Day 3 of our New York City trip was great. We got off to an early start catching the 123 bus from Union City to Port Authority at 7:40. Upon arrival at Port Authority we walked to Grand Central Station which took about 20 minutes. We got coffees and a muffin and boarded the 9:07 Metro North New Haven Line for South Norwalk, Connecticut. Our destination was the Maritime Aquarium. The train left on time and after about 10 minutes we were out of the tunnel. We went past the Botannical Garden in the Bronx and were soon in Connecticut. It was an interesting ride as we saw several Connecticut communities. After about an hour the train arrived at South Norwalk on time. We walked about eight blocks to the Aquarium. This was definitely not as large as the Shedd or National Aquariums, but it was quite interesting. The exhibits were of marine life in Long Island Sound. We saw a program about seals. It was quite interesting and the woman did a good job. They also had an exhibit on boat building that was interesting. We ate lunch in the cafeteria and it was surprisingly good. After lunch we went to the IMAX. The film was about bugs. Neither of us were too interested and both had difficulty staying awake. The only problem at the Marine Aquarium was that there were lots of classes taking field trips and the place was overrun with students. They didn't do anything wrong. There were just too many of them.
When we left the Aquarium we walked through a trendy district on the way back to the train station. We went in a few businesses. One of them was an art gallery. The paintings were very espensive, some $16,000 to $17,000. I didn't care for any of them. The train left on time and we were back at Grand Central in about an hour.
Upon leaving Grand Central we walked to Bryant Park and spent about 45 minutes having coffee and a muffin and watching people and talking. We decided to see another Broadway show so we walked back to the Theatre District. We went in several theatres and found we could get tickets to that evenings performance at each of them. We inquired about Three Days of Rain with Julia Roberts but were told the only tickets available were $250. We decided that was too much. We remembered the man at Spamalot telling us about Doubt. We inquired where it was being performed and were told it was on 48th Street. We walked up there and found it was being performed at the Walter Kerr Theatre. We were delighted to find we could get tickets in the third row center. I hesitated long enough that the lady let me have them at a reduced price, $75 apiece. We were pleased to learn that Ron Eldard was in the play. We had enjoyed his television series, Blind Justice. We then looked for somewhere to eat dinner. We looked at the menu at one restaurant and saw desserts were $12 to $16. Obviously we didn't eat there. We found a Sbarro's that had a buffet, $6.95 per pound. The food was very good and we had an inexpensive meal. We then walked around the Theatre District until time for the show.
We were both very pleased with our selection. The play and the performances were excellent. Again, because of our seats so close to the stage we could see the expressions and gestures of the performers. A couple from a suburb in Chicago sat in front of us.
At the end of the play we walked back to Port Authority and took the bus back to Union City. Another great day but we were both very tired. We had another brownie a la mode at Walker's and Kerrie's. Walker got home about half an hour after us and we visited with him for a while before going to bed.

Spamalot was GREAT!!! We couldn't have gotten better seats. They were in the center in the front row. We were right in front of the orchestra pit and the conductor was so close we could have touched him. We also could see all the different musicians. When we saw Spamalot in Chicago we were in the third row of the balcony. We watched people being seated in the front rows and wondered who they were and how they got such good seats. Now, here we are in New York and we are being seated in the front row. Being so close we could see the expressions on the performers faces and that added much to the experience. All of the performers were exceptional. My favorite was a man named Christian Borle who had multiple parts - the Historian, Not Dead Fred, French Guard, Minstrel, and Prince Herbert. His portrayal of Not Dead Fred and Prince Herbert were magnificent. He is a very talented singer and dancer, but also his facial expressions were great. Janet's favorite performer was Martin Moran who played the part of Robin and her favorite character was Robin. Mr. Moran was excellent in his song You Can't Succeed on Broadway If You Don't Have Any Jews. His love of Broadway both as a performer and as a character in the musical was clearly evident. My favorite song was What Ever Happened to My Part sung by the Lady of the Lake. Being so close we could see her facial expressions and gestures. We both agree that all the performers were extremely talented as singers, dancers, and performers.
During intermission we talked with the couple seated next to us. They were from Queens and also really enjoyed the show. We told them that we wanted to see another Broadway production while we were in New York and he recommended the play Doubt by John Patrick Shanley. We also told him that we had been to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Cloisters. He was quite impressed that we had seen both of those places and that we were getting around on the subway and city busses.
We weren't sure that we should see Spamalot a second time, but it turned out to be a wise decision. We both thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
After the show, we walked to Port Authority and caught the 123 back to Union City. Kerrie was asleep when we got back, but she had baked brownies so we both had brownie a la mode before retiring.
(to be continued)

