Buby Takes Manhattan

My mini trip into Manhattan with Buby was everything I could have imagined, minus the Thai. He was such a stellar date. Of course. He gets that from his daddy.


The almost five year old has an impeccable memory and is starting to get the lay of the land. Which is amazing, except now he knows where to go for his pizza with black olives and green peppers.


P.S. I ate lunch in Midtown every day for seven years, so for me to simply pass by all of my former haunts... without even a nibble... in my state... I think before this baby comes I need to spend a whole day stuffing myself in the city. If it takes me a dozen stops, so be it. I want iced coffee from Thalia. I want pad ki mao from Pongsri. I want soup dumplings from Joe's. I want bruschetta and spaghetti bolognese from Mimi's. I want steak on bistecca from Sosa Borella. I want hand-cut fries from Pigalle. Etc.


Back to Saturday. We kept the afternoon simple yet still squeezed in quite a bit. First up: lunch and fruit. Second: The Lion King on Broadway. I knew we had good seats but had no idea HOW good. Front row! I cried during the opening number, just like I did when I saw it with My Sweets all those moons ago. It was dramatic and loud and in our faces I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E.


If you haven't seen the show I fully recommend. But if you're shy about losing it in front of a bunch of strangers, don't show up with the most kid-orable kindergartner in the whole wide world on your arm. He sat there at attention for nearly 3 hours. We held hands; he crawled onto my lap twice. But mostly Buby watched in awe of the costumes, makeup, set design, lighting, orchestra, drums, and artistry. He had read the books, but now he was getting unbelievable detail. Musicals are so him.


And as you know, so are stuffed animals. When we arrived Buby pointed to a kiosk in the lobby selling small beany-like characters for $20. He asked if we could go look. I suggested we wait until intermission so he knew who he liked the most. We waited, and at the break he said definitely Za-Zu. He and that back-talking bird have been inseparable ever since.


Immediately after the show we hit Toys 'R Us in Times Square for tickets to the Ferris wheel. Then Cold Stone Creamery. I stood with him at the base of Paramount Plaza {the last place I worked in-house, full-time} and looked straight up. We walked by his dad's office, too, and he took a moment to admire the architecture and history of the area. It was a good day. On the train ride home we whipped out Buby's lil' notepad and wrote a thank you card to My Sweets for the whole shebang. What a treat.

8.14.10