Best Vacation ... EVER !?!

NEW YORK CITY -- May 15th - 23rd:

I wanted to post my second 'on the road' post from the Big Apple (following my Austin post last November), but I was on the go all the time, and had no free time to blog. It was a special vacation from the start, because I was attending a significant moment in Palmer family history, but the best moments of my New York adventure were, as always, completely serendipitous. (For example: I got a ticket to Yankee stadium FOR FREE! I didn't have to pay for my ticket! How sweet is that for a Yankees-hater like me?!)

Coincidentally, what motivates me to blog is the same reason that my Austin trip motivated me: an upcoming concert by the stars of the hit movie "Once" -- Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova -- not at Stubb's Barbecue this time, but at an equally legendary music venue: RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL!! That memorable concert deserves a separate post, so stay tuned for my recap, entitled "Twice" -- also a good name for the sequel. Copyright!

The trip's vibe can be summed-up in the chance encounter I had at O'Neal's restaurant (across from Lincoln Center) after leaving my box seat to ABT's matinee performance of Le Corsaire (starring the lovely redhead Julie Kent): I had a wonderful conversation with two intelligent, attractive New Yorkers sitting at the bar, one of whom was a dead ringer for the lovely actress Cate Blanchett! (I kid you not!) Lou, if you are reading this, I am not talking about you!! Only in New York.

In keeping with the theme of this blog, the rest of my travelogue is entirely movie-related:

>First stop (The Dakota--72nd & CPW): I have never bothered to seek out this historic site on previous visits, but as I was wandering from Lincoln Center to Central Park, I noticed some German tourists snapping pictures of a doorman, and sure enough, it was the same entrance that will soon be seen on movie screens everywhere -- in the John Lennon movie. I walked across the street to the 'Imagine' mosaic in Central Park next, where two guys with guitars were playing "Love Me Do" (poorly, I might add). It made me think: how many times has this scene played out on this spot over the last quarter-century?

>Second stop (the Lake in Central Park): As I rambled through the Park, I noticed more and more activity as I approached the lake with the canoes , and before I knew it, I had stumbled onto a movie set! My first indication that it was a major motion picture was hearing the lady sitting next to me at the fountain exclaim: "I'm sorry, but Anjelica Huston is FAT!" (I immediately started looking around, and there in black, lounging on a director's chair with the words "When in Rome" on the back, was Anjelica Huston herself, looking sophisticated in black, and weight-appropriate for her age). This lady went on to say: "That's what happens when you go through menopause," eliciting a response from her friend: "Oh, I'm not there, yet." Reply: "Oh, I am!"

Then a lady who was on the set -- an aging, obviously-dyed redhead with a face so stretched and pulled by multiple surgeries I can only describe her visage as skeletal (she must be an agent or PR rep) -- walked over to my two companions and the first lady said, "Sylvia, I was just saying what wonderful husbands we have." Redheaded Joan Rivers: "Yes, we do have wonderful husbands." Me: "They would have to be, to put up with you two beasts!" (Maybe I just thought that). [I realize that if this lady turns out to be a big shot producer, I may never work as an extra in a movie again!!]

I hung around on the fringes for the next half-hour, made eye contact and waved at a Kate Beckinsale look-alike on the set. (I know it wasn't her because of the reaction I got: she immediately looked away without acknowledging me. The real Kate would never do that to her fans!)

This is how the real Kate Beckinsale would have reacted if she had seen me waving at her! (I'm sure of it!)

All this time I thought I was ogling the female lead, Kristen Bell (Star of Veronica Mars and Forgetting Sarah Marshall for those of you not in the know), in jeans, funky cap, and colorful tennis shoes. Then I noticed the filming had begun -- an outdoor cafe scene between Ms. Huston and Ms. Bell -- except Ms. Bell was already on set, hair in a bun and wearing a black coat! I must have been ogling her stand-in as she loaded up on fresh fruit from the craft services table. (I hope the real one appears somewhere in all the pictures I took). That's New York in a nutshell: it is overrun with so many beautiful women, they all could be famous!

When In Rome (2009) - In New York City, a young art curator finds herself aggressively pursued by a band of wannabe lovers after she steals coins from a Roman fountain. (Sounds good to me!) Check out this all-star cast, too: Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Danny DeVito (him not so much).

and starring the lovely Veronica Mars herself!!

>Third stop (Greenwich or West Village)(I never know where one ends an the other begins): Two days later I was in "the Village" on a pilgrimage to the site where Adrienne Shelley tragically lost her life (15 Abingdon Square) when I walked into another movie shoot--with a loud director who sounded and slightly resembled Vince Vaughn -- filming a street corner scene with 3 hippies. Only it wasn't Vince Vaughn, just some wannabe director affecting his mannerisms. Only in New York.