seats. So hilarious. I recommend getting a hold of the soundtrack if you can-- it's brilliant. This video is worth the watch-- from the 2012 Tony's. (Most of the same cast I saw! So cool).
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| On stage with the poor dead cow head in Africa. |
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| This photo... Look how awkwardly long my legs are... And then... do I not have a lower torso? What's going on in BofM land? |
After wandering around the theater and meeting some cast members, Rachel and I floated across the street to the infamous Lillie's for drinks and appetizers.
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| Jamie likes pictures of me drinking beer. Apparently. |
We chatted and discussed our favorite parts of the show until Rachel's friend Caitlin got off of work. We adventured (yet again) around the quirky little city. This was about the time I realized that I hadn't seen anything green growing for several days. Gasp. I felt a bit claustrophobic. Concrete, everywhere. Buildings, everywhere. Is that the sky up there? Somewhere? ...This feeling was soon forgotten as I was seated at Five Napkin with a delicious burger and onion rings in front of me.
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| Caitlin and Five Napkin. YUM! |
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| Brilliant presentation, Five Napkin. And delicious! |
After dinner we met up with Blake and Rachel's friends Kevin and Lucas for drinks. We walked into Amsterdam Ale House, where I ran into...
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Alling. What!? Alling is a very close friend of mine from college, who just happened to be in the exact bar I was in in New York. You know, cause there are only a few bars in the city. How weird is that?! I didn't even know she had moved there a couple of months before. It was so great to see her.
After eating some of Kevin's nachos and watching Blake daintily (and incredibly slowly) eat his tiramisu, we bar-hopped a bit.
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| That's a light fixture. |
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| This rivals the middle-aged dance party I was a part of for my last Vegas trip. A middle-aged live band and dancing might trump it. |
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| Friends! |
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| Riding home on the subway... |
Yes, the bars never close in NYC and I love it. We finally went home at 3:30am and decided that sleeping in was a good plan.
Day 4:
We were tired. Really tired.
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Blake is a very busy masters student and unfortunately had to head back to DC on Sunday... boo. Rachel and I saw him off to the train station before hitting Tribeca for brunch reservations.
Brunch reservations, guys. How precious is that. I'm already such a great thirty-year-old.
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| Now I'm down in Tribeca... |
Rachel found the most delicious place ever, Aamaans-Copenhagen, for Danish smørrebrød deliciousness. You might be more familiar with the English adaptation of the word-- 'smorgasbord', which can be used in several different ways, usually to describe a food buffet or a wide array of options. However-- smørrebrød is actually a very delicious open-faced Danish sandwich, and Aamaans-Copenhagen specializes in them.
The restaurant was a fancy IKEA-esque delight. Simple, utilitarian, yet elegant. Every table had their own jug of water complete with a large piece of charcoal to filter the water. Brilliant.
We started with coffee, delicious parsnip soup, and pumpernickel bread. Yum.
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| I want to marry this soup. |
Then the smørrebrød hit. So good. Rachel had the chicken salad and I had the kale, walnut, and apple. Wowzas. Excuse me while I move to Denmark.
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| This is my best "I'm full of Danish food" face. |
After brunch we headed towards our next and final show of the weekend-- Once.
This was Rachel's seventh time seeing the show. Seventh... If that gives you insight to how wonderful it is. The musical is based on the indy film by the same name, Once, with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. You probably know it from this song:
Every song in this musical induces tears. The music is so beautiful. The clip below is also from the Tony's. This is an actual scene from the show-- with the same cast. Amazing.
Sigh. Such a great show. It's so honest and real and I love it. Looking back on it now I wish I could see it again. (Maybe another six times, too).
After the show Rachel and I made the obligatory stroll through Times Square. Man, is that a mad house! It's unfortunate that people assume that Times Square 'is' NYC. Thank goodness that isn't true. But-- how great is it that Spiderman is directing traffic down there? What a superhero.
Rachel and I stopped to grab groceries and a big ol' New York pizza before heading home to watch the Oscars with friends. Such a fun night. Personally, I enjoyed Seth MacFarlane as the host. I say this for several reasons: 1) He writes his own jokes and has a fantastic stage presence, 2) I recognized the fact that he is, in fact the creator and writer of Family Guy and was very prepared for crude jokes, 3) the musical numbers made all of my gay dreams come true, 4) I have thick skin when it comes to songs about boobs, and 5) I have had to sit through James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting the Oscars. Anything is better than that.
I realize he is stirring up quite the controversy, but I don't want to get involved. I gave up overanalyzing in 2012.
Rachel also made delicious cookie treats. Get this: An oreo. Surrounded by chocolate chip cookie dough. Rolled in sprinkles. Baked and warm and gooey. As good as it sounds, it's even better. I could hardly have one. So decadent...
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| Who am I kidding, of course I ate the whole thing! |
... and that rounds out Sunday night! Only one full NYC day to go... the trip is over already?
Xxoo,
Jenny
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