Adventures in Manhattan

[przed]

Since planning a birthday party the week before Christmas was insanity, I decided to forego a 50th birthday party in favour of a 50 Years and a Black Belt party in June (assuming I manage to survive that long *g*), and instead we took a family trip to New York City for a long weekend. (I've been trying to get us all to NYC for a couple of years, so it was a good excuse to finally do it.)

One thing both Ros and I wanted to do was go skating. Since the Rockefeller Centre rink is insanely expensive with a huge lineup, I suggested we try Bryant Park, which is free to skate but charges for rentals. (Ros brought her skates; I didn't bring mine.)

It was definitely an experience. The rink was crowded, the ice was choppy, and I have never been on a rink what that many people who had no idea how to skate. The ones who were pulling their way around the rink on the boards were okay, but the out-of-control dudes (and they were mostly dudes) pinwheeling around the rink nearly took both of us out multiple times. There were only a handful of skaters who knew what they were doing. Ros and I were taking bets on how many of those were Canadians. *g*

In spite of it all, it was a fun experience. Here we are on the rink.


And you can see the big Christmas tree behind us here.


One of the things I picked to do was see a performance of The Barber of Seville at the Metropolitan Opera. (In the time Before Ros, the Sweetie and I used to subscribe to the Canadian Opera Company.) The Met does a family version of The Barber that's only two hours long and sung in English, and also doesn't cost a million dollars. Ros gave it a thumbs up, so I have hopes I'll be able to talk her into seeing opera again.


The other performance thing we did was seeing Finding Neverland, with music by Mr. Gary Barlow of Take That. Seeing as Gary is my least favourite member of the band and his solo stuff tends to bore me rigid, I'd been swearing I wouldn't bother. But Gary performed a song from the show on Corden that was pretty good, and I realized we could try for half price tickets in Times Square.


The show ended up being lovely. Most of the music was quite good (except for a couple of the expected drippy ballads), the performances were all solid, and there was one theatrical effect at the end that was stunning. I would definitely recommend it, and trust me, that is a hard-won admission.

Another thing we did for Ros was breakfast at the American Girl store. The American Girl Cafe is designed to within an inch of its life with daisies everywhere, and they have little chairs so your doll can sit at the table with you. Ros brought her Julie doll.


We then spent several hours while Ros got her doll's hair done, picked out things to spend her Christmas money on, and picked out a present for her cousin. There was also drama when we realized she'd lost one of her doll's shoes, but the lost and found department came up trumps and found it. Disaster averted!

We also paid a visit to the big Toys R Us store in Times Square. Which is a good thing, as it's closing down in January.

The Sweetie enjoyed the Lego Hulk.


And we splurged and got tickets to ride the ferris wheel inside the store. Ros was very happy we got the Monopoly car.


I had worried!M&M behind me.


There were also brunches with several fannish friends and dinner with a good friend from grad school.

All in all, it was a wonderful time.

Comments

[moth2fic.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an absolutely wonderful way to celebrate! It's great when your kids start enjoying the theatre and concerts with you. Christmas will almost be a come-down after all that!

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a great trip, filled with just enough fun things, but not so many as to be overwhelming.

I'm hoping Ros will continue to be open to theatre and concerts. They're certainly big things for the Sweetie and me. Christmas will be the usual low key occasion at my mum's, but given how swamped I am these days that's an entirely good thing.

Happy Christmas to you and yours!

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

Wow, that all looks so awesome! So glad you guys had a great time *g* You're certainly giving Ros a wide range of live musical experiences! I'm glad Gary's musical was (mostly) good - I liked the original film. Did you hear the rumour about Mark maybe being onstage in London in War of the Worlds? That could be your next excuse to visit the UK!

I saw the documentary on the BBC yesterday and it didn't have a huge amount of new content but the interviews were sweet AND the concert footage was a different edit to the DVD, including a slo-mo of much of 'Flaws' and a CLOSE UP OF THE END, which I am annoyed the DVD eschews in favour of a picture of Gary...

