A toasty 4th of July

The 4th of July was a bit different year, owing mostly to the fact that the air conditioning in our house went out that week....one of the hottest weeks of the summer, mind you. And you all remember how I feel about heat, yes? That we don't get along well? Yeah. And what with the heat wave making a lot of AC units go out along the Wasatch Front, combined with the holiday weekend....the soonest we could get a repair guy in to look at it was a full week after it went out. So when my house was sitting at a toasty 89 degrees, the last thing I wanted to do was go outside and then not be able to get cooled off again. (I spent most of my days hanging out under the ceiling fan in the living room. If I stayed fairly still, I could endure the heat. Lots of reading and laptop time ensued.) So no 4th of July parade or carnival or fireworks show. I just wasn't sure I could handle it.

We did decide to attend a BBQ we had been invited to at the home of some friends with five or so other families in the neighborhood. They had a pool in the backyard. And a lovely air conditioned house. And both of those things felt very refreshing...as well as enjoying the company of friends. And though we skipped the city fireworks show, we found that there were enough fireworks going on closer by that we could sit on our back porch and get quite and amazing show without even going anywhere.

The next day after three hours of air conditioned church, we headed to my parents house (also air conditioned, hooray!) for a family get together.

It felt a little bit funny to be celebrating a holiday meant to honor America's freedom and independence from England...with a Union Jack flag hanging proudly in my living room. An American living in England is probably the slightest bit awkward when it comes to Independence Day. Rebekah and her fellow American sister and senior missionaries serving at the Hyde Park Chapel Visitor's Center went to Five Guys for lunch to celebrate figuring that a hamburger and fries felt like a little bit like a piece of American tradition.

"New York, New York....it's a helluva town!"

SATURDAY:
I think living in New York would be pretty sweet from an exercise perspective. The food is incredible...so many famous and amazingly yummy places to eat. And yet you do so much walking, so many stairs in and out of the subway...maybe it all equals out and you stay nice and slender? We walked all week long. My fitbit was recording record amounts of steps and miles and flights of stairs. Can you imagine the possibilities living in NYC?? But because we weren't used to it, each day my feet started getting sore a little earlier than the day before. And we were definitely tired as we tried to pack in so much each day...to see as much as we could. So Saturday morning, though sleeping in was certainly tempting, I left three tired girls in my room fast asleep and slipped out to join Ryan, Andra and Jana for a little jaunt across the Brooklyn Bridge. All were invited, only four of us decided to wake up. Apparently more than just my roomies chose to sleep in.

And I'm glad I did. Because the morning was cool and there was a nice breeze. And the bridge itself was incredibly cool! It was all I could do to not pull a Spot Collins and yell, "Never fear, Brooklyn is here!" (You "Newsies" fans will get the reference...)
The walking path is a boardwalk of sorts with half for bikers, half for walkers. And we were up above the train and automobile bridge lanes. There was some graffiti and stickers slapped on poles. There were love locks here and there which was interesting because somehow I had it in my head that that was just a European thing. The cables were remarkably thick and the bridge itself just seemed rather stately and beautiful. Apparently the bridge took 13 years to build and when it was finally finished in 1883 people were scared to cross it, worried that it wouldn't hold up. So a year later P.T. Barnum marched his circus elephants and other animals across it in a demonstration of the bridges safety (and as great advertising for his circus) and it was fun to think about that as we walked. But in a more sobering vein...it became that much more real to look back at the NYC skyline as we crossed from Manhattan into New Jersey and think about those people on 9/11 who walked across that bridge to get away from the devastation.

Our walk was completely delightful. We stopped at a little cafe for a smoothie before continuing on to the subway station to ride back. I'd like to explore Brooklyn more the next time I visit NYC.

