While everyone back at Calgary Opera is getting ready for a staff meeting, here I am in NYC having breakfast at one of the many local diners close to the hotel - Scotty's. Open 24 hours. Cheap and good food.
Today is Coney Island day so we'll be crossing the bridge ... on purpose this time. It's practically deserted and although I think it would have been a blast to be here on a super crowded day to see everything in action, I really don't mind wandering down the pier and only running into a few people, most of them fishing, with a few of them catching little stuff. It's pretty windy and a bit overcast - the perfect walking along the beach day. Lots of giant sized gulls, obviously well fed. This is so different than the California beaches - this beach definitely has a "season" and the season is over for this year. It's also very much a working beach - not a resort beach - serving the local communities. There probably aren't many tourists who come to NYC for the beach - if you want a beach vacation you'd most likely be going somewhere else. That's part of the charm of this place as well. The Cyclone roller coaster is shut down but looks cool. Em - you would like it! I get some good pics - one of a gull on a fake palm tree, one of the Nathan's hot dog eating contest countdown board, etc.
We take the F line back to the last Brooklyn stop and decide to check out the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. This is where Bruce nearly gets killed as he doesn't notice the van coming at him about 100 miles an hour as he steps out onto a street. Thank goodness I have a pretty good set of lungs and manage to get his attention just in time. That was exciting in the worst possible way!
We walk through DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) district, through a park between the two bridges (Manhattan and Brooklyn) and eventually reach our destination. And right beside the Ice Cream factory, which looks more like a little white house, we also see the restaurant Rose had recommended - The River Cafe - CUTE! Not sure if we'll make it back over here to try breakfast but it's good to know where it is. We go for ice cream - yum - and highly recommend this place to anyone coming down here. The view of the Manhattan skyline is great and the ice cream delicious.
Next stop is back in Manhattan, at Century 21. Yes, Brenda - we are going shopping! I realize, once inside this massive store, that I don't really know how to go shopping. Bruce looks for some shirts and pants but doesn't make any purchases. I walk through the ladies section, at least a small part of it, but I don't know where to start because there's nothing I'm really looking for (and that's the only way I know how to shop - search and destroy kind of mission) so we don't last too too long. Then we discover the separate entrance for shoes. I DO know how to shop for shoes and we end up spending about half an hour in the shoe part and walk out with 4 pairs. That was fun!
We don't really have time to get back to the hotel before our show tonight so we just take a coffee break and then head out to see Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theatre. Bruce has wanted to see this show since it opened. It is amazing. If the lead singer can't pull off Frankie Valli (sp?) then the show is pretty hooped but in this case all of the leads are fantastic. They nail the songs, the structure of the show is solid - some story telling, lots of the hits, some schmaltz, lots of show biz - it's great. So clean and slick. You'd never know it's been running for years - feels fresh and full of energy. We enjoyed every minute and we're so happy to have seen it.
After the show we're a bit hungry so we walk over to the Carnegie Deli - Jay had written it up in our book. I should have noticed the smirk on the waiter's face when I ordered the club sandwich. Perhaps the note "Sharing $3" written in the menu should have been a tip-off. But for whatever reason, I'm thinking it is a normal thing to order a club sandwich. And then it arrives. And this freaking sandwich is literally as big as my head. No, really. I take a picture of it. Everyone around us is looking at me. Smirking. Ha ha. Joke's on me. I sort of eat part of half of it and take the turkey and the lettuce from the other half but, unfortunately, it's pretty much a waste. This sandwich would have fed three or four of the homeless people we passed on the way over here! I'm not sure how I feel about this. The waiter only gets a small tip.
Another great NYC day. I'm full of beach, ice cream, new shoes, Four Seasons music, and way too much turkey, tomato and lettuce! G'night.
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