21 Hours in New York City: Fabulous!

Question:  What do Tolstoy, Josh Groban, Italian food, Cheesecake, and four gallivanting ladies have in common?   Well....as the title indicates, the answer is: a fabulous trip to New York City!

And what precipitated such an adventure?  An ingenious Christmas gift:

Now I ask, "Do I have great kids, or what?"  I didn't have to plan a thing!  All I needed to do was mark my calendar and count down the days to this exciting event.  You  just can't ask for more than that, can you?

The girls all arrived on Friday so that we could head out the door bright and early Saturday morning.  Our plan worked out well, and by 10:15 am,  the car was dropped off in the parking garage, and we were heading to our hotel to check in our luggage for safe keeping before gallivanting around Times Square.   Perfect timing!  

Showtime was 2:00, so we had several hours to explore the area and that we did!  

Not far from our hotel, we spotted this entertaining sculpture.

And,  in the near distance, we came upon another....

and so..... they continued 

each one unique 

and amusing

After a little research, I learned there are actually eleven of these unique pieces of art in what is referred to as the Garment District.  They were created by a Taiwanese artist, Hung Yin, and the display is entitled "A Fancy Animal Carnival".   

And, much to our surprise, when we arrived at Macy's, their Spring Flower show continued the Carnival theme throughout the store. 

Looking at the windows, one felt as if they were under the Big Top: 

Definitely entertaining!

Don't you just love that shot of us in the "skinny" mirror?

Interestingly enough, the flower show wasn't supposed to actually begin until the following day, but there were plenty of displays set up already,  and I can't even imagine how strong the floral scents would have been with even more blooms on display! 

What a lucky surprise to have stumbled upon! 

Back outside, the sights did not disappoint. This display was randomly sitting in a small plaza right outside of Macy's. 

I'm curious: I wonder who decides what color has to leave?   Let me know if you learn the answer to that question.

We walked to Bryant Park

And spied the Empire State Building in the Distance.

Around the corner, and a few more blocks of walking, and the sight was much easier to see.

Pretty impressive, don't you think?  

By now, it was nearly time for the show, so we headed to the Imperial theater, which was quite a feat,  as the sparsely populated sidewalks from our early arrival, had changed into a dense crush of people with groups monopolizing most of the walkways.   But we managed to arrive in plenty of time to find our seats and relax a bit prior to the beginning of the performance.

The name of the Broadway Musical is "The Great Comet of 1812", and walking into the theater, one could certainly feel the aura of a 19th century Russian supper club, as was the intent.

Interspersed among the seats were these cozy lit glass tables

and the lighting certainly added to the enchantment.

The stage wove in and around the seating, and musicians were scattered in various spots throughout the theater. 

This bass player and guitarist were in the pit closet in our view, and this is where Josh Groban would spend the majority of his time sharing his talents, singing, as well as playing the piano, drums and accordion, just to mention a few. 

In case you are wondering, this musical story is actually a retelling of one small segment of Tolstoy's novel, War and Peace.  I was familiar with this piece of literature, although I will admit that it has been quite awhile since I read it. But the plot was easy to follow, and the cast began by referencing the "Family Tree" page listed in the playbill, which explained the various web of connections between Pierre and Natasha. 

The performance was quite different from anything I've seen before, being more contemporary than traditional.  All of the lines were sung, more like an opera than a musical and there were no scene changes,  as the entire production took place in and around the audience. 

The cast was huge, with countless performers singing and dancing all around us, many while playing a musical instrument such as a violin, clarinet or accordion.  I was certainly quite impressed by the talent and endurance each of one of these performers possessed.  

All of the main characters had exceptional stage presence, each with a tonal quality that was always right on the mark.   The show interspersed drama with humor throughout, making the experience light hearted at times, and the inclusion of audience participation at certain spots, added to the entertainment of this production.  And, of course, who couldn't love Josh Groban performing?  What a treat for us all!

But the day wasn't finished yet.  We headed out to an Italian restaurant where the food was so delicious, Amy said she is still dreaming about it. 

I ordered the wild mushroom fettuccine.  

And it was delicious!

Despite being filled to the brim, we all managed to find enough room to indulge in some New York Style Cheesecake which we stopped and picked up on the way back to our room.  

It took a few shots to get this photo, taken right outside our hotel, as most passers by were intent on photobombing our memory, but quick fingers managed to pull it off.  

The room was cozy, but comfortable enough, and it offered some pretty after dark views

Time Square was actually around the corner of this building, but all we managed to see were the reflections of the billboards changing every 10 seconds.  Luckily, there were heavy drapes to block the light!

I don't know about you, but I'd say that this group of four had quite a bit of entertainment squeezed into one day.  And I think that I can safely say that a great time was had by all, and that Christmas in March was one of the best days of my life.  This will no doubt we a special memory that I will always cherish. 

So, a big thank you to my daughters, Stacey and Amy, for the special treat, and to my daughter-in-law, Heather,  for adding to the specialness of the day!  I couldn't feel more lucky, that's for sure.  

By the way, where are we going next year?