Many of us had picked up an extra Broadway matinee on Saturday. We were all split up between "Something Rotten," "Finding Neverland," "The Fantastiks," and "The Audience." Julianne and I had picked up tickets to see "On the Town"....one of my all time favorite Gene Kelly musicals. It was a new revival on Broadway as of last September. My friend Gary told me that though the reviews were good, the audience had been lax and that he didn't think the show would still be around when I got to NYC in June. But then it got nominated for a Tony Award which gave it a boost. I'm so glad! The show is about 3 sailors from the U.S. Navy who get 24 hours leave in NYC. The front curtain was a big American flag and the conductor of the orchestra stood up the audience and led us all in singing The National Anthem before the show started! I've sung or listened to The National Anthem before numerous sporting events and even some summer concerts in the park, but never a musical in a theatre before! It makes sense considering the show but I tell you what, it was awesome! And the show itself was completely wonderful! A love letter to the city and very dance heavy...which also makes sense considering this was a Gene Kelly musical. And they stayed very true to the original choreography...it was like Gene Kelly was up there on stage in spirit. The lead female was actually a principle ballerina from the New York City Ballet Company and interestingly enough, is from Utah originally. I absolutely loved the show and was so glad we decided to pick up tickets at the last minute. Truly, of the five shows we saw I think this was my favorite...partly because of the sentimental aspect of it.

And if you wait around the stage door for a bit, the actors will come out and sign autographs.

It was a hard call as to whether we should see two shows in one day. Ideally, it's nice to just see one because you want to have time to process, you know? You don't want to jump into a second show before you've really had time to decide how you felt about the first. But the other line of thinking goes something along the lines of wanting to stuff in as many as possible because you're not in NYC very often and your to-see Broadway list is rather large....

So Julianne and I talked hard core about On The Town as we changed clothes, grabbed some food, and headed over to the next theatre to meet up with Alyssa and Liz for The Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. It won Best Musical at the Tony Awards in 2014 and I'd heard it was fabulous. Julianne and Liz (along with their friend Collin) had taken a song from this show and competed it at the regional theatre competition a few months ago. Apparently competition in the musical theatre category is fierce, but they took top scores! The song "I've Decided to Marry You" is hilarious and so we decided to go see the show when we were in NYC and bought our tickets a few weeks in advance. And it was very worth it! The readers digest version of the plot...Monty Navarro has discovered on the death of his mother that he is actually a D'Ysquith...a wealthy and aristocratic family, and realizes he is 9th in line to be the Earl of Highhurst. He spend the rest of the show basically finding funny ways to off all the relatives in line ahead of him. There is one actor that plays all of these D'Ysquith family members (even the girls) and oh my, he was so great! My cheeks were sore from laughing so hard.

I know it's Broadway and all, so of course it's going to be top notch talent and production....but holy wow, you know? I was consistently and completely floored by everything we saw. How lucky are we that we were able to see five Broadway shows while in NYC?!

SUNDAY:
We had a completely free day on Sunday up until 3:30 when we were to leave for the airport. A lot of our group decided to go to Coney Island. I would've LOVED to see Coney Island...but it was Sunday and my cute roommates Julianne, Liz and Alyssa really wanted to go to church at the Manhattan Temple. Elle and her mother, Pam who live in our ward at home also wanted to go to church. Also, we have a young woman from our ward who is currently serving a mission in NYC and according to her mother, would be at church at the temple that morning. So we hopped the subway and headed to the Upper West Side at the Lincoln Center and went to Sacrament Meeting. It was a neat meeting and we were able to find Sister Smith in the foyer and give her lots of hometown hugs. (And take pictures for her mom at home.) I'm really glad we went.

After church we headed to Vive le Crepe that we discovered last time we were in town. And then with our bellies filled with yumminess we walked over to the Lincoln Center. Alyssa had a hankering to "touch Julliard" which is part of the Lincoln Center campus. They were having a little festival of sorts there...lots of tents selling arts and crafts. High end, fancy stuff of course. One guy was playing his violin accompanied by a soundtrack trying to sell CD's. He was incredible! I mean, Lincoln Center...right?

We headed back to the hotel after exploring and taking in the cultural ambience of the Lincoln Center and Julliard....a place that plays a part in future dreams for many a theatre or music student.

