DCFLAMENCO - Flamenco in Washington DC - Easter Sunday with Miguelito in DC/NYC March 27, 2005

SPECIAL: Easter Sunday with Miguelito in DC/NYC. March 27, 2005

My Dad was visiting New York City, so my brother Kevin and I made plans to spend Easter weekend with him. My brother left on Saturday but I had a gig so I couldn't leave until early Sunday morning. I made plans to take the 3:30am Chinatown bus.

My common sense told me to get some early sleep and wake up at 2:00am, go out to Chinatown and catch the bus, fall asleep and wake up in New York.

Of course, things never go as planned: instead I woke up at 9:00pm, couldn't go back to sleep and called up Aru and met her at the Irish place near her house in Dupont Circle.

I had the cider. Potent stuff but with plenty of much-needed vitamin C. March 27, 2005 12:35am

Afterwards, we stopped by Gazuza then Cafe Citron and then I grabbed a late night snack at Julia's Empanadas. My current favorite is the Chilean-style beef empanada. Yummy! Next stop: Kramer's for dessert.

March 27, 2005 1:44am

On the menu, this is called Dysfunctional Family Sundae--vanilla ice cream on an amaretto-soaked chocolate brownie with hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream and raspberry purée. March 27, 2005 1:46am

We shared, but I ate most of it. Hey, I'm a growing boy! :-) March 27, 2005 1:56am

Aru suggested that I get to the bus early just to be safe. So at 2:15am, I walked her back to her house and caught a cab from there to Chinatown. After a satisfying evening of drinks, empanada, sundae and Aru's warm company (thanks Aru!), I quickly fell asleep and woke up a few hours later in Manhattan.

I was supposed to meet by brother at his hotel near Times Square around 42nd St. You know how much I love to walk. So I started in Chinatown and got as far 23rd St before deciding to just take the subway.

March 27, 2005 8:22am

March 27, 2005 8:26am

March 27, 2005 8:29am

Got off the train, met by brother then we went my dad's hotel a few blocks away.

My dad's room had a view of Carnegie Hall. March 27, 2005 9:37am

Kevin, Dad and Miguelito. Hmmm...I don't look that bad considering that I only had a few hours of sleep. March 27, 2005 9:44am

We went to Cafe Europa a few blocks away and got ourselves a late breakfast before heading out to St Patrick's Cathedral.

While my brother, Dad and some of my relatives waited in line to attend the Easter service, I took some pics of the festivities on a closed-off 5th Avenue. March 27, 2005 11:23am

There were Andean street musicians everywhere. Beautiful music, but after hearing soooo much of it, it was starting to get on my nerves. Enough! March 27, 2005 11:25am

The line for the Easter service at St Patrick's Cathedral went all the way around the block--bear in mind that the blocks here in Manhattan are huge! . March 27, 2005 11:34am

March 27, 2005 11:28am

St Patrick's Cathedral at 50th St and 5th Ave in Manhattan was completed in 1879 and seats more than 2200! No pictures allowed inside, but Dad took a few anyway. All right Dad! :-) March 27, 2005 11:39am

March 27, 2005 1:00pm

Despite the nippy weather, some people dressed as if it was a warm Spring day. The girls wore dresses in pastel colors with flowery hats. Some would take the flower hat idea to the extreme:

March 27, 2005 1:38pm

This girl walked around with a interesting contraption attached her to her legs. She wasn't really a street performer cuz she didn't have a real act. Still, people were curious about her spring-equipped stilts, and repeatedly asked her, "Can you jump up and down?" which drew a crowd.

So she jumped up and down and 30 seconds later, the hopping bunny girl "show" was over. :-) March 27, 2005 1:43pm

March 27, 2005 1:45pm

March 27, 2005 1:46pm

I don't really "get" this guy's idea of Easter, but it's still sort of interesting. March 27, 2005 1:47pm

Simply cute! March 27, 2005 2:01pm

Six hours later, me, my brother and my Dad met up with our relatives for dinner in Chinatown. Yum!

This is my cousin Belen just outside the restaurant where we had some excellent Chinese food. March 27, 2005 9:09pm

After dinner, we went to get some boba tea. While we were there, I showed my nephew and niece Albert and Stephanie how to do contratiempo palmas and they seemed to enjoy giving it a try.

Before leaving we took so many pictures. We had at least five cameras between all of us. I'll be getting more pics in the next few days that I'll add here. Stay tuned.

Clockwise from front Rene, Deepa, Dad, Miguelito, Albert, Belen, Kevin, Stephanie and Susan. March 27, 2005 9:29pm

More Perez family artists: my nephew Albert is a high school saxophonist performing (tonight) in the New York Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall. Another musician in the family. Yay! My niece Stephanie goes to DePaul University in Chicago and is studying Computer Graphics and Animation. Very cool already, but it gets better: she makes jewelry and plays guitar and wants to learn flamenco. Bonus points for flamenco. So guess what, Stephanie? You're my new favorite niece. :-)

From left, Dad, Stephanie, Deepa, Belen and Kevin. We hung out in Times Square for a short while before my Dad, brother and I headed back to our hotel. Stephanie and her cool college friend Deepa went out with Belen to have fun on the last night of their last college Spring Break. March 27, 2005 11:18PM

Welcome to the "W." On a musician's income, it's not too often that I get to stay in a fancy New York hotel (thanks Dad!), so I gotta make a big deal about it just this once. :-) March 28, 2005 12:05am

The lobby feels like a modern-style dance club (but without the strobe lights). The constant background trance music, at a low volume level, reminds me of dreamier side of Armin Van Buuren. On the wall is a video projection of continuously morphing abstract art animation. I swear, if this hotel ever hurts for business (which I seriously doubt) they can easily turn this place into a dance club on par with DC's Dream Nightclub! March 28, 2005 12:07am

A quick self portrait in the elevator lobby on the 17th floor. See that image on the wall? It's created with a gobo. Regular readers of my photo diary know what that is. :-) March 28, 2005 12:10am

I haven't had a good night's sleep since Friday so that bed looks so inviting. March 28, 2005 12:11am

March 28, 2005 7:05am

Woke up around 7:00am, checked email then got some breakfast near the hotel.

We got on a crowded downtown train towards Soho. My artist Dad and brother wanted to visit the galleries and art stores. March 27, 2005 9:56am

We got off at Union Square walked a few blocks then went our separate ways. I had to catch an 11:00am bus from Chinatown cuz I had my usual Monday night gig in DC to get ready for. March 27, 2005 10:02am

The bus was only half-full so I got two seats to myself. Yay! Although the rain obscured my window view, the pitter-patter of raindrops against the glass lulled me to a much-needed sleep. March 27, 2005 11:09am

Two hours later, I woke up when a single drop of water fell upon my face. The roof was leaking. No big deal. I just shifted over to my other seat. March 27, 2005 1:13pm

Others weren't so lucky. :-) March 27, 2005 1:30pm

I made it home safely, picked up my sound equipment and guitar and went straight to Cafe Citron.

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