New York, Music, Movies and Money

Talking about New York, I definitely not wanna miss the typical girls "stuffs": shopping, music, and visit romantic scenes in Hollywood's blockbusters. Although having learned Western music from Baroque to Realistic Periods, I am always crazy about opera especially the one composed by Andrew Lloyd Weber -- The Phantom of the Opera.

With the poster of the Phantom of the Opera

Broadway is always a must-experience art form in New York City for tourists around the world. The hottest productions include The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, the Lion King and Mamma mia! etc. The Phantom of the Opera however has overtaken Cats as one of the most longest run musical in broadway theater.

Before entering the theater, we have to buy a ticket of the musical that we want to enjoy. Broadway tickets can be booked online in advance for reserving a better seat or you can just check out your preferred time of the musical and lining up for the ticket at the theater. For me, due to the prompt idea of watching the show, my friend and I decide to just go lining up. Luckily, it takes only 15mins to get a ticket from the ticket booth at the Majestic Theater (the one that performs the Phantom of the Opera). Although the seat is at the upper floor which is far from the stage, it is still really lucky to purchase a ticket in summer vacation without booking in advance. Anyway, let's go for the super broadway show!!!!!!!!! (Hooray~~~)

The Majestic Theater is just as it's name suggests: magnificent, splendorous, and beyond description. As the theater itself is so spatial, it is hardly for me to see the stage and the actors' facial expression clearly but can only appreciate the outstanding performance of the orchestra and the beautiful melody. The music starts from the Overture, Think of me, Angel of Music, Little Lotte, The Phantom of the Opera, Music of the Night, All I Ask of you, Masquerade, Don Juan to the Point of No Return. 

The total length of The Phantom of the Opera takes about 4hrs including the intermission so it is already in the afternoon as soon as we exit the theater. The Majestic Theater is close enough to the Time Square, the intersection of the contemporary popular culture. Time Square is surrounded by countless big and small advertisement boards as shown below.

The Massive Advertisement Board in Time Square

Fifth Avenue

After hanging around Time Square, the next stop is the so-called fashion avenue-- the Fifth Avenue. 

As soon as you see the Fifth Avenue, you will realize why it will be associated with "Fashion". Fifth Avenue assembles numerous famous designer brands such as Cartier, Tiffany, Louise Vuitton, Gucci, Coach, Abercrombie & Fitch, and whatever fashionable brand you can think of. Moreover, countless sophisticated skyscrapers stand at two-sided of the Fifth Avenue to make this place look even more luxurious.

My friend and I visit Abercrombie & Fitch first. It is so popular that you even need to line up to enter the store for the number limitation there. Abercrombie is famed for the unique fragrance of its own perfume brand filling the entire store. I bought two T-shirts for my brother and one for myself. We finished shopping very soon since the smell make both my friend and I dizzy badly. The next stop will be the place for my mother's present. Due to most of the brands are unaffordable, I ultimately visit Coach and bought a pair of earrings for my mother as souvenir.

A pair of earrings for my mom

In order to grasp our last chance to worship Wall Street-- the heart of financial and economic of the United States. My friend and I left Fifth Avenue for the south Manhattan immediately.

Brooklyn Bridge in New York City

Compare with Fifth Avenue decorated by fashionable brands, buildings in Wall Street feature more on Baroque and Classic styles and therefore make the place look more prudent than any other places in New York City. You can see businessmen walking in and out of these buildings to push forward the development of a great majority of the country's fortune. The New York Stock Exchange also located next to Wall Street which is by far the largest stock exchange in accordance to the market capitalization. After taking around Wall Street, we then go to the South Street Seaport situated at the south Manhattan. The picture above is taken at the South Street Seaport where is popular for viewing Brooklyn Bridge. Many Hollywood's blockbusters including action to romantic have filmed Brooklyn Bridge into the movie such as Kate & Leopold and Enchanted.

 

Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport

In fact, South Street Seaport itself is another popular location for film taking especially the Pier 17. For example, the place where Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey enjoy the fresh and mouth-watering lobsters in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is shooting right in this pier. For sure, I personally super recommended end up the short trip of south Manhattan and have a try on the delicious and fresh seafoods here.