The next day we got up early and left for NYC on the 123 bus. We had coffee and a muffin at Port Authority and just watched people for about half and hour. It was unbelievable the numbers of people who were coming down the escalators. We then took the A train to W 4th Street where we transferred to the B train which took us to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Our destination was the Brooklyn Botannic Garden which was about a four block walk. It would have been a more pleasant walk but it was raining quite hard. Fortunately, there was a lot to see indoors so we spent most of the morning there. After having lunch, we walked back to the subway station and took the B train to 81st Street. We got off and walked across Central Park. It was a much longer walk than we had anticipated as the paths meandered. While resting on a park bench we saw Howard Stern jogging. We eventually got to the other side of the Park and walked to Madison. Because of not going in a straight line we ended up at 71st Street. Our next destination was the Cloisters which was in Fort Tryon Park. This is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art where the Medieval art is housed. Janet had read that a scenic and interesting way to get there was to ride the M4 bus. We got to see a lot of New York (Tom's Restaurant of Sienfeld fame, Columbia University, and Washington Heights). Since the Cloisters is at about 190th Street we had a 120 block, one and a half hour bus ride.
We missed the first 20 minutes of the Guided Tour as we wandered through a few rooms of the museum and read information about Romanesque architecture. Fortunately, we heard voices and were able to join in with the docent and group. She explained select works and focused on one famous tryptic featuring the Annunciation. The details she gave and explanation of symbols helped us appreciate this work of art and others she pointed out. A room of tapestries is a valued collection. The tour ended with our group going out into the courtyard and gardens which overlook the Hudson River. We walked back to the subway and detoured through Fort Tryon Park. There were gardens filled with beautiful spring flowers. We made our way to the subway station and caught the A train to Port Authority. We walked around the Theatre District and then went back to the bus terminal and ate. At about 7:30 we walked to the Shubert Theatre to see our first Broadway musical.
(to be continued)

It has been almost two weeks since we returned from our trip to New Jersey to visit my son and his financee. I had intended to write about it sooner, but I am getting very good at procrastinating. The first three days we were there we took the 123 bus from Union City, NJ to the Port Authority Bus Terminal at Midtown Manhattan. This was the first time we had taken the bus as before we had always taken the PATH trains and the light rail. This was very inexpensive as it only cost me $1.05 and Janet $2.30. The ride into NYC only took 30 minutes. The first day we got to NYC in the afternoon. We walked to Bryant Park and sat there and had coffee. It was very relaxing and fun just to watch people. We then walked to St.Patrick's Cathedral and ate dinner at the Madison Avenue Delicatessen. After dinner we walked down to the Theatre District. We spotted the Hard Rock Cafe and went inside. A co-worker of Janet's had a brother-in-law who worked there. Janet was going to say hi, but he was gone. While there we wandered in the Shubert Theatre and found out we could get tickets to Spamalot for the next evening. This was quite a surprise as we thought they would be sold out. Even more surprising was that we got tickets in the front row center. Even though we had seen Spamalot the previous month in Chicago, we decided to see it again. After purchasing our tickets we went to Port Authority and took the bus back to Walker's. He was flying and wouldn't be back til Wednesday night, but we had a nice visit with Kerrie. She talked about their wedding plans and showed us lots of pictures.
(to be continued)