Last Day in NYC — Harlem, Gospel, Pasta, Waitress

Our last day in NYC started with a tour to Harlem to experience a Sunday morning gospel choir service. Before heading to church, the tour stopped at the landmark Apollo Theater where we saw people leaving tributes to Aretha Franklin who had just passed away a couple of weeks before our visit.

We then headed to the Thessalonia Cultural Community Center where we were welcomed by the church members. I was expecting a small group tour. Boy, was I wrong! This tour was a busload of people who were interested in learning more about the gospel worship experience.

We attended the 10:30 a.m. worship experience and was happy to see how close this community is. The church members support their community with a senior pen pal program, they check in on the sick and shut-in members of the community and support the local hospital and nursing home residents. There were so many young people there to carry on the mission in years to come.

We also stopped at a few other historical sites like the Morris Jumel Mansion, Manhattan’s oldest house, and learned about other sites in the area that play a part in American history.

Fig and proscuitto appetizer
Puttanesca with capers, olives, anchovies, tomatoes
Affogato to end the meal
Grappa!

After our tour, we got tickets for our third musical of the trip, Waitress, and then headed out for an early dinner. We went to Amarone Ristorante in Hell’s Kitchen that our tour guide Nancy had recommended to us. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and delicious pasta! After dinner, we saw Waitress which was cute and surprisingly (to me) dramatic. I didn’t buy the $12 pie they were selling in the theater but I did love watching the musical!