Christmas in NYC 2016

Aaron and I have a ‘bucket list’ of places we want to visit.  New York City was one of them.  Specifically, NYC at Christmas time.  I have been to NYC before, but it was pre-9/11 and Aaron had never been.   Aaron normally goes to a big commercial real estate conference out in Vegas in May each year.  In years’ past, he has mentioned there is a similar convention held out in NYC each December he has been wanting to check out so this year we made it happen.

 

It’s a lot easier for Aaron to say, “hey let’s do this or that” because he isn’t the one who has to pack and prep for the trips.  Packing for 2 small children is a lot of work!  They each have lists and schedules and then there is the commute to drop them off at the grandparents, it’s just a lot of work!  Then there is the whole worrying part where I wonder, will they be okay while we are gone?  Did I give enough info?  Did I pack enough?  Aaron’s only to-do’s is to lay out his clothes on the bed and I pack them for him.  He doesn’t even have to worry about if they kids have everything, ticketing, mapping out daily agendas, hotel & restaurant reservations, transportation, etc.  I literally take care of it all; he just has to show up on the day of ready for me to hand him his plane ticket.  I guess I can’t complain much, it is something I enjoy doing, it’s just a lot of coordination to go anywhere.

 

We dropped the kid’s off on a Wednesday afternoon since our flight was leaving at 6:40 Thursday morning.  The great thing about an early direct flight was we arrived in NYC at 10:30 am, leaving a good half a day for us to explore.   We stayed in Times Square, near Hell’s kitchen at Row NYC, I was happy with our hotel choice and location. 

Pretty morning flight above the clouds as we watched the sun rise

Our first stop was at John’s Pizzeria of Times Square for some NYC pizza.  It was everything I hoped it would be!  We particularly like NYC style pizza over Chicago deep dish.  In fact, I really don’t like anything that isn’t thin pizza so John’s pizza was like a slice of heaven to me!  It was also just nice to have a glass of wine with lunch.  No kids, no real responsibilities for the day, so why not?!

John's Pizzeria of Times Square

After lunch, we walked down to Times Square and immediately got attacked by the Disney characters.  We learned our lesson quickly that they are greedy!  We took one picture with them {for Annie}, I would’ve only tipped them a $1 each but I only had $20s on me so I gave Minnie the $20 and asked for $15 back and she argued with me saying her and Mickey should each get $10 for that picture.  Are you serious?!  That picture took 10 seconds and I said absolutely not, give me my change!   We then got bombarded by Elsa and I told Aaron just walk and walk fast!  Greediest Mickey and Minnie I ever did meet. 

 

Tourist trap -- don't do what we did! 

Rockefeller Plaza

We then walked to Rockefellar Plaza and witnessed a proposal under the tree (1 of 2 we witnessed). 

Awe, witnessing a proposal under the Rockefeller tree

Rockefeller Ice Skating Rink

 By the way, the tree is much prettier at night, but also a whole lot busier too.  We then headed into 30 Rock for our NBC tour.  I had done the NBC Tour before but they have since renovated the studios.  We only got to go into the Late Night with Seth Meyers set.  While we were there, Jimmy Falon was filtering in their audience for a live recording so we couldn’t go into his set.  Bummer.  Shawn Mendez was there practicing for his musical guest appearance on SNL that week so we missed seeing that set as well.  It still was a good tour, just wish we could’ve seen some of the really popular sets. 

After our tour, we hit Magnolia Bakery for a sweet treat.  Get the Hummingbird cake; bananas, pineapples and pecans make up this classic southern cake with sweet cream cheese icing; AMAZING!  I also got a cupcake but found that to be a letdown.

Next on the agenda was the 5 pm show at Radio City Hall to see the Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular.  It was really good!  We also had great seats; I bought our seats on Travelzoo where we were able to get discounted tickets and had a choice from hundreds of seats.  I was glad we did the early evening show and not any later because that first day I was super tired after hitting the early morning flight.

