Amazing weekend

This has been such an amazing weekend!!!

Yesterday we boarded the plane in SLC at 6 am, and flew to Minneapolis, where it was cold (21F) and snowing and windy. We changed planes and were 30 min late leaving because the plane had to be de-iced, which was quite interesting. I have traveled by plane a fair amount but had never seen that before.

We arrived in New York La Guardia at 2:30 pm, and there was a driver waiting with a sign that said "Welcome, Tammy Stevenson". He escorted us out to the car, a black Lincoln Town Car, and drove us in to Manhattan. Notable on the way - a very large cemetary in Queens - you'd think the real estate would be too $$$ to have a cemetary like that, but there it was, next to the freeway. We got to our hotel and checked in to the small but well-appointed room, and I immediately changed clothes and went out for a 1 hr racewalk in Central Park. It was SO much fun - went by the ice rink in the SE corner, saw lots of horse-drawn carriages for hire, and of course lots of joggers, dogs, and people. Central Park is SO big - it is absolutely enormous, and it's beautiful too. Loved it!

For dinner we went to a little Italian joint called "Pietro's" that had kind of a "mafia-feel", as the person who recommended it to us described it. The food was pretty good homestyle Italian, something you'd imagine that someone's Italian grandmother might cook for you. All the waiters spoke Italian amongst themselves, and many of the customers were clearly regulars.

After dinner we walked to the Metropolitan Opera. We should have taken the subway. It was a long walk (1 hr, fine by me) and Loren's feet hurt a lot when we got there. We did make it just in time, as we got there about 20 min before the curtain, and had to get our tickets from will call. The opera itself (Manon Lescaut by Puccini) was incredible. The sets were truly magnificent - in the first act, they actually brought a horse-drawn carriage on the stage, pulled by 2 large white draft horses. No kidding. The second act is in a palatial residence in Paris, and the set was so ornate and lavish. The singing surpassed the sets, however, and it was a feast for our ears.

We returned to our hotel via the subway, as it was raining steadily, and crashed hard after our long day.

This morning I awoke at 7:15 am and went for a racewalk in Central Park, first thing. I decided to go for a long walk and walked all the way around the whole park. I'm not sure how far it is (I think maybe 6.2 miles - 10k, plus the distance to and from the park from our hotel, so probably 7-7.5 miles total) but it took me 1 hr 20 min. I stopped at a small grocery on the way back and picked up some fresh fruit and muffins for breakfast.

After breakfast, we packed our suitcases (had to change rooms, because we were in the NBC lease room last night and had to move to a different room for tonight, though we still get the NBC room rate) and set out to tour Rockefeller Center. We browsed the Museum of Modern Art gift shop, and then the concourse by the famous ice rink. We spent a long time in a store that had beautiful crystals & jewelry - Loren loves gems, so we had a great time looking in there. Then we decided to take the elevator to the top of Rockefeller Center to check out the views of the city. The sun had come out after the rains of last night, and the view was totally spectacular. It was VERY cold and windy, but we could see the views from inside or outside, so we did some of both.

About 1:45 pm we walked over to Times Square and grabbed a quick lunch at Roxy's deli. That was great - the sandwich (we split one) had a whole pound of turkey on it! I took some off of my half for Loren, and still had plenty. I had a few fries, too, which were great, and the meal came with deli pickles & coleslaw, too.

Our Broadway play ("The Farnsworth Invention") began at 3 pm, and we arrived about 2:40 and picked up our tickets. The play was incredibly well-written (Aaron Sorkin, "The West Wing") and well-acted, and both of us were enthralled, but especially Loren. I think he'd love to see plays like that all the time.

Then dinner at "Bar Americain", where Bobby Flay of the Food Network is the executive chef. Too amazing for words - Loren had Lamb Porterhouse and I had Skate with Chipotle chili sauce & capers. It was fabulous. Wish we could eat like that all the time.

Now we're back and I need some sleep for the big day tomorrow!