Ah New York...

"Ah, what can ever be more stately and admirable to me than mast-hemm'd Manhattan"-- Walt Whitman, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"

"New York is where I'd rather stay./ I get allergic smelling hay./ I just adore a penthouse view./ Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue."-- Eva Gabor

We've just returned from a fabulous trip to NYC and I'm sure it's going to take us both a few weeks or months to process everything we've seen and done. It was, like our last trip there, an absolute dream. We walked around a lot and just took in the magic. I'll post some photos next week-- I still need to get them processed (I'll write about that shortly too).

Until then, here are a few of the amazing things we saw or did. We saw three plays: The History Boys which was incredible and amazingly acted. It featured the original UK cast including Richard Griffiths (Uncle Monty from "Withnail and I" and Harry's Uncle from Harry Potter) and Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxime in Harry Potter as well as numerous other things).

Also The Lieutenant of Inishmore which the NY Times adroitly describes as both gruesome and gleeful; it too was superbly acted. Speaking of gruesome and gleeful: we also saw a remarkable production of "Sweeney Todd."

Other highlights included seeing Kenny Garrett at Birdland and, at the last minute, a production of Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera.

We also took in some fascinating art shows: the Whitney Biennial--a few very interesting works. The Cloisters was magical and the Met-- stunning but also overwhelming. I spent an hour in a teeny tiny room of photos which I plan on writing about soon. The International Centre of Photography featured a really compelling exhibit of contemporary African photography.

Also captivating was the Darwin exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History Having just seen the great movie The Squid and the Whale, we also had to check out the aforementioned squid and whale. I expect I've got some poorly lit photos of the whale I can bore you with.

As always, Dale researched some great new restaurants-- one even had an extensive cheese list! I felt like Wallace and Gromit. In his research, he also found what might be one of the most perfect cafes ever-- 71 Irving Place. Our friends Brian and Aki also took us to the famous Magnolia Bakery-- made even more famous by the SNL video I'm sure you saw about cupcakes and the Chronicles of Narnia.

Finally, I have to admit it was a doggie dream world, especially in Central Park. We met a lovely pug named Lola and I spent perhaps a bit too much time loitering around the edges of dog parks cooing at Yorkies in NY Yankees t-shirts as they cavorted with Prada-collared Weimaraners, mangey mutts, and tracksuit-wearing pugs. In retrospect, I see these democratic dog parks have a Whitman-esque quality to them ("Song of My Dog"? "I Sing the Doggie Electric"?). Pictures to follow...though, sadly not of the Pugs, Yorkies and Weimaraners. Stay tuned.