07 May 2022 Hollywood Florida: Our Travel Manifesto!

 

This Blog will be taking on a different role in 30 days.  As a frequent visitor to this blog you must be aware of our love of travel.  We were in Egypt in 2010 and we saw an older, but fit gentleman fall and get injured.  That event helped us understand that we need to be physically able to travel to the locations we wanted to visit.  The idea that adventure travel is only possible when the traveler is physically able to complete the trip helped light a fire under out travel bug's ass.   Our 50's saw us climbing around Machu Picchu, Angor Wat, Ha Long Bay and the Amazon River.  These experiences have opened our minds to new cultures and cuisines.  We find that the one thing we love the most is the people.  Each memory of a place is interwoven with the stories of the people we meet at these locations

Leslie and I are taking our love of travel to the ultimate level.  We have already sold our house of 20 years and went through a major downsizing.  We are going to sell the car, give up the apartment and get on a plane.  This is going to happen on June 7th.  We will be getting on ships, ferries, trains and planes for the foreseeable future.  We have been planning out the next five years where we adopt a migratory lifestyle.  It will be at a slower pace than our previous travel.  Less tourist travel and more month long stays is our goal.  A variety of locations around the world will be the locations of our lives.    

I put a countdown app on my phone to keep our departure date at the forefront.  Oh my, how fast the days are ticking off.  We are getting things done and making good progress, but tick tick tick, the time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future.  We are booked in each of our chosen locations through the end of 2022.  We are making good progress on 2023 as well.  I have selected all the clothes that I will be bringing and Leslie is currently "in process" with her packing.  Random things crossed off our list include...new passport, new address in USA, new drivers licenses, new international health insurance, new luggage, new electric shaver, new, new new!  

Updating the 5 year plan

The contrast between days and seconds is pretty extreme.  It is basically saying 2,592,000 seconds and not one more!  Of course minutes and seconds are fiction.  There is no such accuracy when it comes to departure times of airplanes.  

3 May 2022 NYC: Off to The Music Man

 

On our walk to the show we saw a display of giant playbills!  They had three of the four shows that we saw, so we posed. The only missing show was the one we were on our way to see.  The Music Man was anchored by the performance of Hugh Jackman. This guy was the reason we booked the show way back in 2019.   Multiple cancelations and reschedulings later and we are finally able to see the play. This production topped off our trip. It was an over the top, 40 people on stage at the same time and sing along with the stars kind of show. Dancing all through the show with so many classic tunes. Our seats were great, front and back, right on the aisle.   Three hours later we were marching and singing our into the street. 

Photo realism

Photo bomb realism 

Nailing our performances 

Time for a doughnut break

We picked a blooming good time of year

Here it is....finally

Swanky theater 

Old style fancy

An Iowa Barn for a stage curtain 

These small pieces of paper are how you are informed of any new cast members,  understudies!  Lucky for us no major roles were impacted 

Water to wine

Show is starting!

3 May 2022 NYC: Lunch is a Short Walk Away

 

A lovely flower filled stroll took us by the Rockefeller Center. The ice skating rink has been replaced by a roller skating rink. The flags of the world have been replaced by alternative flags. These flags were crowd sourced art. The theme was Only One World. It was particularly difficult to photograph with the flapping in the wind and the no flapping when flapping is needed.  Further afoot brought us to our lunch spot. STK did not score high on our list of dining establishments. I can say that the space was cool. 

5th Avenue Nun Out

193 different flags

Disco roller rink

The close spacing made it hard to see any one flag

Large white non-structural decorative items 

Sweeping lines 

High contrast

Enjoyable space if you are just looking

My plate was not pleased

3 May 2022 NYC: MOMA

 

We had the Museum of Modern Art for breakfast. Not really but it was all a bit earlier than our norm. Up to the top floor we went and wandered around for a few hours.  There was a major Matissie exhibit that we were chased out of. This was the day after the big fundraiser the "Met".  We surmised that some big shots were going to get a tour and we would get in the way.    There was a huge volume of cool art.   I'll let the pictures tell the tale. 

Art across the street 

Lots of space

Van Goghtastic

A cohesive work 

Portraiture 

Surprise is in the eyes

Barriers

Irony

Fat Kats indeed

Lots of Dali

Artists that lack a formal education are often labeled outsiders...

Think of how long they have to sit in the dentist chair

Sickles 

Words as art 

2 May 2022 NYC: Udon Noodles and Jazz

 

This day had been left mostly open so when it came time to pick a place for dinner on a chilly and rainy day...udon soup was a no brainer. Add to that the fact that the noodle place is only a block away. Off we went to Tsuru Ton Tan for soup. It was a very nice interior but a bit too dim to read the menu. We both got the salmon lovers dish.  That is because we are both true salmon lovers and also because the dish came with a small bowl of Udon noodles. Small is the word they used.  The actual size of the soup bowl was large.  It only seemed small next to the absolutely huge bowls that were being served on either side of us. We dodged a giant soup bullet there. After our dinner we came back to the room as the concert was not till 8:30 and it is just two blocks away.  The artist was Anais Reno Quartet and they were great. Anais is only 18 and she has some very noteworthy achievements. She played Carnegie Hall at 16, sang the Star Spangled Banner at the 20th anniversary of 9-11. We were in a very small theater and we could see and hear everything. It was something that we have wanted to do for a long time.  The show was just top notch in all respects. 

 

Noodles and much more

This is where the magic happens 

Nice earthy feel

That is a giant pair of bowls

That is a whole lit of super tasty salmon 

Still dreary

All of 18 years old

The sax is as big as the guy playing it

Close to the action

A small intimate hall

We were not aware that dinner was available 

The world famous jazz club

Yeah concert time 

The URL if you are interested 

Birdman at Birdland

All suited up and ready to brave the cold