She arrived Friday night, and after catching up for a while, we slept in preparation for our big day in the Big Apple. Mandy met the "delightfully dingy" (I think those were her words!) NJ Transit on our 8am train ride, in which we clung to our lattes and planned our adventure.
After some unnecessary sprinting for a subway, we enjoyed a ride reminiscent of so many from this summer in DC. Out in Times Square, we found the TKTS discount booth "under the red steps" and joined the queue just before the booth opened at 10am. We were ready. Nibbling on oatmeal bars, we consulted the reader board and were delighted to find almost all of our choices were available! (Wait--what is TKTS, you ask? Why, it's an amaaazing place to get 50% off of Broadway tickets! Yes!) At 10:25, we bought tickets for the matinee showing of the playAugust: Osage County. SWEET.
Now that we were three steps from contracting FROSTBITE (it was 17 deg F with windchill), Starbucks was a necessity. (Half of Manhattan apparently thought so, but at least we warmed up during the wait!) The M&Ms store caught her eye next, and we ooed and aawed at the pretty colors:
Then we briskly strolled up to Rockefeller Center (somehow she missed that on her previous trip to the city), waved at the skaters, and popped into some pricey stores--you know, Aldo, Kenneth Cole, and American Girl Place. Back down to Times Square for lunch at a cute little place called Viva Panchos at Broadway and 44th. Andy joined us for dee-lish Mexican food and margaritas.
Now it was time for August!! It was in the gorgeous little Music Box Theater, and oh man--we had perfect seats right in the middle of the orchestra section. I surreptitiously took a picture of the lovely set with my phone, but let's face it--the internet has better ones:
(or it's the backdrop on this site)
We were blown away completely by the acting. It was PHENOMENAL! Estelle Parsons (Oscar winner for best supporting actress in Bonnie and Clyde) was a mean, bitter, pill-addicted matriarch of a dysfunctional family that included Tony winners and film actors (we recognized Frank Wood from the Changeling). [Well the family members were not Tony winners...they were played by Tony winners...ahem.] It was a horribly depressing look at a couple of weeks in this family's life and how it develops and/or deteriorates. However, I'd definitely recommend it based on the shocking twists, intense and witty dialogue and fabulous acting!
We bummed around 5th Ave for a while, but were toooo coooold. We got the 8pm train home, ate ravioli in my warm living room, and then introduced Amanda to a Princeton Graduate School Icon: the DBar. She got to meet some of my friends, too! Here are Meg, Luc, and Josh.
Sunday, I took'er to church and she met my Biblestudy girls. Next, we had lunch at another Princeton icon: Triumph Brewing Co, where she tasted their sampler and I had a coffee and cream stout (tastes like a latte!).
Finally, we walked around my lovely little campus. She was pleased to meet the Nassau Hall tigers, especially!
Then, she left me. We had such a lovely time, it must happen again soon! When it's a wee bit warmer...
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