The Top of the Rock and Great Gatsby

Last night when Gayle and I talked about what to do on Friday we decided to get tickets to do Skylift at the Top of the Rock at noon.  We got the tickets that included an escort that would make sure we skipped all lines.  

We didn't hurry this morning.  We left around 11 a.m. and walked to Breads Bakery across from Rockefeller Center.  Gayle got a spinach quiche and I got a breakfast sandwich.  It was a bustling place right next to a subway entrance/exit.  

We entered under a large mosaic that depicts knowledge over ignorance.  It is composed of over one million glass tiles in 250 different colors.  I was struck by the image of those who descend into the fiery pit because of their ignorance.

People with VIP tickets to the Top of the Rock are ushered into a private lounge.  We were brought warm towels to cleanse our hands and then a drink of our choice.  We were shown a safety video. Our tour began along the mezzanine level. We learned about John D. Rockefeller, businessman who started the Standard Oil Company and his son, John Junior who inherited his father's money and strove to change the family's reputation from shady businessmen to generous philanthropists.  It was John Jr.'s decision to build Rockefeller Center.  John Jr.'s wife, Abigail, was a patron of modern art.  She, along with two other women founded the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.  She had a big hand regarding the art that graces Rockefeller Center.

At the front entrance of 30 Rock you are welcomed by this very large mural by Spanish artist, Jose Maria Sert entitled American Progress.  It depicts the building of America over three centuries.  You can see Abraham Lincoln towards the center of the mural.

This was not the original mural on this wall.  The Rockefellers had commissioned Diego Rivera to do a piece called Man at the Crossroads.  The piece was almost complete when John Jr. and his son noticed that Lenin was prominently displayed in the crossroad between capitalism and communism.  They demanded that he paint over the figure of Lenin.  Rivera refused and so he was fired and the mural was destroyed.  Before it was destroyed Rivera took pictures and recreated the mural (along with the help of Frida Kahlo) in Mexico City and named it Man, Controller of the Universe.  But in this rendition of the piece he added John Jr. drinking in a nightclub (he didn't drink) with a woman and above his head was  dish of syphilis bacteria.

Our guide explained several other murals by Sert that grace the walls of 30 Rock. Conquest of Disease depicts people lining up to receive the smallpox vaccine.

Abolition of Bondage portrays some people still bound and others being freed of their shackles.

Abolition of War shows the elation people feel at the end of a war.

Our guide seemed delighted that we were interested in the art and not just eager to get to the top of the Rock.  She escorted us to the front of the line for the elevator ride to the 67th floor.  A video played on the ceiling of the elevator as we traveled to the top.  We walked around the observation deck gazing out towards Central Park,,,,

and then around to the south to see the Empire Building with the Statue of Liberty just a small dot in the distance.

Next we took an elevator up to the 69th floor.  Our VIP pass included a ride on the Beam.  Ninety-one years ago photographers were taken photos of the construction of the Rockefeller Center.  They took a photo of workers eating lunch on a beam high above the city.  We were strapped onto a large beam and raised up above the city for an incredible view and a thrill.

Also included with our pass was a ride on the Skylift.  

Gayle, the operator and I were the only ones on the Skylift.  When it is fully extended you are 900 feet above the ground with an incredible unobstructed view of the city.  You turn 360 degrees several times.

At that point we said good-bye to our lovely guide and headed down to the 67th floor.  We were given digital copies of all the photos that were taken of us throughout the guided tour.  We stopped in the cafe on that floor to get the champagne that also went with our VIP pass.  We sat on the couches on the observation deck, toasted the experience and giggled at all the influencers working on their "perfect" photos.

We skipped to the front of the long line at the elevator and headed back down to the concourse level.  When the elevator doors opened we found ourselves in the Top of the Rock gift store -- of course.  By then we were completely whipped.  We made our way outside, hailed a taxi and went back to the hotel to rest up for the evening.

We had reservations at Gallagher's Steakhouse for dinner.  I got the reservations several weeks ago but the latest time slot I could get that still allowed us to make our evening show was 4:45 p.m.  We assumed the restaurant would be deserted at that time.  We were wrong.  The place was packed with people eating full on meals.  I have never seen so much staff.  There were men (all the wait staff was male) hustling all around us pushing carts of dishes.  We were seated where Gayle could see everything that was happening in the kitchen.  She was enthralled.  Gayle got grilled shrimp and a beet salad.  I got filet mignon and a baked potato.  We topped it off by sharing a slice of Key Lime pie.  The food was so good and I can't remember any other food I've eaten this week....except for kouign amann, of course. (Rating 98)

We walked over to Broadway Theater to see The Great Gatsby.  

I had read a review that said if you hate glitz and glamour and believe that less is more you will hate this show.  We were excited for the over the top extravaganza we had been promised.  We settled down into our great seats.

