New York Moment

When I think of New York nowadays, I think of Yankees, Giants, Jets and Knicks - teams I really don't care about. But to be fair, I realized that the city is not all about sports. It could be about shows, food and shopping - three things that I like I have to admit. So when Colin suggested that we accompany him the last days of August, we agreed and started to plan our activities.

We took the train into Penn Station and a taxi to Waldorf-Astoria. That was an experience in itself. The breaks in those taxis were admirable. Our room was not ready so we dropped off our luggage and trekked over to the American Museum of Natural History.

Lauren and Emma had watched Night in the Museum and, let me tell you, nothing in the movie is in the museum. A little disappointing to the girls but they got over it quick enough. Our favorite was the Snake and Lizard exhibit when we watched the green lizard pooping something white...but wait... no it was laying an egg! After the museum, we headed for a steak dinner at Sparks - complete with indifferent server.

For breakfast, we headed over to Normas at Le Meridien. This is the home of the Zillion Dollar Lobster Frittata (Regular with 1 oz Sevruga Caviar at $100 or Super Size with 10 oz of Caviar at $1000 omelet). And no, we did not order that! But I ordered Chocolate Decadence French Toast (with strawberries, pistachios and yummy gooey Valhrona chocolate sauce). It came 3 stories high and I can only eat 1 story. So rich.

After breakfast, Colin went back to work and the rest of us walked over to Central Park. The girls climbed over huge boulders, played in the playground, rode the carousel and explored the Zoo.

At night, we went to SoHo and dined at Cendrillon, a Filipino Pan-Asian restaurant. We also met one of the owners, Romy Dorotan. He even autographed their cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens, with our names. The lechon kawali was cooked to perfection- crunchy, meaty and oh so, bad for you. Emma ordered champorado, a chocolate rice pudding, that brought me instantly back to my childhood.

On Friday morning, I took the girls to St. Patricks Cathedral and we marvelled at the sheer size and the intricate carvings. On the way home, we came across the American Girl Place. Four floors devoted to American Girl dolls complete with a doll hospital, hair salon (for the dolls), theatre and restaurant. I was getting hives and couldn't wait to escape into the street.

We got tickets for Phantom of the Opera Friday night. We opted for a pre-theatre dinner at db Bistro Moderne a couple blocks from Majestic Theatre. Colin ordered the most decadent hamburger: sirloin burger filled with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffles tucked into a Parmesan bun. Foie Gras in a burger! That's insane!!?!! It was toooo good.

With filled bellies, we walked the two blocks. Lauren and Emma were delighted to see Christine and Raoul on stage. It was good night for both of them.

Saturday morning we dragged ourselves back to Normas. Lauren had Waz-Za? (yeah with the question mark), I had Artychoked Benedict with Truffle Porcini Sauce (finished that one - vowed to work out when I get home), Colin had Normalita's Heuvos Rancheros con Chorizo and Emma - well, she had a couple of Country-style Buttermilk Pancakes.

After a brief walk around Central Park to walk off a sixteenth of our breakfast, we headed home.


6:20AM Departure



















Day at the Museum




















Probably a good depiction of what is happening in Colin's garden while we are away!
















Chocolate for breakfast? Why not!
















Central Park by the Pond



















I think this will be my mission from now on: finding sculptures of musical instrument playing animal. Alas, a horn playing kangaroo (with her joey). I also found tambourine playing bear.




















Find a rock and climb it.

















Guess what this is? *answer below















My girls dressed up for theatre




















Phantom of the Opera






















*Answer: Found in the bathroom stall of American Girl Place. Purpose: place to hang the doll. (I know what your are thinking: a camera in the loo? I tell ya, you never know when you need it!)

BRRUUUUUUUCCE

When I was seventeen I attended my first major concert. No, Scott Baio show at Knotts Berry Farm does not count! I wore a t-shirt that I bought in Manila the summer of 1985. It was end of September (or was it early October?) 1985 at the LA Coliseum. It was a huge venue and our seats were waaaayy out there. I was with my sisters and only one of us was 21. Bruce came on stage and I was hooked. Three hours of pure music. A concert that wouldn't end and no one wanted it to end. It was classic. No other concert/artist thereafter came close

Last night. Colin and I waited patiently for the rain/lightning/thunder to pass. They wouldn't cancel the concert, would they? I looked around and noticed that there were more people 2-3 decades over the legal age and I was one of them (when did that happen ?!??!!) There were 2 couples in front of us standing up and the woman on my right did not appreciate this. The concert has not started yet and she's grumbling out loud that the effing people are standing up. The uprights retorted back, "No one sits down at a Bruce Springsteen concert!" I was hoping for the knock out punches to get thrown by the woman with hearing aid but nahh just more grumbling. After a while, she and her husband stood up and vacated their seats and did not return. Wooo hooo more space for me!

The 7:30pm concert started at 9:25 and I was again enveloped in music. His first song was Summertime Blue got Gillette Stadium in Foxboro rocking. No smoke or fireworks. No dancers cluttering the stage. Just Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I noticed throughout the show that the camera kept giving us jumbo-tron view of his backside though. And yes, he still rocks in jeans. Just like twenty three years ago, he had energy and vibrancy last night. His voice is more gravelly and his face more lined but he still exudes classic rock. He belted out songs from his Magic album (Radio Nowhere), older ones (10th Avenue Freeze Out) and a couple of songs that premiered on the tour (Who'll Stop the Rain). He took request from the mosh pit (signs) and played a few of them. He played "I'm Going Down" which was much better live than on the album. It was close to three hours with no intermission/breaks. Pure music.

I sat down momentarily during Livin' in the Future set because all the stompin' and dancin' made my feet a bit painful in my heels but sitting down didn't feel right. I was up again because no one sits down at a Bruce Springsteen concert.

And for your information, this t-shirt still fits!













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