New York 2019 - Day 1

Without any intended plan, we seem to end up going to New York every 2-3 years (2011, 2014, 2016)   and always have a good time.

The impetus for this trip was my learning that a stage version of the Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge! was coming to Broadway in August.  Since this is one of our favorite movies...

So in May we bought tickets to the show and started planning the trip.  Away we go!

Riding the moving walkways at DFW Airport, watching the planes line up

Poof!

We landed at LaGuardia and took a Lyft from the airport to our hotel, the Marriott Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Central Park Western Hemisphere Northeastern Above Ground On 54th Near Starbucks But What Isn't Hotel.  We didn't know it in advance, but apparently this is the tallest hotel in New York and possibly the USA.

Our room on the 61st floor

Kitchenette with refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, kitchenware.  A two-burner stovetop was also available to be brought to our room should we have need.

I still haven't mastered looking beyond the phone when I'm taking a picture with a mirror

Hall closet by the door

The view to the southwest

The view to the south includes Times Square

We got settled in the hotel and relaxed for a bit before changing and heading out to dinner at 6:45pm to Ruth's Chris Steak House.  We ordered a bottle a wine - Coppola Votre Sante Pinot Noir (very smooth, would buy again back home at a normal price) - then I started with salad with bleu cheese dressing.  For the entree I ordered a medium rare 11oz filet that arrived rare but delicious so I didn't send it back.  Todd and I split sides of Brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes and for dessert we split a white chocolate bread pudding with a Frangelico sauce.  Dinner was perfect, and took the boxed-up leftovers back to our hotel refrigerator.

A quick change of clothes back to shorts and we headed out to take in the lights and crowds of Times Square for about 30 minutes before calling it a night.

The Ed Sullivan Theater was just around the corner from our hotel.  Since we booked the trip in May, we had looked forward to seeing a taping of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Late Night with Seth Meyers, but it was not to be this trip.*

Good night Times Square.  I'm leaving the curtains open to look at you as I drift off peacefully to sleep.
To be continued...

*Tickets to both the Late Show and Late Night are free and are managed through 1iota, a company that handles audiences for many studio tapings and special events.  Taping dates are usually listed in 2-week blocks about a month in advance.  When a taping becomes available, you sign in and request a ticket (which is not guaranteed).

As we got closer to the trip I kept watching the website and 1iota app for new dates to be announced and nothing was changing - no new dates were being listed.  I'd check every morning and it was always the same.  Finally, about a week before the trip I logged in and saw new dates were released for the Late Show starting with...Sept. 3rd.  Oh no!  Curse you summer hiatus!

Sure enough, the same was true for Late Night - both shows would be on hiatus until the 3rd, well after we returned from our trip.  Just our luck that we would choose to go to New York during the 2-week period the shows wouldn't be taping.  Oh well, next time I guess.  I hope everyone enjoyed their summer vacations!