Not so Hot - Across the Pond

New York

For Brian's 50th, I organised a trip to New York which included seeing his favourite opera, La Boheme, at the Metropolitan Opera house - on November the 10th, 2000, which just happened to be the 16th anniversary of our very first date - watching death of a salesman at the Belgrade theatre Coventry. By this time, Moonstruck, released in 1987, Was firmly in my top three all time favourite movies. When I showed it to him, he loved the wonderful characters, stellar writing, and fabulous supporting cast including the guy who played Marty Crane, Frasier’s dad (more about him later). The chemistry between Cher and Nick Cage’s characters resonated, as did the music, opening with Tony Bennett's That's Amore, and featuring excerpts from la Boheme all the way through.

I went to great lengths to recreate some of the scenes, including getting my hair straightened into a fabulous up-do and buying a dress which should have cost £180 - normally what I would spend on clothes in six months. I managed to get it for £60, which didn't hurt at all. So the scene was set for us to recreate the meet cute by the fountain outside the met, and an obliging passerby took the above iconic photo. One of my strongest memories (apart from £15 for a tiny glass of bubbly), was walking out into the foyer after dropping off my coat. Every single woman in the place was wearing black, navy or some other dark colour, and there was me in this bright, salmon pink dress with a flamenco ruffle (as modelled by Darcy Bussell in the Debenhams catalogue). I could hear a susurration of whispers around me Exclaiming at such bravado, and when I spoke, it led to speculation that I must be somebody, to have such an accent.

We'd already seen La Boheme in the UK, and I remember my eyes filling with tears at the scene in the Christmas market when a host of children fulfilled the stage. It was without doubt the most magnificent Opera House we'd ever been to, and the only slight niggle was that our seats were separated by a considerable gap. Probably the only reason I managed to bag the seats in the first place.

The following night we dined at La Grande Ticino, the restaurant used in several scenes, frequently with John mahoney's character having a glass of wine poured over him. It was the very first time I'd ever had oysters - I won't say tasted, because with the whole slipping them down the back of the neck idea you didn't actually get to taste anything but the garlic and lemon in which they were stewed. Every wall in the restaurant proudly displayed photos of the members of the cast, and in a nice touch, when I got chatting to a lady in the loos, she revealed that one of the gentlemen in her party (on the table next to us), was actually the professor on whom John's character was based. Fun!

The whirlwind tour included the open-topped Apple bus which took us to various sites, including where Mother Teresa worked, And a gawp at the building where John Lennon was shot. Very tasteful. We also did the obligatory jaunt out to Ellis Island and climbed the first few stages of lady liberty, bought trinkets for the girls in Macy's, and as you can see from this picture, we got in just before the 9-11 destruction of the twin towers. It would definitely have been a different visit if we'd gone the following year. We also spent time in Central Park, snapping this iconic picture of the outdoor ice skating rink. On the last day before coming home, we visited the national history museum, and it was great fun seeing it come alive six years later in Night at the Museum.