Friday, March 21 (NYC Day 2)

A great NYC day. We had breakfast near the hotel at Bourke Street Bakery, delicious almond croissants and chocolate croissants. Then we took an Uber up to Times Square, where we stood outside the Nasdaq building at 43rd Street and watched Barbra and her family on the huge screen that covers the entire side of the building--Barbra and the CEO of her company rang the bell at the Nasdaq! We also waved to them through the windows of the studio. So fun to see her. 

Then we walked over to the New York Public Library to see the Century of the New Yorker exhibition. It was a fantastic show, lots of back story and ephemera from the early days through the present. The Rose reading room was closed to tourists but we wandered around the room across from it (can't remember the name), which housed a lot of interesting portraits. Then we went into the Treasures exhibit, where highlights included the stuffed animals that inspired the Winnie the Pooh books, a decoy Ulysses in a Bobbsey Twins cover, Charles Dickens's desk, and a handwritten Bill of Rights. I bought a Century of the New Yorker tote bag in the gift shop.

When we left the library we went into Muji, where we got notebooks (Lucia), travel organizers (Greta), and several small boxes (me). Then we had lunch at Mexicue and did some browsing at Kinokuniya.

Our afternoon activity was visiting the Morgan Library--libraries were clearly the theme of the day--and then we headed back to the hotel to rest for a minute and change clothes for the evening. We stopped at Starbucks along the way, where I got a hot mint tea. I am so used to having about ten cups of tea a day; I really needed it.

The evening began with pre-theater dinner at Burger & Lobster. Andrew, Greta, and I had lobster rolls; Mom, Dad, and Lucia had burgers. Lucia and I shared a creme brulee for dessert. The lobster rolls were huge. It was a great pre-theater spot. Then it was time for our show at the Belasco: Maybe Happy Ending, a brand new original musical. It was fabulous. Beautiful and funny and heartbreaking. So glad we got to see it.

We walked back to the hotel, stopping at a bodega for, yes, more hot mint tea for me, and that was the end of a full and fun day. We walked about five miles.