Mamma Mia!

Oh, what a night. Cherie and I really outdid ourselves last weekend; packing it so full of stuff that my dad (king of 8am-12am NYC site seeing days) would have been proud.

Friday night began by us debating whether or not to go to a free outdoor movie at the Hiline park (a park built above ground on old freight train tracks) until the weather stole our agency, by pouring with rain. Next, we planned to capitalize on Friday night's free museums, but the new York Historical society was still under renovation, and then enroute to MOMA, Uniqlo's Fifth Avenue Global Flagship store was too alluring. We made the most of the opening deals; fighting off crowd to find lightweight down puffer jackets (I fulfilled orders from Emma and Mum). Time flew by, and by the time we were handed free totes upon exiting, we headed to Times Square McDonalds for a cheap, but less healthy cheeseburger (with meat!). Cherie had come armed with Serendipity to help us prepare for NYC Christmas this year, which gave us good Christmas ideas, but also frustrated me with the indecisive characters.

The next morning we jumped the subway to Times Square and got student rush tickets to Mamma Mia! We then got the long subway ride out to the Bronx (both of our first times) where we made our way to the New York Botanical Gardens. Alas, we had missed the free entry, so we decided to pay the five dollar limited entry. The 10 acre gardens (located opposite the Bronx Zoo) were huge and gorgeous. Our Favourite was the Rockefellar Rose Garden, which was in a knoll, looked like Alice in Wonderland and filled with paths with every colour of rose on trees and bushes both. It somehow turned into a photo op, which continued as we found beautiful red trees, a river, a children's garden and so on, as our creativity bloomed with Mary Poppins photos with lamp posts and umbrellas and so on.

We concluded at the huge marble library, which was surrounded by gravel paths, tree lined avenues and a massive sculpture and fountain. We discovered our metro cards didn't work on the Metro North, and so walked back through the bustling streets, where we bought dirt cheap Mac Makeup (like a eyeshadow and blush compact for $10 bucks!) and spat out 2-for-$1 stale, cold Churros.

After an eventful subway ride where we laughed at our photos until we cried, and despite our fervent attempts, failed to help a non-English speaking lady with directions (she looked disgusted at my note in Chinese characters) we made a beeline for the boats at Central Park. We walked the long way from Columbus Circle, past the violinists, and the fountain, and the soon to be ice rink. It was stunning weather, and when the boat line was too long, we decided to hit up the Ramble instead. In our money saving efforts, we withstood temptations to eat out and trekked to Trader Joes for our first real meal. We bought pasta sauce, fresh lingunie, spinach and fetta cheese for under $9 and then absolutely exhausted got back to my apartment at 6pm. We cooked our surprisingly delicious dinner and then it was time for Mamma Mia!
Our seats were limited visibility, and Laura was late, but it was still so awesome! It was funny and the singing was great! I can't wait to see it in Australia with mum and Emma. Afterwards we walked into Times Square, where I bartered with the best side salesman, an African American Artist with awesome painted sketches on raw canvas.
We went to the Rockefellar Centre for Magnolia Cupcakes, and watched them begin to freeze the ice rink! Afterwards,Laura needed dinner, so we went to a cheap slab pizza place, where we talked for hours.

The next morning, we attended Church, then ate our pasta, and briefly napped. That night there was a public affairs fireside and Cherie met my bosses. What a busy weekend! But so fulfilling! It proves my recently discovered Adage, live like a tourist in whichever city you live in, and all of sudden, weekends hold a wealth of opportunity. I can't wait for our next adventure!