The chandelier and decor at Radio City Hall were goregous

Good seats!  No zoom 

Neat how they projected the show on the ceiling 

The live animals during the nativity scene was cool, camels and sheep right in the city

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After the show, we fought the crowds again to get pictures of the tree and then headed to our dinner reservations at Del Fresco.  Reservations are a must in the city, the wait was pretty long and the place was packed but we got in fairly close to our reservation time.   Dinner was good, unfortunately I was too tired to eat and only took a few bites out of my meal and was hurrying Aaron to eat so we could get back to the hotel as I was starting to not feel so great.  Fatigue makes me sick anymore.

The Rockefeller Tree

When we left, we tried to get a cab, but to no luck.  A bike (Pedicab) came by asking where we needed to go.  I asked how he charges, he said just like a cab does and looked at Aaron and was like ok, let’s get in.  Um, never again!  He was swerving tightly in-between cars, in-between lanes basically riding the lane line, we would’ve been goner’s if we got hit by a car.  Then we got to our hotel, a mere .7 miles about 10 min at the most in the pedicab (note that decimal before the .7, not even a mile we went!) and he goes $50.  We learned some expensive lessons that day.  Don’t take pictures with the Disney characters and don’t take the Pedicabs anywhere.  I felt like we paid for that guy’s bike.

A walk-thru of St. Patrick's Cathedral

The next day, we woke up feeling much more refreshed and had intended to take the subway to the financial district.  I ran out of time to do 2 things in my trip planning: find places to eat breakfast at and figure out the subway system.  Huge mistake and we paid for it in time lost trying to figure both out.  We ended up in a taxi, which worked out fine and ate at a Cosi Café, which I wasn’t overly impressed with but it worked.  We then met up for our Wall Street Financial District tour.  I’m glad we had great weather for our trip because this 2-hour tour was mostly all outdoors since no outsiders are allowed on the trading floors.   I ended up choosing a Wall Street tour that was a little more expensive (not by much though) than some of the choices but it was money well spent.  We went with www.thewallstreetexperience.com and would highly recommend it.  Our tour guide was fabulous, he himself personally worked on Wall Street at Goldman Sacs and we found him and his facts fascinating given Aaron and I both work in a financial sector.  The tour was so comprehensive that I didn’t feel like we needed to explore any more of the area so we headed on to lunch.  We were supposed to eat at Adrienne’s Pizza Bar but our feet were tired so we decided on Pound & Pence next to the Federal Treasury, which worked out just fine.

New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street

I personally found the Federal Treasury Bldg fascinating and the history that has unfolded in these walls

Financial District Bull

Afterwards, we headed over to One World Trade Center and visited the 9/11 Memorial.  Freedom Tower really is an impressive building in person.  We headed into the 9/11 Museum, which my planning paid off and the reservation line moved quickly.  I would highly recommend the 15-minute video at the beginning of the tour.  The museum is a pretty good size.  I found it a little strange how artifacts and plaques were really spaced out in some spots but then they had these side rooms that were too packed with people and artifacts that you really couldn’t see them all effectively.   I’m thinking it must be because the museum is set up where you are viewing specific artifacts that are intact (viewing the actuals stairs and footings of the original trade center) and so they have built the museum around the pieces that are left at ground zero but I do feel like even with that, there was still areas where moveable artifacts could have been placed, making it easier to tour.  The artifacts in the museum have been preserved very well and the volunteers in the museum do a great job of elaborating into details.

One World Trade Center/Freedom Tower

Inside 9/11 Museum, Ladder 3

Inside 9/11 Museum

 One wall in particular felt very sacred, it is where many of the remains of those who perished in the attacks were kept.  I did not know the remains of many of the victims were right there in the museum.  Overall, it was a good self-guided tour, I think next time I will plan better to come during a time when it’s not so busy and maybe even consider the guided tour they do before the museum opens to the public.  Aaron and I talked about where we were on 9/11, we both remember that day very vividly and always will.

9/11 Museum

Remains of victims behind this wall, 9/11 Musuem

9/11 Museum, original staircase many survivors used for escaping the building

9/11 Memorial Pond

From here, we finally figured out the subway, on our 3^rd attempt!  It’s definitely the way to travel in NYC but we just never really got the hang of it enough to use it as our sole mode of transportation.   We had reservations on Restaurant Row at Becco.  This is really a neat area for those who like an eclectic setting.  I choose Becco for their popular 3 daily pasta table side preparations and the it’s known for the best wine list for $25.  They literally have a whole page of wines by the bottle, all for $25, I liked the simplicity of that.  The food was good but we were really crammed into a tight space.  Most restaurants on restaurant row offer a pre and post theater menu since it is also in the theater district.

