Friday, September 9, 2011

NYC cont'd...


MONDAY JULY 11, 2011

Monday was a day we had been waiting for!
When we decided to go to NYC, we decided it would be fun to see a TV show taping. After much thought we chose to try and get tickets to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. We love the show, and started calling the NBC ticketing line every day 2 months before our trip. About a month before the trip Jenni got through, and they were giving out tickets for the days we would be there! Tickets were free, but we had to show up early enough to get a seat in the audience because they overbook every show to make sure the audience gets filled.
So, Monday became the NBC day.

We woke up early, rode the train into the city and headed straight towards 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Had to stop by Dean & Deluca (Felicity fans, anyone?!?) for breakfast
before our day of NBC fun! It's just around the corner from the Today show
and is where Kathie Lee & Hoda's coffee is made each morning!
 To be in the lines for the Today show segments I read that you have to arrive at 4 or 5 AM, so we decided to skip on that and just observe from afar when we got there.




We caught one of the last segments from the Today show that was taping outside, something like outdoor grilling...



Today show outdoor set
Above the plaza at 30 Rock
In the summer it's a restaurant, in the winter the
 famous ice skating rink and Christmas Tree!



After checking out the streets, we decided to head to the top for a better view! Top of the Rock is 
(in my opinion) the best view of the city from above! We had visited Empire State Building and seen the city from the observatory, but I like that Top of the Rock has three levels of observatories. The higher you go, the better and less restricted the view. 
NYC Summer 2011
From the top deck
Central Park from the top deck
Central Park

The New years Eve ball in Times Square
Empire State Building



After our trip to the Top of the Rock we decided to try and see the last stop on our City Pass. The Modern Museum of Art. It was a few blocks hike north, but we made it just before the museum opened for the day, and hopped in the front of the lines!
Jenni checked out Picasso
and one beautiful Starry Night

I found Monet's water lillies
Next to me there was a class of about 30 high school age kids with an art teacher, and they were discussing the painting, and what it made them feel. I was so tempted to sit down and pretend I was a student. Ahhh the life of a kid in NYC.....

Once we left the MOMA, it was time to hike back to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. On the way we passed Radio City Music Hall!
Love the Hipstamatic app for these fun pics!

Back at NBC. I've always wanted to go to the Rainbow Room- so fancy!
When we arrived we decided to get in line and go on the NBC Studio Tour.
I've done the studio tours on previous visits, but like to do it each time I go to NYC. This time we got to walk on the sets of Nightly News with Brian Williams, Sunday Night Football, and Saturday Night Live! It's fun to walk the halls of the studios where famous people work! Sadly, no pictures allowed inside NBC, but it was something I'll always remember!
After the hour long studio tour we sat in the NBC Digital Cafe to stake out our spot in line to get armbands that would guarantee our seat in the audience at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. 

We sat for 2 + hours, scoping out how many people might be there for the studio tour, how many were there for Jimmy, and where our best place to stand was so that we could run to the front of the line when it was formed! Turns out I think most people got in, but we weren't risking it! 
OMG we're going to see Jimmy Fallon!!!
So worth the wait, we were so excited to meet Jimmy!!!
We had two hours between the time we got armbands, and the time they would line us up for the show, so we decided to grab some lunch at a tasty sandwich shop called 'wichcraft in the underground shopping area, and then do some shopping in the NBC store. We each got Late Night t-shirts, I bought the 'Thank You Notes' book (based on the skit on his show, so funny!) and a few souveniers for our friends and families. 
While we were shopping a girl approached us and asked if we would be interested in watching Jimmy Fallon rehearse his monologue in the studio. We were all about it, until she saw our wristbands and said that audience members weren't allowed to do both. So, if you want to see Jimmy but can't get tickets, hang around the NBC store and see if you can get invited to watch the monologue rehearsal, you just might get to help Jimmy know if the jokes are funny enough to make the final cut for that night's show!
With my wristband and Jimmy ticket...so fun!!

Two hours is a long time when you're really excited, so we decided to obnoxiously take
pictures in front of any and all things NBC.
NBC made from M&M's

Finally the time came to line up for the show! We had no idea how they assigned seating, but we were given a letter ticket, while half of the audience members were given number tickets. 
We LUCKED OUT! Turns out letters were seated first, and we scored two seats in the front row!!!Again, no pictures allowed inside of Jimmy's studio, so the only way I could prove it happened was to hope we made it on camera! 
That's right friends, FRONT ROW seats!!!!
When it came time to play a game called "The Roots Make up Songs About Audience Members"
Jimmy stood right next to me to announce the game! I was totally and completely star struck!

When we got home we took pictures of the tv as we watched the episode we had DVR'd. Above you see Jenni and I clapping, and below my 'OMG Jimmy Fallon!!!' face as he talks to the Roots.
He's RIGHT THERE!!!!!
This show was absolutely one of my favorite NYC memories! Jimmy was so funny, at the end he came around and shook my hand as he patted my shoulder, and thanked us for coming out. I swear in the middle of a commercial break he looked straight at me and smiled! He was such a nice guy!

The Roots were an amazing band, and I remember when they came out to kick off the show everyone screamed so loud -including me :) - that I thought I was going to pass out! The audience warm up guy was hilarious, and the show flew by in just an hour and 6 minutes! The guests that night were Kid Rock, Emily Rose, and musical guest Panda Bear.  I wasn't a huge fan of any of the guests, but just seeing the whole process was incredible.  If you're looking for a taping to attend in NYC, I'd say go for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, so so so fun!!

After our long day of fun we walked from 30 Rockefeller to NY Penn station to catch our last train ride from NYC to Summit. By this time we were really good at public transit, we had learned to navigate the subways, cabs and trains like a pro! 

Stay tuned for our Statue of Liberty day!






4 comments:

the G Rowes said...

Love this post!!! I totally vicariously vacationed through your pictures!!

the G Rowes said...

Oh and YES used to be s huge felicity fan! I thought she was so cool because she was a college girl. Live the jmy pictures I paused my tv on those frames too and was freaking out and telling hi to you at my tv!!

the G Rowes said...

Type much Gina? Yelling hi to you

Karo said...

I'm so glad you got to do something fun like this. Maybe sometime you and I will go and see Auntie M together. I'd go nuts at Mood etc. But, I WILL NOT eat sushi. Sorry.