The Raumann Opera Atlas
24–28 September 2026 · New York, Philadelphia, DelawareMarty · Dad · Melanie · Peter

New York,
then Philadelphia.

Five days together: family, old friends, two operas, and a drive to Delaware so Dad could complete his visits to all 50 states.

Our hotel · 24–27 September Courtyard Midtown East ↗ · 866 Third Avenue · Map ↗

September 24–28, 2026

The days we remember.

New York, Philadelphia, and New Castle, in order.

Thursday24September

We arrived and met Melanie.

Newark → Midtown East
  • 8:18 PM
    Melanie arrived from Las Vegas on United UA1731LAS → EWR · we met her at the airport.
  • 8:34 PM
    UA 274 landed at NewarkSFO → EWR · the three of us headed into Manhattan together.
  • 9:12–10:07 PM
    Uber from Newark to the hotelPicked up at EWR; dropped at 866 Third Avenue.
  • Later
    Dinner at P.J. Clarke’sAfter checking in, we went to P.J. Clarke’s ↗. Melanie and I split an 1884 cheeseburger; Dad had fish and chips. We had a couple of drinks, and Dad finished with a to-go cup holding his quadruple pour of Grand Marnier.
Friday25September

Brunch, Central Park, and the Met.

Upper West Side → Central Park → Fifth Avenue
  • Late morning
    Barney GreengrassTraffic made the Uber uptown nearly an hour. We had sturgeon and eggs and matjes herring while Dad caught up with Guy, his friend from high school.
  • Afternoon
    Central Park and the MetPeter (my cousin), Melanie (my sister), and I crossed the park, stopping at Cleopatra’s Needle and Belvedere Castle. The castle was completed in 1872 as an open-air lookout.
  • Early evening
    A Hemingway Daiquiri at The PlazaWe took a taxi to the Plaza. The hotel opened in 1907.
  • Dinner
    Delmonico’sAfter returning to the hotel to freshen up, we went downtown to 56 Beaver Street. The Delmonico brothers opened their restaurant there in 1837.
Saturday26September

Rain, brunch, and two operas.

Midtown → Lincoln Center
  • Morning
    Across Midtown in the rainMelanie and I walked to Broadway, then split up: she went to see friends, and I headed to Lincoln Center to meet Dad and Peter for brunch.
  • 1:00 PM
    Macbeth ↗At the first intermission, Dad and Peter stopped by the Chagall for a glass of Roederer. Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the cast at the bows.
  • Between shows
    A quick bite at The Smith ↗We made our reservation and kept the meal short before heading back across Broadway for the evening performance.
  • 8:00 PM
    Così fan tutte ↗During the intermission, we took a look down into the orchestra pit and at a page of the score.
Sunday27September

Rain on the way to Philadelphia.

Moynihan → Independence Mall
  • 10:15 AM
    Uber to Moynihan ↗We headed to the station with our bags.
  • 11:20 AM
    Acela 2255 ↗3 Business Class seats · Car 2 · 4C, 5A, and 4A · Philadelphia 30th Street, around 12:30 PM.
  • ~12:45 PM
    The Ledger Residences ↗150 South Independence Mall West · our two-bedroom apartment for one night.
  • Afternoon
    The Liberty Bell ↗At 526 Market Street, a short walk from the hotel. The bell has been silent since a repair attempt failed in 1846.
  • 4:00 PM
    Independence Hall ↗We took the afternoon tour. In the Assembly Room, the Declaration was signed in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787.
  • Evening
    Dinner at Fork ↗306 Market Street.
Monday28September

Delaware, then home.

Philadelphia → New Castle → SFO
  • 12:30 PM
    Late checkout, then lunch in New CastleDad wanted Delaware to be the last of the 50 states he visited. After checkout, we drove to New Castle in the rental car. We stopped at Jessop’s Tavern ↗, at 114 Delaware Street. The building dates to 1674; the tavern opened in 1996.
  • 6:30 PM
    UA 1575 home to San FranciscoPhiladelphia → SFO · arrived 9:18 PM, 19 minutes early. Boeing 737 MAX 8 · flight time 6h 3m.
A few places from the trip

Stops along
the way.

Three places we still talk about.

Friday brunch

Barney
Greengrass

Sturgeon and eggs, matjes herring, and Dad catching up with his old friend Guy. Barney Greengrass has been on Amsterdam Avenue since 1929.

Website ↗Map ↗
Friday dinner

Delmonico’s

We shared a light, red-fruited wine chosen for the Pinot-like feel Melanie wanted. The Delmonico brothers opened at 56 Beaver Street in 1837.

