We started with some sightseeing – Grand Central Station and the big Apple Store in there, the Louis Vuitton building, Oculus Mall, World Trade Center Memorial, and, of course, the Wall Street Bull.
Had a lovely dinner at a nearby Michelin restaurant, taking advantage of the Chef’s Choice menu. Nice! We tried sea urchin sushi for the first time—now we know. LOL. Probably won’t have that one again, but I’m always up for trying something once!
Our first show was The Play That Goes Wrong. It was unexpectedly fun and hilarious!
The next day, we checked out the big B&H store—it’s like a tech and gadgets theme park! Our second show was & Juliet—that was a fun one too. Lots of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys music, with a really upbeat and cool twist on the Romeo and Juliet plot. We were so close to the stage that we almost couldn’t see over the edge! But we also got all the fun stuff, like various confetti and sparkles tossed on us.
Of course, we couldn’t miss Times Square. It’s very crowded and lit! The big thing I noticed, having not been to New York City for many years, is how much higher resolution all the LED signs are now! It’s like being surrounded by billboard-sized screens. What an atmosphere!
Then the BIG New York Salsa Festival began. We attended 1–2 workshops on each of the three days. What we didn’t realize is that we had stumbled into the advanced room. We were so lost! LOL. It’s a miracle this photo actually captures me doing something like the right move at the right time. But our other workshops were great. We kept up, got lots of tips and help, and have two nice new sequences to add to our dancing! Then each night—shows, shows, shows! There were probably over 50 performances! And then, of course, social dancing afterward. Except “afterward” was like 12:45 a.m.! We stayed a little while on Friday, skipped Saturday, and stayed longer on the final night.
In between all that, we continued our sightseeing and enjoyed lovely meals in the city—Central Park, some delicious dim sum, subway rides, the High Line trail, Little Island, and Pier 57.
We had an amazing dinner with our Bermuda Salsa friends at Tao Downtown. It’s a restaurant, it’s a club, it’s an experience! And lovely presentations of all the food, including this carrot cake—all parts fully edible!
We also saw street markets, had street food, and visited the big Macy’s—beautifully decorated for springtime.
We had a lovely dinner at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel, Vintage Green. Lothar got a dry-aged beef… huge hot dog! Hehe.
Our Tempo Bermuda team performed on Sunday night. Great job representing!
Toward the end of our stay, we visited the Empire State Building—all the way to the top deck. The weather was clear, and the views were perfect!
Then we went to Rockefeller Center, and I had the BEST focaccia EVER at the Jupiter restaurant there. Just wow!
That’s it! We took it easy and flew back home. We’re definitely coming away thinking—let’s go to another Salsa Congress in the future!
