The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down

After my interview at Lehigh University, we took the bus into NYC for the weekend. We have been wanting to go back to NYC for awhile because there were some things we missed before (like the Rockefeller Plaza tour). During our last visit, we spent a lot of time sightseeing, but Josh knew I would be worn out from a week of travelling, so this time we focused more on shopping and shows.

Josh has been dying to see Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark basically since it was announced.

He even made up words to one of the songs, some sample lyrics include:

I am not a wolf

I am not a shark

I'm just Spiderman

Here to turn off the dark

There's no need to fear

It'll turn out alright

Because to "turn off the dark"

Means I'll turn on the lights

We also saw:

A play about a writing seminar, starring:

He really does

And also went to:

A play about racial tension and family relationships, starring:

Apparently I just barely missed Psych night. Sad face.

We wanted to spend some time here:

The Natural History Museum

Where we saw a lot of bones:

Dino bones in the entry

Elephant bones in the Asian exhibit

And Triceratops bones in the dino exhibit 

We also saw:

The tiny exhibit featuring things from the area in which Josh served his mission (Ecuador)

Animal pelts

And bison (I was trying to get a feel for what my internship would be like if I ended up in North Dakota)

Then we walked through Central Park, which is just across the street from the Natural History Museum, and saw:

Strawberry Fields

Beautiful skylines

The ice skating rink

And one very fat and very angry raccoon

Josh wanted to make an effort to eat only stereotypical NYC-style food, which included:

The Carnegie Deli

Where Josh ordered this monstrosity:

Pastrami on rye, which was more like a whole pig between two pieces of bread

And also:

Pizza folded in the traditional east coast way (having been born in Wisconsin, I had to opt out because, as well all know, pizza is meant to be sturdy and deep dish, not flimsy and folded)

And my personal favorite:

We did other things too, like:

Fulfill Josh's geek quotient

Wait for the subway

Breathe through our mouths in subway cars that smell like pee

Take our friend Pam out to dinner at Pam Real Thai Food

Drink an absurd amount of Sprite

And take pictures from The Top of the Rock

It was here that we took this picture, with the aid of the glare from the plastic wind screen:

We also went to the Charging Bull, where there was a ridiculous line to stand in if you wanted to take a close up picture. We stood in it, of course, but couldn't get a picture together. So instead we did the smarter thing and just took a picture from across the street:

Finally, we spent our last morning at the 9/11 Memorial:

The South Tower

The North Tower

The museum, still under construction

Josh also went on his own adventures, which included:

Running across the Brooklyn Bridge in the cold

Finding the firehouse from Ghostbusters

Finding the exterior of the "Friends" apartment

And visiting Washington Square Park

This will be our last trip for awhile. We had talked about doing a temple tour of the southern states, but it's looking unlikely that I will be able to get time off. Responsible face.

At the Ballet

Josh and I went on a date to the ballet last night. I've been subtly suggesting that we go since we moved to the Portland area over three years ago, but he didn't get the hint. So I finally said, "I want to go to the ballet. You need to buy tickets" (it helped that we got a coupon for it in the mail). I love, love, LOVE ballet because it's something so ridiculously difficult, yet beautiful and graceful and looks like it takes no effort at all.

I sat next to a little girl who wore her little opera cloak and whose mom was clearly excited about being there with her because she was telling her about the orchestra and the dancers and what to expect. It was cute. Plus, the girl got a soft pretzel during intermission and I kind of wanted to steal it when she fell asleep during the third act.

I love attending the ballet because it's a different crowd than I see at performances of musicals or music groups. I love the grey hairs, the cloaks, the jewelry, and the little kids that are on their best behaviors. And, of course, I love anywhere that I can wear my pearls and heels. 

I highly recommend Oregon Ballet Theatre's production of "Sleeping Beauty." It runs tonight and tomorrow night as well. 

(In anticipation of the ballet, I got the song "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line stuck in my head for a week, which just describes my love for ballet so well).

Date Night in NYC

Josh was excited about our whole trip, but the thing he talked about the most, and the thing he bragged the most about to other people was taking me to a Broadway show starring my favorite actress:

My favorite story about my love for Angela Lansbury, and the story Josh kept referring to whenever he told people about why we were going to see her on Broadway, is something that took place when I was a senior in high school. My friends (affectionately known as "The Girls") and I were hanging out with what I guess might have been the male equivalent of our group. These guys were in several of our classes (a couple of them sat in front of us during AP Bio, and next to me during Calculus). One of the guys worked at Berg's Ski Shop and was the lone guy from our high school on the ski team, so we had a little bit in common. We must have had the same free period, because he invited me over to his house for some reason I can't remember now. It absolutely never occurred to me that it was because he liked me, because after a few minutes of hanging out I realized that I was missing "Murder, She Wrote," which was replayed on A&E at the time, made an excuse, and went home to watch it. A week or so later the same guy called me and asked me to prom. So now I get to tell people that I once walked out on what was apparently a date-type situation in order to watch "Murder, She Wrote." It was totally worth it, too. (Not that the guy wasn't nice and not that we didn't continue to date throughout the summer, but I was so clueless about the whole situation it wasn't until we broke up that I realized I was his girlfriend in the first place).

Anyway. . . this brings us to present day. Before going to NYC, Josh and I talked a lot about which Broadway show to see. One day, after coming home from school, Josh said, "We absolutely have to see 'A Little Night Music.'" I was a little wishy-washy about it since I absolutely hate the song "Send in the Clowns." But then he told me that Angela Lansbury was starring in it. So we had to go.

It also starred Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was magnificent.

This is a billboard in Times Square

I think that, as time went on, Josh was more excited about it than even I was (though when Angela Lansbury came over the loudspeaker before the performance to remind us to turn off our cellphones and unwrap our candies, I got a little teary-eyed). The whole experience was excellent (but you kind of expect that of a Broadway show), and Josh wants to buy the soundtrack (afterward he said he had Catherine Zeta-Jones' version of "Send in the Clowns" stuck in his head). We bought a poster and then carefully transported it back to Boston, then back to NYC (by plane) then all the way back to Portland. 

The show was at the Walter Kerr Theater (we came back later for more pictures):

One more picture:

It's nice to have a husband who indulges my eccentricities. And now I have seen Angela Lansbury in person!