We are now at the halfway point of our trip and I’m so sad about it. It’s fun to escape work for a little bit and also rediscover my love for this amazing city as the life has come back to it post-COVID. We didn’t have much planned for this day, so it was actually the day we moved around the most, but also managed to get a quick nap in before our show that evening.
We started off the day standing in our first rush line of the trip. If you’re not familiar with rush tickets, a majority of Broadway shows have a section of tickets set aside for each performance that range from $30-$45 in what is sometimes considered partial view seats. Rush tickets are released when the box office opens every morning. The catch is that depending on how popular the show is, you may have to line up in front of the theater for a few hours before the box office actually opens. As far as I can remember, I have been able to get tickets this way every time I have done it I always try to get in line between 8-8:30am, unless its a high demand show.
We started off in line for New York, New York. We were actually the only ones in the line and after sitting in the cold wind for 20 minutes, we decided to walk over to the Marriott Marquis to their Starbucks and warm up a little since no one had joined the line yet. While we were walking over, we noticed the line for Parade was shorter than usual. We had planned to rush it Friday, but with the length of the line that morning combined with the fact that it seemed like we wouldn’t have an issue getting tickets for New York, New York, we decided to hop in the Parade line instead.
Parade has since closed (it was a limited run) but I believe a National Tour of the production will be starting performances in the near future, so if you want to read my full review of the show, you can find it here.
Tickets secured, we made our way over to One Summit, which is one of the newer high rise lookout points in the city that houses an immersive experience. It’s located in the Vanderbilt building next to Grand Central Station and it’s very easy to get to from 42nd Street. We went around the corner of the entrance to find the ticketing machine. I probably should’ve done more research into the ticketing process, because they do sell out in each time slot. The first open availability for us was about 12pm.
With two hours to kill and a short walk over to Rockefeller Center, I convinced my mom to spend some time at the Hill House store, since they had dropped their Summer collection the day before. I was able to try on a few of the new styles that they introduced with the collection and managed to snag one of the few remaining Hydrangea print dresses (in the Matilda style). I also got one of their coffee tumblers that I use weekly for my iced coffee.
After a fun time shopping at Hill House, we made our way back to One Vanderbilt to get in line for the experience. It was definitely an interesting process – we had to go through security points multiple times on the bottom floor. You have to get your picture taken for a special part of the immersion experience, pick up glasses to help with the glare, and put coverings over your shoes to prevent damaging the glass floors. We also got wristbands with QR codes so we could take pictures from the official photo points throughout the journey. From there, you move into another line to wait for an elevator to take you up 91 floors.
We also watched a short video about the history of the building. My mom felt weird about the reasoning as to why they built it: it wasn’t just to create a newer and higher building. They just wanted to overshadow historic landmarks that they thought were irrelevant to today, like Grand Central Station, which is a sentiment we highly disagree with. The architecture and paintings of Grand Central Station are still in impeccable condition and are iconic to anyone visiting the city. It is also a major railway station where Metro North comes into for commuters living outside of the city or city people wanting to travel out for a long weekend.
There are three parts of the experience that you move through as you go around each area of the building to get a different view of the city. The first part you walk into is just an empty section of floor to ceiling windows with stunning views of the Chrysler Building, The Empire State Building, and One World Trade Center. We got tons of great pictures in that area with those iconic landmarks behind us.
The next section had a great view over Bryant Park and the New York City Library, which as previously stated, is one of our must stops for any trip to the city. It was so crazy to see the landmarks from above and how little space they actually take up in the city. There was also a great photo stop there where the photographers made it look like you were standing over the city. They also gave you an opportunity to take pictures on your phone so you didn’t have to buy their pictures, which was much appreciated.
The last section is probably the most popular section and the main reason most people go to this exhibit. It’s a room similar to the first section, but filled with silver balls that hang out on both the ceiling and the floor. There are plenty of opportunities for great pictures. This is definitely a draw for content creators or those that want to create the perfect Instagram-worthy picture to share with their friends and family. Was it worth the price of the ticket? I think it was. It was definitely fun for us and the views were fantastic. It was also something we’ve never done before, since I’d only made it as far up Rockefeller as the Rainbow Room. However, I think I would’ve enjoyed The Edge in Hudson Yards more.
Once we finished our time at The Summit, we realized it was almost 2PM and we hadn’t had lunch yet. There is a Chick-Fil-A across the street from One Vanderbilt, so we ran over there to grab lunch quickly before heading over to the Chelsea neighborhood to go see the exhibits at the Fashion Institute of Technology. The Fashion Institute of Technology is a free museum that displays all different types of art across all mediums. Because it was the end of the school year, we were able to see all the pieces of the graduating seniors, starting with a fantastic display of fashion. There were at least two dresses that the students had created that I would’ve killed to wear. They were stunning. I’m always blown away by peoples’ artistic talents!
From there, we moved down to the galleries. The first was a gallery showcasing prints from seniors in the photography department. There were some that created a series that followed a story. They were very moving. I really enjoyed going through all pictures and seeing the different types of photography skills each student showcased. The next gallery had paintings and sketches. Again there were some art pieces in that collection that I would have loved to purchase both if I had the money and if they were available for purchase. There was also a section in the room where students had created graphic novels and illustrated books. That was probably the section I took the most time in because I was enjoying reading all the stories that they created. One a few of the tables in the middle of the gallery, there was a place where you could pick up a students business card that showcased their social media handles so you could follow them in their careers and also see more of their portfolios. If you are interested in art of any kind and want to see some talented students as they start off on their professional journey, I highly recommend stopping by the FIT Museum.
After the museum, we decided to head back to the hotel to drop off my Hill House bag (it was large and kept running into everything). For dinner, we decided to make a reservation at one of my favorite Pubs in the theater district/Hell’s Kitchen area and just spend some time relaxing and napping before then. Our show was at 8PM show, since it was a two show day, so we felt like a nap was needed so we could stay up for a later night out. Feeling somewhat relaxed and rejuvenated from our break, we headed back to the theater district to eat at the Brazen Tavern.
This has been my go to place since a friend told me about it my first year in NYC. They have a delicious pretzel with beer cheese appetizer and you can never go wrong with a burger from there. After finishing our dinner we made our way to the theater, but not before we stopped at one of my favorite bakeries on the way.
If there is one bakery I insist you visit on a trip to the city, it’s Schmackary’s. It’s very well known amongst those who love all things Broadway (they used to collaborate with shows a lot before COVID). Their cookies are delicious and massive! They have a standard set of four cookies that are available year-round. They also have a rotational group featuring fan favorites and seasonal flavors that change throughout the week. I try to get all my favorites in one trip, but sometimes I have to sacrifice a flavor if it’s not available when I stop by. I always grab a dozen before flying home because their cookies travel extremely and stay fresh when frozen once I get home. I’ve also managed to get so many friends hooked on the cookies over the years that I always end up bringing back Schmackary’s for them when I go to NYC.
Once we got our cookies, it was time for Parade. I’m not going to discuss much about it here because not only did I do a full review post here, but it was a limited run show and is no longer open on Broadway. But I will say that Parade was a powerful piece of art that left a lasting impression on us and if it does go on tour, I highly suggest seeing it if you have the opportunity and means to do so.
This wraps up our third day in the city. I’m so excited to share with y’all what we did for our fourth day starting with a high tea breakfast at the cutest restaurant and tons of fun experiences throughout the city!
Here are more pictures of our third day in NYC:
melissaleighblog.com 