Back in the City

We've been back in NYC for almost 2 months and I need to catch up on all the fun we've been having.

David turned 30 at the beginning of September and I surprised him with tickets to Phantom since he'd never seen it live before. It was really good- and the cast was actually operatically trained! I couldn't have been happier. I grew up listening to the original cast and saw live performances in S.F. and London when it was still in its heyday- but it always bothered me that a singer with a girlish, lilting, high-pitched voice could out-sing an actual Diva. Sorry Sarah Brightman fans-- the chick can hit a mean high E and has gotten a lot better over the years, but let's face it...she more often than not sounds like a caterwauling tabby.

Anyhoo- the new guy playing the Phantom (just replaced the previous long-running one) was AMAZING! The chandelier crash was disappointing- it kind of halted and jerked slowly down instead of a dramatic plunge, and for some reason both David and I remember glass crashing sound effects- but not in this performance. All in all though- it was a great evening.

It's on the most adorable little theater district street, and Hamlet was playing next door starring Jude Law...it made us giggle.

The next day, we celebrated David's birthday as a family with a trip to Central Park Zoo.  It's small, but has some great exhibits including penguins, sea lions, a snow leopard, 2 polar bears in a gigantic habitat, and a great little children's petting zoo.  Rhys got "attacked" by the snow leopard who leaped at the glass while Rhys's nose was pressed up against it.  It made the crowd scream, but do you think our little daredevil was shaken?  He just kept right on pointing and babbling about the "kitty."  I got some great shots, but unfortunately they are all from my new Nikon and have to be converted first, which I don't have time for.  But we went back a couple weeks ago with some friends, so these will give you the idea:

Our apartment is also way better this year.  We had to give up our previous one for the summer because they don't allow subletting, but it ended up working out great.  We got the exact same layout, two floors higher, which puts us just above the top of the building behind us.  This means MORE LIGHT and a bit of a view!  Hooray!  It also has better floors and a linen closet in the bathroom.  I literally had tears spring to my eyes when I realized I didn't have to keep our towels in the bedroom drawers anymore.  Oh- simple joys!

Here's a great shot of our "view"