We slept in pretty good today but it was so needed and therefore, entirely worth it.
So we had an extra late start on the day but that's ok.
We headed over to the Lincoln Center TKTS booth first thing but the line up was humongous so we decided to skip it.
We had tickets to a St Patricks Cathedral & Catacombs tour at 1:00 pm downtown and we wanted to make sure we got there on time.
We did make it with just minutes to spare.
First we had a little introduction then they split us into two groups and we headed over to St Patrick's Cathedral.
The tour guide we ended up with seemed really experienced, he was good and made it very interesting.
Apparently they only started this tour last year so it's fairly new.
After a bit of history, we went into the catacombs.
It was dark down there, no lights, just flameless candles.
Catholic churches were rare in NYC way back when and it was only when the Irish came over that they started building them.
The rich ones paid big money to be buried down in these catacombs and back in the day, the bodies were put into pine boxes then just put in these openings that weren't sealed up.
So of course as the body decayed, you could imagine the aroma.
He told us that is where the term "stinking rich" came from.
The guy that paid for this particular room was really rich because you could fit 12 people in there.
We were actually allowed to go inside and check it out.
He had it done up to the nines though, look at the subway tile on the ceiling, it's beautiful.
There's another shot of it.
It was a popular style back then done by a Spanish artist, Raphael Guastavino.
The now closed City Hall Subway station has the same tile work and apparently one of the prettiest subway stations in NYC.
It was quite a big room in there, all of us on the tour fit in there at the same time.
I think this was for his father in law whom he had moved in there.
Our tour guide had a little projector and would show us images on the wall of the folks that he was talking about which I liked.
Made it more interesting.
They stopped burying people down here years ago but they've started doing it again.
$8000.00 will get you one of these spots.
Much smaller than what they used to get but how much room do you really need?
Next we went up into the church.
It's a very pretty church inside - masses are still held here and it has an active congregation.
It kind of reminded me of St Simon & St Jude church in Tignish, PEI.
It had a big beautiful pipe organ ( SS&SJ in Tignish also has one).
The stained glass windows were beautiful.
The baptism scene in The Godfather was filmed here, right in that corner.
We were allowed to go upstairs so this is just the church from that view.
It's kind of an opulent church, isn't it?
The archways and the architecture is just stunning.
We got to see the pipe organ up close and personal.
We even got to see the inards of it.
Just look at all those working parts.
And this is just one little section of it.
Someone had to actually stand here and manually turn this for the pipe organ to work at one time.
That must have been a tiring job.
It's automated now - thank goodness.
There is another St Patrick's Cathedral in NYC, it's even bigger but this is the original one.
The church did burn down and had to be restored.
We went out to the grounds next.
There were tensions between the Irish Catholics and the NY Nativists so they erected a wall all around the church to keep it from being destroyed.
That was where the tour ended, then we were let loose on the street.
It was an interesting tour, I'm glad we did it.
We were right down by Prince St and they must have been filming a movie or something in the area.
There were movie trailers parked all up and down the streets.
Didn't see any filming or any famous people though.
We stopped into the Little Cupcake Bakery for drinks and got this caramel nut cheesecake.
It was heavenly.
Since we were right near Prince St Pizza we considered grabbing a slice of pizza but instead decided to knock another place off My Honey's "To Try" list.
It was a little ways from Prince St, about a 17 minute walk so we headed that way.
I think this is my favorite mural on a building that I've seen.
I'm into "Big Eye" girls so no surprise that I liked it so much.
There is just so much to see every where you look.
I like the buildings with the fire escapes on them.
It like this part of town - it has a good feel to it.
More awesome murals.
We have really seen some fantastic murals on our trips and I continue to be amazed.
The artists that create these are amazingly talented.
Made it to the place we want to try.
Speedy Romeo's.
They randomly had a picture of Peter Falk on the wall which was cool - My Honey Loooooves Columbo.
It was much bigger on the inside than it appeared from the outside.
We lucked out and got a table right by the window.
They had some interesting pizzas on the menu.
My Honey had the Paul's Boutique.
I tried the Dick Dale.
It was ok - kind of expensive.
They did have these house made pickled peppers that were AWESOME!
After we ate, we decided to walk to the nearest subway stop and head over to the South Street Seaport TKTS Booth.
There happened to be a Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins right by the Subway station so we popped in there to get ice cream first.
They even had the Stranger Things 3 flavors that we wanted to try.
Eleven's Heaven.
and Upside Down Pralines.
This is the Upside Down Praline and it was yummy!
After ice cream, we hopped on the subway.
It's so nice when it's not so busy and not only do you get to sit, but you have your choice of places to sit.
We got tickets for the show then headed back to the room to hang out for bit before heading to the show.
We didn't have long to rest but it was just enough to feel refreshed and ready to go again.
Plus I changed my shoes which my feet appreciate.
Our show for tonight - Tootsie.
The playbill and our tickets.
We weren't that far from the stage.
Very fitting snack for the show I figured.
It was my first time having these and I really liked them.
The show was really enjoyable.
The actors that played Tootsie's roommate and his ex-girlfriend were my favorites, they did such a great job.
We saw the ex-girlfriend a few years back in Avenue Q (which we also loved).
We headed straight back to Queens and over to the Baroness for a burger.
I was glad to see it was still open.
It's a funky little place - it has a great vibe to it.
I think this is the tiniest kitchen I've ever seen and two guys were working in there.
Ha ha - love it.
They have all kinds of funky burgers on their menu, all named after women.
I had the Dixie which had a honey molasses glaze, rosemary garlic aioli and a potato roll.
The rosemary garlic is what sold me.
It was really dark in there so it was hard to take a picture but I tried.
My burger looks horribly messy but it was fabulously delicious.
We had the house made kettle chips as the side and they were darn good too.
I would totally eat there again - tomorrow!
Highly recommend it!
That is all for today, until next time, be happy!
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