As we were all meeting back at the hotel at 1.30, there wasn't time to go to SoHo, so I went to Bloomingdales and then down Lexington Avenue, via a lovely coffee shop called Lucid (full review to follow), to Madison Square Park, where I enjoyed a delicious Shake Shack cheese burger. Yes, I can haz.
There was just time to do a brief bit of accessory shopping in Kate Spade and some more gift buying, before I met the others at our hotel, ready for our 2 pm date with Carnegie Hall. More specifically, to see a performance of Handel's Messiah (unabridged). I actually sang this in the Oxford town hall as part of my school's 125th birthday celebrations, some 17 years ago, but I only remember the Hallelujah Chorus. Today's performance was good, if a bit long for a philistine like me. I was a little disappointed that they didn't bring out Jeff Buckley or even Leonard Cohen during the aforementioned Chorus. The venue was very impressive, anyway.
There was a little time for some pre-prandial shopping, so I went to Lululemon to pick up some new running togs, and then to the Christmas market near Columbus Circle. Dinner at Bar Americain, a Quisite family favourite, was also lovely. This trip was the first meeting of my family and the Bro's in-laws, and the purpose of dinner this evening was to celebrate the wedding of The Bro and The SIL, almost ten months ago. I had a delicious pumpkin soup with cinnamon and pomegranate seeds to start, followed by a spicy smoked chicken. I was far too full for pudding, especially as my first choice would have been the pumpkin bread pudding with maple and pecan ice cream—a little too similar to my starter.
So, with a run in the park, a good macchiato, a great burger, a little shopping, some culcha and a lovely celebratory dinner, today was pretty darn good. It's a shame I'm so tired or I could now head to one of the many stores that are staying open until 6 pm tomorrow. They take their Christmas shopping seriously here, you see...
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