New York, New York

We spent our last holiday weekend in the US in the city that never sleeps: New York City. Even though we both love theater and big cities, we had somehow never made it to the Big Apple before. So we spent a whirlwind of just under 48 hours seeing as much as humanly possible in a city where there are literally hundreds of things to see.

After a brief delay at Reagan National Airport on Friday evening, we arrived in New York and grabbed a taxi to our hotel. Shawn had found a great deal at the Millennium, and our room on the 39th floor literally looked out onto Times Square. Luckily, the curtains were heavy, so we were able to get some sleep despite the glaring neon.

Our main goal in New York was to see a show on Broadway. However, in the weeks leading up to our trip, we realized that shows on Broadway are really expensive. But we also had heard that there is a half-price tickets booth for same-day ticket sales near Times Square. And there are also lotteries for a limited number of last-minute tickets for the really big shows (Wicked, Avenue Q, etc.). So, to play it safe, we decided we would go the the half-price tickets booth on Saturday. We had done the same thing when we visited London, and it worked out really well, so we assumed it would be a similar kind of situation. Ah, ignorance is bliss. First of all, if any of you saw the weather reports this weekend, it was really cold in New York. I mean, really cold. Testing out out new long underwear kind of cold. (Did I mention the ticket booth is outside?) And when we were in London, we literally just walked right up to the ticket booth, purchased our tickets, and walked away. However, in New York, people start lining up for tickets hours before the booth even opens. That’s right, we spent about 2 hours Saturday afternoon standing in line to get some cheap(er) tickets. And there weren’t even any tickets for any of our “top pick” shows. Somehow, even shows like Phantom of the Opera still sell out every weekend.

The good news is, we got tickets. To The Producers. Not really a show I wanted to see. I’ve seen both movies…they’re fine, but nothing spectacular in my opinion. But I underestimated the impact that seeing a show on Broadway can have. It was amazing! The costumes, the energy, the music! And our half-price tickets with an “obstructed view” were in the front row! And did I mention that the role of Max Bialystock is currently being played by Tony Danza? And if that wasn’t enough….one of the cast members from The Sopranos was in the audience.

So besides our mission to get good theater tickets, we determined that the best way to see New York in February in freezing temperatures was to go on a tour bus. It sounds cheesy, but it was probably the best decision we could have made. We purchased a 2-day pass, which allowed us to ride as much as we wanted and get on or get off the bus where ever we wanted. The first day we were adventurous and decided to sit on the top deck of the bus, which was uncovered and gave us some great views of the city. However, we quickly discovered the error of our ways when we had to get off the bus and duck into a coffee shop until we regained the feeling in our fingers and toes. It was inside the bus from then on. But we did get to go all over the city and our tour guide on the second day was really great - we learned a lot about the city’s history and architecture.

And of course, there were some random adventures to be had: We stood outside during filming of the Today show briefly on Sunday. No tv appearances for us, but we did get to see Lester Holt in action. We took the subway down to Chinatown to see some of the Chinese New Year celebrations. We made it to the Top of the Rock to see the city from above. And, as you can see from the photos below, we had an encounter with Oscar himself.

It was an exhausting 2 days, but the most fun I’ve had in a while. Being somewhere new can be so energizing. I know we didn’t get to see nearly as much as we wanted to, but that gives me something to look forward to for next time!