New York City, Day 2 - Brooklyn Tabernacle, Brooklyn Bridge, Broadway

Our second day in New York started with one of the highlights for me - a visit to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for worship. Wow - what an experience!! Wedgwood sings a lot of Brooklyn Tab music, and their choir is world renowned, and they definitely didn't disappoint. The service was so worshipful, and set a great mood for the rest of the day.

Ready to get our praise on!

Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing one of my favorite worship songs - Revelation Song!

After church, we decided to walk down and see the Brooklyn Bridge. We hadn't planned to walk across it, but once we got there, we figured it was just as far to walk back to the subway as it was just to walk across. And I'm so glad we did! Even though it was cold, it was amazing, and offered us fabulous views of the city. I love bridges, so I really enjoyed taking pictures here.

After crossing the bridge, we hunted down some New York pizza in the financial district and then wandered around seeing some of the sites while we searched for Ground Zero. We got a little turned around, but finally found it. Ground Zero is mostly a construction site right now, but they do have a bronze relief memorial on the visitor's center building. We also saw St. Paul's Chapel, the historic church that sits right by Ground Zero but was unscathed by the events of 9/11.

We headed back to the hotel to meet two of Amy's childhood friends for coffee. While we waited for them to arrive, I went upstairs to iron my clothes for Broadway that night. On the 9th floor, 3 German guys got into the elevator with me, each carrying roses. One of them said, "Here, this is for you. Happy Valentine's Day!" and handed me his rose. I was rather taken aback, but it was really nice. I put the rose on the bed and waited to see when the girls would notice. It didn't take them long! :)After coffee with Dirce and Elma, we literally RAN through Times Square, wearing skirts and high-heeled boots, to make it to our 6:30 show of Mary Poppins. We were all out of breath and sweating when we got there, but we made it with a minute to spare. Once we cooled down (which included taking off those high boots during the show!), we really enjoyed the musical. It had some really cool effects, including Mary Poppins flying into the air over the audience and ascending to the catwalk right in front of the balcony at the very end. And the music was great - my favorite was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" - very impressive!

(the next one is a professional pic, not one of mine!)

After the show, we ventured down to a diner that Stephanie recommended - Ellen's Stardust Diner - where all the wait staff are aspiring Broadway actors. They perform nonstop, taking turns singing showtunes and oldies and making the "audience" laugh. They sat us at the PRIME table, and the waiters played to us constantly. It was hilarious, and SO MUCH FUN! Amy was serenaded by at least 5 different guys (mostly gay!), and we laughed so hard.