NYC Day 3

I woke up and started singing a Hamilton song. Since it was Hamilton day.

"Stop!!!" said Jon.

I looked at him quizzically.

"Never sing a song from a musical on the day you are going to see that musical."

I was unaware of this rule. But always trust the bigger theatre nerd.

Walking & Eating

There are subways in NYC. But they aren't always close. On average, we walked 6-8 miles per day while in NYC. My poor leg muscles reminded me all the time.

You'd expect we would have been famished from all the walking, but we were so busy many times we forgot about meals. So most days we'd eat a small breakfast and then a big lunch around 2 or 3pm. Then a snack around 10pm. The great thing is, as soon as you feel like eating, there are plenty of places close by to eat. And they are all good!

The High Line

In the morning on Day 3, the four of us took the subway to The High Line, which is an old abandoned track they converted into a garden with lots of greenery and flowers. Sarah was in heaven. Since she can't be in the sun, it being a cloudy and rainy day made it even more heavenly for her. Many times she sniffed and identified plants for us.

Checking out Mid-Town

After that, we stuck semi-close to the general Times Square area. 

Trump Towers. We didn't see The Donald. I guess he's busy.

It is all gold marble.

I literally did not go up here. This is Jon's pic. The escalators were too open to seeing too far down. I am seriously afraid of heights.

St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is huge! Mass was going on right then, so we sat for a bit.

I loved how light it was. 

Rockefeller Center!

For some reason, there was a huge blow up ballerina. 

Like a beacon, this store sent a message to me and Sarah.... awwwww!

The Lindt chocolate store. It was so beautiful! Chocolate by the pound! Which only lasted a day so Sarah went back. :)

The Lego Store! We got presents for our boys here.

We were hungry and wanted sushi, and this was super close.

Yes. 

Empire State Building outside.

Empire State Building inside.

 Grand Central Station. It was massive!

 

New York City Library! It was massive. I could have spent all day here.

 Bryant Park right outside the library. 

These trees looked all camo.

 Times Square. It's so ridiculous. The people and the billions of screens in every direction.

Afternoon Naps & Peeping

NYC is tiring, y'all. We were so glad to have a place to sleep close to Broadway.

Our Airbnb was on the 5th floor -- no elevator. So lots of stair exercise.

Also, Sarah discovered across the street in front of the Church of the Virgin Mary was a very interesting band of homeless people. There was a boisterous woman who kept slapping a little man, then they would make out, then someone would bring food by, then there was sleeping, or changing behind a screen, etc. At one point they saw us watching them, and the little guy mooned us. lol


HAMILTON

The day had come. To see the musical of all musicals! HAMILTON! We bought these tickets back in November, plus Jon had been obsessively listening to the songs since they first came out. Also, I had just woken up from a nap and was still half asleep.

But finally.

 We had great seats!!!

Eeeek! The set!

Hamilton summary:

The life story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States. How he came to the U.S., got involved in politics, met his wife, had a few bumps along the way, and how he died. Told by Aaron Burr, who shot him in a duel. Did I mention the musical is all hip hop style? Except for King George, and a ballad Hamilton and Burr sing about their kids.

I think one of the biggest takeaways from Hamilton was how each of the characters' personalities were portrayed. So distinctly and completely. Hamilton, the jumpy dreamer. Burr, patient but jealous. Washington, smart but tired. Jefferson, contriving. King George, ridiculous.

It was all music, all progressively amazing, with different styles and feelings. I couldn't take my eyes of the actors. They were amazing. They WERE their characters. They sang with such feeling, as if it was natural to have that song coming through their lips.

The fact that Hamilton did what he did, and went through all he did... the fact that the story is TRUE just makes it all the more enchanting. We loved it.

Also, there were dancers on the stage almost the whole time, which added another element of action and reaction. Jon and I agreed that Washington was a break-out character for us, and we loved his song the most.

Alexander Hamilton - Javier Munoz
Eliza Hamilton - Lexi Lawson
Aaron Burr - Brandon Victor Dixon
Angelica Schuyler - Elizabeth Judd (understudy)
George Washington - Gregory Treco (understudy)
Lafayette/Jefferson - James Monroe Inglehart
Mulligan/Madison - Jevon McFerrin (understudy)
Philip Hamilton - Anthony Lee Medina
King George - Brian d'Arcy James

www.hamiltonbroadway.com


Continue to NYC Day 4>>>