[przed.livejournal.com]

Our taste is nothing if not eclectic! Gary's musical was really quite good. Astonishingly so. (At the interval, even the Sweetie turned to me with a surprised look and told me he thought it was good.) It's also a total tearjerker at the end. I, and all the other middle-aged moms were dabbing our eyes. Ros, on the other hand, was just looking at the adults around her and trying to figure out which ones were crying. Given how much certain things affect her, she can also have a heart of stone. If only I could figure out which things will get her and which ones won't.

I did see the reports that Mark might be in War of the Worlds. If it happens, I will of course be over like a shot, but right now I'm viewing it as I do the constant "all five members of TT will be back together again!" stories that seem to pop up like mushrooms every couple of months. (British tabloids: making shit up so you don't have to!)

I found a streaming site for BBC One yesterday, so I begged the family's indulgence and watched. The interviews were sweet, and I think Mark's looking great these days, and his admission that he cried when they announced Jason was leaving the band really got me. I was a bit irked that we got a lot of Gary songs in full, but not one of Mark's. Not even Shine!

But YES, thank all that's holy that the Flaws edit included a close up of the hug. If you heard an angry scream a few weeks ago, that was me watching Flaws on the DVD and discovering that the end had Gary in the foreground and the hug very wee in the background. I honestly want to track down their editor and kick him in the shins. If Flaws is the highlight of the show, then that hug is the highlight of Flaws. Arrggghhh!

[soundofthesurf.livejournal.com]

Aww, great pictures! Looks like a lot of fun was had by all! \o/ And extra kudos for liking the Barlow musical!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Hey there! We had such a good time. And the Barlow musical was really good. (And you know what it costs me to admit that. *g*)

Hope you have a lovely holiday and they don't make you work too much!

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

Ice skating is something I'd love to try so I'm quite green with envy here. It does look like you had a lot of fun on your weekend away, you certainly crammed enough in. Fantastic that Ros enjoyed the opera, too.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I got thrown on skates when I was around three, and that's what I did with Ros. She's now in her third year of figure skating (she's a better skater than I'll ever be) and I take her to the free skate at a local rink every Saturday night.

The weekend was lovely, and while busy, didn't feel overly busy. I'm considering it a win that Ros gave the opera a thumbs up.

[sarren.livejournal.com]

Yay for having such a great time, what lovely photos. Ros is sooo big now, awww.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a lovely weekend. Ros is getting big, isn't she. I was looking at pics from our first visit to Disney and she was barely at my waist!

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

So great that you're encouraging her to appreciate opera! Looks like lots and lots of fun. Unseasonably warm weather, but when you consider the alternative, it's a win. Happy holidays!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I figured a comic opera at the Met would give her the best possible shot of liking opera. And it worked! The weather was good, but it was actually rather chilly on Saturday and Sunday in NYC. It warmed up on Monday, though. We will definitely not be getting snow for Christmas. I've got the week off, so I'd been hoping I might be able to take Ros cross-country skiing.

[dracothelizard.livejournal.com]

That looks like an excellent weekend! Glad the opera and musical both worked out.

And also, they really should have two different rinks, one for beginners to prat around on and one for people who vaguely know what they're doing (over here it's more of an outside lane vs inside lane thing, with people in the inside lane zooming by while I'm pratting around on the outside lane, but still.)

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a great weekend!

Two rinks would have been good, though I suspect the beginner one would have been full and the other one would have only had a few people on it. Though that would be great for us!

So, are you skating on rinks or canals with the lanes?

[dracothelizard.livejournal.com]

Rinks, since the average temperature over here has been ten degrees and there's no way there's gonna be any skating on natural ice.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It's been the same here. We were planning on going to Ottawa to skate on the Rideau canal this year, but even in Ottawa the temperatures haven't dropped below freezing.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Looks like a fantastic family trip with something for everyone. :D

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a lot of fun!

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

So glad it went well! This was the end of the semester so I was buried in grading.

But I did think of you folks. We're going tomorrow for Christmas Eve. Probably will be at the Met Museum to see the tree.

Happy birthday!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I thought of you, too. Hopefully, next time we're in NYC we can get together.

