Is there a doctor in the house?

Well, yesterday is pretty easy to retell. At noon, we headed out to Manhattan again. There we came across NBC studio, took photos, climbed up to the paid-tour booth on the 2nd floor – we just wanted to see what was up there… although we had not intentions at all to pay for any tickets for anything that day. It was fun looking through all the merchandise in the NBC studio… and thinking that it’s pretty easy for tourists to get sucked in to buying stuff… but not us, ‘cause there simply isn’t much for us to spend. Haha!

lotus lamp - Moma

We walked a few minutes further and finally found Moma. We looked forward to this – our first real museum visit for the trip. I gave the ticket which Rose had so thoughtfully tucked away for us to the man at the reception. ‘This is the Moma, miss; your ticket is for the Mets’. Oh, dear! Thank God, Kanootz was quick to save my face from certain shame with a ‘Two tickets to get in, please’. $20 each. Huh? $20 each. Oh well. As always, one must approach each circumstance with much optimism. So we headed in. Some of the exhibits were pretty amazing. Some makes one question why they’re there – which is probably the point.

Pollock's She-wolf @ Moma

Monet's @ Moma

A pink fluorescent light bulb on a corner is – apparently art. Okay. ‘Look, a Pollock!’ Kanootz calls out. Now we’re talking. Great to see something we finally know about. Slowly, the feeling of being ripped off is melting away. Monet made us stand sill by the sheer size of his work. Picasso makes one smile and want to touch. Oh, and let us also mention that there’s this helicopter hanging in the middle of the building – apparently the first commercial chopper ever. The Museum of Modern Art, after all is what it’s called. At least now that we’ve been exposed to modern art, we realize we have yet to develop appreciation for it.

Picasso, Pablo @ Moma

Union Square Park

beetroots... so red!

Finally, a text from Nurse Rose who had just finished work for the day calls us to take to the subway and meet her at union square. There, we managed to catch the remaining flea market stalls surrounding the park. Interesting and refreshing. Flea markets are always a gem and an amazing touch of country culture that spring out of the metals and concretes of the urban jungle.

pumpkins @ union square

for Inang... from a NY flea

After sunset, we followed Rose’s lead to her favourite Bagel Shop. Essa. We bought a dozen, and 6 cups of crème cheese – 2 plain ones, 2 garden salad, and 2 cups of a pleasant discovery – the ‘raisin and walnut’! It was a lengthy walk but all worth it! Funny thing – realizing that we were Filipinos, the shop person was telling Rose ‘mahal-mahal kita’ haha! And this was Wednesday – the 4th day.

wheat grass. lush. union square market

Thursday, Yahoo! Phantom tonight! The whole day, we were home with Jerico, and naturally – we ate nothing else but bagels, all day! Not complaining, nu-uh! I took the chance to get some photos downloaded, organized and finally do some blogging. Very very behind now. Sorry, peepz! Suddenly, sunset. Rose was home already. We got dressed up a little – Rose lent Joia this pretty little black velvet top with frilly bits, and Joia finally got to wear her red shoes, THE red shoes, in the US of A – fun!

@ Junior's, pre-show

We got there an hour early, so we grabbed some sandwich from a place called Junior’s. Kanootz and Joia shared a Corned Beef Sandwich. The size of the thing! Just as well they were sharing. Oh, and I wouldn’t dare miss to write about the free cheesecake tasters. Between Kanootz and Jerico, the whole tray was – well, piece of cake! And we like FREE. Remember? Come to think of it, the greatest thing in life is really FREE, and not in a cliché kind of way. For us, we’ve been given the greatest gift for free; we just had to accept it. Word for the day… Amen.

Alas, time for some classical entertainment. The cue to get in was very long, amazing when you think people’s tickets have designated seats anyway. ??? Oh, and the tickets were $60USD each. Good score, Miss Rose! Without her radars, we would’ve had to pay double considering how great our seats turned out to be! We could feel Jerico’s excitement when the lights went out. The play opens with an auction. There were several merchandises including a chandelier which became the centerpiece of the story. In the middle of first scene, the Matron calls out ‘I have a note’ in a very very English accent, ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ Huh? We look at Rose and Jerico searching for any indication as to whether that was part of the play or not. They look just as confused as us. Suddenly, the commotion upstairs which had started a while ago becomes louder and louder. ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ The actors ask the audience, in their characters’ accents and tones. Come off of it, and you may actually be more credible, we thought. The curtain closed with some proper announcements for what really is happening. The show resumed as soon as the paramedics rushed away with the person involved. All in all, it’s been a very very interesting evening. It was special for Joia, as who would’ve thought she would be going to some opera, in New York not the least, with her college friend 5 years later who is also now married.

The Phantom of the Opera

Is there a doctor in the house?

New York, United States