It was outstanding.  The set was beyond description.  There were even cars driving across the stage. There were so many set changes.  They moved from scene to scene seamlessly.  The choreography....all I can say is "Wow!"  The costumes were incredible.  The actors were amazing.  When Nick Carraway sang his final song with tears running down his face I felt like crying with him.  (Rating 98)

We walked back to our hotel talking about a day filled with stellar experiences.

Shopping, Pizza and Gypsy

Gayle and I decided we didn't want to do another museum today.  After taste testing the difference between a Frenchette kouign amann and a Dominique Ansel kouign amann (Ansel won hands down), we got a taxi and headed to Chelsea Market.  It was fun to walk through the indoor shopping area but we purchased nothing but lunch.  We voted for a smashburger and ate at Creamline, which boasted burgers, shakes and waffle fries.  Gayle got a chocolate shake that was the most chocolately shake every created.  The burgers were fine (not my best smashburger).  (Rating 80)

We took our usual lovely afternoon nap and drug ourselves out of the hotel room to experience John's Pizzeria.  Gayle was most interested in seeing the stained glass ceiling.  John's Pizzeria was once the Gospel Tabernacle Church.  Unfortunately they do not back light the impressive ceiling and since we arrived when it was dark outside we were not able to be impressed just disappointed.  The pizza was underwhelming.  (Rating 65)

After dinner we walked across the street to the Majestic Theater to see Audra McDonald in "Gypsy".  As we were planning this trip, we listened to people's recommendations for what shows to see while in NYC.  "Gypsy" was high on people's recommendations because of Audra McDonald.  Neither Gayle or I had ever seen the play before so we had no expectations or comparisons to make.  We had read ahead of time that it is considered by many as the best American musical of all time.  The theater was lovely.  The seats were exceptionally comfortable compared to other theaters we have experienced this week.  We were on the main floor but we climbed stairs to get to our seats which meant that the floor was sufficiently slanted to give us great viewing pleasure.

"Gypsy" has been recreated numerous times since it first came out in 1959.  This is the first time that the part of Rose has been played by a black woman.  Critics had questioned whether that would make it feel "unbelievable" for its era of vaudeville and burlesque.  I don't think that hindered the believability of this musical one bit. McDonald is an incredible actress, even if she overacted her part and her vibrato is wider than normal.  She did a magnificent job at the end portraying an aging woman who spent her whole life pushing her children to achieve greatness so that she could be noticed.  Danny Burstein (playing Herbie) and Joy Woods (playing Louise) were excellent.  But I admit that I wasn't wowed by the musical.  It felt too dated compared to the other musicals we are experiencing on this trip.  (Rating 79)

We got a taxi driver with a bad attitude for our ride back to our hotel.  He kept saying, "Why don't you like yellow taxi cabs?"  We were confused.  We were riding in one.  We offered to get out at the corner of our block so we didn't have to ride any further with him.  He said, "I'm sorry.  We love you tourists."  Gayle gave him a 3 out of 5 rating on the Curb app.  I thought it was generous of her.

Sex and Love in the Big Apple

Each night before we fall asleep, Gayle and I look over what tickets or reservations we have for the next day.  Then we make plans for how we want to spend the rest of our tomorrow.  Last night we were talking about whether we wanted to go to another museum or head to a church to see stained glass when we happened upon the Museum of Sex.  Trip Advisor recommends it as one of the top ten things to do while in New York.  We thought, "Why not?"

Now to be clear, my sister is literally the only person I know with whom I would go to the Museum of Sex.  I definitely would not go there with my children.  I would be too embarrassed to go there with my friends.  I would not go there in a box.  I would not go there with a fox.  I would not go there with a goat.  I would not go there on a boat.  But I would go there with my sister.  I remember when Gayle and I found ourselves playing Cards Against Humanity with my adult children.  Several times we had to get my sons to explain certain words on the cards we held in our hands.  I am safe with my sister.

We took our time getting around this morning.  We took a taxi to Ol' Days Farm to Table Restaurant to enjoy a late breakfast.  Then we headed to the Dominque Ansel Workshop.  Ansel is a James Beard winner for Best Pastry Chef and the inventor of the cronut.  We saw that his store sold canele and kouign-amann.  We decided to stop back by after our tour through the Museum of Sex.

You purchase your tickets for the Museum of Sex in the lobby, which is really a sex shop with every kind of dildo, whip, bondage doll, etc.  They asked if we would like to take the elevator instead of the stairs to which we eagerly said yes.  Then we sat among the dildos for 15 minutes while they tried to find someone who would escort us.  We finally told them we would hobble up the stairs.  

One floor up was the most interesting level.  It was the most museum level of this museum.  It had this sketch by Picasso.  It depicts two lovers having sex while the Pope watches from an armchair.  Picasso made this sketch when he was 86 years old.

