Of course, my vacation wasn’t complete without a trip to New York City.  (Another thing I miss about living in CT).  And of course, we just had to see a show!  Helen took the day off from work and drove us into the city.  Plans were:  1.) have lunch 2.) Get it line at TKTS and see what show we could get a bargain on 3.) Shop 4.) Visit the American Girl Store (for Noelle) 5.) See a show.

1.)    Have Lunch:  Walking down the street in the theatre district, we came upon a flight of stairs leading downward into an Italian Restaurant.  There were pots of flowers and plants along the sides of the staircase, which made it a very appealing to the eye….so we fell for it and decided to stop there for lunch (loving Italian food anyway- not a hard sell).  There was no wait- we were seated immediately.  The walls were covered in murals- Tromp l’Oeil  – depicting all kinds of Italian scenery, including an open window with a pot, The Amalfi Coast and a seaside veranda.  Beautiful!  And the bathroom…..oh my, filled with statues and flowers and rose petals- amazing!  We put in our order- pasta fagioli, bruschetta, pasta….all good!  Included with lunch was a free glass of wine, which Mom and I were very happy about.  All in all, the meal was delicious, filling and a good choice.  It was also a large portion, making it easy to skip dinner and save money later.

Helen

2.)    Get in line at TKTS and see what show we could get a bargain on:  Luckily, there were not too many people online for tickets when we arrived, but still it took a while to get to us.  We had hoped to get tickets for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying starring Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliff) – both girls’ first choice – but sadly the play disappeared from the list within the first 15 minutes.  That left a few other choices, but after much argument and a couple of tears, we settled for the revival of Anything Goes starring Sutton Foster and Joel Grey.  This was our final choice which was due to the great seats available at that moment.  $69.50 pp a real deal.  We pocketed our tickets and set off towards 5^th Avenue.  Mom was starting to have some difficulty with all the walking, and especially having to stand in line a while at the TKTS booth, so Helen stayed back with her to go slower and I walked ahead with the girls (to make sure they were safe- this was New York City after all).

3.)    Visit the American Girl Store:  Oh my, I still love dolls- especially ones with accessories and this was the mother of all doll accessory stores for sure.  So many cute things to see- I almost bought myself something, but then I remembered I was an adult (sigh).  Lacey felt the same, and it was even harder for her since childhood was not that far gone for her 20-year-old self.  But Noelle had brought her doll and was ready for action. Mom and I each bought her a new outfit for her doll, Brooklyn (appropriate name considering where we were, don’t ya think?)  Helen had made reservations for us to attend a “Tea Party” in the American Girl Restaurant on the 3^rdfloor.  We made our way upstairs to find the restaurant.  The Maître D’ gave each girl a special chair that attached onto the table for their dolls (and Lacey was able to “borrow” a doll since she had none) and we headed into the pink & black themed room.  We all had napkin rings at our places that doubled as hot pink hair ties – very cute!  The tea itself was wonderful, with small sandwiches and pretty little dessert pastries.  We really enjoyed the whole thing and Noelle especially had a wonderful memory to take home with her.  We left, full and ready to walk off some of what we ate.

Lacey and Noelle

AMerican Girl Tea

America Girl Tea

Wall at Restaurant

4.)    Shop:  We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store near where they film the Today show and did a little shopping, loving all the artsy, beautiful things the store had to offer.  Later we sat outside near the ice rink, and then Lacey and I headed for the NBC store to buy gifts for Lacey’s boyfriend, Elad, and Mark.  Lacey got Elad a souvenir from the show House, a little keychain with Hugh Laurie’s cane, and I bought Mark a Mad MoneyT-shirt (one of his favorite shows).  We joined Mom and Helen outside to show off what we had bought, and got ready to head for the theatre.  Mom needed a break from walking, so she and Helen took a cab to the theatre while Lacey, Noelle and I walked.  We all met up and decided to go use the facilities at a restaurant across from the theatre and kill some time before curtain.  We all got something to drink; Mom had a gin and tonic, which made her feel much better.

Show we picked

5.)    See a Show:  We entered the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and were shown to our seats, happily discovering that they were indeed wonderful seats.  They were in the last row of the small orchestra section, up on a platform along the back.  The view of the stage was great.  The curtain went up and the show began.  What a great show!  Everyone enjoyed it immensely, even the girls who had originally given us grief over our choice of show.  Fabulous- a perfect show for Noelle, being her first show on Broadway.  Mom bought her a t-shirt (choking a bit over the high price) so she could remember the experience.  Lacey loved it too and afterwards the girls waited by the stage door to get autographs of the actors on their playbills. 

We headed back to the car, happy with the day.  We didn’t realize how far we were from the parking garage and Mom had a hard time walking all the way.  We encouraged her and jeered her on and she did finally make it- thankful to sit down in the car.  It was late when we finally got to Danbury, after midnight and I still had an hour’s drive to get back to the Weed’s house in Stamford.  Still, it was worth it- New York City is a place like no other, truly a “wonderful town”.