Alyssa is looking sad in this picture because she just realized that she lost her ring that she bought a few days earlier. She was certain she had left it on the counter while washing her hands in the bathroom back at the Lincoln Center. She was stunned when she then found it in her pocket about 20 minutes later. We teased her that it was a blessing because she had chosen to go to church that morning....  ;)

Sad faces because the NYC trip has come to an end and it's time to head to the airport. It really was a fabulous trip. We saw so and did so many amazing things....this city, I just love it so much! Julianne and I came up with a bucket list for our next trip to NYC:
*bike Central Park
*explore Brooklyn
*Coney Island
*Baptisms for the Dead at the Manhattan temple (We had planned to do this this time but she forgot her reccomend.)
*Natural History Museum
*Metropolitan Museum of Art (I've been to the Met but Julianne has not.)
*walk the High Line
*eat at Sardis
*see a Jimmy Fallon show
*9/11 museum
*get tix for the Metropolitan Opera

NYC....we will be back!

The City That Never Sleeps

THURSDAY:
My first trip to NYC was four years ago...a business trip for Bryan that he took solely so he could bring me along, knowing how much I'd wanted to visit the place. We stayed in a hotel on 51st street directly across from an entrance to Rockefeller Center and slightly down from the side doors to Radio City Music Hall. I spent a lot of time peering out my window, watching workers unload and haul in set pieces for a new show they were putting on. One morning there were long lines of heavily made-up, bunheads....all anxiously waiting for their turn to audition for the famed Rockettes. But it wasn't until this year that I actually ever went into the iconic and historic theatre.

We took an official tour and the place is every bit as awe inspiring as you would think. Just the immense history of the place took my breath away. We started our tour in the seats of the actual theatre which was pretty cool, seeing as we had all watched the Tony Awards just four days earlier on TV which had taken place in that very spot. Interestingly enough, once again they were having Rockette auditions while we were there. Did you know they have to re-audition every year? Talk about pressure! So though there is no age limit (or year limit) for how long you can be a Rockette, you can't rest on your laurels once you're in...you have to keep proving yourself each year to keep your spot. Also, I learned that apparently I can't ever aspire to be a Rockette. There is a height requirement. You have to be between 5'6"-5'10." My dreams are dashed! Except that even if I were tall enough, I can't really dance so I guess I have that problem as well...
While we were waiting for everyone to finish their tour I walked across a subway grate on the sidewalk out front and had a Marilyn Monroe moment. So I guess if I can't be a Rockette, at least I can pretend to be blonde bombshell? Except that I'm not blonde anymore...

After our tour we descended below ground to catch the subway...China Town and Little Italy being the next stop on our agenda of places to explore. Manhattan itself isn't very big. It just feels that way because its so jam-packed. But it's still kind of amazing how you don't have to go very far to feel like you are a world removed from where you just were.

We had dumplings for $1 at a little side street shop. Delicious! And the little Chinese woman inside was demanding and rude, "You! Money! Now get out!" It totally cracked me up. And then because it was so incredibly hot and humid that day, we got Chinese ice cream with flavors like maple bacon, ginger, pandam, zen butter, and durian. Good stuff!

That night we had tickets to see the Broadway musical "Matilda." Truth be told, I hadn't been overly excited that this was one of the shows we were scheduled to see as part of our trip. Oh, I had heard it was good and I knew that I'd enjoy it but there were other shows higher on my priority list. I didn't really want to waste my Broadway time on a kids show, you know? I was wrong. "Matilda" was incredibly impressive! I loved the music and the choreography. I couldn't get over the intricacies of the set. And the character of "Miss Trunchbull" was played by a man...which made sense but I hadn't known beforehand. And it was downright hilarious! The show was thoughtful and silly all at the same time. One of the songs was called "When I Grow Up" and had some thought provoking lyrics...
When I grow up I will be smart enough to answer all the questions that you need to know the answers to before you're grown up.
....I will be strong enough to carry all the heavy things you have to haul around when you're a grown up.
....I will be brave enough to fight the creatures that you have to fight beneath the bed each night to be a grown up.

 I ended up being very happy with the choice of "Matilda."

FRIDAY:
Friday morning we headed to the Top of the Rock in Rockefeller Center. The view up there is rather fantastic as you can imagine. And it gives you a really good sense of Manhattan, as you can pretty much see the entire island. I'm always struck with just how big Central Park is when I see it from above.

