Scappy Lessons

The last time I went to England, it took me about 4 months to finish my scrapbook of the photos.  I was lazy, and uninspired and by the time I finished it, I wasn't its biggest fan, and I had already shown everyone my photos on my phone, so no one really cared about looking at the album.  After this trip I decided I would be better about scrapping the photos, and I would get it done as quickly as possible.  It's been a little over 2 weeks, and I just finished printing all of the photos, and a great deal of the journaling.  All that's left is some fun embellishing and filling a few holes.  I'm feeling so much better this time around!  But I did learn a few lessons along the way.

~ When you have a goal in mind, every Best Buy in the metropolitan area will stop selling Canon Selphy printer ink, so you'll be forced to wait on an order from Amazon.  The same will go for 6 x 8 album inserts.  Thank goodness for Scrapbook.com!  Speaking of 6 x 8 albums..

~ The rings in this size binder are either too small or I feel the need to print way too many photos.  That album is bursting at the seems...here's hoping the rings, while too tiny, are strong.

~ A SAG/AFTRA Backstage Broadway interview with Andrew Rannells is the perfect accompaniment for the "watching paint dry" activity level of printing photos.  I almost didn't realize I wasted hours of my life watching a printer spit out photos...

~ Not all photos look great printed.  I'm convinced iPhones trick your eye somehow by making you think you have an award-winning photo on your phone, but when it's printed, it looks like you took it underwater.

~ You will always lose the scissors, stickers, tape roll, or glue amongst your work area, and will then find it 20 minutes later, after you've opened a new one or grabbed another pair.

~ And lastly, getting the scrapbook done early, helps you remember all the lovely stories that happened on vacation which totally helps with the journaling.  Not everyone will read it, but at least it will make you happy!

Home Again

After 2 lovely weeks spent in England, I'm back home again.  It was a positively wonderful trip full of brand new experiences.  Some of these fun things were planned and some were decidedly not planned, but that's the best part of travel - happening into wonderful places, and doing something brand new.  

On this trip, for example, I drove in England for the first time.  That was actually not the best thing ever.  I have no idea how people drive so quickly through those scary tiny streets in the countryside.  I've probably shaved a few years off of my life just fretting about blind curves and possible cow crossings.  However, I did it and we survived so at least there's that.

There were other most wonderful things that happened that had nothing to do with me being behind a steering wheel (on the opposite side of the car than I usually am...), for instance:

I ate my weight in food during a Borough Market Food Tour.

I finally saw Platform 9 3/4 however, the line was much too long to get the super cool photo.

I rocked out with 98,000 other people who loved Adele at Wembley Stadium.

I saw one lonely little Puffin, who was most assuredly Neil coming to visit me.

I climbed to the top of 2 different castles in flip flops.

And I sat where David Tennant sat in Broadchurch.

And these were just my favorites.  The other days were also filled with amazing trips, foods, and experiences, all of which I'll be sharing in the coming weeks - whether you care or not : )

Travel Things you Learn

I'm leaving for a lovely vacation tomorrow and in the planning of this vacation, I've learned a few things that I never learned planning other vacations.  I'm going to share them with you so that you don't have to stress like I have.

~ Bad things happen all over the world, every day. There's death, and war and awfulness.  But, you will notice an overabundance of bad things happening where you're headed in the weeks leading up to your trip.  It probably has something to do with you noticing it more because you're headed there.  Or the gods having it out for you.  Either way, try not to freak out.  The bad things, while awful, mean that security will be heightened and you just may be safer.

~ Packing is indeed the worst activity ever.  It's up there in front of watching paint dry and watching grass grow.  You spend weeks figuring out what to take, and then pulling out all of those things, because you don't think they're quite right.  And then you stare at the remnants of your closet in hopes of some inspiration.  Then finally, you've had enough so you just throw a bunch of things in the bag and hope for the best.  Also, you hope that it will in fact zip when the time comes.

~ The weather will become the exact opposite of what it has been the second you can see the 5 day forecast.  For the past few weeks it's been 80 degrees and sunny, the 5 day forecast for next week says 62 and rainy.  And you were curious as to why packing was so difficult this time around.

~ Eventually after all the stress of getting ready, and possible bad things happening, you will be super excited to travel, and you may not be able to sleep because of it.  But that's ok, that's what the airplane is for - sleeping away so it goes quickly.  Because the faster you fall asleep, the faster the flight goes, which means the faster you'll be there! 

