New York Part IV
We LOVE New York, but for many reasons, we are happy to be occasional visitors instead of full-time residents. Still, being able to spend a month living in the neighborhood we love most (Midtown West) was everything we had hoped for and more. Here are the top three reasons why:
1. Broadway is back, and we binged on it bigtime!
We made up for lost time and did our part to boost ticket sales and support all the talented, hard-working performing arts folk who had been unable to perform onstage for 18+ months. It felt so GOOD to be back in those theater seats. The joy in the air was palpable, both in the audience and onstage. In four weeks, we managed to see 15 live performances, including a taping of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Serena Joy (an up-and-coming jazz vocalist) at Dizzy's Club. The last show we saw was Seth Rudetsky's Broadway Breakdown, which was a wonderful coda to our month in New York. (If you are a musical theater fan and don't know about Seth Rudetsky, well, you should. Listen to his podcasts and watch his videos NOW.)
We couldn't resist seeing some favorite shows again.
Most shows didn't allow photography, but the awesome cast of Freestyle Love Supreme understood that we all wanted to capture a moment and share the love!
2. There are marvelous things to see everywhere, especially if you look up.
Our daily/nightly walks were voyages of discovery. There were interesting buildings on every block. We're not big fans of the "supertalls" (skyscrapers taller than the Empire State Building), but they are certainly attention-getting.
Maria worked in the office for the first time in 18 months. Accenture's new space at One Manhattan West (next to Hudson Yards) offered breathtaking views of the city from the 67th floor.
3. See New York, see the world.
One day when walking from our apartment to Rockefeller Center (about half a mile, or a 10-minute walk), we saw a Diwali celebration, a Dia de los Muertos festival, and a Christmas tree.
In the other direction from our apartment, in Hell's Kitchen, we could take a culinary world tour by walking just a few blocks. We were just steps away from excellent dim sum, tacos, ramen, pasta, vegan sushi, biryani, paella, and plov (a tasty Uzbek rice dish). With the festivals, the food, the museums, and the theaters, we could tour the world without leaving Midtown Manhattan.
Some of our favorites, clockwise from top left: ramen at Ippudo; vegan sushi at Beyond Sushi; Dia de los Muertos cocktail at Tortazo; guacamole trio at Vida Verde; whole branzino and lechon kawali at Purple Yam
We absolutely loved our epic month in New York, and are already talking about doing it again soon!
