The morning started off well though. Ben, Sasha and I took the subway downtown to 52nd and Broadway where Judith had been valiantly already waiting in line at the rush office for Jersey Boys. Using Sasha and Ben's student IDs, we bought four tickets for Jersey Boys and then set off on our day. Sasha, Judith and I walked down until we reached the High-line. I'll say it again, I just love New York City architecture- it reminds me a bit of what London has, but in its own unique style. I especially love the Brownstones of the West Side. The High-line as well as incredible. I loved the juxtaposition of an old railway line with the beauty of plants, hanging vines, ivy, flowers. My favorite was when they poked up from the slats that made the walking area. Plus, the views of the river were gorgeous (even though the river up close always leaves somethings to be desired....) On our way we also stopped at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market and we picked up a few things. It was like a mini Gloucester Green market on THursday and I loved purusing through all the jewelry, books, clothes, hats, typewriters, etc. I even bought a hat. I'm still trying it on- literally and figuratively...
Thanks to Danielle (shout-out!), we headed over to Eataly. It was like Italy in a building. THe smells, the sounds, the cheese, meats, veggies, breads, absolutely heavenly! Claudia and Jamie went to go live in the Metropolitan Museum.... Michal wants to live in Eataly (and take the subway down to the Met and the Natural History Museums on the weekends). It was incredible. Loved it. We had a litle lunch of salami, focaccia, veggies and watermelon outside off of Broadway. IT wasn't exceptionally hot so we just relaxed outside and enjoyed the delicious food, right at the foot of the Flatiron Building, of course a New York classic.
We decided to walk up Broadway and do some shoe shooping at Herald Square Then I met up with the lovely Sonya Banerjee. We both commented that it was weird to be in someplace that was NOT San Francisco/Berkeley or Irvine together. But we had a fantastic time walking up to the park, wnadering through the classic areas of Central Park, having an impromptu history lesson and a long discussion about the royals, gossiping about peopel hwe had gone to school with, the usual. We picked up a delicious cupcake at Magnolias and then a big cup of tea at Starbucks and went to go sit on the steps at Lincoln Centre, another place of my childhood. We ended up spending a good four hours together and just talked non-stop about everything. It was so good to see her and to laugh and joke and exclaim about things we had in common.
I then headed back down to 52nd Street to meet up with Judith, Sasha and Ben. Jersey Boys was phenomenal. They ahd a very minimal set and I loved how each of the Four Seasons took turns talkking about the history of the band. The music was incredible, of course, and it reminded me of seeing Mamma Mia or We Will Rock You, the songs tying together all the elements of the story. I thought the actor who played Bobby was teriffic and he also looked so familiar!
This morning, I got up to go to the 9:00 am Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist service at St. John the Divine Cathedral. I love going to church in big, Gothic cathedrals and this was no different. I really enjoyed the large, surround sound of the pipe organs and the intricate designs insdie. It certainly rivaled the beautiful Gothic Cathedrals of Europe, even though it was only built 120 ish years ago. There were these gorgeous tapestries on the walls, intricate stained-glass windows and stamp kind of things on the ground that noted famous Biblical sites and sister church cities, including Durham (home of St. Cuthburt- thanks to him, I got into Durham Cathedral free!). The service was beautiful and the ceremony leader and preacher were so kind. It reminded me of St. Andrews and Westerminster Abbey. I spent a little time wandering around the gardens. St. John's is really heavily featured in so many of Madeleine L'Engle's books and turns out she is buried in the cemetery there- will ahve to go back tomorrow to check it out!
After church, Judith and I headed across the partk, past the ball fields and the reservoirs to the Met. Using her Met pass, we hopped the two hour line to see the Alexander McQueen "Sacred Beauty" exhibit. His work was incredible- very dramatic and ostentatious at times but some of his things were absolutely beautiful. Definitely pieces of art as well as fashion pieces. My favorite was the Jack the Ripper outfit and the flower dress. Seeing his work really made me wonder what must have been going on in his head.
After the McQueen exhibit, Judith and I wandered around to some other areas of the museum, including the sculpture garden and the Temple of Dendur. I LOVE the sculptures. We left the museum and caught a bus back to the house with the intention of picking up Ben and heading up to the Cloisters part of the Met in north Manhattan to see the Medieval Art. Ben decided not to go so instead of going to another museum, Judith, Sasha and I went to go get our nails done, run some errards and then head home. The evening ended with tacos, crazy table talk again, SNL and of course, Law and Order SVU. Andrea and I are booked on a flight tomorrow night, some Israeli family is flying into town and then it's off to Engerland! I cannot wait!
