Manhattan: Day 1

When we landed in New York I just about died. I was finally here-- I had made it. I have to admit, however, I was a little disappointed I didnt see any paparazzo waiting for celebs. {lol} Come to think of it we didnt see any celebs. Well, "well known" celebs, but I'll get to that later. Im guessing we would have had we headed to Soho, Tribeca, and Chelsea...maybe next time.

Anyways when we got into the city we started making our way to our place, but stopped for pizza. We went back. We stayed at this great place we found on airbnb over at Colubus Circle. Right at 59th and 8th. Hello Central Park. It was amazing!!!Let me say it again, a m a z i n g. After we settled in we freshened up and scooted down to Carnegie Hall. Thats right Carnegie Hall baby. Royal is a member of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce and we noticed in their monthly newsletter that the Royal Swedish Philharmonic Orchestra were going to be in town at the same time. If my memory serves me right that is the absolute definition of kismet.

Let me just start out by saying Carnegie Hall is beautiful. When it opened in 1891 guest of honor Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducted his Marche Solennelle on Opening Night and his Piano Concerto No. 1 several days later. Andrew Carnegie's architectural gem is known as the most prestigious concert stage in the U.S. and I can vouch for that. I felt like a bonafide sophisticated adult that night. This was my first {ANY} major performing arts attendance and I think we choose very nicely.

Before the concert started I noticed a man in plaid pants and said to Royal, " I know him." He sort of thought I was crazy. I had been in New York for 6 hours...how could I possibly know anyone? Once he looked up he knew where I was going with this. It was Marcus Samuelson, the 2010 Top Chef Master competition on Bravo. He has also competed on Iron Chef in Food network and owns several restaurants in New York and Sweden. This, to Royal and I, is a celebrity. {lol} We are big time foodies and Royal is a fantastic chef. Once he got mistaken for a food critic by the owner of a MIchelin star restaurant once, but thats a different story for another day. We also had the pleasure to hear Ray Chen, a prominent violinist, who was featured at the 2012 Nobel Prize Concert. He was a phenomenal addition to the orchestra who played flawlessly and put on a beautiful show. I had the most amazing time with Royal and it was the best night to kick off our trip.

Its so great posting about our trip. I get to relive my trip all over again with you all.

Coming up next:: Middle of the night trips to Rockefeller Center and train rides to Brooklyn.

xO-Etheline