We saw the African American Barbie doll from 2002 in lingerie.

This is an anti-Onanism (anti-masturbation) device. 

The next level was an exhibit of queer films created by Andy Warhol.  By then a museum staff person was found to escort us to each level by elevator.  I didn't mind leaving that level of the exhibit.

The rest of the museum was several floors of what is called "Super Funland".  It begins with a short movie showing the girly shows and sex play that began with the European Carnival.  These kinds of "exhibits" continued at World Fairs and into American carnivals.  This was completely new information for me.  There were games to play on the descending levels.  There were claw crane arcade games in which you tried to win a stuffed penis or enter the jump zone where you could bounce around between breasts.  Gayle and I didn't participate in those areas.  

We skipped entering the last level of "funland".  By then Gayle and I were done.  We enjoyed the museum part of the museum but weren't really into the "funland" part.  We asked our escort to take us to the exit.  We didn't buy any sex toys.  Instead, we headed over for the pastries we had eyed earlier.  (Rating 70)

Back in our hotel room we concentrated on warming up and resting up for the evening festivities.   We each had a canele from Dominique Ansel Workshop and declared them excellent.  At dinner time we headed across the street from our hotel to an Italian restaurant called Serafina.  We shared a caprese salad and lasagna.  The lasagna was excellent, the caprese was okay and Gayle's old fashioned cocktail seemed to be missing an ingredient.  (Rating 80)

We grabbed a taxi and headed to the Hudson Theater to see "All In."  It is written by Simon Rich.  He is the youngest writer ever to be hired by SNL.  He has also written for Pixar, the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, etc., etc.  The play/musical was produced by Lorne Michael and has a rotating cast.  Our four cast members were Lin-Manuel Miranda, Aidy Bryan, Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells.  They sat in four chairs across the front of the stage and read/acted short stories about love.  In between each story the Bengsons sang covers from The Magnetic Fields.  

This is the priciest show we are seeing.  While we ate dinner we read reviews about the show.  Some people hated it and said it was stupid to watch actors/performers read from a script.  Others thought it was brilliant.  We wondered if we had wasted our money.  We hadn't.  I thought it was so well done....so comedic...so fun...and yet, very touching.  How can it be bad with a cast like we saw?  I was a bit disappointed when it was over.  (Rating 93)

Gayle used her taxi app to aid us in catching a taxi while surrounded by all the other people spilling out of Broadway shows on 44th Street.  When you suck at hailing a cab you learn that there is an app for that!

A Tour for the Barbie Deprived

Neither my sister or I ever had a Barbie.  So today we decided to visit the Museum of Art and Design, which has an exhibition showing the fashion of Barbie.  Barbie made her debut in 1959.  We wandered through two levels of the museum seeing the fashion, body types, racial make-up ,and occupations of Barbie over the years.  We saw Barbie in a wheelchair, Barbie with Down Syndrome and Ken with a prosthesis.  

We saw Jane Goodall Barbie.

We were surprised to learn that Barbie has been running for president in every election since 1992.  In 2016, Barbie released an all female ticket.

My favorite Barbies were Paleontologist Barbie

and African Goddess Barbie.

Gayle was partial to the Tina Turner Barbie

and the first astronaut on the moon Barbie (which came out four years before a male astronaut walked on the moon).

I even got to sit in Barbie's Corvette.

Next we enjoyed the craft exhibit.  I loved the "Red Wednesday" piece.

We ended with the queer jewelry exhibit (jewelry created by queer artists).  I loved this necklace made out of 360 dollar bills.

We poked around in the museum gift store but it was too expensive for our blood.  We had reservations for ROBERT, the restaurant at the top of the museum. We were seated next to the window with a view of Central Park, Columbus Circle and Trump Tower.  

We ordered branzino, burrata with figs and roasted beets and coconut panna cotta with mango chutney.  Every dish was a work of art.  (Rating 90)

We returned to our hotel for a delightful afternoon nap.  When it is 15 degrees outside an afternoon nap is a requirement.  We ate dinner at Virgil's Real BBQ.  Their website said they highly recommend making a reservation.  They oversold how crowded they are.  The barbecue was good.  I ordered 1/4 rack of ribs and it must have been a very large pig.  I couldn't begin to eat all the food they brought me.  

Then we walked across the street to the Belasco Theater to see "Maybe Happy Ending".  

It is a musical about two "retired" robots that fall in love.  Oliver  (the lead character) is played by Darren Criss, who played Blaine Anderson in "Glee" and Hedwig in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch".  There are only four members in the cast.  "Maybe Happy Ending" is originally from South Korea, where it won numerous awards.  The musical deals with the truth that opening yourself to love means realizing that at some point  you will need to deal with loss.  I live that reality every day.  

