New York, New York (Part 1) Kick step, kick step...jazz hands!

Ahhh, New York. There are so many 'New Yorks' and each different neighborhood has it's own character, it's own flavor, it's own attraction. They're all genuinely fascinating to me, as I wander around, lost and a bit overwhelmed, a fish out of water. It's a very exciting city with the hustle and bustle, horns honking, sirens wailing, delicious smells wafting out of restaurants of any and every ethnicity you can imagine. Turkish food? You got it. Ethiopian? Yep. Armenian? You bet. 24 hours a day, Baby. The name 'Manhattan' has been translated as 'island of many hills' from the Lenape Indian language. The Lenape Indians gave a slightly different spin on this meaning to a missionary and said that it meant "the island where we all became intoxicated". But I digress... Pam and Laura enjoy a cocktail The people of New York are exuberant. They are kind, helpful and even sometimes willing to perform for you. They're proud of their city - as well they should be! New York, is after all, the greatest city in the world. Manhattan boasts 1.6 million people who live there and an estimated 4 million 'day population' (people who travel into the city to work and tourists). Mind you, the area of Manhattan is 22.7 square miles! Dallas Fort Worth airport is 29.8 square miles. Utterly amazing. We stayed in the Theater District, a few blocks off Times Square so we could easily walk to and from the theaters at night. Theater is a huge draw for me. Sing for me, dance for me, tell me a story. Oh, and if you don't mind, can you have the people who are the best in the world do that for me? Billy Elliot - How to describe? Set in the mid 1980s, Billy Elliot tells the story of an 11 year old boy (Billy) who dreams of being a Ballet dancer. He finds opposition from friends and family in the small mining town in England where he lives. Score by Elton John, amazing set, fabulous dancing, it's no wonder that Billy Elliot won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This is the best musical that I have ever seen. Hair - Let the sun shine in! I so wanted to be a hippie after this show. We were lucky to have a guest star play the part of 'Dionne'. This young lady had played Celie in The Color Purple musical and WOW, could she belt it out! The actors all had stunning voices and much of the action took place in the theater aisles. This made me extremely happy, as I had an aisle seat, so I often found myself mere inches away from the actors, being sung to and even hugged. I could hear each individual and amazing voice as they passed by in perfect pitch and harmony. Bonus: We told Belle that there was a 'surprise' in the show, but didn't tell her what it was. "What if I don't know it's the surprise when it happens?", she asked. "Oh...you'll know", we smiled. When the actors all got naked, Belle leaned over to me and said "Surprise!". West Side Story - Beautiful, classic Broadway. We had second row center seats. The dancing was phenominal and I was mesmerized. The Palace theater is absolutely GORGEOUS!!! "America" featuring Karen Olivo (won a Tony Award for this part) Marty explains the history of the Palace Theater (He and his lovely companion were in the audience that night, as well) Thanks, Marty! Stay tuned for reports on food, sightseeing and more!