Epic Fail

For the last 3 weeks or so, I've been slowly trying to put things together for my trip.  A shirt here, a book there.  The suitcase has been sitting open next to my dresser to allow easy access for things I may think of.  It sounded like a logical and organized plan.

Until I decided to take stock of what I've packed.  It turns out what I've packed is my entire wardrobe. 

Why is packing so darn hard?  Every time I leave the country, I think, "the next time, I'm not going to over pack.  the next time, I'm going to be better." And each next time is always as horrendous as the last.  I know what it's like to carry a ridiculously sized suitcase around.  I know getting a 25 inch suitcase on and off the Tube is the worst possible thing ever.  And yet, here we are again, with everything I own shoved into a rolling wardrobe I call a suitcase. 

The main problem is the sheer number of times we're going to the theater.  I can't wear what I've schlepped all over the city in, so I need additional classy clothing, which requires sweaters - in case I get cold, sandals - to replace the flip flops I live in for the other 22 hours of the day, and small bags - because my travel purse isn't lovely enough to match my dresses. It's a whole thing that I think would be easier if I wasn't so weird.

One of these days I'll learn.  Until then, I'll work on my muscles hauling my closet around with me...

Booking It

I have this weird tendency to not listen to any music in my car.  My friends think it's beyond odd, but I argue my car time is my time.  Instead of focusing on music, I give myself a chance to think about all sorts of things - projects I want to do, books I want to read, problems I need to worry about. Hey, I didn't say it was always productive...

Anyway, during one of my car sessions the other day, I started thinking of making books and journals.  I made a few super simple ones a few months ago that I love, and I wanted to expand on them a bit.  So for some reason, I started thinking of those rinky dink brag books you get at the dollar store, and I thought that could make a super cute little journal. Then I went a step farther and thought that you could almost turn one of those into a travel journal if you included page protectors inside.  The page protectors could hold photos, or scraps of receipts or post cards that you may want to keep from your travels.  Super handy - if I do say so myself!

So after multiple car rides devoted to this topic this week, that's what I did this evening. And I sort of love the end product.  Getting there - not so much.  I first cut all the insides out because they're cheap and ugly - though that's easier said then done, because they definitely didn't cut cleanly.  I then took page protectors from a 6x8 album (2 4x6's) and folded them in half to place between each paper page. After that, I took my trusty Crop-o-dile and cut 2 holes in each section then threaded twine through them.  Herein lies the issue.  First I can't eyeball where a hole should be to save my life, so there may or may not be some extra holes in my super cute travel album.  Second, twine doesn't like to go through holes in plastic page protectors - like at all.  So that required just a wee bit of finagling.

Once the hard part was done, I cute some pretty paper and a sticker for the front.  Then popped out the ugly cover and popped in the pretty one, and I was all done.  Like I said, I do love the final product.  Because of the issue with the twine, I couldn't wrap the spine through the holes a few more times like I had hoped, so I'm not sure how sturdy it will be.  Also, I don't really journal while I travel, so I'm not sure I'll actually use it.  But that's beside the point.  In the end I have something cute, and that's what matters!

December Daily Prep

In an attempt to celebrate the little things in life, I've decided to do December Daily again this year.  Last year, it went much better than I had hoped.  I'm not entirely happy with how the album turned out, but I kept up with it all through the month, so that's progress for me. And since there's always fun things happening around Christmas, it was pretty easy to find things to scrap about.

This year, I have a new motto for creating the album - Simplicity.  I've learned I like the simple look as opposed to all the crazy scrap-happiness that some people prefer.  Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous but way too difficult for me. My new guru in the simple scrapping movement is In a Creative Bubble.  She makes amazing pocket scrapping cards, and I'm in love with her style.  And it just so happens she designs whole packs for Christmas each year. Let's just say I spent a lot in her shop this year. (The page above is just one of the many I bought!)

Also, in my rush to be organized and just a teensy bit OCD, I've made a list of all the things that I have to scrap in the month of December with corresponding dates for each item.  Yep, I'm that girl.  But the more I think about it, the more I realize I'm sort of losing the fun and the whole point.  The point to celebrate the days in December is to focus on the beauty of the season, and not to make it a chore.  I want to experience Christmas for what it is instead of what it should be.  So the list is getting tossed, and I'm leaving it up to chance. I'll still have all the other lists that I need to keep my sanity in the month of December - cards to make, presents to make, presents to buy, things to decorate, etc. but I'll be documenting all of those things as I go, and hopefully getting just a bit surprised by the awesomeness of the season!

