"Prince Gigi and the Magic Ring" is entirely new on me. It starts out like Aladdin, but instead of being poor and wanting something Betty, Gigi is a normal peasant who wants to find his fortune. Things seem to be looking up when he finds a ring that allows him to wish for anything he wants and a dog and a cat who talk to him. He falls in love with a beautiful princess, to the point where he has a castle built right next door to be near her, but his feline and canine friends know what she's really like.
"The Brave Little Taylor" is pretty much a straightforward retelling of the Grimm's Fairy Tale...but here, the princess knows who he is, doesn't care, and even helps him get rid of the giants. He only has one task - to get rid of two giants who terrorize the countryside. The king doesn't want to kill him. He just wants him to prove himself and stop bragging to everyone in the castle about killing "seven in one blow."
I made the bed while the shows were running. As I was putting the stuffed animals on, I rolled backwards and fell off the back of the bed. Ouch! The left side of my back and bottom of my left foot hit the wooden frame hard on the way down. I could move and walk fine, so I don't think there's any damage, but they're awfully sore.
Thank heavens that was the worst thing that happened all day. It had poured for a lot of the morning. The rain was starting to slow down as I called Uber, but it was still coming down. The driver arrived in 8 minutes, not bad for the weather and a trip into Philadelphia. There was no traffic and no flooding either, not even on the Route 38 corridor that was underwater in July when Lauren visited. Not even heavy traffic in Philly.
30th Street Station is a beautiful old building with a massive, glowing lobby. I feel more elegant just walking around in there. They just remodeled the ceiling, and it looks great. They still haven't finished the food court area, though. I was able to get a pumpkin donut and chai latte from a Dunkin' Donuts stand. Went to the bathroom, then spent the next hour walking around and admiring the improvements before lining up for the train.
Thankfully, the train to New York left right on time. The rain was bad, but it didn't seem to affect the trains. The only trains that canceled were the ones going to Boston. The train I was on was originally supposed to go on to Boston, but canceled that leg. The really horrible weather must have all gone to the coast. It also must have cleared off the train. I had no trouble getting a seat to myself between two families in the first car. One had two fidgety little girls. I pulled out my stuffed Teddiursa and let her wave to one to amuse her. Amused myself while eating my turkey sandwich, chips, and applesauce by listening to a more typical mom-dad-brother-sister family play games and fuss about their hotel in New York and each other behind me. The train did arrive in New York 15 minutes late, but that train always does get in late.
I had a harder time just finding Moynihan Train Station. Normally, I get out and it's right across the street, but I must have gone the wrong way. I came out on the side of Madison Square Garden. Which looks great (must have been recently remodeled), but wasn't where I wanted to go. It took me 20 minutes to figure out where I was going. Didn't help that it was spitting, cold, and gray. Moynihan was so busy when I got in, I went to the bathroom and spent my remaining time in the station having a snack and walking around.
Despite what the conductor claimed, the train going to Albany wasn't full, either. I managed to get a seat to myself here, too. Unlike the train going to New York, this one was full of commuters going to the New York suburbs and totally quiet. I colored in the Adventures In Care a Lot coloring book I've had for almost 20 years now and made up stories about the gorgeous sights along the Hudson River. I love the view going to Albany! Even with the fog and off-and-on rain, the crumbling castles, massive manors, smoke-belching factories, choppy gray waters, and endless rolling green mountains looked like something out of a dream.
I had a harder time getting to the main station at Albany. The escalators were down. I was going to take the elevator, but the line was too long. I finally just hauled my suitcase and backpacks upstairs and met Lauren in the main lobby.
Lauren and I had dinner at Mario's Restaurant in New Lebanon, New York, about an hour from Albany. It's a lovely old Italian place we've eaten at before. It's expensive, but so worth it. We ate by the window, near the fireplace. We both enjoyed the bean salad, Italian bread, and soft, crusty popovers. Lauren had shredded ribs braised in wine with pasta and vegetables and cream brulee for dessert. I had a delicious, if spicy, fennel sausage and shrimp with butter herb sauce and cigar-shaped pasta. Oh, yum! It was all so good, no wonder the place was still packed even at 8:30. I heard three different birthday groups there, too.
We finally arrived at Lauren's around 9. I went straight in the shower, then took my things downstairs and watched tonight's Match Game marathon. Even on Match Game, the occasional rain shower sprang up in the form of rainy day questions. One of the most notable was on the week with writer Donald Ross and his matching wild floral shirts and ties and his slightly bemused wife Patti Deusch. They were there to see an ever-jumpy contestant continue to win big bucks (she would go on to be one of the all-time biggest winners on the show later that week).
Into everyone's life, a little rain must fall...and a lot of wacky questions! Let a smile be your umbrella as you join the belly Laughs while singing in the rain with Gene and his very wet weirdos!