The scenic design was amazing.  I am still trying to wrap my head around how they did what they did.  I guess if you are going to do a futuristic musical about robots your set design should be technological brilliant.  The execution of the musical was smooth.  The jazz component was nice.  (Rating 92).

Catching a taxi when hundreds of people are all spilling out of the same theater is a magical feat.  We finally gave up on our skills at hailing a taxi.  Gayle used the Curb app to get a taxi.  Thank God!  Have I mentioned how cold it is here?  

Avoiding the Inauguration

I got up faster than I have been doing on this trip.  I wanted to try out the "free" continental breakfast that we are actually paying for because I needed bananas.  The "free" continental breakfast is as sparse as the "free" cafe.  I returned with two bananas and two yogurts.  

Gayle and I made a conscious decision that we didn't want to watch Trump's inauguration.  Just reading about it set my teeth on edge.  Instead, Gayle and I set off for the Banksy Museum.  Knowing it is a federal holiday and that it isn't good for Gayle to stand in line we opted to get skip the line tickets in advance.  Silly us.  There was no line and we only saw a few other people inside the building.

Now I need to be clear that calling this place a Banksy Museum is a joke.  As the New York Times writes:  "Can you call yourself a museum if every piece of art inside is a reproduction?"  Besides that Banksy himself does not condone this place.  As I bought a magnet in the gift shop on my way out I felt like the consumer Banksy criticizes.

Even knowing all of those things I am glad this place exists.  Street art is temporary art and I am in need of the challenge Banksy's art makes me see.  

Some of his work is fun and silly, like this one of an old woman who when she sneezes her false teeth fly out of her mouth.  

Some of his work speaks to our homophobia.  This one critiques Queen Victoria for saying, "women are not able to be gay."

Many of them critique violence and militarization,

and the defense of war as a way to peace,

and corporations,

and consumerism,

and politicians,

and the adverse effect our overconsumption has on the environment,

and the way our connection to our phones disconnects us from each other.

His critiques are too numerous to be able to mention them all.

One floor of the "museum" was focused on street art he has done in Kyiv since Putin attacked Ukraine.

Banksy said to think of graffiti as "underclass revenge".

We enjoyed the time we spent at the Banksy Museum, but as they did not have any wheelchairs to loan we knew it was time to leave and get somewhere that Gayle could sit down.  We Ubered to the Frenchette Bakery on Church Street because their website promised kouign-amann.  When Gayle saw that they also sold baguettes and french butter we added that to our order.  Frenchette Bakery is in the lobby of an office building in Lower Manhattan.  We sat against the wall and enjoyed a turkey sandwich topped off with a kouign-amann and a canele. The bakery items are better than Bibble and Sip and we were delighted we had made the trip to Lower Manhattan. Gayle headed back to the order window and got five more kouign-amann.  Can you ever have too many kouign-amman, really?  (Rating of 98)

I don't know if I mentioned that it is very, very cold here.  It was 19 degrees when dinner time rolled around.  We needed to get dinner but we didn't want to have to walk very far in the bitter cold.  We debated just ordering from Soup Nazi and have DoorDash deliver it to our hotel.  We finally settled on Ellen's Stardust Diner -- "home of the world famous singing waiters."  We arrived to find we had to stand in a line outside in the freezing cold to wait for a seat.  Just about the time we thought we couldn't stand in the cold any longer we were ushered in and given a seat in the corner.  I assumed that perhaps every hour one of the wait staff would sing.  Nope.  It was constant.  We heard music from Phantom of the Opera, Amy Winehouse, Ray Charles, and more.  At one point they passed a bucket so that we could all contribute towards their voice and dance lessons.  The food was meh. The place was so loud we didn't even try to have a conversation.  But it was definitely a Times Square kind of experience.  I'm glad we went and now I never need to go again.  (Rating 75)

Our next stop was the Gotham Comedy Club.  We decided that on the day of Trump's inauguration we needed to hear some comedy.  We picked Gotham because we could reserve a seat and not stand outside in the cold hoping to get in.  We were not familiar with any of the comedians:  Kevin Dombrowski, Larry Beyah, Leclerc Andre, Emma Willmann and Rich Aronovitch.  We enjoyed Dombrowski and Willmann.  Halfway through the lineup the emcee came out and said that Jim Gaffigan had dropped in to do a set.  Lucky us.  He was excellent.  He understands the importance of timing.  I have never seen him in person before. I loved his set.  We were really glad we went in the cold to enjoy comedy.  Gayle wished we had gotten a table on the front row so that the comedians would have bantered with us.  I told her she would have to go with someone else if that is what she wanted from the the evening.

I am enjoying the many hairdos of Gayle which are greatly impacted by the hat or hood she wears when we go outside.

I love having a sister that allows me to post this photos!