How to Travel: Going with the Flow

My friend and I were discussing travel the other day and how we both do it.  And as it turns out, we both do it very, very differently - as is pretty much the case with us in every situation. We approached every situation - money, planning, booking, budgeting, etc. - differently. So I thought it might be fun to share what I do when I travel.  This particular post is about going with the flow - obviously based on the title : )

I'm fairly methodical when it comes to planning travel.  I do loads of research beforehand, and map out where and when I want to go.  There are spreadsheets and handy-dandy reference sheets involved.There are usually lists of things I want to see, and longer lists of restaurants I want to try.  Let's just say I like to be prepared.

The worst thing I can think of is wasting my time wandering a city blindly, because I have NO idea where anything is or what I even want to see there. However, that doesn't mean I'm one of those crazy travelers that books everything down to the nearest second either.  Those people are evil and should really loosen up a bit.

My plans are guidelines just to keep me on track.  But if I forego the plans in exchange for something even cooler, then that's great too.  If, for instance, I make a wrong turn and find a gorgeous street full of shop or maybe if I've read about a Stevie Ray Vaughn statue existing somewhere in the city, and I just happen upon it whilst checking out the lake.  All of these instances are allowed in the Kristen Travel Plan.  

The absolute best part of travel is discovering new and marvelous things.  When you plan down to the minute, you focus too much on things you've already seen in your research and forget about the hidden gems.  Those are my favorite things to find.  And because I have some serious travel directionality (the ability to not get lost while in another state or even country, while still being able to get lost 1 mile from my home), I've been very lucky to discover some awesome gems, which just makes me crave trips and travel that much more!

Frederick Fun Day

A wee bit north of Baltimore, lies the town of Frederick Maryland.  It's a small little town that has a cute little Main street with shops, restaurants and as I learned today, a really pretty little river walk.  For you foodies out there, Frederick is where Bryan Voltaggio has his restaurant, VOLT (a restaurant that I've eaten in and loved, but a restaurant that wasn't eaten in today)  As it turns out, Mondays are pretty quiet for small town America - in that, most cute shops are closed, which is unfortunate.

However, the town itself has some really great sites if you're a fan of the picture taking and wandering. And as it turns out, a chilly October morning, can quickly turn warm and beautiful and become the perfect day to wander and breathe fresh air with some lovely company.  Also, Frederick is home to the Curious Iguana - a proper bookshop that reminded me of England.  Score!

I feel I'd be a much happier person if every Monday could be spent exploring rather than working.  Where's that cause to vote for in this year's election?  Let's get on that, people! : )

A Note on the pictures: If you are of the iPhone picture taking persuasion, I can't recommend Pic Tap Go enough.  This super cheap app makes every photo looks about 150% more fabulous.  All of these photos were edited using that app.  Also, it would seem that I've gotten so used to scrapbooking that I now take every photo I shoot vertically.  Not a single gorgeous landscape picture to be had #PhotoFail...

The Time I Got Bitten by a Bug

In 2005 I was given the chance to travel to the UK.  It was a random happenstance that will probably never happen again - though I'm constantly hoping it will.  I was teaching at the time, and one of the families I was close with traveled a great deal.  They were headed off to London right after Christmas, and wanted someone to go with them to watch the kids a night or 2 so they could have some alone time in the city.  Since the kids were lovely and the family was lovely, I was totally cool with that arrangement.

Seeing as the family would pay for my plane ticket, as well as my hotel, the trip was virtually a no brainer.  That is why I found myself flying to London - completely on my own (they had left before Christmas and I was due to meet them there a few days later.) I've never felt so brave or bold.  There's not much I remember about the flight - 8 hours in a plane next to a snorer so I probably blocked most of it out.  I do remember I read "700 Sundays" by Billy Crystal and proceeded to cry silently over that for at least an hour.  Fun times.

As I'm writing this I'm just realizing I don't even remember anything about Customs or baggage claim (even then I hadn't mastered the ability to only pack using a carry on.)  As someone who's landed at Heathrow twice since, I can't believe I ever found my way out of there onto the Tube and then into a cab.  I get lost in my hometown all the time, and this was a foreign country in a HUGE city.  How am I not still wandering around Heathrow? Blocking all of that out, the very first thing I do remember is the ride in the cab to the flat in Notting Hill.  I managed to call a cab and find the flat all by my lonesome - yet another feat of bravery on my part, even if I do say so myself.

