Sunday, May 17, 2009

NYC, Day 1 - Sunday

The flight from Greensboro to LaGuardia was uneventful. I read the entire SkyMall catalog and was able to close my eyes and nap during the flight. I nearly froze standing on the tarmac waiting for my carry-on. It was chilly and very windy. While Ken retrieved his luggage, I went to the transportation kiosk to call our Blue Van. The attendant called for me, advised the driver would meet us inside, and directed me to chairs. Ken had a difficult time believing the van driver would meet us in the airport. After a 30 minute wait, sure enough, the driver walked in, announced our names, and we were on our way to Hotel Mela. Unfortunately, though not entirely unexpected, a room was not available. The hotel staff stored our luggage, and we were off explore and kill time before the matinee.

We decided to have lunch and ate at John's Pizzeria. Afterward we ducked into one of the souvenir shops. Due to the cold weather, I had to find something to keep me warm. I lucked out and found black sweatshirts on sale for $19.99. Instead of "if all the world's a stage, I want better lighting" I went with "almost famous". Ken rolled his eyes, but what did he expect for twenty bucks?

After checking again with the hotel, we headed over to the Music Box Theatre to see August: Osage County. We were seated in the 3rd row, and with a gorgeous 3 level set, it was almost too close to the stage. While reading the Playbill, I sent up a silent prayer that I wouldn't fall asleep during the production. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before (too excited!) and only that brief cat-nap on the plane. I was worried about the 3 hour long show.

After the matinee we headed directly to Hotel Mela, and thankfully our room was ready. The room is certainly small, very European, but clean. And Joe Turner's Come And Gone is playing at the Belasco right across the street. We unpacked and decided to head to Serendipity for dinner. I got a burger and Ken ordered the Chicken Diva. Our food took forever to arrive. After finishing our dinner we were both in the mood for dessert. Instead of ordering one of their famous Frozen desserts (because it was too big for one person) I went with pecan pie. It was so good. I was grateful for the long walk back to the hotel.

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