Shay’s Blog

Alicia and I made it back from NYC. It was a fun trip. Alicia had never been to the Big Apple before so it was exciting to see her experience it. We left Friday before Christmas and returned Christmas Day. The city was a lot less crowded than I expected. A lot of the New Yorkers must leave town for the holidays. We stayed at the W on 39th and Lexington which is near Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building, and The UN. There are quite a few embassies around the hotel. The Rwandan embassy was next door.

On our first day we went to UN. The only time I had been there was when my family went there when I was kid. The lobby is filled with condom inspired artwork including a dress made out them. This artwork is to promote HIV / AIDS awareness. I was dumbfounded when I read the HIV infection rates in Africa especially the Sub-Saharan region of the continent. I enjoyed seeing the Security Council and General Assembly meeting rooms. These are the rooms that you see on the news a lot.

After the UN we trekked towards Times Square to queue up for TKTS booth (discount Broadway tickets). We had gotten tickets in advance for The Vertical Hour on Saturday. The line was already quite long when we got there about 30 minutes before the booth opened. We scanned the board and decided on two choices 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Butley starring Nathan Lane. We were not sure if they would still be available when we got to the booth. When we got the booth, both we were still available so we elected for Spelling Bee based on better seats and the New York Times pick. After we got the tickets, we went to the Soup Nazi’s restaurant. Much to my chagrin, he has closed his restaurant in order to start franchising. We headed back to the room to relax and change for the show. We both loved the show. It was very entertaining and fun with a mix of disfunctionality. After the show we headed towards the Clinton area for dinner, but stopped at a Thai restaurant before we got there.

On Saturday, we slept in very late since we had gotten up at 3:30am on Friday. After we got up, we headed to the Museum of Modern Art. I had never been then before. The museum is absolutely huge. They have a wide a variety of artwork. Their collection includes Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans, lots of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, and Monet’s Water Lilies. This took up the entire day. After the museum, we made a quick trip back to the hotel before we went to see The Vertical Hour starring Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy. The play is directed by Sam Mendes. The play was performed at the Music Box Theatre which is an older, but very elegant theatre. The play was well done, but Bill Nighy absolutely blew away Julianne Moore’s performance. I am not sure if she lacks of stage experience, but Bill Nighy was great.

After the play we headed back into Times Square which was packed. Alicia wanted to eat at New York deli. We had good food, but marginal service. After our late dinner, we headed to Rockfeller Center so Alicia could see the tree. They turn lights on the tree off at 11:30. I was amazed that the Rockfeller Center was absolutely packed too.

On Sunday, we went to the Guggenheim. The Guggenheim was featuring an exhibit of Spanish painters including Picasso.  After seeing a lot of his work the day before, both Alicia and I were a bit tired of Picasso. It is an interesting exhibit. After the museum, we walked up 5th Avenue and around the Upper East Side. We then headed down to the Village and Lower Manhattan including Ground Zero.

On Monday (Christmas Day), we walked around 5th Avenue more and Central Park. It was fun seeing every out. We also went to the new Apple Store at 5th. This is a neat design with street level being a glass cube and the actual store below ground. We then headed to the airport only discover our three hour delay. It was fun trip. I love going to NYC!

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