NYC 2

This weekend my parents flew in to visit me. They flew in on Thursday evening, and we went to New York City for the weekend. It was AMAZING. I was very tired from midterms which were last week [I think they went well], but I felt much better once I saw my parents. I miss having family around.
Friday we went for dinner at Teresa's Cafe on Palmer Square. The food was really yummy. We had soup and salad and shared a couple of entrees including a pizza with prosciutto. Teresa's also has a good wine list. So if you're looking for a restaurant in Princeton, go to Teresa's. This place was actually recommended to me by my field education adviser. So thanks to Rev. Neff! My parents and I love Teresa's Cafe!
Then on Saturday we traveled via train to Penn Station. Trains are still a new mode of transportation to me, but they are great, fast, and less trouble than cars. We stayed at one of the hotels near Times Square. It is so amazing to spend time in a city I feel like I know so well through movies and television. I know real New Yorkers probably hate it when others say that, so sorry New Yorkers! I do love your city. We went to Carnegie Deli for lunch which has the biggest sandwiches I have ever seen and good cheese cake. Then we walked around Central Park. The picture is of me in front of a gorilla made out of a bush in Central Park. That evening we attended the New York Philharmonic at Avery Hall in Lincoln Center. My parents are professional caliber musicians, and they instilled me with a great love of music of all kinds. To sit through a concert by some of the best musicians in the world and have that privilege was spiritually moving. They make me want to be a better musician. Sunday morning we traveled to Brooklyn, which is very different from Manhattan, where my dad's cousin Daniel and his wife and daughter live. They have a beautiful townhouse, and their little girl is a little over a year old. She is so darling! I don't have a picture, but believe me she's cute. We had brunch with them and then traveled back to Manhattan to see Wicked.
Let me say this about Wicked. I have never seen anything on stage or on screen that could top Wicked. No tv show or movie or even the musical we saw in London. Wicked is just a different level. Everything from the lights to costumes to the actors was just perfect. The set was unlike anything I have ever seen. I have acted in plays and musicals, obviously nothing close to this, and I have seen many movies. No set in a movie was better than this, and their pit was astonishing. I love the CD of Wicked, but the CD cannot match the real orchestra. When people say we don't need to support live music because of our recording technology, they must not have ever heard the NY Philharmonic or the orchestra for Wicked. During the entire show I just felt this electricity throughout my whole body. I loved it. I loved it. I loved it. I would go see that show every weekend until it closes and never get bored.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for investing in live theater and music.

Today we had breakfast before Mom and Dad had to leave for the airport. I miss them. Now I have to go back to the Masters program and do work after a magical weekend.