April 9, 2018 - Kids that make a Difference and Carousel on Broadway Re-cap

Tanya's Daily Scoop​
Covering the West Coast & the World
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 3 DAYS

These kids make a Difference

Hello there and Happy Monday to you.

It's a new week and a great time for new beginnings and to start working on your dreams and setting new goals!!

For me, I've only got 3 days until we head out to Moab for our first mountain biking adventure of the season.          Which is very exciting!

And as much as I would like to go for a work out, I don't want my legs to be sore or too tired for all the riding that we'll be doing once we get there.

On the travel note - I also have a hankering for a winter trip to Quebec City.
But since I already know my next winter schedule is already pretty packed, I probably can't plan going there again until winter 2020.

On another travel note - I'm note sure if you've already read Elisa's column, but in there she mentions planning a trip to visit the original homeland of where our Sicilian Roots are derived. 

And while I've traveled up, down and all around the boot that is Italy. I've yet to visit Sicily! 

I know that Elisa and I had discussed a cousins trip to Sicily back in October of 2015

      Summer, 2019: (Late June/July):
      Sicily, Italy
     "Cousins Sicilian Homeland Trip"

But we really haven't chatted much about it ever since...
I'm loving the idea of going to Sicily next year! And just to let you all know, it's been in my calendar slated for Summer of 2019 ever since, and I haven't replaced it with anything else.

Soooo with all of that being said, hopefully it all works out. Because we are bound to have a GREAT time!  
Perhaps if it doesn't work out perfectly, it can still be something similar to when we all went to London and have great memories to look back on of our time together there. 

April 2017 in London (c)travelincousins.com

April 2017 in London (c)travelincousins.com

We each had our own itineraries and yet carved out things to do as a group and it was a wonderful trip!!

Now moving along on to yesterday and the heart wrenching emotionally exhausting long annual memorial event for JHV - Justice for Homicide Victims that the IPC - International Peace Choir performs at and through some lifts the spirits of those in pain.

The peace sharing Ambassadors should only know how powerful their voice and lyrics are. And how the message that they share is so heart felt and truly needed.

I'm always so proud of these kids.
​THESE KIDS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD and the lives that they touch!  

Some of the ambassadors waiting to warm-up (c)travelincousins.com

Finding beauty wherever I am (c)travelincousins.com

The event is held at Rose Hills (c)travelincousins.com

The sun started to come out (c)travelincousins.com

Cosette and the choir (c)travelincousins.com

Being filmed on channels 2, 7, and 9 news stations (c)travelincousins.com

Taking a break (c)travelincousins.com

Dave has been coming to this event with us since 2009 (c)travelincousins.com

A balloon release in remembrance of lost loved ones (c)travelincousins.com

Nine years (2009) ago at the same event, with baby Mika and Dave wearing the same shirt (c)travelincousins.com

Once the kids were released and we were able to go, the first thing on the agenda was eating!!!

We decided on going for sushi. Mmm.

But since it was Cosette's friend Abby's birthday, she had decided that she would rather stay home and chat with her friend then come out to eat - of course she wanted us to bring her back a couple of rolls!

So we traded kids. Dropping Cosette off and picking up Dominic and then were off to 39 Degrees in Long Beach. Where we ordered roll after roll of yumminess.

This is just a sample of 2 types of rolls that we got:

Mr. Bean and the Green Machine (c)travelincousins.com

The remainder of the day was fairly mellow and dinner was at home with the fam bam doing our typical Italian Sunday Dinner.

I've got a board meeting tonight and the kids have rehearsal, Cosette will be rehearsing and Dominic working with the kids in the capacity of leadership as being an Alumni.

Gonna get offline now, but I'll be back tomorrow.
-Travelin' Tanya 

Elisa's Daily Scoop
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs
​NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 11 DAYS

Carousel on Broadway Re-cap

Hey!  Hope you had a nice, relaxing weekend.

Mine came at the tail end of a school vacation week.  Boy, did it fly by!! Our last day, yesterday, was tons of fun!

Me and my girlies went into Manhattan for a yummy lunch and to see Carousel on Broadway. I have to tell you, I think I may be losing it in my old age. ​

For decades I have been securing show tickets - to all kinds of entertainment events, from Broadway shows, to operas, ballets and concerts.  In all these years, I have always geographically planned out my restaurant choice for the respective event so that it was in close proximity to the venue.

Well, I thought I did the same for yesterday's performance of Carousel.  For some crazy reason, I had it in my head that the Imperial Theatre, where Carousel is playing, was on West 47th Street.  

I must have checked those tickets a dozen times and for some God forsaken reason, my brain saw 47th Street.

Ok, so I made reservations at Trattoria Trecolori on 47th Street, which, by the address, was only a few doors down from the theatre.  Well, the address I had in my head.  We found a lot right around the corner on West 48th Street, which was just perfect.

Me and the girls took our sweet time eating and savoring our meal, chatting away because, hey, the theatre was only a few doors down.  Yup. So, we leisurely left the restaurant to head "up the block a few doors" at 2:50 for a 3pm curtain.

When we began walking, up the block and didn't see the theatre, I decided to look at the tickets again.  WHAT?!? West 45th, not West 47th!!!

I made the announcement to the girls and like three fools, we start running from the middle of West 47th, east to Broadway, zooming past 46th, eventually getting to 47th and heading west up the street.  

Great way to digest a huge meal, by the way.  Thank goodness, there was a long line, going through security, into the theatre, so we were fine, having arrived exactly at 2:59.

We giggled and laughed as we made our way to our seats. But, I swear, I never did that before. Getting old sucks!!