Aaron's vegetable appetizer at Becco was laughable, like something we would give Annie -- 1 carrot slice, 3 green beans, etc.  The food was good though, this was just a strange appetizer in how it was presented. 

After dinner, we grabbed our tickets to the RIDE.  We ended up buying a NYC Pass where we could pick 3 attractions each and it ended up being a good discount, with the RIDE being one of the options.  Do not do what we did and try to get our tickets to the RIDE 20 minutes before it starts, the box office and the meeting spot for this attraction is a little bit of a walk and we were hurrying. 

The RIDE was really great, one of our favorite attractions!  It was upbeat and overall a lot of fun!  It’s basically a touring bus that has stadium style seating facing the street and they take you on a driving tour of Manhattan, stopping along the way to watch street performers (these aren’t random; they are staged performances by the RIDE and were entertaining!).   It’s a neat way to see the city, below are a few videos from this attraction that I took: 

Afterwards we headed down to Times Square for some photo ops and called it a night.  Aaron’s feet were killing him, I was a little more prepared in what I packed (surprise, surprise) and my feet were holding up better than his but we had enough walking for one day.

Times Square

So this pic I came across and started laughing, didn't even know I took it, look how mad I am at my selfie stick not staying in place

Times Square

Saturday I had reserved to do the Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour.  Here is my quick review: don’t do it.  We got in relatively easily at the GrayHound SightSeeing suggested Hop On location.   All was good.  Then we got off at Macy’s and getting back on was a nightmare.

Macy’s was amazing!!  I’ve been in many of Macy’s but this one is a breed of its own; also famous for the Macy’s Day Parade.  The Christmas window displays were great, the store was decked out in beautiful decorations.  It was 10 huge floors of shopping.  We headed up to women’s shoes, naturally.  I had to hold myself back when they told me they would ship free from store to my front door.  I ended up buying 2 pairs of shoes, although Aaron outdid me and bought himself 3 pairs and 2 coats.  He always out shops me so it’s not that surprising.   I hit the purse department too and was google eyeing a gorgeous Kate Spade bag that I decided was a little pricey for me but hinted at how much I liked it to Aaron.  I’m already regretting not buying it so if Santa doesn’t get it for me, I guess I’ll have to treat myself to it.  

Beautifully decorated inside Macy's

These Christmas chandeliers were impressive, my picture really doesn't show how much detail are in these and they spin, move and light up 

We then walked down to the Empire State Building and had lunch at Heartland Brewery and the food was fabulous!  I also decided to get a mimosa even though it was lunch and it hit the spot.  The line to get into the Empire State Building was outrageous so we passed.  I’ve been inside before so I let Aaron know that I personally didn’t think he was missing much, especially since we had no intentions on going to the top.

Empire State Building

We then got in line for the Hop On Hop Off bus and this is where this experience went downhill.  The line was very long, no one was hopping off so I was growing very frustrated.  By the time we got on, the city traffic was horrendous and I didn’t find it much enjoyable.  We stayed on until we got to the Hop On Hop Off Ferry.  I really wanted to do a Ferry ride so I could get some good pictures but I was pretty bummed out when we arrived to find out we just missed the ferry and we really couldn’t wait an hour for the next one given I had our agenda fairly tight and we would miss our tour scheduled for later that afternoon if we opt’d for the ferry.  We then hopped on the subway and headed back to Times Square. We literally wasted 2-3 hours of our day and I was pretty bummed out about it.  Moral of the story, the Hop On Hop Off bus is a big time waster!  I did the HOHO bus we went to Washington DC and I found it very useful but not so much in NYC.

At this point, we had a bit of down time but not so much to really do much of anything so we decided to go to Junior’s, it was a place on my list if we had time to visit to enjoy some NY style cheesecake.  It was incredibly busy for 3 pm and I thought the cheesecake was good but not overly memorable.   Aaron doesn’t get very stressed out when plans change but I do.  Maybe that’s why my cheesecake wasn’t very good because I was still mad at myself that we wasted so much time and had nothing to account for it.

