Sunday:

Then next day I took the subway to the "Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall" stop and had a look around.  It was really neat to have the freedom to go anywhere I want like that.  I don't have that at home.  I can see why people like New York.  Also, to digress a little, I've noticed that New Yorkers seem to be pretty nice, upbeat people.  As you walk around, you get the feeling that people are basically happy.  At least that's something that struck me wherever I went.

I walked onto the bridge and enjoyed the crisp air and the view.  I've read all about the making of the Brooklyn Bridge, by the historian David McCullough (who includes a lovely, detailed description of the engineer's death by tetanus from stepping on a rusty nail, for pleasant bedtime reading), but I didn't get much out of the visit, other than a nice walk.  A little too much sunlight in the eyes for my taste.

Then I walked down around City Hall and stuff like that, and stopped in a Starbucks to enjoy a tall nonfat chai and a snack.

Finding food was a challenge on this trip, because I need to stay away from gluten.  There's no end to the prezels, bagels, pitas, and pastries, but I can't eat any of that.  So mostly I ate raw almonds which I had the foresight to purchase before leaving.  I ended up getting some kind of chicken pita thing and just eating the chicken, which wasn't much, but that was alright. 

I then took the subway one stop to Wall Street.  I'm so glad I did.  I almost didn't bother, because who cares about the stock exchange and a bunch of banks?  It was very picturesque, though, and thoroughly enjoyable.  Once again, I was amazed at how bundled up people were.  It was warm enough for the snow and ice to be melting into slush, and yet everyone had those thick woolly scarves and hats.  What they do when it really gets cold is anyone's guess.

I walked amongst the fancy architecture, and especially liked one side street where snow was melting off the top of a tall building, with a stream of sunlight illuminating the falling drops against the black background.

At 3 o'clock I was back in the theater, this time just a few rows back from the stage.  When the show started, of course it was all familiar, but this time I could see their faces as clearly as the lighting would allow.  I also could understand all of Fiona Shaw's rapid speech, some of which had been lost on me the night before.

Also this time, Alan's voice didn't sound as husky.  I believe there had been a Saturday matinee, so the show I saw that first night would have been his second of the day.  This time everyone just sounded better.

When the show was over, I felt like I had had one of the best experiences of my life.  It was so totally worth all the effort and expense to see it.