New England - June 2011 Part One ~ NYC

46th Street outside Becco & a random jogger.
(It's really hard to take a photo in the city
and NOT capture someone in it.)

Jeff and I spend nearly two weeks in the North East this summer - scheduling a trip to see my sister, other family, etc. around a wedding. My mom flew into Hartford just before we did, and my sister met us all at the airport for the drive to New Haven.

First stop the next day: NYC:



Jeff, my mom, my sister Nancy and I took the train into the city to have lunch with my mom's friend from our home town of Cedar, UT, Chris Church.  Chris took us to a great Italian place called Becco on 46th. We ate a huge meal - antipasta, salad, and a fantastic pasta trio "table side service" - three all you can eat pastas served fresh from the kitchen from steaming pans.  I can't believe how much I ate - but it was incredible!

 

Theatre Lobby Doors

The Actor's Chapel

After lunch, we played tourist - stopping in some of the great little souvenir shops and "contributed to NYC's economy" with the purchase of several post cards, a gift or two, and a t-shirt. Then, we caught up with my brother in law, Rick on 49th Street at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre to see Jeff and I's first Broadway Show - the Book of Mormon.

View of the Actor's Chapel from
Eugene O'Neill Theatre's doorstep.

 While we were waiting for the lobby top open, I visited the Actor's Chapel across the street. It's a beautiful little Catholic church. (I love visiting churches - with Catholic and Episcopal being at the top of the list.) I said some prayers, lit a candle, and enjoyed looking at the icons of acting, dancing, and other saints of the arts. Good times! :)

My mom and the BOM line...

Then, on to a 3 p.m. matinee of  BOM. We were in for quite a line - most were folks going to see the show, as well as those who were waiting for the stand-by ticket lottery the theatre was holding for a few select remaining seats. My sister bought our tickets in the nick of time, a few scant days after BOM's 14 Tony nominations went public, and the already well sold show sold out.

Ushered into the beautiful historic theatre, we were in for quite a ride. BOM is one of my favorite new musicals - we laughed, clapped, cried, and sang along.  It was a great show - and I would recommend anyone go see it - with the caution to not take all of it personally. (There is some pretty "R" content/language.)

We were, of course, finished at the theatre in the midst of rush hour, so Rick suggested we find a nearby watering hole to get a drink and a snack until we could catch a later (quieter) train back to New Haven. We went to Natsumi on 50th, a Japanese bar/lounge complete with live jazz. Rick ordered us edamame and a selection of sushi. I had a incredible specialty martini - a pomtini - vodka, some sort of liqueur and pomegranate juice. It was divine!


We took our time walking back towards Grand Central to catch the train North, passing other theatres including Radio City Music Hall . We stopped at the NHL store, and Rick and Jeff further contributed to the NYC economy with some team t-shirt purchases, then on to Grand Central terminal to catch the train back to New Haven.

OCC NHL Chopper