back to solitude

my mom left last night. it was definitely a nice time with her. we went all over, did plenty of NY kinds of things like dining, shopping and going to plays and museums. i think she got a good sense of my life here and knows why i like it and am staying. i really wanted to just show her around and have some mom time. and she was a trouper too. someone who hardly ever walks kept up pretty well with going from to the LES to nolita to soho and back then all over the east and west village. even i was tired.

the new yorky highlights were two nights of broadway in a row. first night was 42nd street. and yes, the claim is true... it IS the biggest show on broadway. so many people on stage with about a million costume changes, HUGE song and dance numbers, crazy sets and on and on. it was pretty awesome. i mean, if you want broadway flash, then this is it! cheesy yes but pretty damn spectacular.

the next night we saw the tony award winning play i am my own wife. brilliant! so well written, so well acted. a truly great dramatic piece that is worthy of broadway and all it's awards. i loved it!

the other big highlight was finally going to the lower east side tenement museum. i'd been by the museum a few times and was always fascinated. finally got to go this time and man, was it interesting. if you've ever been to the ann frank house in amsterdam, this is sort of the same idea. the organization acquired this abandoned tenement building and managed to find out the entire history of the place, dating back to the 1890s! i mean they knew about every family that ever crammed into the tiny spaces. early new york immigrant families' stories of their struggles making it in the new world. you could just visualize their painful existence by standing in the accurately dressed rooms of the different time periods. i mean these apartments were smaller than my place and they had 9 people living in there! really gave you a sense of the conditions and what these people went through back in the day. highly recommended for tourists to the city!