Our Town

 On the second day in NYC, we begin with a familiar routine.  Our first stop was The Strand Bookstore, near Union Square.  This place has long been a favorite shopping spot during all our NY trips.  A large part of our house is filled with books from The Strand.  So we paid another visit and were not disappointed.  The place has changed a little inside, and now includes a small coffee bar in the back.  We perused the stacks for over an hour, and came away with some new books and a stack of postcards I will be soon sending to Postcrossing members around the world.

We walked around the farmer's market set up in Union Square for a while, enjoying the beautiful day before then going to nearby Ribalta, a Neapolitan pizza joint we've come to love.  The wood fired oven pizza can't be beat, and we enjoyed an elegant and delicious lunch.  I strongly recommend the Brigante pizza with spicy oil and salami.  Superb!

From there, a stop at the St. Regis Hotel, where the famed King Cole Bar has just re-opened after a long period of renovation.  At this bar, it is said the original Bloody Mary was invented, though they call it the Red Snapper.  We ordered one, and so this trip included a martini and Bloody Mary at the places where they originated.

Back to The Knickerbocker to freshen up before we headed out through Times Square to the Ethel Barrymore Theater to watch the revival of Thornton Wilder's classic play Our Town.  Opening night for the play was the previous evening, so we'd just read the glowing review of the familiar play.  Familiar, because in the 1970s, my father, a high school teacher, and my mother played Mr. and Mrs. Webb in the high school's student-faculty production of Our Town.  In this Broadway version, their parts were played by Richard Thomas (John-Boy, from The Waltons) and Katie Holmes (ex-wife of Tom Cruise).  The lead role of the play, the Stage Manager, was played by Jim Parsons (from Big Bang Theory).  The show was a triumph, and I enjoyed watching the examination of human mortality as presented via small town New Hampshire life.  A very memorable evening!  But then it was time to head back to our hotel, as tomorrow will be an early start.