In my Easter Bonnet - Fred Astaire style.

Wow, what a day this has been.  Great stuff.   Took a cab to my hotel from the airport, the driver was PISSED that he didn't get a larger tip on a fixed fare, but seriously, I almost died 4 times.   I checked into the hotel, but coldn't get in my room because it was too early.  So, I was able to store my suitcase and head out into the world.    I wasn't feeling great from my flight, but I knew I had to eat so breakfast seemed in order. I had breakfast at Junior's (right around the corner) - corned beef hash, very yummy. 

After breakfast, I just started walking.  I walked around the theatre district, checking out marquees and such and I wandered up to 5th ave to take my traditional stroll on 5th Ave -which I love to do.  It makes one feel quite fancy, except when you miss the Easter parade by a day.  But really, is there still an Easter Parade on 5th Ave anymore?   I took a sad selfie and moved on.  As I was walking up 5th Ave I was heading toward Trump Tower (which was surrounded by cops) and as I approached, I was observing several conversations in several languages with Donald Trump" in the conversation - which of course doesn't translate into any other language... I can't imagine what they were sayings, but they would point and laugh.  

Back to Broadway where I went to Starbucks near the School of Rock Theatre (the Winter Garden) and got some water because it was pretty obvious that I was dehydrated.  I got some water and a table and charged my phone and checked in with Mom, etc.  Then I was challenged on Facebook to find my own Easter Bonnet and have my own parade on 5th ave. Challenge was accepted, so I headed back up to 5th Ave.  

I ended up going to Mass at St Patrick's at 1:00pm, which was nice.   I decided that I was going to be fancy, I was going to do it right.  So, I step foot for the first time in a Saks 5th Ave Department store and headed straight to the men's accessories department to find a hat.  And find a hat I did!   I bought the hat and headed back down to 5th ave to have my personal parade.  

After the parade that I'm pretty sure no one saw, I headed back to the hotel and got my room key.   I took a shower and a much needed nap.  The nap ended up being a "good" nap and I was ready to head out to meet my friend Peter at Becco - one of Lidia Bastianich's restaurants. The food was great, the wine was great, and the conversation sparkled.

We then headed to the Broadway Theatre to see the revival of Miss Saigon.  This show is very personal to me for a lot of reasons.  I knew there were lyric changes, song changes, etc, but I wasn't prepared to actually see these in person.I still love the show, but the changes were for the most part unnecessary.  I could totally geek out and go on and on about them, but in the end it was still a really good production for the most part.   The sound design needs work.  

After the show, Peter and I got to sit down with author extroidinare, Peter Filichia for a while to talk about shows, and stuff like that.  It was like meeting a legend that I have been reading for 20+ years.  It was beyond delightful.

Anyhow, for the first day, it was great.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but I promise it will be Jellicle!