travelenthusiast

I took my mother on a �girls� weekend� trip to NYC from September 26-28, 2008. We share an interest in the soap opera, Guiding Light. She has watched it for decades and I grew up watching the show. It has great characters that have been on the show for years and I have continued to watch it as an adult. Our NYC trips have been a nice way for us to spend time together over the years.

We took Amtrak up to New York and as always we were happy with the trip. I noticed that Amtrak seemed to be more crowded than on prior trips. We were very lucky to be able to get a room at the Marriott Marquis on points. Our room was nicely decorated, clean and even had a side view of Times Square. The Marquis is right on Times Square in an extremely convenient location. We spent less on cab rides this time than when we stayed farther out. One downside to the hotel is that it lacks a traditional lobby on the first floor. When you enter the hotel on the street level, you have access to escalators and an elevator bank. The actual lobby where you check in is on the eighth floor.

When we got there we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner since we knew we would be having a busy night. We ate at one of the Rosie O�Grady Restaurants. It was a casual atmosphere with good food.

On Friday night we had tickets for a Charity Rock Show hosted by a Guiding Light actor and held at the American Red Cross Building. The show had a 1960�s theme and the performers were actors from the soap operas. It was such a great show. The performers and some of the other audience members dressed up in clothes from the 60�s.

After the 60�s show we went to Sweet Caroline�s Piano Bar. I had asked about the sing along piano bars on Fodors before we left and I happened to see the sign for it when we were looking for a place to eat earlier in the day. The piano bar was on a side street very close to the Marquis. Sweet Caroline�s had a very unpretentious atmosphere. They had dueling piano players who were very good and happily took requests for a tip. They played top 40 type music from the 60�s to today. They don�t play show tunes. The musicians had a vast knowledge of music and were able to play almost anything that was requested except for �Alice�. I guess I�ll have to go to the Caribbean for that one � LOL! We got there around 9:45 PM which was kind of early. A little while after we sat down, they played Brown Eyed Girl without being asked. We both sang along to songs that we knew. We didn�t realize how long we stayed since we were having such a fun time.

The next morning was the Guiding Light Fan Club gathering at the Marriott Marquis from noon until 4 PM. They have raffle tickets that you can buy with the money going towards charity. We ended up winning a studio tour so I guess we'll be going back to New York some time next year.

One of my cousins lives in New York and met us after the Gathering for dinner and a show. We ate at La Rivista on Restaurant Row on 46th Street. It is a cute little Italian Restaurant with good food. I had a calamari dish with risotto and calamari ink. I had never had anything with calamari ink and was surprised when the dish came out and it was a bluish gray color. I like trying odd dishes and really enjoyed it.

We saw the musical Gypsy, starring Patty Lupone which is a classic show. I�m so glad that we chose that one. We had a very long day so we decided to just go back to the hotel after the show ended.

The next day we checked out of the Marquis and went to noon mass at St Patrick�s Cathedral. Since we slept in as long as we could, we didn�t get to eat breakfast that day. After mass we walked around trying to find a place for breakfast. We decided on Ellen�s Stardust Diner. The waiters sing songs while they wait on you. The food was better than when we had gone there a few years ago but the real reason that you eat there is for the fun atmosphere. We returned home via Amtrak. This was one of our best New York weekends. We enjoyed all of the sights that we saw and even won an opportunity to return soon.

escargot

that sounds like such a great trip with your mom !
My godmother watched GL and so for years if I was there it was on -from when I was small until in college - she lived near my college, so I'd hop over for coffee and she'd update me on GL - now she is in assisted living, but still our conversations sometimes revolve around GL (I update myself online before visiting her so I can ask her all sorts of questions to get her going !!) Personally, I still love devious Alan Spaulding and of course, crazy Reva ! Every time I visited, it seemed she was married to someone else !!

You visited some fun places - I love the dueling piano bars - and of course, Patti Lupone is one in a million -
and St. Patrick's- well, still, years after my mom has gone, I never leave NYC without lighting a candle for her in there -

I'm sure you know how lucky you are to have weekends like this with your mom - I"m so glad you both had such a memorable time.

travelenthusiast

Thanks for the kind words, escargot. I am very lucky to still have my Mom and to be able to spend such fun times with her.

mclaurie

Sounds like a great weekend. I'll have to check out Sweet Caroline's. Very lucky you could stay at MM on points! All in all, sounds just great. Thanks for posting.

trippinkpj

Cool trip report. I do watch Guiding Light myself, but a little sporadically these days.