Finishing Day 2 of My NYC Marathon Trip with Phantom of the Opera!

So, after the Expo, I headed back to my hotel to drop off the merchandise I purchased. Then, I was back on the subway heading to Lincoln Center to get a tour.

My subway stop was Columbus Circle Station.

I had to walk from Columbus Circle to Lincoln Center. Don’t worry, it wasn’t very far at all.

After getting my ticket for the tour, I had a little time. So, I walked over to Julliard.

It was my dream, back in the day, to go to Julliard for grad school. I was a trumpet player with dreams of playing in a symphony orchestra one day. Sadly, it was a dream not meant to be. I hit wall in my progress and left those dreams of being an orchestral trumpet player behind. So, being at Julliard was a thrill for me! If only was a little better, I might have gone to school here! Even though I’m not an orchestral trumpet player and never went to Julliard, I think my life is pretty okay. Working for Disney isn’t a bad gig at all.

After a quick walk around Julliard and a visit to their bookstore, it was time to head off for my tour. Sadly, with all the things going on at Lincoln Center, we didn’t get to take very many photos. I did get this one in the main lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House. The stairs you seen in the background are not part of the structure of the building. They actually float! Also, the way the stairs were designed allow you to float up and down them. True story! At the Metropolitan Opera, they perform almost every day. This building is so much more than meets the eye. There was a tech rehearsal going on when we were there. We got to look in the theatre, but no photos allowed because of the rehearsal.

As part of the Lincoln Center complex there is a unique part to it. Lincoln Center is home to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Yep. A performing arts library. In this library, among other things, they have video of every Broadway show that has been performed! If you wanted to see the original cast of West Side Story, you could check it out and watch it at the library! The library also has a little theater where many free performances are held. Next time I’m in New York City, I might have to schedule a day just to hang out here!

Lincoln Center was opened in the 1960’s. The land was a dump before they started working on it. The Rockefeller’s were one of the families behind building Lincoln Center. As they were in construction, they used the land to film West Side Story. So, while we were on our tour, we were also on a movie set! In the years since it’s opened. Lincoln Center has expanded and they have made it a really nice, relaxing place to just hang out. They added things like what you see above.

Our tour ended by taking in the last 15 minutes from this matinee performance of the NY Philharmonic Orchestra. We watched the final 15 minutes of Rhapsody in Blue from a special room to the side of the stage. It was seriously amazing!

At the end of our tour, the tour guide snapped this pic of me in Lincoln Center.

By the way, the fountain puts on quite a show!

My tour ended late. So, I wasn’t going to make the last tour of Radio City Music Hall as planned. I knew this was a long shot before I arrived in NYC. So, instead, I walked around and made my way to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and the Performing Arts. This is where the school that inspired the TV Show and movie “Fame” is currently housed. This current location allowed two performing arts high schools to combine into one.

On my way back to my hotel to get ready for Phantom of the Opera, I stopped by the School of Performing Arts which is where the school that inspired “Fame” was located when the movie and TV Show were filmed. I believe they used the outside of this school as their facade.

Being a fan of the show and movie, I had to stop by. After all, this school was literally right behind the hotel I stayed at!

Since my tour of Radio City Music Hall was a bust, I decided to make my way over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I would have to walk through Central Park to get there. So, I decided to stop by the Marathon Pavilion on the way.

I’m glad I did! I got my first glimpse of the finish line for the NYC Marathon!

Also, right by where the the race MC’s would be is the statue of Fred Lebow…founder of the NYC Marathon.

I’m not sure what this is.

It could just be an area to watch the race. Or an area where the media could interview the elites? I don’t know.

I ventured inside the pavilion and looked for my name on this wall.

There is is! I’m official!

It was just below the first “L” in the picture.

I loved this map of the race route!

After hanging out at the pavilion for a little bit, I was off through Central Park. My first stop on the way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was the Bethesda Fountain. I can just hear “How Does She Know?” from “Enchanted!” Of course, many films and television shows have used the Bethesda Fountain. This is the first one that came to mind.

I also found the Alice in Wonderland sculpture! Getting this picture wasn’t easy. There were some kids that had their fun climbing all over it. Once they were done, I was ready for this pic.

Then, it was off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I only had about an hour and a half to spend in the museum. I know. Not enough time. But, it did give me a taste of this famous museum.

I loved these guys!

Some of the areas were just so grand in scale.

The stained glass windows were beautiful!

This area I passed as I was attempting to leave. Ancient Egypt artifacts were amazing! I wished that I found this area earlier.

This view of Central Park is not only amazing, but featured in “When Harry Met Sally.” I didn’t remember it when I was taking the photo. However, on my plane flight home, I watched this movie. When I saw the scene in the movie, I was like….I was just there!

Sadly, my time at the Met came to an end and I headed back to the hotel. Along the way I passed by the theatre where Wicked is playing! I love how all these great Broadway shows are so close to each other!

After getting to my hotel, I needed a change of clothes because I wasn’t prepared for how warm it was going to be that day. Then, I headed off to get my ticket at Will Call for Phantom of the Opera!

I went to Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar for dinner. The meal was amazing! It was too much food, but oh so good! I chose this spot because of how close it is to Phantom of the Opera.

Before I knew it, I was off to see Phantom of the Opera on BROADWAY!

I didn’t think I’d get to take pics inside the theater. But, so many others were taking pics, that I had to take a few myself. As you can see, I had a pretty decent view. Let’s just say, I LOVED every minute of this performance of Phantom of the Opera. I’ve seen this musical many times (the first time was with Michael Crawford as the Phantom!). I love the show. But, seeing on Broadway made this one special. Plus, the cast was AMAZING! When Christine got to singing “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” in the second half, I was moved to tears. The show was well sung and powerfully acted. It was everything I had hoped it would be and something I’ll not soon forget.