I was amazed at the row of houses on Edgware Road.  This was like no apartment I've ever seen.  When Americans think of apartments, they picture tall buildings not beautiful brownstones.  And yet here I was, on the second floor of a walk-up entering a cute flat where I'd be staying for the next 4 days.  It was Christmas-time.  It was snowing. I was in London. And it was GORGEOUS!

The family never did ask me to watch the kids, even though I offered many times.  We all went out together to see Tower Bridge, the London Eye and do some other sight-seeing. They even gave me time to myself one day.  That's when I discovered wandering around.  I hadn't a clue where I was and I could most definitely not read a map.  So I wandered.  I walked around Carnaby Street and through Picadilly.  I found Fortnum & Mason and bought massive amounts of tea. I walked the Portobello Road market - imagining bumping into Hugh Grant a la Notting Hill the entire time.  I even went into a pub - The Blue Post - and had Bangers and Mash.  It was quite perfect and utterly wonderful.

After 4 days, I left and flew home, alone again as they were headed to see family in another state.  I don't remember anything at all about that flight either.  Though, I'm assuming I slept since that's what I do in any moving vehicle that I'm not driving. It was a quick trip, but it sealed the deal for me.  I would have the travel bug for good now.  And I was bitten by the specific European travel bug - the one that says, why stay in the states when you could visit somewhere more exotic? (I suppose exotic isn't the first word you think of when you think of the UK, but you get the picture.)  

That one small adventure taught me how to travel and how I like to travel - food, shopping, wandering, no set in stone plans, as often as I can- and I'll always be eternally grateful.  

Bhutan Love

A few years ago, I watched a story on 60 Minutes (or one of those other news shows) about Bhutan.  In this story Michael J. Fox traveled there to learn about the concept of Gross National Happiness.  You see, in the Bhutan, instead of measuring the Gross National Product like every other country in the world, they measure their happiness.  He was interested in seeing what made this tiny little country the "happiest place in the world." While there he noted, among other things I'm sure, that his Parkinson's Symptoms became almost non-existent.

Now whether that was due to the altitude or to the happiness around him or something else entirely, he never really discovered.  But ever since then, I've been intrigued by Bhutan, a country I'd never heard of until that day, watching that story.  It's a bit of a trek and I'm really not an adventure traveler, so I've obviously never been.  However, it's always been in the back of mind that maybe one day I'd go.  

That's pretty much the entire reason I picked up the book "Radio Shangri-La," which is all about a woman in her 40s that's looking for something more in her life, so she jumps at a chance to volunteer at the first radio station in Bhutan.  I'm about half way through and I'm even more in love with the idea of travelling to Bhutan than I ever have been.  The gross national happiness thing seems very true.  While they struggle and have hardships like anyone, they seem to be quite happy with their lives as they are.  I'm sure their Buddhist beliefs - which are also quite intriguing on their own - also help them weather the storms.  

The book was written about 7 years ago, and at the time things were starting to look up for the Bhutanese.  There was a period of development and change.  TV and Radio had just entered the kingdom, and buildings were going up all over the major city.  While great for the people who live there, I'm sure that growth will change how the country is viewed and run.  Hopefully it will continue to stay happy and set in some of the ways that makes it so charming in the first place.  But with all that happiness and harmony, I'm sure the residents will work hard to keep most things as they always have been. One can only hope because I'm sure I have a few more years before I get there, and I'd really like to see all the intriguing things that Michael J. Fox saw during his visit that made me fall in love with the tiny Asian kingdom in the first place.

May NYC Trip

Here's the thing about New York.  There's always something new to discover - whether it's a restaurant, a show, or just an area of town you've never been before.  That's what I love about it.  I like going to some of my regular haunts, but the increasing number of trips I've gotten to take this year has allowed me to wander and discover even more haunts to add to the list of regulars. On this trip, we discovered 3 fab restaurants, 2 awesome shows, 2 new beautiful theatres, and one street market.  And it was lovely!

