To Do: Ride The Cyclone in Coney Island

What: Visit Coney Island and ride The Cyclone as it celebrates its 80th birthday.

When: A.S.A.P.

The Cyclone has consistently ranked at or near the top of every roller coaster top ten list published. It has been proclaimed the world's greatest by a broad spectrum of media institutions and roller coaster aficionados. Time Magazine quoted Charles Lindbergh as saying that a ride on the Cyclone was more thrilling than his historic first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Emilio Franco, a mute since birth, regained his voice on the Cyclone, uttering his first words ever -- "I feel sick"! In April 2001, singer Nikki Lauren became the first person ever to present a live musical performance in the Cyclone's historic loading station.

As soon as I mentioned to friends that I needed to do this, as least two of them reported major health issues (some requiring chiropractic treatment) soon after they rode it.

This only makes me want to ride it more.

I guarantee that I am the only person you know who gets car sick without fail, but simply can't pass up a good roller coaster. The only question remaining is, will this upset my vomit streak?

If I chicken out (not likely,) there's always the Burlesque Master Class.

As a recovering Philly girl, I'm also looking forward to spending time on a boardwalk, like the ones I remember from childhood summers at the Jersey shore. I'll bet there's good eatin' to be done too!

To Do: Guest Bartend at the Gael Pub

Are you here as a result of the Evite? Welcome!



Poke around the site and get up to speed.

I so hope you can make it; its sure to be a blast.

I Did It! Visit The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I Did It! Visit The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art



It was so easy to appreciate the careful attention to detail that made my visit to The Cloisters like stepping back in time to medieval Europe.

The Cloisters was designed and built as a museum of works of art from the Middle Ages. Opened to the public in 1938, The Cloisters, with its neo-medieval architecture, provides a harmonious context for the exhibition of its important collection, which includes architectural fragments that have been incorporated into the fabric of the building iteslf. The unique setting allows the works of art to be installed in a manner suggesting their original functions and situations.

An hour's ride by public transit from the Metropolitan Museum's main branch delivered me to a picturesque idyll replete with tapestries, sculpture and gardens in bloom. Bliss.

Do YOU have Great Things to Do Today?

If there's anything one learns in a post-9/11 New York, its that life is too short not to have great things to do EVERY DAY. Keep your dance card full, friends, you never know when the music is going to stop.

XXOO,
Melissa

To Do: New York Philharmonic In Central Park - And Fireworks!

What: New York Philharmonic performs free in Central Park - And Fireworks!
When: Wednesday, July 11, 8:00 pm

New York Philharmonic
Wednesday, July 11, 8:00 pm
Central Park - Great Lawn
Mid-Park from 79th to 85th Streets
Ludovic Morlot will conduct the New York Philharomonic:

Berlioz: Le Corsaire Overture
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto featuring soloist Stefan Jackiw
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, "Pathéthique"

The concert will be followed by a fireworks display.

This is just the thing to soothe the sting of disappointment caused by the Metropolitan Opera's performance in Central Park getting rained out.

If you can't make it on the 11th, there's another performance on the 17th:

New York Philharmonic
Tuesday, July 17, 8:00 pm
Central Park - Great Lawn
Mid-Park from 79th to 85th Streets
Sir Andrew Davis will conduct the New York Philharomonic:

Richard Strauss: Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
Puccini, Massenet, Catalani, Weber: Various Arias featuring soprano Measha Brueggergosman
Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

The concert will be followed by a fireworks display.

My standard picnicing rules apply. Please pass the wine, cheese and olives.

To Do: Visit The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I have long been a great fan (and neighbor!) of the main branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art... its been like a second home to me, and I will truly miss the views from its roof, cocktails and music at the balcony bar, and visiting my Degas ballerinas.

I have always wanted to visit the Met's other branch, The Cloisters:

The Cloisters—described by Germain Bazin, former director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, as "the crowning achievement of American museology"—is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Located on four acres overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, the building incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters—quadrangles enclosed by a roofed or vaulted passageway, or arcade—and from other monastic sites in southern France. Three of the cloisters reconstructed at the branch museum feature gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and poetry, garden documents and herbals, and medieval works of art, such as tapestries, stained-glass windows, and column capitals. Approximately five thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from about A.D. 800 with particular emphasis on the twelfth through fifteenth century, are exhibited in this unique and sympathetic context.

As soon as the crazy weather straightens itself out (soon? please?) I will hop a bus and get medieval on the Met's ass.

I Did It! One Last Game at Yankee Stadium

Cross it off the list: One Last Game at Yankee Stadium

Shhh... I have a secret.

I'm a Mets fan.

But the Opera in Central Park was rained out, so I infiltrated Yankee Stadium for one last game.

I was totally thrown off by two things: the weather, which somehow succeeded in being both cold AND muggy, and the Arizona Diamondbacks' uniforms, which used to be purple and teal. Now the Diamondbacks seem to be not-so-cleverly disguised as Philadelphia Phillies...



I'm so pleased that my trend of drinking beers bigger than my head continues unabated. I also indulged in a sausage sandwich with peppers and onions. I'll go anywhere for one of these - they are a totally welcome addition to my new Nothing But Donuts Diet. I'll be up to my ultimate fighting weight of about 165 in no time. [sigh]



Yankee Stadium is revered for its rich history, but when the crowd goes nutty and the joint literally starts shaking, you grab your photo op and GET OUT.

I'm glad I got to cross it off the list. Next stop, Shea Stadium.

Will This Be Me?

"Why leaving New York should be sadder than leaving any other city, I don't know. Some people who visit or who live here leave New York believing they never made the most of it, and a visitor is usually inclined to think the same. Unless you were miserable in New York, regret at how little you did or saw is a part of departure. I once heard a British professor say that New York was an old lover and that he hated the next farewell so strongly that he preferred not to visit again. He said this with genuine feeling."

--From "Bohemian New York" by Inigo Thomas

I Did It! QUIT MY JOB!

This just in:


Its really happening - my time in NYC is coming to a close. The Boss Man is now informed that...


Can anyone suggest a good mover?

To Do: One Last Game at Yankee Stadium

What: One Last Game at Yankee Stadium

The Yankees organization has spent years developing plans for the self-financed stadium that will rise in Macombs Dam Park, adjacent to and north of the current field. Construction on the planned 51,000-seat park is expected to begin in 2006, and should conclude in time for the 2009 season.

Seems like the thing to do - one last game before they "yank" down Yankee stadium. Ha.

I Did It! 139th Running of the Belmont Stakes

Cross it off the list: 139th Running of the Belmont Stakes

Remember when I said I've never won a dime at Belmont?

I. hit. the. TRIFECTA.

To the tune of $131.50.

I think that bears repeating. I won. $131.50. By hitting the trifecta. At Belmont.

Behold:


And here is the moment I went from loser to winner, captured for posterity:

Ah, the face of VICTORY.

I Did It! Victorian Gardens at Central Park

Cross it off the list: Victorian Gardens at Central Park

The pictures really say it all. The rides were perfect for my 2-year-old niece and 3-year-old nephew. I honestly don't know which was more enjoyable, the amusements, or the looks on their faces as they took it all in.

I'll miss the little ones a lot when I go. They'll just have to come out to LA when they're older and take me to Disneyland!

I Did It! Thursday Night Campfire with Martin and Craig

Cross it off the list: Thursday Night Campfire with Martin and Craig

In a word? Divine.