Day Three...

On Wednesday morning (in New York City), I had a VERY hard time getting out of bed. However, we had a big day planned, so I finally gave in to my alarm and woke up.

Once we'd gotten ready for the day, we headed out onto the streets of New York City. It was raining. However, this rain was unlike any precipitation I had ever experienced. It wasn't wet, so much as...well...damp. It was almost a fine mist, blowing in from one side. It was weird.

For breakfast, we decided to visit a little landmark called "Hello Deli". Anyone who has watched "The Late Show with Dave Letterman" will know exactly what this place is. It's right around the corner from Letterman's studio, and we were actually waited on by the guy that Dave always interviews and uses for some of his pranks and comedy bits. Even though Ty and I don’t really watch Letterman, we still know about this deli. I ordered a toasted bagel with cream cheese, and Tyler had an English muffin with egg and bacon. It was a tasty little breakfast, and a cute little deli.

Anyway, we walked a LONG distance that morning. We actually passed our destination. By the time we finally got to the temple, my feet and legs were screaming for a break. The temple was really nice, and by the time we left the sun was shining! Yay for sunshine! :) What made the situation even better? We took a taxi back to the hotel. My legs and feet were very grateful.

Back at the hotel, we just had time to change our clothes before we had to get to the theater for our matinee. What show did we see? Only the longest-running show on Broadway. That's right: We saw "Phantom of the Opera." I know there are people out there that don't like "Phantom", to those people I say: "What in the ever-loving CRAP is wrong with you?" That show rocks! It's always been one of my very favorites, and probably always will be.

A few years ago, "Phantom" actually came to Salt Lake and my parents got tickets for Ty and me for our birthdays that year. It was really good, but I realized something in New York. I will share this epiphany with all of you. Are you ready? Okay here it is:

YOU HAVE NOT SEEN "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" UNTIL YOU'VE SEEN IT IN THE MAJESTIC THEATRE ON BROADWAY IN NEW YORK!!! The End

Oh, and just a side note: I seriously considered finding a way to kidnap the unbelievable performer that was portraying The Phantom himself and taking him home with me so I could make him sing to me every single day. He's that good.

After "Phantom", we went back to our hotel and changed into more casual attire. Then we headed back uptown for dinner and another show. However, we had to make one stop first.

Ty, knowing what a crazed Beatles fan I am, took me to The Dakota to see the hallowed ground where the great John Lennon breathed his last breath. I wasn't prepared for it to be such a beautiful building. I mean seriously, it's beautiful. We walked around, and took a few pictures of the place before heading across the way to Central Park.

We planned to cut across the park to get to the right part of town for our show. However, I got a little sidetracked when I saw a sign bearing a very familiar name: "Strawberry Fields". I went to the inlaid medallion in the cement that said: "Imagine" in honor of Mr. Lennon himself. I didn't feel right about stepping on it, so I walked around to the very top and had Ty take a picture of me there. It seemed appropriate.

Then began the ridiculous trek through the park. Don't get me wrong, Central Park is a place where I would gladly walk around for hours. It's beautiful and large and well worth spending time in. However, by this time I had walked more in two and a half days than I had done in the past two and a half years and my legs had just about had it. I'm pretty sure they were seriously contemplating a full-blown mutiny, but...they made it somehow.

Once we were through the park, we still had a couple of hours to kill before our show and we decided to get some dinner. We stopped at an adorable little authentic Italian restaurant. We walked inside, and then we began to suspect that this place was a front for the Italian mafia. The food was amazing, of course, but Ty noticed a group of nicely dressed men sitting at a table in a remote corner of the restaurant, where they could see but not be easily seen. Highly suspect...but then the appetizer came and made me forget all about the Mob.

It was a deep-fried mozzarella sandwich. Yes, you did read that right. Two slices of bread that had been breaded and fried with fresh, homemade mozzarella melted in the middle. Dip it in some homemade marinara sauce, and you've got yourself a calorie-packed slice of Heaven itself. After deeply enjoying this amazing appetizer, I ordered the lasagna. And the garlic bread with freshly diced real garlic. It was oh so fabulous.

After dinner, we went to the pharmacy for some mints so that we wouldn't kill any innocent vampires with our garlic breath. Then we headed to a little place called "The Comic Strip" for a live stand-up comedy show. Let me say this: If you're planning to go to New York, and you want to see a comedy show with a variety of talented comedians, I HIGHLY recommend this place. It was a LOT of fun.

We left the Comic Strip and caught a taxi which dropped us off a few blocks away from Times Square. We visited the huge 24-hour Apple store. I'm not really a huge gadget person, but this store was a lot of fun to visit. I messed around with iPhones and iPods to my heart's content. I'm converted. Those things are cool. If anyone wants to buy me an iPod Touch, just e-mail me and I'll give you a mailing address and send back a thank-you note. :)

Finally, we went back to the hotel. Once again, we conked out very quickly. The next day (Thursday) would be our final full day in New York...