bojojoti | NYC Vacation - Day Two, Part Two

write4jesus had mentioned that New York seemed a colorful place. That's an understatement with a store like Pearl River Market. Located in SoHo, not far from Chinatown, Pearl River is a delight to the eyes. With space being at a premium in NYC, most stores--that aren't major chains--are short on square footage. Pearl River has three spacious floors containing a cornucopia of products. I picked up stocking stuffers for the Christmas celebration we'd have after vacation.

The variety of goods was amazing: musical instruments, dragons of all sizes, clothing, furniture, food, lamps, bamboo, water features, Buddhas, and lucky cats lined the shelves, adorned the walls, and hung from the ceiling.

Bojojr and Bumberjean took a break on the mezzanine to enjoy their aloe vera drink.

Such pretty lamps in a row.

Bumberjean stocked up on ginger candy. She was our designated carrier and kept track of Metro cards, tickets, and itinerary in her Baggallini (yellow bag).

After Pearl River, we made our way back to the room for a brief rest before our evening's entertainment.

We chose to eat at Italia Mia, a fast food-type Italian restaurant, because of its proximity to Carnegie Hall. Bumberjean is showing off her empty plate, because we decided to save money by starving one person a day during our vacation, and it was her turn. No, just kidding. We wasted so much food earlier at Big Wong that we were more careful to share meals when it seemed quantities would be large. Trust me, no one starved. We were on an eat-a-thon most days! The food at Italia Mia was above average for fast food, but the most remarkable feature of the place was the hostess, who hovered nearby and maintained a constant commentary in her heavily-accented English. She was irrepressible and probably the reason we didn't return. Mamma mia, give it a rest, already.

Our show for the evening was in the beautiful Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops and Sandy Patti. You know the old saying: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice." Well, we got there by subway. We entered early and meandered through their small museum (underwhelming) until one of the staff announced, "Ze house is open!" and we could take our seats. As we were stretching our entertainment dollars to see more shows, we had the highest tier of balcony seats. They had the tiniest amount of leg room of any seats I'd ever seen. We faced an impossibility: there was no way Mr. Bojo could get his legs into the area. One of the staff members noted his predicament and informed us that they could provide a seat for him in the lower tiers. We've never been particular about sitting together at an entertainment--it's not as if you talk to one another during the experience--so we bid him good-bye. He ended up with an excellent seat and had a much better view. We were further, but with a concert, that was of no concern as the acoustics were wonderful.

Photography was not allowed, and I didn't take this. If I had, I would have gotten one of Sandy Patti. I've enjoyed a number of performances by her, and I wondered if she wasn't suffering from a cold. Her voice wasn't up to par; it was a good performance, but she seemed to be holding back. We discussed it afterward and wondered if her weight loss hadn't had an unfortunate effect on her vocal strength.

We looked about the hall and tried to figure out where Kevin McCallister and the pigeon lady from Home Alone would have been sequestered, but we couldn't determine their hiding spot.

Once we were back on the street in the cold, Bumberjean discovered she had lost one of her new velvet gloves. We tried to re-enter, but "ze house is closed," and they wouldn't let her check her seat for the glove. We never did get back when they were open to check the lost and found. Ze glove is gone for good.

I love all these shots of our family members looking nonchalant and carefree in New York--as if we aren't freezing! The truth of the matter is that most of the time, we looked like this: