As I write this, Aaron is in the other room practicing saxophone for his New Year's Eve show with the North Carolina Symphony.
I know!!! Isn't Aaron so cool?!
This year, I have the year off of NYE gigs - so I am planning on enjoying being an audience member. This also includes wearing a super-fancy dress I picked up on 5th Avenue in New York City.
I know!!! Look how spoiled rotten I am. It's true!
So, before reflecting on the past week - let's address the present.
Aaron and I both woke up this morning with the intense desire to go see some art. After getting up at the crack of noon (Hey! It's our week off!), grabbing a couple of coffees and small sandwiches - off we go to the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Just in case you all haven't been, please go. The main gallery is free, and open year round. They even have these awesome lockers that are on the trust system that you can use to hide your winter coats and other personal items. It costs nothing (other than the gas to get there) and you can at least see a MONET painting for free. There's two on display right now, just FYI.
There are few forms of art that just make me cry spontaneously. Monet? Every time. He makes me cry EVERY FREAKING TIME. It's not fair, really.
We also house the largest known Rodin sculpture gallery in the world (? - double check me on this - it might be just the USA) so that alone is worth seeing.
Or you can just get a locker, put your coat away, and just sit in front of Monet for a few hours. At least that's what I want to do. All the time. Every day.
Ah! I wish I was a painter!
As we were leaving the gallery, we look over towards the coffee shop.
Aaron says, "Is that George Knott?"
Me - "It sure looks like him."
"I think it's George Knott."
"Let's go see!"
Low and behold, it indeed is George Knott. (OMFG WHO IS GEORGE KNOTT?!?! You can find one of his bands here: The Atomic Rhythm All-Stars) He plays slap bass too. Knott (hahaha, sorry George) like the Rockabilly cats but more like the New Orleans Pops Foster way. He really is quite lovely. Aaron plays with him now and then and I even got the chance to sit on the jazz box once with them at Irregardless Cafe in Raleigh.
After a nice bit of catching up on Holiday happenings - Mark Wells walks in. (OMFG WHO IS MARK WELLS?!?!?! You can find one of his groups here: http://www.peterlambandthewolves.com/index.cfm)
And you're like... "WHAT?!?! That's some other dude's name on the page!" And it is. Just hold those horses!
Peter Lamb walks in shortly afterwards. (AND YOU'RE LIKE OMFG WHO IS PETER LAMB?!?! And I'm like... OMFG DIDN'T YOU CLICK ON THAT LINK ABOVE?! Go back and click on it now. pleaseandthankya) These are all three absolutely lovely people, please check out they're music when you can.
After a fun conversation about the worst time to discover when you're allergic to peanuts (brilliant) and one of Aaron's Christmas present from me (a SonicCare Toothbrush - Aaron got me a bada$$ boot knife, in case you're wondering) we say our goodbyes and head over to Rose's Meats and Sweets for an impromptu wine tasting and dinner.
(OMFG WHAT IS.... don't worry, just click here: Rose's!)
It's fun to go to Rose's and support our local friends! It's also next to our Fencing Club - MidSouth Fencing. (OMFG Y'ALL FENCE TOO?! Well, not your traditional olympic fencing - we take HEMA or Historical European Martial Arts. Basically... we take broadsword lessons. Yes, that's what I said. Check it out if interested, it's the greatest thing ever.) Two bottles of wine and one cider later, we're on our way home with our fancy Korean sausages. Watch a little bit of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown over dinner - and viola! I'm here writing a blog and Aaron's practicing.
Yay Friday night!
But!
Let's get down to business. Because I know our families want to know... WHAT THE IN WORLD DID Y'ALL DO THIS PAST WEEK?!
Well, the long and short of it is... planes, trains, and automobiles. Yep. In that order.
SO!
Last Wendesday, we took a plane from Raleigh (I before E except in Raleigh!) to New York City!
I know, aren't we oh so fancy?
(By the way, I never have enough space on my phone for anything because I take a million pictures, so please check out my Instagram if you'd like to see some photos of our travels. Here!)
Catch an Uber with a nice young man who was thinking about Sports Medicine for college, and we're in the heart of Little Italy on the way to our Airbnb. Aaron is kind and indulges my love of Airbnb. So far, we've had two great experiences.
Our cute apartment was right on the border of both Chinatown and Little Italy (literally take a left and you're at a Chinese Bakery and take a right and you'll run into an amazing sandwich shop) and it was perfect for two explorers wanting to feel like we were locals. We were given the advice of just getting lost in whichever neighborhood you end up in, so that's exactly what we did.
Our apartment was a three story hike (we had nice leg workout, but that's how they do it in NYC!) and opened the door to a sunny place and our hosts left us a bottle of wine, some granola bars, and SunChips. Perfect!
After a little snuggle, we decided it was lunch time. We stopped on by Banh Mi Saigon Bakery (a Vietnamese Sandwich shop, suggested by my Not For Tourists app) where you should plan to buy a sandwich to share with someone you love. It's so tasty and everyone there is really nice.
We walked around the area for a bit, running into an Italian bakery/cafe called Ferrara and a cute pasta shop called Piemonte Ravioli. I could not get over how adorable the gnocchi were. Seriously. See my Instagram! #adorbs We also saw a couple of Chinese shops we put on our mental list to visit later.
