New York

So... here is the whole New York story. Sorry I'm so verbose.
About a year and a half ago, I met an opera singer named Rodion Pogossov and we have kept in touch. In September, he told me that he was going to be singing Il Barbiere di Siviglia at The Met in New York. One of my closest friends, Carly, was like... well... when are we going?
We booked it all and then contacted him and he said that he would love to see us, and invited us backstage. Yes, we were excited.
We were gone from Friday morning, Oct 23rd and came back Monday night, Oct 26th. This is what happened...
Friday morning, Jim, Carly's dad, picked me up around 6:30 and we headed to the airport. Getting through was a breeze, and the flight was uneventful. We caught the shuttle to our hotel, and shared it with some older women who wanted to go to a club (we stifled our laughter) and this great guy named Tony from San Francisco, who chatted us up the whole way. He was pretty cool.
After checking into our hotel (the Amsterdam Court Hotel, 50th and 7th), we jumped on the subway and headed to the upper west side to eat at the Seinfeld restaurant, Tom's Restaurant. After filling up, we saw this beautiful hugeutiful huge Cathedral, St John the Divine, and saw the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsing, which was fantastic. We jumped back on the subway and went to 72nd st to see the Dakotas, where John Lennon was shot (and where Yoko Ono still lives), then went to see his memorial, Imagine, in Central Park and walked through Central Park, which was stunning. We saw Bethesda Fountain, The Mall, Wollman Rink... it was beautiful. We ended up in the Grand Army Plaza, where The Plaza is, the Mac Store, F.A.O. Schwarz... and walked down 5th Ave, on the way back to our hotel. We passed Rockefeller Center as well. It was great. We headed back to the hotel, then caught the subway to the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) and saw Picaso, Frida, Van Gogh's Starry Night which is my favorite painting in the world... it was incredible (and the MOMA is free Friday nights from 4-8, so it was perfect). Then we walked back to our hotel and had supper at TGI Fridays... walked down to Times Square. It was raining, but it was cool. I went to the Hard Rock Cafe, which i always have to do. haha. We subwayed to the Empire State Building, but there was zero visibility because of the rain, so we didn't go up... just went back to our hotel and crashed for the night.
Saturday morning we got up and went to this breakfast place that Cary had spotted, Au Bon Pain, which was AMAZING (and we ended up going there every morning) It was really rainy, but it was also very humid, so it was a bit of a weird day. We jumped on the subway and headed up to 81st, then walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was fantastic. We saw a lot of really amazing things, including the Temple of Dendur, more original Van Gogh's, an entire shark completely preserved, and a brilliant Robert Frank photography exhibit. His stuff is brilliant. From there, we walked past Madison Ave and Park Ave to Lexington, jumped on the subway and headed to 59th where we wanted to go to Serendipity 3 for lunch but it was an hour and a half wait. So we went instead to this little pizza place which was amazing. Apparently Oprah and Gail have been there and they claim it's the best pizza. It was really good.
We poked around bloomingdales for a while, then walked over to the Grand Army Plaza and snooped around F.A.O.Schwarz. We saw the piano from the movie "Big" and got there just in time to see 2 guys do a little concert on the piano. It was perfect. The toy store is crazy... they have a Barbie fashion show... huge pezz dispensers... a doll hospital... it's just nuts. And amazing!
