and then we went to NYC...

The trip to the east coast saw the three of us come together in Philadelphia before heading up to NYC for a few days of being tourists.  And when I saw being tourists, I don't mean jamming our days full of stuff to see and do.  Not our style, as you'll already know and will see in the posts to come.  Nope.  Easy days, and the trip up to there set the tone for that.  First class on the Acela, a high speed train and some comforts for us. 

Food and beverage! 

Before we knew it, we were at Penn Station,

and from there it was a short distance (but a cab, considering the heat, humidity, and our luggage) to our hotel, the Hotel AKA NoMad.

Ah, Van.  The king of finding good accommodations for us.  I have never stayed in a Manhattan hotel that was so comfortable.  Oh, I know that there is real luxury to be had in NYC, but that's too rich for us.  But no, Van found us a great two-bedroom, two-bathroom suite

with a nice patio

that had good views

(hello there, Empire State Building two or so blocks away). 

How nice to settle into that for a few days.

We didn't settle long, though.  Unpacking, freshening up, then on to meet Van's friends Bill and Gene at Frankie and Johnnie's for a pre-show dinner.  It was nice to meet them!  I've heard a lot about them.  Dinner was fine - a good cocktail, some oysters,

and then liver and onions with bacon. 

Not the best liver I've had, I admit, but it was alright.

The show, though?  Holy doodle, that was good.  Orville Peck and Eva Noblezada starring in a production of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.  No photos of that, of course, but it blew me away.  I had seen the movie some 25 years ago, but the stage musical differs significantly.  We went so that we could see Orville, and that man did not disappoint.  His physicality was perfect for the role of the Emcee.  Nobelzada was great as well, truly.  And some applause for Ellen Harvey as Fraulein Schneider.  She was a real force as well.  The staging was in the round, and we had good seats, albeit on what seemed to be the back side.  Still, we hardly suffered.

Back to the hotel after that where we found that the hotel bar was already closed.  The desk staff recommended Wine:30 around the corner on 30th, and so we popped over for late cocktails at the bar. 

Terrific little place, and Marco took good care of us.  You'll see me blog them again before I'm done with the NYC posts.

To bed after that.  And rather late!  No matter.  We had no schedule for the next day save for dinner in Connecticut.  We would easily be up in time for that.  The Empire State Building was lit up for Canada Day (truly, it was - we checked!), and that was a great cap to the night.