Since we were spending the night, we - ok, I - decided we were going to see 2 shows, because honestly, it's what I do.  First up was Fully Committed and next was The Robber Bridegroom.  Each were so amazing they require a separate post, but know this - the theatre is an excellent way to spend an afternoon and evening in NYC! Before the shows though, we walked up to 5th Avenue and discovered the Henri Bendel store which made someone in our party very happy : )  Then we grabbed lunch at a little place we just discovered while wandering - Pazza Notte. It was a beautiful day so we were able to snag a table right near the wide open windows.  Al Fresco dining - another thing to love about NY.

From lunch, we headed to the first show and then to dinner afterwards.  There are a grand total of about 6 places we always go to for dinner.  This time around, we went with new and tried Patsy's which is an Italian restaurant that was a favorite of Frank Sinatra's.  And it didn't disappoint.  The salad and pastas were delicious!  And the chocolate mousse cake was to die for!  Then it was onto the second show, which was followed by a drink - hot tea - in the rotating bar at the top of the Marriott Marquis.  As long as you don't focus on the fact you're rotating you're good.  Once you focus on it, you - well, mostly I - get just a bit tipsy.

On Sunday, we discovered the BEST place ever for breakfast.  Sullivan Street Bakery has 2 locations - Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea.  We decided to take a death-defying cab ride and try the Chelsea location.  We were somehow lucky enough to snag one of the 5 tables they had. And then we devoured the best egg sandwiches I've ever had.  The eggs were "soft-cooked scrambled" whatever the heck that means, with prosciutto, basil and sun-dried tomatoes on some homemade bread.  I'm still dreaming about them!  For dessert, because you totally need dessert with breakfast, we had chocolate and vanilla Bomboloni's, which are Italian donuts. Heaven on a plate.  I'm already planning my next trip there.

From there it was a chilly walk to Chelsea Market, then a cab ride to Hell's Kitchen for a street fair, where I was lucky enough to have some more dessert: a Greek pastry made of honey, filo and custard. Divine!  Then it was a last stop to the Drama Bookshop and then home - to count down the days to the next trip.  Some trips are better than others, and this one was by far one of the best!

Travel 101: Part 1

I've been thinking a lot about travel lately - and honestly, that's nothing new.  But I've also been thinking about how I travel and how I plan to travel.  I'm assuming everyone has their own way of going about it and deciding what they'll see.  And I'm definitely no different. 

But I'm just now starting some big trip planning for 2017 and I thought it might be at least a little bit interesting to hear how I go about planning my own trips.  I've been told I'm a little too organized when it comes to itineraries and planning, but I like to see everything when I travel, and it's the best way I know how to do that. So here's my own personal Step 1 in the travel journey.  And I'm sure you're excited to hear that there will be more steps over the coming months : )

Of course, Pre-Step 1 is deciding where to go.  This is the most important  and necessary step I suppose.  In this case, I'm thinking Italy.  I've never been there, and I LOVE Italian food. It's a win-win.  However, I know next to nothing about Italy. So the very best place I know to fix that is not the Google, but the Pinterest. In the old days, I probably would have hit travel guides, but now that Pinterest exists, it makes my life so much easier. 

After initially searching on Italy travel, I learned a few things.  Lots of people have been to Italy and have written loads about their travels.  And most importantly, I never realized just how many amazing destinations there are within Italy, and how very, very little I know about any of them.  Usually I have a vague idea of what I want to see.  When it comes to travel planning, I highly suggest that.  Because after that first search, I was ready to scrap Italy and just go back to England where I knew what I liked and where I loved. 

But I pushed on.  Any articles that included places that looked interesting, I pinned.  I wasn't looking for set destinations per se, I was just looking for ideas. And in this searching for ideas I found I really liked the idea of seeing Venice (I learned most people visit during the day there, so it's kind of cool and eerie to find a hotel and do the overnight thing.) I liked Verona for no other reason than the Shakespeare connection.  I also learned that while everyone says you have to see Rome, it wasn't catching my eye like other places were.  I learned I pin a lot of food related travel items which should really come as no surprise. And so far, that's pretty much it.  I'm definitely not "there" yet. But we're getting there.

That's basically my pinning stage in a nutshell.  Pinterest helps me because I'm visual and just getting to see the photos of these beautiful places really sparks my interest in the country and gets me excited to go there.  I'll most likely stay in this stage for another few months.  By that time, I will have a general idea of the places I want to see.  Then we'll move on to the next stage - paring down the list.  Not nearly as fun, but definitely necessary if you value not racing around a country with heavy luggage for a week.

