Manhattan at Christmas

New York at Christmas is pretty special.  There are the millions of extra people that need to be maneuvered around, but if you can put up with that, seeing the city all twinkly and sparkly is just a little more special than normal.  Unfortunately, this trip was to be a quick, jam-packed one so there wasn't to be much Christmas exploring, however we did manage to tick one of my Christmas items off the bucket list.

First up was lunch at Carmines on 91st Street.  We'd been to Carmines on 44th but it seems that everyone in Midtown wanted to go there so hoofing it up town to 91st, was what we did instead. If you haven't been there already, it's about the best Italian food in the city - all served family style.  This means you get about the amount of food that it would take to feed a small army.  However, that food is so darn delicious that you pretend you are a small army and shovel it all in. 

On the menu this time was a garden of fried zucchini (so light and so good!), a barnyard of Chicken parmigiana (a personal favorite!) and a mound of pasta with marinara (yum!) And all of this was eaten while surrounded by beautiful Christmas lights and trees.  I could have killed any vampires in a 3 mile radius - so much garlic! But I was quite stuffed and quite happy by the end of the meal! 

Next up, since we had a little time before the show, we stopped off at Columbus Circle to finally see the beautiful Stars that hang in the atrium of Time Warner Center - the bucket list item I talked about earlier.  They are most definitely very Instagrammy but they're also beautiful and I've been dying to see them since I first saw them on Instagram : )  They're all glass and change colors you watch them.  They were as gorgeous as I thought they might be!

Then it was down to 52nd street to see our show.  The last show of 2016 was to be "The Fiddler on the Roof."  Now, I've been avoiding this show all year, because I saw it in high school and wasn't all that thrilled by it.  I remember it being a bit of a downer.  However, my dad really wanted to see it and it's closing on New Year's Eve, so it was now or never.  If nothing else, I'd get to see Danny Berstein play Tevye, whom everyone has been saying is fabulous.  

Of course, this means that the Understudy would most definitely be going on in Berstein's place.  But, I have to say, he was fabulous!  I read in the Playbill that this was his Broadway debut, and I definitely believe he has an amazing career in front of him, because he ruled that stage.  And the show itself, was so much better than I assumed it would be.  It's a lot funnier than I remember.  Of course, it's still a bit of a downer, but Tevye keeps it light and it really moves along.  I'm very happy I got to see it!

Just as an extra, I have to add what I hated about the show.  Something I need to vent about because it's just so astounding to me.  The family that sat in front of us.  Not only did they decide to move their seats (by standing up for an extended period of time) just when the curtain went up, play with their phones to check the time, take photos of the show while it was in process, but the mother received a call during the show that she answered.  She answered the phone during the show!!!!!  Who does that?!  It's bad enough when a phone rings, but answering it is a new low.  It was by far the rudest thing I've ever seen in a theatre! Ok, I feel better now : )

After the show, we were still pretty stuffed from lunch so we just grabbed a snack and headed back to the bus.  But not before I finally got a picture with my favorite Deli (not that I've eaten there...) in the city.  It's the most clever name for a deli ever!  

The day was the perfect, last day in the city for 2016.  But then again, any day in NYC is perfect!