The Big Apple.
The city that never sleeps.
It may surprise you to know spending a day visiting NYC wasn't actually in our plans. As neither one of us are big crowd people, the idea of spending time in a city famous for being crowded and overpriced was not in our plans.
But the best laid plans must be flexible. Especially when dealing with us.
We spent months hoping the Alton Brown show we had purchased tickets for would not be cancelled. The plague has a way of making plans fluid and a bit stressful, so buying tickets months in advance is not something we normally do. But for Alton we made an exception. Fortunately, the show did go on.
We arrived at our RV campground Sunday afternoon, raced to set everything up so we would have enough time to enjoy dinner before the show. Before the show. It's a funny statement because the entertainment began almost as soon as we boarded the metro.
The metro was crowded (no surprise) and we wound up sitting next a young woman who just needed to talk...about her boyfriend...who might be proposing soon. And the problems that might incur. How her father was a pastor. How her mother doesn't like him...because he wouldn't let her put him on the spot (the nerve!). How his parents loved her.
She was incredibly sweet and really wanted advice. Apparently Dave and I have reached the age that we look like we've been married forever. So she talked and we (mostly me) advised. It was a charmingly humorous way to start our evening.
Upon arriving in Grand Central Station I had to very much control the urge to stop and take pictures (I did so later that evening) as we were hurrying outside to find a cab. Two things.
One - Grand Central Station is stunning for its architecture, its paintings and its overall design. If you enjoy any of those items you will be in love with the place. Unfortunately, it does not currently include seating as none could be seen in the cavernous rooms.
Photos from later that evening
Two - cabbies in NYC are as aggressive as the movies show. I would have closed my eyes during the death race to our restaurant but that would have been worse.
The tapas restaurant Dave has selected was amazing. Intimate and romantic with upscale food that made your taste buds moan in delight. However, the memory that stands out most is getting to the show.
Picture it...I'm wearing a cute black and white dress and knee high black boots with 3" heels. I'm adorable.
We leave the restaurant and start walking toward the Beacon Theater which is about one mile away with plans to catch a taxi on the way there. We soon realize that even though there are a million cabs in NYC, we're having trouble flagging one down on the route we've taken and we need to be at the theater in 20 minutes.
Have you ever powerwalked a mile in 3" heels?
I don't recommend it but it is possible ( I was, still adorable if not a little sore in the calves). Proof being we arrived in plenty of time for Alton Brown's show. Something I would recommend is catching one of his live shows if whether you're a foodie or not. He's has a true comedic talent mixed with a love of food and the science behind cooking.
If the rest of the theaters in this town look like this, I want to visit all of them.
Beacon Theater
You may be asking yourself how this relates to spending a day in NYC?
Well, during the insane cab ride and rushed walking tour, we realized the architecture is something that shouldn't be missed and we caught enough of Central Park to know we wanted to go there.
So, the next day we asked our bosses for Thursday off to enjoy taking a bite out of the Big Apple. And we did.
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