Enjoy the Met! I was hoping to get us there, but there just wasn't time.

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

You guys had such fun! Thanks for the pics. What a great way to spend the weekend.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a really great weekend. (I love NY, but a weekend is quite enough for me.)

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, such fun! (Good lord, there's a ferris wheel inside the store??) I had no idea there was such a thing as a cafe inside an American Dolls store, either. I'm rather glad my nieces didn't know that back, in the say. Hair done, you say?

Yay for enjoying the opera and that Finding Neverland was much better than expected. \o/ It all sounds fabulous.

Happy holidays to you and your family!

[przed.livejournal.com]

There's a ferris wheel inside the store for another few weeks. Lord knows what they're doing with it once the store closes.

The American Girl cafe looks to be sticking around for a long time, though. It was fully booked up, and we started losing track of how many times Happy Birthday got sung. You can thank your lucky stars your niece wasn't into AG. The stuff is good quality (they hire actual award winning writers to write the books for the dolls) but it's all on the pricey side.

I'm pleased that the opera worked out, especially since there was much complaining around that one. And very chuffed that Finding Neverland was quite good!

Happy holidays to you as well!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

You all look so happy! Really nice photos, thanks for sharing.

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a really nice trip, with just enough activities.

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

So glad we got to see you lovely folks. Ros is a pistol!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Likewise! If you and J get up to Stratford you'll have to let us know. (BTW, I can highly recommend the Amadeus Haus B&B in Stratford. Much better than Albert Street. *g*)

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

Such lovely piccies, thank you - and my goodness, what are you feeding Ros? She's getting so tall!

It looks like a wonderful family holiday - the sort you'll remember forever.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Ros is taller, but she's still the smallest kid in her class. (She looks taller than she is because she's so lean.)

It was a really great getaway. Just long enough, with just enough activities that we had fun but weren't swamped.

Have a good holiday yourself!

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

Awww, this is lovely! So glad you had such a fab time - the photos are fantastic! I love your glasses too :)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It was a really great trip. Just enough activities, but not so many that we felt rushed. (The glasses are my first pair that I've had to wear all the time. I figure if I've got to wear glasses, they might as well be funky and fun. *g*)

Have a lovely holiday!

[sunshine-2525.livejournal.com]

Happy belated birthday! Lovely photos, what a great way to celebrate. Oh, and you even liked Finding Neverland! *g* I have to admit that I haven't really listened to the songs from the musical, I've just heard bits and pieces from it ;)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was a really lovely weekend.

I pains me to admit it, but I really liked Finding Neverland. I'd listened to about 10 seconds of one of the songs when it first came out and wasn't much impressed. (It was a patented Gary ballad.) But then I saw Gary perform Something About This Night on Corden and found myself liking it rather a lot. I still had no intention of seeing the play, but then realized we could get cheap (or at least cheaper) tickets at the half price booth, and I caved. I'm still not a fan of Gary's ballads, but there were some really good, faster-paced numbers. And like a lot of TT songs, several of them can be read autobiographically in very interesting ways.

In other TT news, I finally finished my spy AU! Posting is commencing now.

[sunshine-2525.livejournal.com]

So maybe I will have to give the songs a proper listen :) I'm usually not a big fan of musicals but from what I've heard the songs for Finding Neverland are not typically musical songs but more like pop songs.

So happy to hear that your spy AU is finished! I loved the first part and I'm really looking forward to read the finished story.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm not a huge musical fan, though there's the odd one I like. If you're seeking out songs from Neverland, start with Something About This Night. (Gary's version on the concept album is very good, and it's one that seem rather autobiographical.) Other good 'uns are All Of London is Here Tonight (another one of the autobiographical ones), Circus of Your Mind, and We Own the Night.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the spy story.

[sunshine-2525.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestions of songs. I might give them a listen :-)

I'm sure I will enjoy the spy story, I just need to find the time to read it first. I wish real life didn't get in the way so much *g*

Happy New Year!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year to you!

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

Oh this looks like a wonderful trip, am so pleased you all had a good time.