Website ↗Map ↗
Sunday afternoon

Independence
Hall

In the Assembly Room, the Declaration was signed in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787.

Visitor details ↗Map ↗
Saturday at the Met

Verdi, then Mozart.

We saw Macbeth in the afternoon and Così fan tutte in the evening.

Read the Met notes →

Afternoon

Macbeth

Verdi’s opera follows Macbeth’s rise to power and the consequences of his ambition.

Evening

Così fan tutte

Mozart’s comedy follows two couples caught in a test of fidelity.

Opera trips with Dad 43 opera evenings with Dad, across nineteen cities since 2006.
Return to the opera atlas →
A first-night toast

New York, 2026.

Dad and Melanie sharing a toast at P.J. Clarke’s on the first night in New York
The Sturgeon King

The Upper West Side, 2026.

The family and Guy gathered around a table at Barney Greengrass
Sturgeon and eggs, matjes herring, and a long breakfast together.
Friends and family outside Barney Greengrass under its Sturgeon King sign
Barney Greengrass opened in Harlem in 1908, then moved to this Amsterdam Avenue address in 1929; the restaurant section opened in 1938. The deli’s history ↗
Across Central Park

A walk and a few hours at The Met.

Dad and Melanie beside Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park
Carved about 3,500 years ago and installed in Central Park in 1881, Cleopatra’s Needle is New York City’s oldest outdoor monument. Central Park Conservancy ↗
Melanie inside the Roman bedroom reconstructed at the Met
This bedroom from a Roman villa at Boscoreale dates to about 50–40 BCE; the villa was buried by Vesuvius in 79 CE. The Met ↗
Emanuel Leutze’s painting Washington Crossing the Delaware at the Met
Leutze painted this epic canvas in 1851, depicting Washington’s 1776 crossing. The Met ↗
A Hemingway Daiquiri

A pause at The Plaza.

Marty and Melanie raising a glass at the Plaza
The Plaza opened in 1907. The Plaza’s history ↗
Dinner downtown

Delmonico’s, 2026.

A server presenting pasta and steak at the Delmonico’s dinner table
A little tableside service, with the steaks already underway.
Family and friends gathered for dinner at Delmonico’s
The Delmonico brothers opened their restaurant here in 1837. Delmonico’s history ↗
Domaine Bart Marsannay Les Finottes 2024 Burgundy red wine
Melanie asked for a light, Pinot-like red. We found it in this young, bright, red-fruited Marsannay.
On the way uptown

Midtown in the rain.

Marty and Melanie under umbrellas on a rainy Midtown walk
Macbeth · first intermission and bows

A matinee at the Met.

Dad and Peter at the Met bar beneath Marc Chagall’s painting, each holding a glass of Roederer
Dad and Peter with Roederer beneath the Chagall during the first intermission.
The Macbeth cast taking its bows on the Metropolitan Opera stage
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Lise Davidsen, and the cast at the bows.
Così fan tutte · intermission

A look into the pit.

The Metropolitan Opera orchestra pit during the interval
The orchestra pit during the interval.
A violin part open to Act II in the orchestra pit
A violin part open to Act II.
Southbound in the rain

On the Acela.

Dad looking out at the rainy landscape from his Acela seat
Dad watched the rain from the window on the way to Philadelphia.
Independence Mall

The Liberty Bell.

Melanie and Dad beside the Liberty Bell
The bell’s familiar crack widened during an unsuccessful repair in 1846. National Park Service history ↗
The Pennsylvania State House

Inside Independence Hall.

The Assembly Room inside Independence Hall, set with green-covered tables
The Assembly Room, where the Declaration and Constitution were signed. National Park Service history ↗
Marty, Dad, and Melanie together in the Assembly Room
The three of us in the room.
Marty and Dad holding up the reverse of a $100 bill in front of Independence Hall
Dad and I held up the reverse of a $100 bill in front of Independence Hall. The building behind it is The Ledger, our apartment for one night. Independence Hall has appeared on the note since 1929; today’s design shows its rear façade. The Ledger Residences ↗ · About the $100 note ↗
New Castle, Delaware

Lunch at Jessop’s.

Dad outside Jessop’s Tavern in historic New Castle
The tavern occupies a building dating to 1674; the restaurant opened here in 1996. Jessop’s history ↗
Melanie beside a gas streetlamp and fire hydrant at 20 East Third Street, New Castle
Local guides describe this as New Castle’s last original gas streetlamp. Gas service came to town in 1857. A visitor’s guide to New Castle ↗ · City historic-area guidelines ↗
Homeward bound

On the flight home.

Dad and Melanie seated together on the flight home from Philadelphia
Dad and Melanie on the way home.