From there we caught the subway again to the hotel and got ready for the opera :o) While we were getting ready, it started to pour rain. Fabulous. haha. We had a quick supper down the street, then jumped on the subway and headed up to Lincoln Center. I died a bit inside when we rounded that corner and I saw the Met for the first time. But it was raining, so I couldn't cherish the moment for long. We walked around for a bit then found our seats and settled in for the show. It was hilarious (but we both agreed that we liked our version at the COC better... though the singers were better at the Met. Well, Rodion was brilliant in both. We just didn't like Don Basilio or the maid at the Met). Rodion texted us during the intermission to see how we were liking it, which made me laugh. After the show, we actually ran into 2 people that Carly knew, which was HILARIOUS (I mean, what are the odds?!) Then we headed downstairs and backstage to meet up with Rodion. He took us onstage for a second, which was AMAZING and then we headed out, where there were people waiting for him for his autograph. While we were walking, there was a girl there who introduced herself to him and said 'i'm an usher here...' and i laughed and couldn't help but think... aww... you're me! He took us to this fabulous italian restaurant and insisted on paying. It was a great night. He loved the scarf, which was fantastic, and we laughed the whole time and ate beautiful food. He walked us back to the subway, and after promising to text him when we got back to the hotel, we left him. The subway ended up being closed on the side that we needed, due to construction, so we ended up taking a cab and then crashing at the hotel... i think we got home around 2? Maybe? And had to get up early the next day... awesome :o)
The next day, after going again to Au Bon Pain, we headed to The Met, for our backstage tour. It was incredible! The information that I learned was amazing and needed I think... haha. I also may or may not have taken a bent nail from the Met... but shhhh.... (if you want to know why, just ask) From there, after wasting a bit of time on the subway because some stops were closed, we headed downtown to walk through Battery Park and catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Then we walked by the Wall Street Bull and saw Ground Zero. Jumped back on the subway, and headed to the hotel, where texting plans with Rodion ensued. We agreed to meet at Carnagie Hall. He wanted to take us to a Russian restaurant but could not remember the address, so we turned the corner and went to the Russian Tea Room to ask (a place I have always wanted to at least SEE because I've heard it's stunning. And believe me... it is. beautiful!) We walked to the other restaurant to find that it was closed, then walked back to Carnagie Hall and ate across the street at this beautiful and fantastic sea food restaurant where I had the most amazing crab cake and shrimp EVER. Again, he insisted on paying. It was really funny because everywhere we went, Rodion and I ended up ordering the same thing. haha. random. He had to go to another dinner in the Upper East Side, so we told him we would walk him and headed up through Central Park. It was so beautiful. We ran into a huge group of people dancing on roller skates to music... we watched them for a while because it was just so interesting, then kept walking the long walk to where he had to go... we didn't think we would see him again, so we said goodbye with a kiss on the cheek and left him there, then jumped on the subway and headed back to Grand Army Plaza, where Carly was meeting up with a friend she hadn't seen in a while. We left each other there, and I walked down 5th Ave again to the hotel and crashed for about 45 minutes. After calling to make sure that our shuttle would pick us up the next day, I was about to head out to study at Cafe Lalo, when I received a text from Rodion. I asked if he'd care to join me, and he said sure for about 20 minutes, because he was exhausted (understandably so). We decided to meet closer to his place, and met at a Starbucks at 70th and Broadway. (again, he would not let me pay for my tea. He's such a gentleman). After about 2 hours, and a fantastic conversation, we decided it was time for him to sleep. He walked me to the subway and when we were there he asked me a favor. Apparently he has given away all of his c.d's and doesn't have any. His parents really want one. So he asked if, if he gave me money, i could go into a store across the street and buy it for him. Haha, I laughed the whole time and of course did it. It was hilarious :o) The subway again was closed, so we hailed a cab and said goodbye for the last time.
Carly was back at the hotel when I got there, and we decided to walk down through Times Square and go to the Empire State Building. It was super late when we got there, but we went up and it was STUNNING. On one side it was windy, but on the other it was eerily quite and just so beautiful. New York really is a beautiful city.
We headed back to the hotel and got some much needed sleep. The next morning, we checked out and headed for the last time to Au Bon Pain. Then we jumped on the subway and headed to South Ferry, where we caught a ferry to Staten Island. It is free, so we decided to grab a better view of the Statue of Liberty. We didn't see much on the way there, but on the way back, we had a perfect view. We headed back to our hotel, bought some souvenirs and then grabbed our bags and waited for our shuttle. Which was 50 minutes late. Not impressed. We got to the airport, ate and made it through security in record time (and they didn't find my bent nail... hilarious) then just waited for our flight. After the shortest flight in the world, we landed, had no problems with customs, Carly's mom picked us up... and now I'm home. and I want to be back in New York... haha...
if anyone wants more details about anything that happened, or has questions, just ask and I am more than willing to tell you :o) Just wanted to give you the basic low down of what happened.
And yes Mel... we DID see a guy in a cape!
ciao
Deena