da da duh-da-dum (opening to New York, New York song)

This last week Whit and I went to New York City. We went on a bit of a whim and I'm so glad we did. It was a fantastic trip. We saw five shows, ate at some great joints, saw some new areas of NYC that I'd never been to, did some shopping, went to a couple of museums, laughed, walked, subwayed, shivered. Whit already wrote a good blog about the trip, so check out the Big Whoop show if you'd like, but I'll give my highlights:

Shopping: 5th Avenue, NBA store- got a Nash headband and Suns tatts, FAO Schwartz, Macy's - I got a pair of boots that were originally $90 for $20, love it.

Museums: Saw the Bodies Exhibit where you see all parts of the human body preserved and displayed, crazy, interesting, coolest part: seeing all the stages of a fetus, weirdest part: the preserved belly buttons and hairy buttholes.
Metropolitan Museum of Art - saw some different exhibits than on a previous visit there, the modern area was radical, such a vast museum - I always think of the children's book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, about kids who secretly live at the museum.

Eating: so many places to eat in this city, it blows my mind. Our favorite place was Max Brenner-Chocolate by the Bald Man - it specializes, obviously, in chocolate. We got this Thick Italian Hot Chocolate, which was truly the best treat ever. You can get it in dark, milk or white chocolate - we tried all three, I personally liked the milk - but I'm a milk kinda gal. They also had chocolate soup, a warm chocolate cake, on and on, amazing chocolate.
Crif Dogs - I'm not necessarily a huge hot dog person, but man these were good. I got one called the Tsunami which is a bacon-wrapped hot dog with pineapple chunks, terriyaki sauce and green onions, on the second visit got the Chihuahua with avacado and sour cream over a bacon-wrapped dog. Man, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
The Eatery - fancy, little pre-theatre restaurant, had their meat loaf and sweet potato, corn and pear empanadas. yum.
Various bakeries: cupcakes a plenty.

Theatre: Our commercial/musical choice was Lion King, Whit had actually seen it some years ago, but he wanted me to see it and it was fun. I actually started crying at the beginning, the African style singing and the beautifully crafted animals for some reason just punched me in the gut.
August:Osage County - Steppenwolf production, pretty good, pretty interesting, some nice performances
The Seafarer - Irish, so great, loved it.

Rock N Roll - Stoppard, dense, political, Rufus Sewell was fun - met him afterwards, super nice.
The Homecoming - Pinter, interesting, the reason we started talking about going to NYC, our friend, Jim, is an understudy in the show, he was the best - he showed us around backstage and set up an introduction to one of my favorite actors, James Frain. James brought us into his dressing room where we chated for a good 15 - 20 minutes before the show. I've never experienced having flushed cheecks for such a continuous stretch. He couldn't have been kinder, more gracious, more funny, sweet, giving, hotter than he was. He told us to see him again after the show, so we talked again for a minute afterwards and took the following picture.



We stayed in Brooklyn with our friends Amanda and Jim (aka Creighton James) - they were great to us. Their apartment is above a pizza place so while showering in the morning you could smell the pizza, I'd start my day off being hungry for a slice.
I love the fast pace of the city, it's nice to be surrounded by people who are walking my pace, brisk.
I love the subway system, it's so nice to be able to take a subway anywhere you want to go and not to worry about driving or parking, just hop on the train and go. I actually feel like I can find my way around NYC after one week better than I can around LA after almost 3 years, oh well, someday I'll learn the freeway system better.
It was a fantastic trip - Whit and I had a lot of fun together. It is nice being married to someone with the same interests as me, someone who doesn't mind going to five plays in six days, someone who will wander through China town to get to the vegan bakery I wanted to try.
I was also very inspired by the visit and seeing all that theatre, it kicked me back into a pro-active mode, I want to create, I want to act, I want to work and I can't just sit around waiting for something to happen, I've got to get out there and make it happen. Just because I work an 8-5 job right now doesn't mean I can't use my time in and out of work towards my craft. So there.
In summary, trips are fun. New York City is rad.
Thank you.