I see that he was at the Standard. D and I had dinner there one night then retired to the Boom Boom Room for drinks and some jazz. The room, I assume, is named after the famous old Boom Boom Room, once a staple of the jet setters/movie stars who frequented The Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach. I have fond memories of dancing to my heart's content with a 33 year old date one night (I was all of sixteen)...in a group that included my older sister, of course. Decked out in fitted black lace dress that belonged to her and with my hair swept up in a French twist, I thought myself very sophisticated. Luckily I never once got carded in the many times we went dancing to similar venues the year we lived there.
But getting back to the 18th floor of The Standard....it has a spectacular view and here are a few photos D took with her I Phone. She's been there quite a few time and knew I would like it.
The last photo is what you see while seated ON the toilet of one of the ladies rooms in front of the floor to ceiling tinted windows. It's a very interesting feeling...to say the least....
Another fun thing we did, which Gerry has probably done, is attend a midnight show of the interactive production called "Sleep No More." It is a voyeur's delight and put on by a British Company. The story is based on Shakespeare's Macbeth. Everyone who attends wears a carnival mask so he could theoretically have gotten away with attending without a lot of notice.
See the link below and scan through the photos and the article. I adored the music played throughout the production. Like the movie The Artist, it borrowed heavily from the Vertigo score in addition to some great old 30's tunes. There are nods to other Hitchcock movies too. You will note the McKittrick Hotel is where Kim Novak's character (playing Carlotta) used to go to in the afternoons.
No one under 16 admitted to Sleep No More (some nudity) and I had to giggle when one of the actresses took off her clothes a few feet from us and some lady grabbed her husband (or boyfriend) and dragged him out of the room. I had the impression she was dragging him out by the ear. Boy did she forget to read about the show!
Dear Dr. Avatar (as I call my wizard) said he also attended Sleep No More and found it interesting. He is a darling man and if I were a gay man, I would so go for him. He has the nicest way about him and the prettiest eyes. He truly is a wizard. I came home looking refreshed and rested thanks to his light touch and caring manner.
Sleep No More is only playing through the middle of May, so if any of you live or are visiting in the area, see what you think of it. We left the Manderlay bar/cabaret at 3:10 a.m. after listening to a group with a jazz singer and then another blues act. Then we went for some good, crusty NY pizza. I was hungry again, even though we had a nice, long pre-show dinner at Indochine. We ate at the bar where the cute waiter took excellent care of us.
http://www.indochinenyc.com/
The pizza joint we went to after the show was jam packed at 3:30 in the morning. Only in NY. The city that never sleeps. I love it!
Link for Sleep No More in the NY Times.
http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/theater/reviews/sleep-no-more-is-a-macbeth-in-a-hotel-review.html
This is the reminder we got for the show.
On another day we walked through Central Park to see all the spring bulbs (as well as the New Yorkers) blooming. Afterwards we walked to Bergdorf's for some refreshments on the seventh floor. I had a light, fizzy rum and champagne cocktail and D had a Cucumber Pimm's cup concoction to accompany some crab dip and the hummus plate. We got into an interesting conversation with a securities broker. There's a view of Central Park and it was a nice break from all the walking we did.
Another fun thing we did was go to Eataly. We sat at the pasta bar and had two different pastas and salad and wine. They were both so good. One was a ravioli with a lemony pistachio sauce and the other a peppardelle with a short rib ragu. After walking through the place, we bought orange flavored cannolis and some espresso with a shot of foam and took them across the street to Madison Square Park to enjoy dessert and do some people watching.
We went back to Eataly on another night to buy some things and had wine and prosciutto with some cheeses and a very small, sweet, fried soft shell crab at the same stand up marble topped bars that Mario Battali and Nancy Silverton feature at Osteria Mozza. D and I were having dinner at I'l Buco that night, but not until ten o'clock, so that little anti-pasta would tide us over until then. We bought a bunch of stuff to take home to have the next day when D's boyfriend was coming over. We also bought three bottles of wine to do a Rose´ wine tasting in anticipation of summer.
For those of you not familiar with Eataly, see the link below. I'm sure Gerry has been there. Just be sure your eyes don't buy more than your mouth can eat. It is terribly tempting for those of us who love Italian food.
http://www.google.com/search?q=eataly+new+york&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=23arT4uuFanSiALG_YmLCg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CCMQ_AUoAQ&biw=1363&bih=578
D, her boyfriend D and I went to dinner at Raoul's on another night and after a dozen oysters, a beet salad, an artichoke and a seafood pasta course, we ordered two pepper steaks with french fries (the best). We came away thinking there were some very perverse cooks in the kitchen. Perhaps it was a slow night due to some heavy rainfall and they had time on their hands. Take a look at the steak and tell me what it looks like.
Yes, it was delicious, and D and I especially appreciated the shape. Perhaps it was a nod to the female clientele, since there is plenty of artwork of females in various states of undress on the walls to entice the male eye. Leave it to the French to make it about food and sex. No wonder we love this Soho eatery!
Another thing I enjoyed on this trip was stopping to visit the old Trinity Church graveyard in the middle of the Financial District after a somber visit to the 9-11 Memorial at ground zero. D says she sometimes goes and sits in the little graveyard to enjoy a snack after her boxing classes and when I saw it I immediately gravitated towards it.
And here are some photos from ground zero and Central Park.
So much for going to bed early tonight! Hope Gerry is getting good weather in NY and that he enjoys the city as much as I always do! He has some promising projects coming up and it will be interesting to see which ones actually get made.
I wish him luck, as always....and hope they don't make him cut his hair for any of them. I suppose that's too much to hope for. He does look fine with his lovely mane. I'm jealous of that as well.
Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate
