Well, it’s 11:06, and already we’ve had an adventure. For kicks, we decided to take a ride on the Roosevelt Island Tram which takes one from Manhattan, near the Queensboro Bridge, to Roosevelt Island. The plan was to see the Manattan skyline from both the tram as well as South Point Park, where we also planned to check out the Roosevelt Memorial contained therein.

Well, the tram ride was certainly enjoyable, affording an impressive view of the north-east skyline, though unfortunately obscured by fog and low rain clouds. Upon arriving, we hopped the bus (25c!) and rode around the north half of the island. We then took a walk to the south end, where we found this:

Yes… apparently that is South Point Park. I think the barbed wire is quite nice, but the corregated steel we encountered later was even nicer. We never did see a memorial to Roosevelt (as it turns out, there is no memorial on that site, despite it seemingly appearing on maps).

So we proceeded to walk up the east side of the island, which offered lovely views of what looked like a garbage dump in Queens, not to mention a rundown hospital, all the while occasionally encountering lovely little fire boxes, perfect for a nice picnic while enjoying this image which looks like a shot straight from the movie Conspiracy Theory:

Such a lovely place, don’t you think?

Anyway, on the bright side (for Lenore), Bloomingdales is just down the street from the tram (on the Manhattan side), which has given her time to shop, and me time to tap this out.

(Now in the Pierson Airport)

So after Bloomingdales, we decided to split up. I went off to TKTS to secure our place at… well, any show with seats available. Meanwhile, Lenore decided to head off to Old Navy. The funny thing is, I ended up second in line, after arriving at around 1:30 pm (it opens at 3:00, as you may or may not recall). On the bright side, I got to enjoy conversation with a very nice, friendly old British couple and a nice young Irish woman who was visiting with her Aunt. And I also got my choice of shows, and that meant Phantom of the Opera! Of course, this also meant I was done around 3:10, and the plan was for Lenore to meet me there at 3:30. For the record, she arrived at 4:00. Thanks Lenore. ;)

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking back to the hotel to drop off Lenore’s various purchases. Though, along the way, at my beckoning, we made a stop at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which is, without question, one of the most beautiful buildings I have had the pleasure to explore and my favorite building in Manhattan. Enormous vaults, beautiful frescos and alters to various saints, a stunning pipe organ… it dwarfs the AMNH in grandeur, and trust me, that’s saying a lot. I tried to capture a bit of it on film, but as is often the case with such buildings, you really had to be there.

Anyway, once we dropped Lenore’s gear off, we walked to our restaurant of choice, a nice little Italian place called Nocello’s, also coincidentally well-rated by Zagat (I actually found the place online). I had a fantastic Risotto with fried scallops, sun dried tomatoes, and what was, hands down, the best shrimp I have ever had (very simply grilled… I don’t know what they did to them, but they were amazing). Meanwhile, Lenore had a terrific mushroom tortellini, and we lead the whole thing off with a wonderful grilled calamari. Yes, grilled, not fried! Again, very simple, but incredibly delicious, and presented over a very nice salad. Mmmmm…

And then there was the show. I think it goes without saying that it was absolutely amazing. The stage, the costumes, the singing… all absolutely wonderful. And there we only two people who tried to take pictures!