A winter day's adventure
We had our first snow today. Big deal - nearly two inches. Enough that I had to actually shovel the walk. But that came later. We'd had winter storm alerts for the last couple of days. We were prepared. Schools were all closed - the works. But I shouldn't make light of it. It was a nasty day - windy, sleety, cold. A good day for sensible people to stay indoors.
But there were concert tickets to be used. My friend Fran frequently has rehearsal passes to events at Carnegie Hall and elsewhere and I get to tag along. Today it was the Minnesota Symphony playing Sibelius and Beethoven. Very often the rehearsals are as good or better than the performances themselves, consisting of full-scale run-throughs with occasional recaps of the hard (best!) parts. This one was a little choppy; the conductor was stopping every few minutes. Fine tuning. Frustrating, but still fun.
The Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle is the home of several of New York's best and most expensive restaurants. Per Se, chef Thomas Keller's NY venue, has a prix fixe menu of $250. But his Bouchon Bakery on the floor below is for ordinary mortals. We were lucky to snag this seat with a panoramic Central Park View.
The center is often slammed for being too much like a suburban mall, and it's a valid criticism, I think. Still, today of all days, it was good to be comfortably inside looking out. Here we go, down the escalator, back to the subway, thence to the train and home to shovel.
But there were concert tickets to be used. My friend Fran frequently has rehearsal passes to events at Carnegie Hall and elsewhere and I get to tag along. Today it was the Minnesota Symphony playing Sibelius and Beethoven. Very often the rehearsals are as good or better than the performances themselves, consisting of full-scale run-throughs with occasional recaps of the hard (best!) parts. This one was a little choppy; the conductor was stopping every few minutes. Fine tuning. Frustrating, but still fun.
The Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle is the home of several of New York's best and most expensive restaurants. Per Se, chef Thomas Keller's NY venue, has a prix fixe menu of $250. But his Bouchon Bakery on the floor below is for ordinary mortals. We were lucky to snag this seat with a panoramic Central Park View. 
The center is often slammed for being too much like a suburban mall, and it's a valid criticism, I think. Still, today of all days, it was good to be comfortably inside looking out. Here we go, down the escalator, back to the subway, thence to the train and home to shovel.
posted by sixty-five at 9:50 PM
5 Comments:
Thank Heavens you're blogging again. And through sleet and snow! The universe is right again. ib
I miss New York!
(Personally I find this one mini-mall not nearly as offensive as the suburban counterparts. It's small, the focus is on Whole Foods, eateries and Borders and it doesn't meander into eternity. And it looks out on Central Park. Did I say this -- I miss New York!)
How does one snag rehearsal tickets? That sounds really interesting. Glad the snow didn't trap you inside!
Often it's a matter of making a small annual donation to the organization (Friends of Carnegie Hall or whatever); rules should be spelled out in their literature. Might even be free in some areas.
Yes, Nina, TW has many redeeming features. And it addresses the urban context issue of "turning its back" to the streetscape fairly well by having a lot of glass and multiple entry points, rather like an arcade. Worst offender in this regard is the Stamford Ct Mall. What a behemoth.
Often it's a matter of making a small annual donation to the organization (Friends of Carnegie Hall or whatever); rules should be spelled out in their literature. Might even be free in some areas.
Yes, Nina, TW has many redeeming features. And it addresses the urban context issue of "turning its back" to the streetscape fairly well by having a lot of glass and multiple entry points, rather like an arcade. Worst offender in this regard is the Stamford Ct Mall. What a behemoth.
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