24 Hours in the City that Never Sleeps

A few months ago, I was messing around online and noticed that the cast of Something Rotten would be appearing at 54 Below on April 25, and there was exactly one ticket left.  It was fate really.  So I purchased the ticket and booked the bus and hotel for my very first solo adventure to New York.  I didn't have a problem with the idea of traveling alone.  It's just that I'd never had the opportunity to actually do it.  Now was my chance.  While most of my friends and family thought the idea was a bit nutty, I wasn't worried at all.  I've never been nervous or afraid in New York - DC yes, Baltimore yes, but never New York.

So, you ask,  what did I learn in my little adventure? I learned that traveling in NYC alone, is basically awesome.  Ok, I say awesome.  When you hear exactly what I did, you may think I have a slightly skewed definition of the term, but hey, I had fun. That's all that counts.  It was great to be back in the city again, as it always is and it was even better to be there in the gorgeous weather.  It's been winter for so long, I'd forgotten what New York looked like in the sun and warmth. And thank goodness for the lovely weather, because most of my plans involved wandering which is not nearly as fun when it's cold and rainy.

For transportation - because no one in their right mind actually drives into the city if they don't have to - I took the MegaBus, which is not usually my favorite form of travel, but it's cheap and easy.  And this time around, it was completely fine. Unfortunately though, MegaBus drops you off at 27th street, a bit outside of Midtown (17 blocks to be precise). And while I would normally cab it, I was feeling very "I am woman, hear me roar" so I walked to my hotel - The Row.  This was my first time staying there and I will gladly recommend it to everyone.  It was really affordable and had a cool vibe.  At this point, it was past lunchtime, so I decided I needed to eat (and when don't I decide that, really?)  

My original plan was to walk down to the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle because it was supposed to be raining and I wanted to have something inside to do that I hadn't done before. It wasn't in fact raining, but I just went along with it, because it was on the list and lists are meant to be followed.  Time Warner Center is sort of a high end mall, so if you like that sort of thing, you'll like this place.  But I'm not rolling in the dough, so I just chose to grab a quick sandwich at Bouchon Bakery and move along.  At this point, I had about 2.5 hours until I needed to be back to the hotel.  Something you may not know about me: when I plan a trip, I always estimate things are going to take WAY longer than they actually do.  So I always wind up with WAY too much time on my hands. 

Since I had nothing else planned for my first day, I chose to raid the plans for the next day, which were Lincoln Center and Levain Bakery - home of the best cookies in Manhattan. So I meandered my way up Broadway and happened upon Lincoln Center.  In my head I knew the complex was large but I don't think I realized it was that large.  It's a huge area filled with gorgeous buildings and sculptures.  And on a Monday afternoon, not a lot of people so there were great picture taking opportunities to be had. From there I continued upward and found the bakery of my dreams - along with 25 hipsters waiting in line for the cookies they had dreamed of as well. For once my ridiculous over-estimations worked in my favor and I had plenty of time to wait with them.  

I'm not sure the cookies were life-changing like the articles I had read said they were, but they were pretty darn delicious.  I could only eat half of my Double Chocolate Chip, so I saved it for a midnight snack.  (Helpful hint: One can only assume the cookies are full of all sorts of sugar that makes them delicious.  Therefore, they may not be the perfect midnight snack unless you want to toss and turn for the next 3 hours like I did...Now you get why my post title is clever, right?)  After Levain, I should have walked the 30 blocks back to my hotel to get rid of some of the calories I had just ingested but instead I wanted to try the subway to prove that I could do it and not get lost.  So I hopped the downtown train on 72nd street and after only 2 missteps - Don't text and walk down stairs, you may end up almost breaking your ankle and the 1 train may work, but hopping off to catch the 2 train just in the knick of time is a better idea - I managed to get back to 42nd street and then to my hotel quite easily. 

In the madness of the day, I realized some things can only happen in New York which is why I happen to love it so much.  At Lincoln Center, I missed by a matter of minutes (I saw the news van setting up) a press conference with a famous opera singer.  On 44th Street I walked through a hoard of screaming tweens who were super excited about someone (still not sure who it was) walking into the MTV studio and then walked by Sardi's wherein a movie was filming.  How often has any of that happened to you in your own city?  Never in mine!

And that's just the first day.  I still had a lovely evening and a great tomorrow ahead of me which you'll hear about soon, if you can handle any more of my gushing.