Alrighty, so let me get back to the details of the day. Well, first, we hit a boatload of traffic heading into the city on the Long Island Expressway, better known as the largest parking lot in the world.  Some construction in the Midtown Tunnel had traffic at a complete standstill for about 30 minutes.  Thank goodness we left way early.

We decided to watch an episode of The Office while in park on the expressway - why not put the time to good use!!

I have to say, it was a bit freaky not seeing any toll booths anymore, as we approached the tunnel.  Very futuristic.  

In spite of the back-up, however, we made it to Trattoria Trecolori by 1:30 with plenty of time to chow down a great Italian meal.

Trattoria Trecolori (West 47th Street, NYC) (c) travelincousins.com Not the best shot - we were racing to the theatre on West 45th

Bar inside Trattoria Trecolor (c)travelincousins.com

Although running to the theatre to get there in time after lunch was not the best for our digestion, while we were dining, we savored every bite!  

Starting off the meal, we shared an order of fried zucchini and a caprese salad (mozzarella and tomato), and left the plates squeaky clean!

Our little trio (c) travelincousins.com

View of the restaurant towards the street, from our table in the back (c) travelincousins.com

I had Farfalle Primavera, which was absolutely
dee-lish.  The veggies were julienned to perfection and the pasta was al dente.

Gianna, being a lover of Gnocchi, had the Gnocchi with mozzarella and sautéed eggplant!  YUM (of course I tried it!)
Kelsey kept it simple with Spaghetti Marinara, which she thoroughly enjoyed!

Yummy bread! (c) travelincousins.com

My little appetizer plate of fried zucchini and mozzarella and tomato (c) travelincousins.com

Farfalle Primavera (c) travelincousins.com

Gnocchi with mozzarella and eggplant (c) travelincousins.com

Spaghetti Marinara (c) travelincousins.com

Snapping a pic while chatting away (c) travelincousins.com

While dining, we chatted about three things:
1) Which show we are going to see next - here's the end result:  Mean Girls, Hamilton (once I mortgage my house) and Book of Mormon.

2) Our trip to Italy - we decided that we will be making it a "homeland" trip, visiting Sicily (where my dad's family is from) and Calabria (where my maternal Grandma Rose was born and lived until emigrating to the U.S at seven years old).  More details to come.

3) And lastly, the girls showed me girls that they know (and dislike) on "the Gram" (Instagram) that think either look "inappropriate" in the pictures they post, or are just too full of themselves.
Ah, the joys of being a teenager. 

That conversation took us on to a most scrumptious dessert.  Gianna's made the biggest statement, with her Sicilian Cannoli.  Kelsey and I decided on a "less ostentatious" last course, and went with vanilla (me) and chocolate (Kelsey) ice cream!

Sicilian Canoli for Gianna (c) travelincousins.com

Vanilla Ice Cream with a crunchy biscotti (c) travelincousins.com

Kelsey savoring her chocolate ice cream (c) travelincousins.com

After paying the check (still not aware that we had to walk two blocks), we headed out on what would become a sprint to the Imperial Theatre.

(c) travelincousins.com

Our seats were good - Orchestra Row R - not terrible - but, the good news is, the entire theatre was pretty well packed, except for four seats in front of us!!!

Can you believe it!  No leaning or tilting our necks.  Just a straight on view of the stage!! Love when that happens.

The show started almost immediately after we took our seats.  It was just lovely!  The performances by the entire cast were phenomenal!  

I was absolutely awe-struck by the singing!   This was my second time seeing Jessie Mueller on Broadway - first in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, for which she garnered a Tony Award for her performance of Carole King.  And I was so impressed with how she could go from sounding so much like the singer-songwriter to singing in an almost operatic  voice as Julie Jordan in Carousel.

Joshua Henry, who played Billy Bigelow was outstanding and his voice was emotionally charged as it overtook the theatre!  Renée Fleming played the role of Nettie Fowler, whose character sings "You'll Never Walk Alone."  Her voice was impeccable, but I will admit, it was hard not to hear Jerry Lewis in my head, as he used to end the Muscular Dystrophy telethons each Labor Day with his own rendition.  Of course, there was no comparison.

Filled with ballet and acrobatic dance numbers, my girls were in their glory watching the talent on stage. One thing I observed was that my girls were clearly the youngest audience members.  I was a bit surprised, but, I suppose underneath the  singing and dancing, the storyline is a bit dark.

Both kids loved it, although, Gianna was affected a bit more than Kelsey by the sad ending.

We had fun during intermission - me and Gianna taking selfies and Kelsey playing on her phone.

Intermission Selfie Time (c)travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Kelsey wanted no part of the selfies (c) travelincousins.com

As with every other Broadway show, we waited at the stage door to get our playbills autographed.  While we managed to catch most of the cast, we were told Jessie Mueller was not exiting any time soon, and so we decided not to wait. 

At the Stage Door waiting for the Carousel Cast to exist (c) travelincousins.com

Lindsay Mendez (Carrie PIpperidge) (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Bronx-born Amar Ramasar (Jigger Craigin) (c) travelincousins.com

Joshua Henry (Billy Bigelow) (c) travelincousins.com

John Douglas Thompson (The Starkeeper) (c) travelincousins.com

Renée Fleming (Nettie Fowler) (c) travelincousins.com

Signed Carousel Playbill (c) travelincousins.com

It was a super fun day and by the way, couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weather day!!

Now the ride home was not much better than the ride in.  After  heading downtown to take the Midtown Tunnel, I turned and went back uptown and took the Triborough Bridge instead.  If I didn't we'd probably still be in the city!!!


Last, but not least, it's Monday and with it comes another feature from moi.  
​Today's feature is focused on Jazz Appreciation Month:

18 Must-Visit Places for Jazz Lovers

I'll be linking that story in a little bit!!

See ya back here tomorrow!

-E
xoxo