Then, we get a text from Aaron's longtime friend, Shawn. ("OMFG! Is he a musician too?!" Yep! He plays with this guy. You may have heard of him.) Shawn is one of the nicest people. It's always so good to see him, and he just happens to magically be in town and not on tour! Aaron was so excited to see his buddy. As an added bonus, Aaron I discovered his wife (Yes, she's an amazing musician too. See her webpage here. ) Megan also happened to be in town! I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Megan yet, only hearing lovely stories about her, and I couldn't wait to meet her in real life.
Aaron and I met them at an adorable Holiday market at Union Square. It involved a little bit of humorous "meet us here!" and "I think we see you!" followed by a "Wait, Megan was just here" and ultimately ended up with a bunch of hugs and hellos.
Holiday markets in NYC are a special sight - make sure you stop by one when you're in town during the season. There's great people watching and something for everyone.
After perusing the wares, we all went to a Ukrainian cafe called Veselka. They have solid perogies and borscht, and it felt a little like a Polish holiday for me.
Turns out Megan loves ice cream as much as I do, and we all ended up visiting Big Gay Ice Cream (yes, you want some and for the love of all that is holy, get some sprinkles or chocolate on top) for Pumpkin Spice and Egg Nog swirl ice cream cone. Awwweeesome.
Afterwards, we led them back to their neighborhood for a few bourbons and reminiscing. There was a fun moment where I realized the girls were leading the guys down the road. It's nice to spend time with another female classical musician chatting the night away.
After a exceedingly pleasant visit, we said our goodbye's and promptly got lost on the subway. But that's okay! Everyone has to get lost at 2 am on the subway before they figure out the NYC subway system. We're total pros now. Thank you nice people on the subway and the NYC Subway App!
Just, please, check the walls for the notices that the D train you are looking for might not be running after... oh... midnight.
WHOOPS.
But! We made it back alive, safe, and sound to our cute little apartment.
We were pooped, and happily passed out.
AND THAT'S DAY ONE FOLKS!
*Insert construction sounds*
Hmm. I guess we didn't realize we'd be woken up by cranes and concrete trucks.
But that's okay! It's New York! Just make sure you close them blinds BEFORE you take a shower.
At Aaron's suggestion, we tried a bagel shop he saw down the street.
*insert getting ready montage*
Doo, doo, doo, doo - down the stairs, out the street, and we're ordering at Baz Bagel!
Check out Aaron's sweet pic:
Aaron ordered a fancy lox bagel and I stuck with the egg and cheese. Check out his awesome action shot with the waitress pouring his coffee. AREN'T WE OH SO FANCY FANCY FANCY! Yes.
After a lovely bagel breakfast - we decided it was The Museum of Modern Art day!
My joke is always that they just keep Starry Night safe for me.
We'd both been missing the painting since we last saw it in the summer (Aaron's a sweetheart and bought me a Starry Night print for my birthday so I could see it every day) and were so excited to see it in real life again.
Do me one favor when you go, please... Don't block people by taking selfies with the paintings. Like, really. Don't do it. Don't even take a selfie with the painting. Get a print. Just enjoy it for what it is and be in the moment with the painting. Seriously. I had to take one picture of Picasso's Three Musicians to have on my phone as a happy distraction for when a day is not the greatest - so I'm guilty as anyone. But I waited till no one was around and wasn't blocking anyone! And it wasn't a selfie.
It's art, for goodness sake!
They have a room (literally a room) devoted to Monet's massive water lily paintings. I like to just sit in the middle of the room and silently cry over how beautiful it is. Yep. That's how I roll.
Check out Google's neat project where you can tour the museum here. There are some really nice high resolution scans.
Aaron and I have both said countless times to each other - nothing, absolutely nothing - beats seeing the real thing in person. It gives me chills each time we see Starry Night.
Even with the five hundred million people taking selfies. Just wait a bit, stand your ground, and get a good look at it right in front. It helps when you have someone (Aaron) drape an arm around your shoulder to block all the selfies.
#noshame #vangoghwouldbeproud
After a few hours of breathtaking art, we passed the 53rd Street New York public library and stopped in. You lucky New Yorkers sure have some cool libraries!
Pulling out our phones and bringing up the Not for Tourists App once again, we discovered a near-by Ramen spot - Hide Chan Ramen. As we walked up the steps to the second story of the building via a small side door, we passed by laminated signs that indicated wait times from that point (Dollywood, anyone?) and we thought... "Wow! This place must get slammed at lunch!" We were seated immediately and our ramen arrived by the time I returned from the ladies' bathroom line. On our way out, a huge line had formed and it looked like we were just lucky with our timing!
Swing on by, you won't regret it. Just do what we did and accidentally go during the "off-hours". :)
Check out Aaron's pic of his Spicy Garlic Ramen!
Buzz buzz buzz goes Aaron's phone - it's Shawn and Megan! Looks like we're meeting them at Rockefeller Center! Yeeeeehaw! Adventure time!
If you want to go to the most crowded spot in NYC at Christmas, stop on by Rockefeller Center's Ice Skating rink. But don't worry - it's totally worth it if you've never been. Megan found a sweet spot to check out the ice skaters and we all felt like we were in a movie!
Check it out:
One more:
Aren't we just ADORABLE?! It's true.
The next stop was 5th Ave and all the pretty windows, where Megan and I were able to score some fun New Year's Eve dresses. Fun fun fun. Before we all said goodnight, they took us by Grand Central Station. It's simply stunning. Don't miss the chance to grab a coffee and people watch!
And that rounds up Part One of our New York City blog! Tune in for round two shortly!
Love,
Billie and Aaron.
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