A "Bonus" Snow Day, in Manhattan

A week ago, my husband and I drove to Manhattan, as we often do, to attend a concert. That Sunday afternoon, we heard the Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. Glorious!

Currently, we have a 7-day timeshare at the neighboring Manhattan Club, and had been fortunate enough to book a room for Sunday night. As predictions about the impending snow storm worsened, we contacted the reservations department, to see if there was a chance we might be able to stay Monday night, also. As the Club had been receiving cancellations, we were assured that we would be able to stay a second night, if necessary.

Knowing that our accommodations were secure, we wandered around the corner to Lily's 57, one of our favorite sushi restaurants, and enjoyed a typically excellent and affordable dinner.

The next morning, I started checking the traffic reports on my BlackBerry, and learned that there were a lot of accidents in New Jersey, although Manhattan didn't look too bad. So, my husband was persuaded to stay the extra day, and I confirmed that with the reservation department. Then, we set off to enjoy our "bonus" snow day. It is rare that we have an entire day off, to enjoy just with each other.

First, brunch was in order, so we slushed our way one block North, to 57th Street, to Cafe Europa, which advertised brunch. There, we both enjoyed a marvelous breakfast, made agreeably lighter by the provision of salad, in lieu of the typical breakfast potatoes. We both enjoyed that, very much.

During brunch, we discussed the possibilities for the day, and quickly decided that our first priority would be to get tickets for one of the upcoming performances of Il Trovatore, at the Metropolitan Opera. "Why," you might ask, "would you do that first, when you had all of New York City awaiting you?" Let me explain ...

This year, one of the stars of this particular opera is Dmitri Hvorostovsy - a Russian baritone whose voice we simply adore. (Women: As a bonus, Dmitri is gorgeously handsome!) We do try to hear Dmitri, whenever he is in town. Further impetus was provided by the news we had heard that Hvorostovsky would not be returning to the Met, next year, in favor of a busier concert schedule. Although we also attend his concerts, we enjoy his opera performances very much, and didn't want to miss what might be our last opportunity, for a number of years.

[Sidebar] So that you might better understand our passion for this extraordinary singer, I've included a few video clips:

• "Ombra mai fu," from Handel's Xerxes (this melody is popularly known as "Largo," its tempo, and is often heard in an orchestral version; YouTube video, with Japanese subtitles): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0PcHEdSpnA


• "Avant de quitter ses lieux," from Gounod's Faust (on a Japanese site, similar to YouTube): http://www.56.com/u66/v_MzY4OTYwNzk.html


• "Moscow Nights," a popular Russian song written in 1955 that has also enjoyed great popularity in English, starting about 50 years ago (YouTube video, with English subtitles): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmPI2WNuUzE

There are many more of his videos on YouTube, but these three give you a sense of the range of his repertoire. Hope you enjoy them! [end of sidebar]

Having made our decision, we plodded through the snow, north to Central Park South (so we could enjoy a view of Central Park), west to Broadway, north to 64th Street, and across to Lincoln Center, where the Metropolitan Opera is located. After failed attempts to get affordable tickets for several performances, we were finally able to secure rear orchestra seats for a performance 2 weeks away. Hurrah!

Now what would we do? It's Monday, and most of the museums are closed (a tradition that I personally deplore). However, we knew of one that is open on Mondays, in defiance of typical practice: Die neue Gallerie. This museum specializes in early 20th Century German and Austrian art. Sometimes we enjoy its exhibits; sometimes we don't. However, "nothing ventured, ..." so off we went, splurging on a taxi.

Die neue Gallerie is on 5th Avenue at 86th Street, just a little north of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but on the opposite side of 5th Avenue. It used to be one of the elegant 5th Avenue mansions, and makes a lovely special-purpose museum. To our delight, the current exhibition features "Die Brücke: The Birth of Expressionism in Dresden and Berlin, 1905-1913." Die Brücke were a group of Expressionist painters and woodblock artists who collaborated on art shows and publications of their work; quite an interesting group! As often happens, we liked many of the pieces - especially the woodblock prints, and the paintings with bolder regions of bright colors. Some of the works, we didn't care for, at all. Such is taste: Chacun à son goût!

Leaving Die neue Gallerie, we decided to walk back to the Manhattan Club: 30 short blocks south, and 2 long blocks west - about 2 miles. Most of the way, we walked beside Central Park, which was full of families enjoying the day off in the snow. Lots of fun!

It was actually a very cold walk, because the wind was strong and bit into one's face. But, we prevailed. En route, we identified the restaurant to which we would return for dinner - an Indian restaurant on 56th Street, called The Bay Leaf. Delicious meal, preceded by an intriguing assortment of chutneys - some sweet, some spicy - served with papadum (lentil flatbread).

The next morning, we checked out of the Manhattan Club, retrieved our car from the garage, and set off for home. Imagine our surprise, when we found the Interstate highways in New Jersey to be completely free of snow and ice. The New Jersey road crews had done a fabulous job, clearing away all evidence of the storm. Although there had been over 350 accidents, the previous day, traffic flowed easily on Tuesday morning.

Thus ended, our "bonus" day off. I recommend that all couples reserve such a day, at least once every year.