This was Saturday the 12th. We started out the day with Dough at City Kitchen. City Kitchen is a collection of different food vendors brought together in one space. Dough makes donuts. Large, very delicious donuts.
I had the salad-plate-sized mocha almond crunch
Todd's dulce de leche with toasted almonds
We sat at stools facing the window and watched as a film crew set up on the roof of a double-decker tour bus across the street
After our late breakfast we made our way over to HBO on 6th Avenue and popped into the HBO Shop for a look around. Cool stuff, but we didn't buy anything. We then crossed the street to Bryant Park and spent a few very pleasant hours browsing all the shops of the Winter Village. The weather was cooler on this day, so it was a perfect environment for an outdoor holiday market.
Todd picked up a great handmade scarf from 100% Cool Efi Designs (you'll see him wearing it in later pictures) and leather wallet from Jon Wye, and I bought an excellent little work of art by Ilia Pasymansky at EWBA.
Very happy with my purchase
After all that perusing it was time to eat and there were so many amazing choices...but we decided on a couple of hot ciders from Breezy Hill Orchard and grilled cheese sandwiches from MeltKraft.
So fresh and good. I had the Somerset grilled cheese: Somerset gruyere, cured ham, cornichon pickles, whole grain mustard. Served with potato chips.
We found a table by the ice rink and ate while watching the skaters make their rounds. Everyone appeared to be having a good time, and so were we.
Zamboni-ing the ice rink
Now filled with skaters
Once we cleared away our trash and made a pit stop in the the bathroom we planned on walking over to Grand Central Terminal, but as we were crossing 5th Avenue we saw that day's anti-Trump protest march heading up 5th toward Trump tower. So we joined the march instead.
Here we go. I don't try to go too heavy or deep in this blog; that's not usually what I want to write about. But I'm an adult and I have opinions, some of them very strong, and I think this is important so I'll say it and get it out of the way:
Say what you want about Hillary (although please research your facts other than simply repeating propaganda released during a lengthy and coordinated smear-campaign), Trump is not qualified or prepared to lead this country. He should never have been elected, and I'm sad for our country that so many people apparently believe that someone so vile and duplicitous, with a reality show mentality, should rise to that office. While I'm comforted by the fact that at least by popular vote, he lost the election by more than 2 million votes and growing (as of this writing), the damage is done and can already be seen in the increase in number and boldness of hate crimes and hate speech. And he hasn't even taken office yet - I'm afraid there's much worse to come.
I'll leave this subject with this thought, as I've heard and seen several people of the opinion that Democrats or Clinton supporters are just mad that their candidate lost: Millions of people are disappointed every election because their candidate lost. That comes with the territory - someone has to win and someone has to lose; it's the democratic process. However it's normal for people to accept the results and move on because while you may not agree with the candidates platform, that person is usually someone who is still qualified for the job. That is not the case with this election as evidenced by the tens of thousands of people across the US and the world who have protested and/or are still protesting Trump's election. These people are not "spoiled crybabys" (to quote Rudy Giuliani) protesting that the Republican candidate won, they're protesting that Donald Trump won. There's a huge difference. It's specifically the election of Donald Trump that has many Americans afraid for their safety, their finances, their futures, their country's future.
Ok, I'm done for now. Back to posting protest pictures.
Joining the march up 5th Avenue
As we walk more people join in
Several people carry signs
Turning around to look down 5th Avenue
Versace, Cartier, and chants of "We! Reject! The President-Elect!"
Many of the high-end shops along 5th had their doors closed and barred, and the employees could be seen watching the marchers from the upper windows.
Dump Trump
The crowd swells the closer we get to Trump tower. Varying chants continue to fill the air.
A small, unplanned gesture, but still happy to be participating
Crowds and chants intensify the closer we get to Trump Tower, but it's a peaceful protest and everyone is polite to their neighbors
American Nazis and the KKK are drawn to and support Trump (and not really disavowed by him). The "Not mein Fuhrer!" sign is for the Nazis.
Slow going
A tighter squeeze at the barricades. At this point we weren't really moving forward and it was time for us to get back to our hotel. We got out of the procession by cutting through the middle and crossing the street.
A lot of onlookers
Farewell protest - thanks for letting us be a part
A long line of marchers
We made it back to our hotel where we cleaned up and changed, then headed downstairs to our dinner reservation. We ate at the hotel at Dos Caminos where we shared an appetizer of guacamole. I ordered the Oaxacan shrimp quesadilla, which was listed on the menu as an open-faced crispy tortilla, chile-marinated shrimp, Mexican cheeses, smoked wild mushrooms and oven-dried tomatoes. It was pretty good, but could have been warmer temperature-wise. Todd said his dinner was just ok, but it disagreed with him the next day. We'll skip this one the next time we go to New York.
After dinner we walked the 14 blocks to Madison Square Garden for the Pet Shop Boys Super concert. The concert was in the MSG theater, while next door in the arena they were having UFC 205, which was billed as the "biggest fight card" in UFC history. Needless to say there were a lot of people outside to wade through. We were approached 10-15 times by (mostly skeezy) people whispering "Tickets?"
We finally made it inside and through security and headed to the theater for another great PSB concert.
Welcome to Madison Square Garden
The show was sold out
The theater at Madison Square Garden was serviceable, but outdated. It did the job though once the lights went down. It was just starting to fill up as we took our seats (which were not as great as our seats in Las Vegas, but that was fine because it gave us two different perspectives of the show).
Full now. The show's about to start.
On with the show
The visuals/lights/lasers were great
Chris and Neil appear
A bit of a snag on the curtain drop, but it was quickly cleared away without interruption
"Twenty-something"
I like all the illuminated heads
"Go West" closes the show (before encores)
Unedited - catching a burst of light during Go West
We left the theater to roaring cheers from the arena - thankfully we couldn't hear them during the concert. We walked the 14 blocks back to the hotel and then being the hip party people that we are, we turned in for the night and went to sleep. :)
So that was our Saturday. It was long, but it was good, and the Pet Shop Boys concert was great! If you want to compare notes with the Las Vegas concert or see more photos, go to my post here. Thanks!
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