Our original plan for dinner last evening was to dine out on our way to Madison Square Garden. However, with continued rain in the forecast, we decided to just have a light dinner back at the hotel. The highlight of the evening was seeing British singer and songwriter Adele perform in concert at Madison Square Garden. We purchased the tickets last December within one hour after their release for purchase. We would have bought them earlier but that is how long the queue was when Keith went on line seconds after sales were opened up via the internet. When sales were available they sold tickets for her entire concert schedule that goes on for months. It is the first time that was done and most of the tickets nationwide sold out the first day. The performances at Madison Square Garden sold out in hours. One of the nice things about indoor cycling is all of the music that is played throughout each class and that is how Keith first became familiar with Adele and her music. Adele knows how to connect with the audience. She used two stages so she could get close up to both side of the garden. She brought a young child on board along with her Aunt who both had seats on the lower level. She asked if the child’s Mom was there and she was but on another level and invited her to come down. Between songs she would ask members in the audience where they were from and would add humor such as when she attempted to pronounce Maryland. She poked fun at herself from time and explained why she took time off between releasing 21 and 25 and why she didn’t tour for those years. More importantly she sang a wide range of songs and sung only as Adele can sing. She was accompanied by musicians who some of whom are from the United Kingdom with several from the United States as well as some vocalists. It was a two hour magical performance. She said this was her 80th performance of this tour and that she only missed one performance as she was very ill. As she said, she would have died on stage if she performed that night and she would return to make up the missed concert. It was wonderful to be able to walk between our hotel and Madison Square Garden. New York City is a city that never sleeps. As we walked back to the hotel, the streets were full with vehicles and the sidewalks were full with pedestrians. We slept well last evening and awoke fairly early to enjoy our final day in New York City before we go home tomorrow. We had breakfast in the club lounge. We then took a walk we had planned for yesterday but postponed to today given yesterday's rain. Our destination was Zabar's. Zabar's is located about forty blocks from our Hotel. When we lived in the New York area neither one of us would visit Zabar's but we have ordered items from them for delivery to our home. They are known for their baked goods including bagels, challah, bread, and their desserts. They also carry a wide range of coffee, cheese, fish, and other food items and they also have a floor dedicated to all types of cookware and bakeware. As we walked a few blocks from our hotel we saw a large presence of police, including police specializing in anti-terrorism. Some streets were blocked off. We suspect this has to do with where some of the foreign dignitaries are staying as well as President Obama and with the recent explosions the city is clearly on high alert. As we made our way past central park, we walked for quite a while in a residential area. There were lots of stores and grocery stores and restaurants catering to those who live in the area. Once we made it to Zabar's we walked around for awhile and then we walked back and stopped off at a few places including a Trader Joe's. The Trader Joe's was clearly not your typical Trader Joe's as it was huge and carried many products that you find in a full service grocery store. We passed by Lincoln Center, eventually walking by the Ed Sullivan Theatre and into the heart of Broadway. The weather was gorgeous. By the time we returned to the hotel we freshened up for lunch. We met several friends for lunch at Tony's Di Napoli which is an Italian Restaurant that dates back to 1959 located next door to our hotel. We were met for lunch by: Allan and Helen who we first met on Crystal Symphony in 2004 through friends Joan and Mac who we met on a pre-cruise tour of the Dover Cliffs before boarding Symphony. It was on that cruise that Alan and Helen booked over half of the 2005 World Cruise and subsequently they booked the 2006 World Cruise and this was a catalyst for us to start to think of taking a World Cruise. Since that time we have sailed with Allan and Helen several times. Christeen and Carl who we sailed with for the first time on the 2015 World Cruise. Often Keith would get together with Bob and Carl in the afternoons on sea days when they would try to solve world problems. LOL, but true. Christeen was in the indoor cycling classes as Keith was and part of that core group that attended most of the classes. Peggy. We first sailed with Peggy on the 2012 World Cruise and also sailed with her in 2014 and 2015 and on the Northwest Passage Cruise. Elaine. We also first met Elaine when we sailed with her on the 2012 World Cruise and then we sailed with her on the 2013, 2014 and 2015 World Cruises. For a couple of the cruises many times Anne Marie would walk with Elaine in the morning. This is one of the reasons that we enjoy cruising as it does provide a nice opportunity to meet others who share the same passion for travel and for cruising. It was a great reunion lunch and it was so nice to catch up with everyone. The restaurant turned out to be very nice. It was an Italian Restaurant and we had a nice round table and we ate family style. We both shared one entree with Peggy and we each had a salad. Allan, Helen and Elaine shared an entree and we think a salad and Karl and Christeen shared an entree. Afterwards we walked with Elaine and Peggy. We walked Peggy close to where she would pick up the train and we walked Elaine about half way to her residence. This evening we will be having dinner with family.
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