Wednesday, June 2, 2010

BEA Recap - Day 2

As much fun as I had on Day 1, I was really looking forward to Day 2 of my New York/BEA Trip. Kathy and I had a ton planned to do that day including some "touristy" stuff.

We woke up at the crack of dawn (not that we really slept much anyway -- you know how it can be when you're staying in a hotel) and headed to the Good Morning America studio. We arrived at 6:15 (just like our tickets said) and got in line. Thank goodness that it was a beautiful day because we waited outside until after 7:00 (we could have arrived at 7:00 without tickets and been in the same situation.) Then we were ushered into a big "holding" room that had some cameras, two chairs, and a monitor showing GMA.

I kid you not -- we stood in this room for almost two hours and saw no Robin, no George, and no guests. (Well that's not entirely true, they did come in for about 2 minutes and recorded a 15 second take.) It wasn't until 8:50 that they moved us outside for the cooking segment with Cat Cora. Of course, Kathy and I were still pretty far back but we did catch glimpses of the co-stars.

Kathy and I decided to stay until the end of the show because the co-hosts were supposed to visit with the studio audience. George waved good-bye and left within a minute of the end of the show, but Robin was extremely gracious. Here's a photo of Kathy and me with Robin (Kathy's less than thrilled with the picture because her eyes are closed, but I still think it's cute!):

I was so disappointed with the entire GMA experience, but I think it's one that I will end up laughing about some day -- I kind of already am!

After a nice walk and a lovely breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien (where we were served by a daughter of a friend of Kathy), we headed back to Times Square for the King Tut Exhibition. I was so excited to have this opportunity because I have always been fascinated by King Tut and ancient Egypt. I have to admit that this is the one non-book event that I was most looking forward to. Kathy and I went all out and got tickets that included the 3D movie and the audio tour, and it was well worth the cost.

I was blown away by the King Tut Exhibit -- it was truly amazing! If you ever have the opportunity to go, do it! I couldn't believe the display pieces. They are absolutely gorgeous, so well preserved, and so incredibly detailed. Here are some of the pieces that were on exhibit:

After we finished looking at all the artifacts, we headed back to John's Pizza for lunch -- I told you the pizza was really good! Then we hung out in Times Square and the M&M Store where we met up with Lenore. Lenore convinced us to walk to the Javits Center from Times Square. It was a pretty hot day, but it was a nice walk (plus the company was terrific!)

We arrived at the Javits Center just in time to get in line for the Editor's Buzz. I really enjoyed last year's Editor's Buzz and I love getting a sneak preview at the "hot" new releases. I'm not going to list all of the books again because I'm sure you've seen some great summaries of the events on other blogs (like this one.) I'll just summarize and say that all of the books looked interesting, but I'm especially excited about ROOM by Emma Donaghue. In fact, one of my mini highlights was seeing Ms. Donaghue behind me in line to get into the panel -- she had on the coolest coat!

Kathy and I decided that the hassle around seeing Barbara Streisand (this year's Keynote Speaker) just wasn't worth it. We debated about going to a Broadway show, but we decided to be more social and attend the teen author event at Books of Wonder. The store was absolutely adorable and there were tons of book bloggers there. It was wonderful putting a face to all of the blogs! About 10 of us decided to grab a bite to eat so we headed down the street to Rosa Mexicano and had a very fun dinner!

At this point, I was getting pretty tired since I'd been up since before 5:00 a.m. I was anxious to catch a cab and get back to our hotel, but Natasha convinced Kathy and me that we could just ride the subway. I was a little leery about navigating the subway system, but Natasha was a pro. It was so quick and easy (and much cheaper than a cab!)

We arrived back at the hotel where I just wanted to crash, but I decided to iron my clothes instead. I actually didn't mind because I was getting ready for Day 1 of BEA and the tea with Adriana Trigiani! I was so excited about the everything that I had a hard time falling asleep, but I did manage to get an okay night of rest!

And that pretty much wraps up my Day 2 in New York!

16 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

Love it! All of it! I've seen a Tut exhibition at the children's museum in Indianapolis, and it was breathtaking. I think it is great that you did some other things besides book stuff (although that is always the highlight). I am laughing at the fact that Natasha was the subway pro. Wasn't last year's BEA the first time she'd ever been to New York? Way to go Natasha!

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I love this too - especially the M&M guy! And so impressed about the ironing! :--)

Karlie said...

Wow! Your first two days were packed! I can't wait to hear about the tea with Adriana Trigiani.

Laura at Library of Clean Reads said...

I read your Day 1 too, and so far what an experience for you and Kathy! I would have loved to see the Scholastic offices. The exhibit must have been a highlight. My hubby and I caught the Titanic exhibit in Las Vegas last week. Quite impressive and sobering.

WinterWrite said...

Wow! Sounds like you two had a ton of fun. Love the pictures. The GMA experience does sound disappointing though. Even still, wish I could have been there. Oh well, at least I get to live vicariously through your fun posts. :)

Amused said...

I am loving your wrap ups! Looks like you and Kathy are having a blast. Bummer that GMA wasn't worth it but at least you were with your friend :)

Amused said...

I am loving your wrap ups! Looks like you and Kathy are having a blast. Bummer that GMA wasn't worth it but at least you were with your friend :)

Amused said...

I am loving your wrap ups! Looks like you and Kathy are having a blast. Bummer that GMA wasn't worth it but at least you were with your friend :)

Beth F said...

We bagged the Babs thing too. I saw the Tut exhibit many years ago in Seattle -- absolutely worth seeing.

I definitely could not have done the subways without Dawn.

Serena said...

I didn't see Babs either, but I heard that she came off just a bit too OCD! LOL

Sounds like you had a great time. Too bad we didn't hang out more...those events sounded like fun!

Anna said...

I'm glad we skipped Babs, and we decided to do the wax museum instead of the King Tut exhibit, but I wish we could have seen both. Too bad we didn't make it to the teen author event like we'd planned; it would have been great to get another chance to talk to you, since it seems like we saw each other only for a second! It's so hard to pack everything into so few days.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

bermudaonion said...

GMA was a dud, but at least we know now! My sister said she saw me on there. I can't believe I had my eyes closed after waiting all that time for a picture.

Lenore Appelhans said...

That walk with you and Kathy had to be one of my favorites! So glad we got to spend time together :)

Unknown said...

I am really enjoying your wrap-ups and love seeing your pics and reading about your adventures in NYC. I am going to make sure I am ablke to attend next year. It's so sad thta I live in Brooklyn and wasn't able to participate in the Bea or anything :( But I love reading everyone's posts about their time in NY!

I watch the Today show more than GMA but have never attended one of the morning shows and after the experience you recounted I don't think I will! I'm happy for you that you were able to get a photo with Robin. I think both you and Kathy look terrific in it & after the experience you went through and all of the time you waited, it seems fitting anf perfect to me that Kathy's eyes are closed!
I adore the photo of you with the Red M&M guy too - so cute! The Tut Exhibit is wonderful, glad you got to see it. And I am glad you had decent weather.
I also hope the New Yorkers you ran into in your travels treated you well.
I'm going to read more of your recap later!

~ Amy

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks said...

Oh, sorry that GMA was such a disappointment -- at least you tried! And the Tut exhibit looks fab; I wonder if that's the same traveling show that was at Boston's Museum of Science years ago (20?)

A very full and fun day, Julie!

p.s. Did the M&M guy have samples?!

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

It was wonderful to finally meet you! And I'm bummed that I didn't know about the King Tut exhibit ahead of time - I'd have loved to see it.