Our first stop was Grand Central Terminal where we purchased our seven day Metrocards. On the way there, we met hubby's brother, who was spending the day with us. The kids were so excited to see their uncle.
We took the subway to Lincoln Center. As my nephew, oldest and I took a tour of Juilliard for future applicants, the rest went to Central Park.
The tour was fascinating. I thought it was hard to get into Stanford these days. That's nothing compared to Juilliard's dance and drama programs. The facilities are amazing. The musician in me (and I haven't played the clarinet in a while) was in awe of the performance spaces with amazing acoustics. Our tour guide had just graduated from the dance program. She was full of enthusiasm for the program.
We were hit by rain afterward so ducked into a little restaurant for a quick lunch. We met up with everyone on Fifth Avenue and went to MOMA aka Museum of Modern Art.
We started on the Fifth Floor. I wanted to see Van Gogh's Starry, Starry Night as well as the paintings of Cezanne and Monet. After that we worked our way down. Rose had just taken a class called Discovering Great Artists. She'd study a couple we saw and recognized others from different art curriculum we've used. But a lot of it in her words, "I don't get it." She wasn't alone in that sentiment! But we had a blast at the museum. Lots of laughter and fun!
From there we walked to an Italian restaurant in the Theater District and had dinner with my friend Dru who comments here (and who I met through blogging!). She'd picked out a great Italian Trattoria. The atmosphere was a bit like Tuscany. The kidlets asked if they could come back tomorrow. Yummy food!
We then headed to Times Square. Mackenna had missed riding the ferris wheel at Toys R Us. Rose wanted her uncle to ride, too. We said goodbye to Dru (only for now. We'll see her on Sunday again!) and looked around Times Square until it was time to head to the theater to see Mary Poppins.
The New Amsterdam Theater is gorgeous! Everywhere you look are carvings. We had seats on the mezzanine level
The show was great! We all enjoyed it. Especially Rose. She was so excited to see her first Broadway show. We got her a Supercalifragilistic shirt and matching bag. She wanted to wear her shirt right away. She sat on her edge the entire time. the look of awe on her face was priceless.
The performers, especially Mary Poppins and Bert, were incredible. The kids playing Jane and Michael Banks were really excellent, too. A wonderful evening.
We said goodbye to the kidlets' uncle at Grand Central. We finally made it back to the hotel at 11:30 pm. A long day, but a wonderful one!
