Christmas in New York Day One and Two

The first day we needed to kill time before the matinee so Mooey had seen in Time Out New York there was a lizard and snake exhibition at the Museum of Natural History. We had to attend. They had a chameleon!

Chameleon! He was bad ass. We watched him for about 20 minutes. His eyes moved independently of one another. It was bizarre and fascinating.

I can't remember if this was a boa constrictor or a python. Either way he was creepy.

This lizard was a spaz and was jumping from limb to limb with his tongue out.

This is the Emerald Tree Boa. He was beautiful but scary. We had a stare down and he won.

After the snake show, we took a cab to Times Square and shopped at the M & M store. I bought a few things and Mooey bought a bag of peanut M&M's for the show. It was a small bag, probably the size of a softball, and it cost $8! Unbelievable. They were good during the show though.

After eating some terrible pizza at Ray's, we went around the corner to the Gershwin Theater. Mooey's dad had scored us house seats for Wicked. It's sold out every performance.

The stage was very elaborate with a huge dragon at the top.

The rain never let up so after the show (which was amazing), we cabbed it back to the apartment to visit with Mooey's parents. We got Indian delivered for supper.

The next morning the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. It was Christmas! We walked the several block to Central Park and went to one of my favorite places, Strawberry Fields.

After wandering around, we caught a cab to Chinatown. We were starving and it was time for Dim Sum. We usually ate at Mandarin Court but Mooey wanted to try something new. We settled on Oriental Garden Restaurant. As we rounded the corner, we saw the huge crowd standing outside. Mooey went inside and got us a number. The man said 20 minutes. 45 minutes later, we were finally seated. It was so tight and packed in there. The food was good.

Then it was time to do some dreck shopping on Canal St. I think I only bought Weenie a belt buckle which is quite amazing. I usually buy all kinds of stuff.

Chinatown is right next to Little Italy. We rounded a corner and there was a bakery. People were spilling out of it with all kinds of goodies. Mooey and I went in to gander. We came out with a cannoli. It rocked. We shared it.

After tons of shopping, we cabbed it back to the apartment for some much needed rest.

Mooey's parents wanted us to join them for dinner and they picked out this fabulous restaurant.

I ordered the Mediterranean Chopped Salad. Cucumbers, red bell pepper, tomatoes, oregano and feta were finely chopped and tossed in lemon and olive oil. It was one of the best salads I've ever had.

For my next course, I ordered Grilled Hangar Steak with green peppercorn sauce, Swiss chard and onion rings. I'd never had Swiss chard and I really don't eat many green things. I surprised everyone at the table by eating all of it. My dinner was awesome.

Coffee and cheese cake for dessert. The food and conversation were delightful.

We walked back to the apartment and hit the sack!