 {Looking at the Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock...}

Afterwards everyone split up. Julianne, Liz, Alyssa and I meandered our way through the various shops in Rockefeller Center and watched Susan Sarandon be interviewed outside the NBC studios. We had lunch at a food truck (chicken gyros...yum!) and then cupcakes/cheesecake at Magnolia Bakery. And then we too split up. Liz and Alyssa had a hankering to check out the Museum of Natural History and Julianne wanted to finally see the Guggenheim. Julianne and I had planned to take the bus up 5th Ave. Until we realized that it was a one way street and no buses were actually running the way we were going. So we back tracked a bit and jumped on the subway. It was a rather complicated subway station and platform set up...but hey, we handled it like pros and I was super proud of us!

{Gyros from the food truck and dog walkers. How very NYC.}

The Guggenheim is a museum featuring mostly modern art. But the building itself is an architectural piece of art designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I'd seen the building twice before. (On my first trip to NYC it was closed the day I tried to visit. Last year we made it into the lobby before Bryan nixed the idea of paying the entrance fee...I think he was less than enthusiastic about the art and more interested in finding lunch.) It was nice to finally go inside. I think maybe I don't really get modern art. Or maybe I get it, I just don't love it? It was interesting to see, I suppose. I'm glad we went. There was a gallery with a bunch of Van Goghs, Monets, Picassos, etc and I really enjoyed that. There was a fascinating children's exhibit where we spent the majority of our time. I guess in my mind art is something that you would potentially be able to display in your home. Much modern art is weirdly eclectic and not something that I would want to or even could put in my home. It's more of a display with a story or thought process/meaning behind it. Which is why I guess it is in an exhibit in a museum rather than in an art gallery with a price tag on it. One piece of art was literally a large analog clock on the wall and a transistor radio sitting on a shelf next to it. There was some sort of symbolism and reason attached to it, of course but I remember thinking "That's art? I could make that!" I'm showing my ignorance right now, I'm sure of it. Oh well. Anyhow, it was interesting all the same.

{The Metropolitan Museum of Art is more my style...and it is just a few blocks down from the Guggenheim. But the place is enormous and we didn't really have time to go inside and explore. But we did enjoy sitting on the steps and people watch for a bit while we rested our sore feet. And then we hopped on a bus and took it down the one-way 5th Ave. seeing as this time we were going the right direction...}

That evening we hooked back up with the rest of our group and went to see "The Lion King." Once again, this was a show that I'd heard great things about and expected to enjoy....even if it wasn't one that I would've chosen. But this time my experience was a little different. Oh, I did enjoy it. There were scenes that were incredibly magical. The puppetry was glorious and the Circle of Life scene specifically brought tears to my eyes. But the whole show seemed uneven to me. Parts were proudly tribal, while other parts seemed Disney cartoonish. It seemed to me (and maybe this makes me sound like a theatre snob) that the show was Broadway for the masses. People who were maybe not normally theatre-goers but who wanted to see something on Broadway while in NYC would choose something like this. It's recognizable. It's popular. It's Disney. And you could kind of tell just from the audience and their lack of proper theatre etiquette. Talking in the middle of the show, taking pictures, leaving their garbage on the floor like they are in a movie theater or at a sporting event. But what surprised me also was that this is Andra's (the high school theatre teacher) favorite show. She's seen in seven times and finds it completely inspiring. I respect Andra and her theatre knowledge and creativity SO much....the woman consistently impresses me. So it made me wonder if I was missing something, not liking Lion King as much. Not that we need to have the same opinions or tastes in shows....its just, in the case of so many other shows, we did. Hmmm.





















After the show we decided that we needed to experience Shake Shack, long lines and all. And then ended the evening by people watching in Times Square. And speaking of Times Square...I'm over it. It's neat, certainly. Everyone should experience it at least once. But the novelty has worn off, I guess. I'd rather avoid the place (specifically the hordes of people) unless I'm seeing a show. Which of course is one of the main reasons I come to NYC. So I guess I can't be done with Times Square all together.

One last NYC update coming up....