New York: Adventures in the Snow, Days 5 & 6

We began our unexpected fifth day in New York with a trip to the Gap on Broadway at 86th Street to buy a few things to tide us over.  We’ve managed to get our packing under control over the years, so we didn’t have enough clothes to cover our extended stay.  Of course, I would travel with a steamer trunk if the airlines would let you and someone else would carry it, but neither of those conditions is likely to be met in the near future.

We then caught the M86 bus through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum on Fifth Avenue.  I have been to the Met countless times and I never get tired of it.  We go almost every time we are in the City.  They had a wonderful exhibit called “American Stories:  Paintings of Everyday Life 1765-1915” that I thoroughly enjoyed.  They also had an excellent photography exhibit, “The Americans” showing the work of Robert Frank.  Of course, we also got to see the Christmas Tree.  I think the tree at the Met is the best one in New York every year.

A quick stop by the Hotel Newton and a great Thai dinner at “Long Grain” next door, then off to the night’s Broadway show, “Fela, the Musical”.

I’m still trying to process this show.  Fela was an entertainer/musician and political activist in Nigeria in the 1970’s.  The show was an event, more a Happening than a traditional Broadway show.  It was multi-media and something that I don’t think can tour or be seen outside of New York in any similar way.  I think the Afro beat music, which has a similar melodic undertone/through line for all songs, kept me from enjoying the show as much as I would have liked to.  There wasn’t an arch to the score that went along with the arch of the book.  Instead, the music was too similar all the way through for me to really love it or for me to connect emotionally.  Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and learned a lot in the process, but I would not consider this, in any sense, a traditional musical which is more to my taste.  The dancing and visual effects were fabulous.  You felt you were part of a big party, which was the intent of the somewhat flawed book.   I think the visuals, the party atmosphere and the dancing hide a lot of these flaws.  As I said, it was an event, a Happening and something one can only see in New York on Broadway.

We had an early evening as we had a 7:00 am flight, so we had to be up at 4:00 to leave for La Guardia by 5:00 am.  We were not going to miss this plane!  All went smoothly.  We took the shuttle to DC National, then caught a connection on to Greensboro and finally got home at about 10:30 am.  Two days late, but still we made it home in time to get ready for Christmas.

The unexpected extra two days in New York and Manhattan in the Snow were great Holiday gifts.  We won’t be forgetting this trip any time soon and I somehow think, this is the trip that all future visits to the City will be compared to….

I’ve had my affairs with London and Paris, but there is still no city I love more than New York–especially during the Holidays!