Sunday, April 15, 2012

3


I apologize that once again all my photos are off my IPHONE.

I am being lazy!  

Day 3 started with the usual stroll across Columbia--
this is the spot where we saw Daniel Radcliffe filming.


If you're a "pro" you can "one swipe" your metro card
through the turn style and get through--we are pro's at
"one swiping" it now! ;)  You can always tell
a tourist by how many swipes it takes....
I'm only sort of kidding.  And we certainly LOOKED
like tourists--so that's just as bad!


First stop on the agenda?

Donut Plant.

Seriously the best (did I mention THE BEST?!) donut
I've ever tasted....mostly because it was just pure sugar--
so how can you go wrong.

Before you think we ate the whole trip (which we did!)
We ONLY had breakfast and dinner every day (Josh
always needed a snack or two) BUT in my defense we
always walked EVERYWHERE (6, 8, 10? miles a 
day PLUS subway steps up and down which are as
good as any stair stepper out there!)  So hooray for
being able to eat crappy for for 5 days and not gaining
a pound.  You have to give it up for a good vacation, right?




Our choices:  Coconut cream (kyle),  Creme brule (Gray)
Chocolate (Josh) and their signature Peanut Butter & Jelly (ME).
TO DIE FOR GOOD!!! 

Did I mention they were very sugary??
and good?


Not only that but they milk the served with them?
OH MY!  Right from a dairy--whole milk with
the cream still on top--I haven't seen that
in 20 years.  Josh was in heaven with the milk!


Sugar, peanut butter, nuts, jelly and a little donut
mixed in there for good measure--oh yes!  With
one more sprinkling of sugar.


After breakfast we walked to the Flatiron building to
a little park on the street...we have been to NYC a zillion
times and never seen "Eataly" a 100% Italian Food Market.

Since both Kyle and I served missions in Italy--well it
was a must.


I loved this picture of the Jamaican "ugli fruit".

Rows of pasta and EVERYTHING Italian.

We waited until 11 when the focaccia was going to be done
to grab a piece or two for the road.  Focaccia is an 
Italian flat bread--very good.  We ate a lot on our missions.
Cheap and filling.

Where we sat for a minute.

Remember my rule about sitting in New York?
It was SO lovely and there is NOTHING better
than the people watching in NYC, nothing!



Have I also mentioned we would leave the Wilcox's
at usually 8 AM and return between 8 and 10 PM (later
a few nights).  We did some SERIOUSLY long hours
in the Big Apple this trip.  Every night we were POOPED!

Next item of business was a surprise for Gray.
She and I LOVE (love LOVE) Wicked and have
seen it a few times.  I was not going to get
ANY tickets this trip (frugal trip!)

However, I was searching online one day and came
across the "obstructed view seats" for Wicked on
Ticketmaster.  "Obstructed view" on Broadway means
that you miss some of the action or the set blocks
some of the people or scenes some of the time.
(Just like it sounds)...Anyhoo, these "obstructed
view seats were $60, let me repeat, $60--not only
were they $60, they were $60 in the $350 seats.

They were single seats on row 1 of the theater,
and row 2 of the theater.  So being in the internet
age we are I googled reviews of these seats--I know?
How big of a nerd am I ?

Well, I kept reading OVER and OVER that these
2 seats were the best kept secret on Broadway.

That "obstructed view" in this case meant you only 
missed one or two things and they were not a big
deal.  I wavered back and forth for a few days 
and finally took the plunge.

I was NOT sorry.  The seats were the best
I have EVER had  (we always sit on the back row
in the $50 seats--not bad--but this was amazing!!)

You could see the sweat on the actors faces, you literally
could have reached out and touched them when 
they were in front of us,  it was so fun!

At one point one of the ladies next to Grace was
asking her where she was from and how much tickets
costs--she was dying at her $350 tickets and was
even more shocked at what we had paid--

I love being a bargain hunter and I SWEAR! you 
can always find a good deal if you're willing to 
look or work for it.  It's my mantra in life.

I'm pretty sure that even if my husband made a
million $$'s a year (not likely in this lifetime!)  I would
STILL be the same way with our money.  

It's the thrill of the chase of the bargain that I love.




Gray--that is the stage she can touch in front of her--
she picked front row--I got the 2nd row seat.

See my purse on my chair?


I snuck a picture at the end of the show when all the actors
were at the back of stage coming forward--I know I'm
naughty.  

After Wicked we met up with Kyle and Josh who had
spent 3 1/2 hours at the "Met" (Metropolitan Museum)
Where is is always "name your own
price" to get in.  Meaning ALL museums in NYC
have a "suggested" price (usually $25 and up)--however
a nice trick Adam and Amy taught us is that it
is ONLY a suggested price.  New York powers that be 
want to ensure that that ANYONE and everyone
can get into a museum--so you can name your own
price.  I have seen a New Yorker (old lady)
proudly declare that she just paid a dime (yup
a dime) to get in.  Kyle thinks that is being a little
TOO cheap--but we have paid $5/person.
Whatever the price, the museum is huge and you
would need at least several weeks to properly
see everything and do it justice.

 We then went to Johns Pizza in Times Sqaure (an 
INSANE 2 1/2 wait for dinner-- at which point I was about
to keel over from starvation--remember I had not
eaten since 8 AM and Donut Plant).  We finally 
got food at about 8 pm and I was like the person in
that Snickers commercial who was nice again.  :)

Easter weekend in NYC is crazy busy--I was 
surprised that the usual crowds and throngs
of people had increased seemingly 10 fold.
That coupled with lots of Spring Breaks, and a
normally full city was overflowing.  This is the 
first trip where we have ever had to wait
(what I consider) unreasonable lengths of time
for food.  As I told my family--"no food 
is that great that I'm willing to wait 2 1/2 hours
for it!"  (or if something exists--I have not
yet tasted something good enough to wait 
2 1/2 hours for it.)  This trip however, waiting
for food was the norm and not the exception.

And at 10:30 PM we finally made it back to Adam
& Amy's apt and crashed.  

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