As I mentioned, I recently jetted off to NYC with my mom and sister for my sister's spring break, and especially to go see Les Miserables on Broadway with Ramin Karimloo. Of course, that was only the beginning of it! And I must start off by saying just how frickin' COLD it was! Cold is an understatement. It was bloody freezing. The wind was the worst part. Ugh. Spring clearly has not sprung in NYC - I've been spoilt by this Florida weather!
We stayed at YOtel on 10th Ave, just a few blocks away from Times Square. For such a last minute booking (I only booked our two nights the day before we left!), YOtel were very accommodating, and quite an experience, in a good way. The hotel is very modern, even so far as futuristic, and the elevator music made me feel like I was waiting in line for Space Mountain. But the whole vibe of the place, from the décor to the terminology (rooms are "cabins"), is really quite cool. Also, considering how close it is to Times Square and how nice the hotel itself was, it was reasonably priced for the three of us.
We arrived at 9am in tired form and hoped our room was ready for such an early check in...
It was.
Naps were immediately taken.
Soon after that, we were ready for some lunch! I looked online at a few places that we could get to quickly and easily, and that met my only personal requirement that they served some form of breakfast dish after noon. Since we were located right in the middle of the Hell's Kitchen district, finding food wasn't all that difficult. We decided on the HK Café.
It was a good choice. I had an asparagus and brie omelette that was absolutely delicious. I had never thought to use either ingredient for an omelette, but I suppose that's the beauty of them - you can put whatever you want in there! And I never say no to cheese, particularly a good brie!
Two things were certain for us post-lunch: 1) we had our tickets for Les Mis on Broadway that night, and 2) we wanted to do afternoon tea at Bergdorf Goodman. Both things led us to the conclusion that we desperately needed to spruce up, namely in the hair department. We were really lucky and just happened to walk by a place with great prices and some really great stylists - we all were very happy with our results, and they also had a make-up artist who did our make-up for the night as well. Girly win! Immediately after getting all girlified and changing into more appropriate clothing for tea and Broadway, we were on our way.
Now, I love clotted cream. LOVE it. In a typical British-style afternoon tea (as excellently done by Bergdorf), you get your finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and some petit fours or other form of sweets for dessert. I love me some dessert, especially if there's chocolate, but I would gladly pass up all the sweets just for a scone, jam, and good clotted cream. But I digress... the tea at Bergdorf was excellent. Top marks for tea outside of England. And best of all, even though the scones were a bit hard on the outside, the clotted cream was perfect! ;p
We finished with tea and had a look round the store whilst I popped downstairs to buy a new pair of tights as mine had developed runs all down the left leg - no good for a night in NYC. Unfortunately, having a fashion emergency in Bergdorf is not ideal considering a new pair of simple black tights cost me more than I'm willing to admit. But it was biting cold and to hell if I was gonna go bare-legged! Nuh uh, no way.
Jacket : Nordstrom
Top : Nordstrom
Skirt : Nordstrom
Shoes : Jessica Simpson
Tights : c/o a crying wallet
Tights : c/o a crying wallet
Then off to Les Mis on Broadway! Les Mis was good. Not the best version I've heard or seen. Not the worst. Ramin Karimloo as Valjean saved the production cast-wise from being a simply mediocre production, and making it satisfactory. Unfortunately, Ramin and the gal who played Fantine (best alto singer I've ever heard in the role, and very refreshing as such) were the only two I was truly impressed with. Eponine was god awful. My sister turned to me at interval and said "I could sing circles around this Eponine." She's completely right. She could. This one was crap. The other roles were all decent and technically correct, but not deeply inspiring. I did notice, however, that one of the actors was one I recognized from being on the US national tour of the show, before it landed on Broadway - Jason Forbach. When I shadowed the stage manager at the time, he was playing Enjolras, so I was disappointed to see him in the ensemble and not in that role anymore, but happy to see him onstage in NYC, and I told him as much at stage door.
Ramin Karimloo put his arm around me with his hand on my back, and I nearly died.
That is all.
