Our Christmas in New York - Part Two

On Monday (Dec.20th), we started the morning at our favorite breakfast spot, Clinton Street Baking Company.  I blogged about it last time, but it's quite the popular establishment thanks to being featured in an episode of "Throwdown" with Bobby Flay.  We never quite got over the warm maple butter that we used to smother our blueberry pancakes and as expected, it was well worth the wait again. 

We left Clinton Street and headed for one of my favorite stops - Chinatown!  It was quite a different experience this trip since shopping in the 30 degree winter cold with a sharp wind made for much faster trips through the various shops.  We had several items we were specifically looking to purchase, namely a new Elmo shirt for Turner.  We brought her one back from our last trip and his eyes barely have any white remaining due to repeated washing and wearing!  We found one and even managed to talk to the seller down from $15 to $5 (what we paid last time).  And I might have found a few pieces of jewelry for myself...and some sunglasses...

Around mid-day we toured the Ground Zero Museum Workshop.  We were deeply moved and touched by the artifacts and photography in this tiny, one-room museum.  The museum was established by Gary Marlon Suson, who was the only photographer allowed at Ground Zero during the recovery efforts.  Guests visiting the museum follow a self-guided tour with headsets and are allowed approximately 1.5 hours to listen to narration (by Gary Marlon Suson) explaining the content of each photo, when and where they were taken, what the photos signify, etc.  Mark and I were individually most impacted by different photos and different artifacts, but none more chilling than the actual piece of American Airlines Flight 11 which crashed into one of the towers on that September morning.  To see an actual piece of the airplane that was transformed into an instrument of horror, I really can't explain it.  This museum is worth your time and money a million times over.

Photography is allowed, so I am including a few pictures that were most meaningful to me.

This picture highlights the only time that an NYPD officer was allowed to participate in the Honor Guard ceremony carrying out the body of a FDNY fireman.  The man on the far right is the father of the fallen officer and the policeman on the left is the brother-in-law of the fallen officer.

This is one of the more chilling images in the museum, the encased clock on the right is the one pictured in the photograph to the left.  The photo was taken in a train tunnel underneath the World Trade Center Towers.  The force of the first tower collapse on Sept. 11, 2001 was so powerful that it knocked out most of the power in lower Manhattan.  This clock is stopped at the exact minute at which the first tower fell.

And this picture is the one that got to me....  This man is one of several retired New York Firefighters who lost their sons on Sept.11th.  Many of them came to Ground Zero during the recovery effort to search for their sons, and the resulting picture series of these brave men is called "Band of Dads".  As he searched, this particular man held his finger marking the page of Harry Potter that his son had read to his grandson on September 10, 2001.

If it seems heavy, it was.  If it seems a little too real, it was. Something I will never forget, it was.

We took a quick train ride back to midtown to meet up with a dear friend from Auburn, Lee Miller and his lovely fiancee Ashley.  We enjoyed wonderful fellowship and a delicious lunch at Eataly, which is a very unique and delightful Italian marketplace and series of restaurants.  A must-see for those who are culinary gurus, especially in the Italian realm.

After our later lunch, we headed back to the hotel to change and re-group before heading to our first show - the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes.  Long years ago I dreamed of being a Rockette or dancing on Broadway, and have always wanted to see this show.  It was funny, but not all that unexpected to run into some familiar faces from Auburn waiting in line!  Though I couldn't shoot with a flash, I did snap a few pictures to help us remember the spectacle that this was!  Totally entertaining, totally mesmerizing special effects, and the Rockettes were even better than I had imagined!

 

I did find it totally neat that the pre and post-show entertainment was provided by two fabulous organists playing in these two "holes" on either side of the stage.  They ended with the "Hallelujah Chorus" from the Messiah which just pleased me to no end!  They were awesome!

This was by far the most impressive move of the entire show - that's the Rockettes in toy-soldier costume.  The premise is that the cannon (not pictured other than the "boom" flag at bottom right) shot blasted the toy soliders down, with each individual dancer slowly leaning back into the next dancer.  I have no clue how they maintained balance for this to cycle through all 36 dancers with all eventually falling like a bunch of dominos - in a perfectly straight line!  It was amazing!

The picture quality here is poor, but this was a spectacular living Nativity scene complete with live camels! The choir singing all verses of Hark the Herald was absolutely remarkable - so traditional and so familiar, yet brought to life the power of the words "Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth".

After the show, we dined at this fabulous Tuscan steakhouse, Bisteca Fiorentina.  Delicious food, and a great post-show atmosphere.  Definitely gets a thumbs up from us!