We then got in line for the TOUR.  While waiting, there was a Brookstone store and to kill time we decided to look around.  For some reason, several black SUVs parked in front of the store caught my eye and I even looked at the guy in the passenger seat and gave him a long hard look thinking who is this guy that can just park in the middle of the street like this?  And I also noticed a small group near us dress in black suits, very body guard like but there is so much stimulation overload in NYC that this was like one of those unconscious thoughts as in I noticed it but not paying attention to it.  Then just like that, we were told our tour is getting side tracked because those people who were standing like 10-15 feet from us were TI and Kevin Hart!  We couldn’t believe it!  I was in a bit of awe shock that we missed a potential photo op with 2 celebrities (of course that is the first thing I thought of!) 

We hopped on our TOUR, which is ran by the same company as the RIDE and honestly, they were very similar tours with a few differences.  I don’t regret doing them both but I would suggest doing the RIDE if I had to choose between the 2.   The TOUR tickets are part of the NYC Pass as well.

After the TOUR, we decided to walk back down to Rockefeller to do some more Christmas window display viewing.  Everyone wants to see Saks Fifth Ave that is on the famous 5^th Ave.  Their window displays and light show are very impressive and it is just as crowded as the Rockefeller tree is.  We decided to walk into Saks and to our surprise; the store wasn’t that busy at all even though there were tons of people outside it.  We walked around and commented on how it’s crazy that people can afford to shop and dress like this.  And frankly, I found a lot of the stuff kind of ugly and not anything that special to ever spend thousands of dollars on.  I’m more of a Gap and Banana Republic kinda gal, no Gucci, Oscar de la Renta or St. Laurent for me.  Here is a video of Sak's street light display: 

Saks 5th Ave on the infamous 5th Ave

Saks Christmas theme must have been candy

One of many over the top window displays at Saks 

After Saks, we had dinner reservations at Rock Center Cafe, this is a holiday must!  This restaurant is on the ground level of the ice skating rink and has great views of the Rockefeller tree while you dine.  The food was exceptional and the setting was perfect.  We also witness another proposal, the guy actually cleared the rink and proposed, how romantic.  This was one of my favorite things we did on our trip was eat here under the views of the tree, doesn't get a whole lot more Christmas in NYC than dining under tree and watching people ice skate!

Rock Center Cafe

Rock Center Cafe

Witnessing a proposal on the Rockefeller Rink

Look at that view of the tree, perfect viewing while having dinner

After dinner, we headed back to that Brookstone store just to confirm the events that occurred earlier that day and the sales person affirmed that are hearing was indeed correct, it was TI and Kevin Hart in that store that very moment.  We then got sucked into the Brookstone massaging chairs.  One of them was a little intense for me, got a hold of my calve and I was biting my lower lip as it had a death grip on me.  Aaron was tilted back in nirvana in another massaging chair.  I then stuck my feet into the foot massaging machine and was hollering at Aaron from across the store “You have to try this, I want this!”  And before you know it, we are both sitting there in a state of total relaxation with our feet sucked into these massaging machines.  It was like getting a free hour of massages, I’m one of those people that visits Brookstone for the freebies but never buys anything.
 

And that was it, that pretty much concluded my time in NYC.  The next morning, we woke up ate some breakfast and then I packed up and Aaron walked me down to the train station.  I was very lucky that I even got on the train and I will be posting some tips and tricks in NYC because there was a lot we did right, a lot we did wrong in our visit. 

I was also very lucky that I was able to leave my connection in Chicago, the snow was falling pretty good and I think I was one of the last lucky flights to get home before they started canceling flights in Chicago that day.

Aaron stayed behind in NYC for his convention the next day and half and I made the trek back to my parents and found the girls had a great time while we were gone.  I worried for nothing, they were well taken care of and although Annie asked for us, she didn’t have any big meltdowns that traumatized her for life.  A few days later Aaron arrived home, safe and sound with no travel delays.  All in all, we had a pretty successful trip and enjoyed our Christmas in NYC.   And the best part… our Macy deliveries started to arrive days after, as if they were sent by the NYC Santa himself! 

I'll finish off the post with some NYC Christmas decorations I captured.  This city really does go all out this time of the year, even have speakers in the streets playing Christmas music, what's not to love about Christmas in NY?!

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