We met in the early afternoon at Lizard's apartment then headed to the Upper West side for brunch. The place I chose was called Isabella's. As with all good brunch options, there was a large group of people outside enduring a long wait in the cold for a table. Anything for a good brunch! In the name of getting a table, we chose to sit outside in the heated area. The food was great and coffee and cocktails were included. Perfect!
Finishing up brunch with plenty of time to spare before the show, we took a slow stroll down the west side of Central Park. We stopped at Starbucks and picked up giant cups of gingerbread latte. We sipped away in the park. There is a Starbucks on every corner in New York, so it always perplexes me how many people there are inside! I am enjoying their holiday editions, however I still argue that there is something inherently wrong with the whole Starbucks coffee concept. I found this Macchiato picture on their website and couldn't help but laugh.
That just is not a Macchiato...
After our Starbucks we headed over to the Lincoln center where the ballet was being held. We found the David A Koch theater and picked up the tickets. Outside there were some young boys with their cheeks painted rosy red doing ballet moves.
Me: What's wrong with those kids and where are their parents?
Lizard: I think they're in it! You just insulted the performers!!
While we waited for the doors to open we had a sticky beak at the War Horse movie premier outside.
Inside the lobby of the theater is gorgeous. I have been there before to see the New York City Ballet's production of the Seven Deadly Sins. It was even more beautiful than I remembered.
We had to climb a lot of stairs to get to our seats. I find that whenever I go to see a show the usher says to me - "just keep going all the way up the stairs!" So up we went. When we thought there were no more stairs to climb we handed our tickets over to the usher, who surprised us by taking us to another secret stairwell. At the top we went through a curtained door well and to our shock we found amazing seats!
Our seats were single file in a box with only five other people. We had an incredible view of the stage and entire theater. At first their was a little bit of dizziness being so high up. Looking down we could watch all the people. The children were adorable. The little boys in suits were so cute. The girls were even sweeter in their velvet dresses with sashes and huge bows in their curly hair. They were all so excited to be there.
The ballet itself was brilliant. The music, the costumes, the dancing. It swept me away. The little girl in front of me loved the music and was pretending to be a conductor throughout the show. For the next few days every time I closed my eyes I could hear the wonderful sounds in my head.
It was such an amazing show. The dancing blew me away. The effects were impressive - the sleigh flying through the air and the Christmas tree growing to a monstrous size. The children dancers were very good too. My favorite part was the second act, when the little girl visits the land of toys and candy - the act inspires the imagination. I felt like a little kid as the performance transported me into a magical world.
The performance left me sleepy, happy and rested - like after a yoga class or a massage. I could go again and again. What a wonderful Christmas tradition. I wish I could adopt it as my own!
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