New York Day Three

Mom and I quit the hotel Sunday morning at around 9:30 and walked up 5^th Ave. We stopped at my favorite British food chain, Pret a Manger, for breakfast. I had a chocolate croissant, banana, orange juice and tea. I love how all the sandwiches are made fresh everyday in store, and that they are not your classic ham and cheese sandwiches.

Mom and I ended up seeing the preparations for the Filipino Pride Parade that was going to happen on Park Ave. It was neat to see the floats drive by and Filipino people in traditional wear. It was also the Israeli Pride Parade that day, but we didn’t see any of those floats.

We walked up 5^th Ave before heading towards Times Square to meet up with friends. Mom and I walked by Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.

Times Square was insane and I cannot imagine being there around New Years. There were people selling things, people dressed up as characters, tourists taking pictures (Me being one of them).

Mom and I met up with friends and headed to lunch before our show. We went to Vinyl in Hell’s Kitchen where they were serving brunch. The interior was really cool with music videos playing behind the bar, records used for lighting, and Beyoncé mosaics in the bathroom. The menus were inside record covers and I had the Ramones.

I had the “Madame Ham,” which was a take on the French Croque Madame. Instead of a ham and cheese sandwich with béchamel and an egg on top, there was a large slice of bread below a ham and cheesy mixture with a sunny-side up egg on top.

Then it was time to go to Of Mice and Men at the Longacre Theatre on W 48^th Street. While Mom picked up the tickets, I found the stage door. As we were waiting to go in, a dog and owner came out of the stage door. We were told that the dog was the understudy for the show and that she was a big baby. Kind of cool, right?

The show itself was amazing. I have not read the book yet, but I plan to very soon. It starred James Franco, Chris O’Dowd and Leighton Meester. All three of them were magnificent and I would love to see it again. When the intermission came Mom and I were confused because we thought that only 30 minutes had passed and not 90 minutes. It seemed to go very quickly, which is better than wanting to check your watch every 20 minutes.

Right at the end of the show, I left the theatre to go to the stage door to wait for some pictures and autographs. I had a great spot right to the left of the door. First Leighton Meester came out and I got some pictures of her, but I felt bad about putting my camera right in front of her face. I also got her autograph. Next came James Franco where I also got some pictures and his autograph. It was funny to watch the wave of cameras as he moved around the rectangle. As he was signing autographs, a school bus full of teenagers came by and all these girls opened the windows and started squealing and freaking out. That will be a field trip to remember. I waited for another 30 minutes, hoping for Chris O’Dowd to come outside. When someone came out of the stage door, someone asked him where Chris was and he responded that Chris had been gone for ages. A bit of a disappointment, but I’m happy that I got James and Leighton’s autograph!

Mom and I raced back to the hotel for me to pack up and go to my aunt’s apartment because I stayed the night there. After I dropped my stuff at the apartment, the four of us went to Café Ronda on Columbus for Spanish tapas. Mom and I have been to Barcelona, so we have high expectations for Spanish food and Café Ronda did not disappoint. Instead of getting individual meals, we chose a bunch of tapas to share.

Albondigas (lamb meatballs) 

Patatas Bravas

Spinach and ricotto empanada

Tomato Bread 

Grilled Octopus 

Manchego Cheese 

Sautéed Spinach

Grilled steak with pepper sauce

After dinner, Mom headed back to the hotel and I went with my aunt and her husband to their apartment to stay the night. The next day, my aunt took me to a mysterious location for lunch for some catching up.

Thanks for reading! I’ll see you tomorrow with New York Day Four!