 As we arrived I looked just past our restaurant down the street a little and ironically saw a familiar establishment I visited with some friends from AU Singers when toured here in 2001. It's a great little piano bar called "Don't Tell Mama" and that evening produced such inside jokes and memories that I know if I called any of those friends on a moment's notice and said, "Shhhh, Don't Tell Mama!",  it would produce fits of laughter.  Such a treat to happen upon it again!

We walked back through Times Square on our way to the hotel and caught a glimpse of ourselves on a GIANT screen in the middle of Times Square.  (Mark is waving, I'm in the long red coat.)  If you'll notice everyone just staring up, it was quite mesmerizing to unexpectedly see yourself projected up there for all to see!

Tuesday was a bit of a whirlwind with lots of fun things planned! On Tuesday morning, we headed out early to visit SantaLand at Macy's since it was terribly crowded the first time we tried.  We were close to first in line and it was quite the sight to behold!  The decorations were traditional, appropriate, and magical!

And much to Turner's delight we actually got to talk to Santa and share some the things on her Christmas list with him in person.  We have video of me talking with him, which Turner thought was just too cool!

And I couldn't help but photograph this letter to Santa...she asks for Ugg boots, Itunes giftcard, and various other items....then tells him she's ok with whatever.  Yeah right!

After the visit with Santa, Christmas (and birthday...and Valentine's...) came a little early for me when I got to spend a few hours with Eva Scrivo in her beautiful salon in Noho.  Mark surprised me with a trip to get a haircut with Eva back in 2005, after much research online for renowned stylists in Manhattan.  I learned that she had some celebrity clients such as Martha Stewart and Jon Bon Jovi, but when I first met her in 2005 I realized quickly that you wouldn't know that unless you read that on her website.  Kind and charming, and unbelievable at what she does. A couple of weeks before our trip this Christmas, Mark asked me if I wanted to visit her again...and though I would have never asked for that, I certainly wasn't going to turn it down.  Eva actually remembered us, and was just as kind, charming, and delightful as I remember her.  I don't know that you'll need to see anything more than the before and after shots below to see how good she is at what she does.  :)  Mark sure does know how to make me smile. 

Before...

After...

Next time I have the privilege of visiting with Eva, I want to eat lunch at Il Buco, the restaurant she recommended that's just across the street from her salon.  

We made a quick trip to a yummy pizza restaurant in Greenwich Village (a part of NYC I want to explore further on our next trip) called John's Pizzeria of Bleecker Street.  I found this restaurant on TripAdvisor and as usual, following their advice was a good decision.  Very reasonable prices, awesome atmosphere (not far from NYU), and delicious pizza.

We made a very fast trip back to the hotel to change and then rode the train back up to Rockefeller Center to go ice skating.  We had a private lesson for 30 min (which was basically our ticket to not have to stand in the 2-hour plus lines) then we had the opportunity to skate for an hour and a half.  This was truly an act of love on Mark's part because while this is something I have always desired to do, it's something he really didn't want to do at all.  But he was a champ and actually pretended seemed to enjoy himself.  I skated till my heart was content!

After we skated, we made a quick clothes change at the hotel and then headed out for our second show of the trip, the new Tony Award winning "Memphis".  We did stop and ask someone to take our picture in Times Square (just like we do every trip)...in this one I have on so many layers of clothing I sort of look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy!  But, I love looking back at these pictures and thinking back to that moment of fun!

 As for Memphis...WOW.  Just wow.  Words can't do it justice, but I'd go see it again this second if I could.  It just may have risen to the top of my list and claimed the spot of "my favorite ever".  We had fabulous 5th row seats - so close I could see the performers spit and sweat flying as they sang and danced!  The rock and roll/rhythm and blues music is wildly entertaining, the vocals are outrageously awesome, and the 2.5 hours literally seemed like 30 min.  I left wanting to hear and see it all over again - so sad that it had to end!  Go see this musical if you can - we are already looking for tour dates so we can try to catch it again when it's near!

And on Wednesday, we got up and headed for the airport, and boarded a thankfully uneventful flight back home to see our sweet daughter who had missed us quite a bit while we were gone.   I am still getting huge hugs from her with her saying, "Mommy I missed you SO much while you were in New York!"
*Note:  We did arrive to the park-n-ride lot to find that my car had a very flat tire (which we are so grateful didn't blow on our trip to the airport in the pouring rain), so our trip home was postponed by about an hour while that was repaired.  

A special thank you to Tootsie and Pop who were so willing to keep Turner for us while we were away.  It's never something they hesitate to do and she's so well entertained she barely has time to talk to us on the phone when we call!  Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your making it possible for us to spend this special time in one of our favorite places in the world - just the two of us.  We appreciate you so much!