New York, New York: The Nightly Show

Oh, hi! I know it’s been over a month since I last blogged, but honestly, I haven’t had too many exciting things going on to write about lately. Instead of creating new posts, I've been spending my time reading, revising my novel, hitting up trampoline boot camp and continuing my gig as a freelance contributor at Brit + Co.

One fun thing I did do during March was visit New York City for a mini vacation that included seeing my favorite singer perform at the Metropolitan Opera. Here, in a series of three posts, I’ll be sharing some pictures and an overview of what we did each day, beginning last Thursday with our initial road trip and the chance to see a taping of The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore. 

After a pretty straightforward 4.5 hour drive, which included a brief lunch stop at a Delaware rest area, Stephen and I arrived at the Holiday Inn Midtown near Columbus Circle on the West Side. We chose this hotel because it was affordable and also within walking distance of Lincoln Center, where the opera house is located.

While not especially luxurious, our room was clean, comfortable and bigger than I expected. The lobby was nice, the staff members friendly, and the price no more than $180 a night. I would definitely stay there again in the future.

We dropped off our car and bags, then walked a few blocks to the The Nightly Show studio. Since we had tickets and were also the third and fourth people in line, we got great seats once we entered. (If you ever want to attend a taping, just be sure to reserve free tickets online ahead of time and get there early, since not everyone who has a ticket is guaranteed a seat.)

We were allowed to take pictures of the set before the taping started, and also got to do an audience Q&A with Larry, who was just as cool off-camera. The taping itself was of course awesome, too, especially since we got to see all the behind-the-scenes action, including makeup touch-ups and the post-show photo session with the guest panel.

After it was over, we stopped off for Thai food at an unassuming little place that ended up being decently good. Then, tired from the drive, we decided to call it an early night and rest up for our Friday tours at the 9/11 Tribute Center and Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

Have you ever been to a TV taping? Despite being from So Cal, this was only my second one, the first being a Full House taping my friend and I went to see with our moms way back in middle school. Oh, the memories. :)