A New York Minute

It's been a dream of mine to visit New York City at Christmastime for awhile now. I'm sure it was influenced by the countless movies set there in iconic spots all over the city. So when we talked about our family getting away after a more stressful than usual fall, that was the place we agreed upon!

I knew I was possibly setting myself up for disappointment if my expectations weren't met but it was a risk I was willing to take. Turns out - it was totally worth it and if anything, exceeded my expectations!!

We've learned from previous trips to other big cities - this is the environment where our family shines. I did some preliminary work in reading travel books and scoping out what attractions would most appeal to us. I didn't want to plan our trip minute to minute but we wanted at least one planned thing a day and plenty of free time to work around that. Then once we're there and get a better idea of our surroundings and get a feel for what's really important to us, we start planning our days. Wayne shines in getting us from one place to the next and navigating where we need to be, what direction we're going, what subway train to take and when to get off. The rest of us are like little chicks following him around, confident that he'll get us wherever it is we're going! The kids are joyfully along for the ride and thrilled with "vacation mode" and the heightened possibility of ice cream for lunch.

We flew into LaGuardia and took a NYC taxi to our hotel. We stayed at the Excelsior hotel. Because we bought a flight/hotel package deal, it's hard to say what we payed per night and I'm sure there are cheaper ways to go - but this place was wonderful!! It was on the upper west side next to Central Park and across from the Museum of Natural History (Night at the Museum, anyone?).  In an insanely large city shoved onto a tiny island with cars honking, sirens blaring and the general racket of people, this hotel provided an oasis in the middle of insanity. Because of it's location off a main road and across from a quiet museum, the noise was minimal and gave us peace at the end of the day! It also helped that they upgraded us to a suite which gave us an extra room to put Zanna down to bed earlier than the rest of us. And of course, location, location, location. We were in walking distance to many areas and had access to the subway at the end of the street.

Food. It makes or breaks holidays for me. NYC fare did not disappoint us! In the mornings, Wayne and Zanna would head out and search for breakfast - bagels! Meanwhile, Will and I would get ready for the day and while I got ready I had the TV turned to the Today Show and/or Kelly and whoever his name is. I mention this because watching these shows when we were there took on new meaning. I never cared before what the weather was in NYC - why should I? Now I was fascinated! And while I wouldn't necessarily stand outside to be one of those crazy fans freezing their butts off just to catch a glimpse of Al Roker, it was neat to know we walked around that area the day before.

Sorry. Back to food. We ate at the overrated Carnegie Deli, had famous cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery, a latte at Dean and Delucca, ice cream for lunch at Tom and Jerry's and Dim Sum in Chinatown and pizza from Ray's Pizza which is apparently a local joke. My only regret was I never did have a chance to try a ConeyIsland hotdog. But I still did well!

The weather was great considering it was the beginning of December. It started in the upper 40's and got well into the 50's near the end of our visit. It didn't rain and it was never icky. We were still well dressed but being Canadians, it didn't phase us at all.

Our first day there we took a 90 minute scenic boat ride that we ended up getting for free with our travel package. It turned out to be great as we followed the shoreline of the city while the guide pointed out buildings and told stories. It took us out to Ellis Island and gave us a fantastic view of Lady Liberty.

We explored the area around Rockefeller Center and went to the "Top of the Rock" for an amazing view of the city. The famous ice skating rink was up and there were people on it already. The big Christmas tree was up too but not lighted yet. The official lighting would come a few days later. Meanwhile we made sure to hit some stores in the area - Will wanted to check out Lego, Zanna wanted to see the American Girl store and I was itching to browse Anthropologie.

We were amazed by Times Square and the utter insanity of craziness and action! Just walking around and taking in the sights and sounds was fun. We walked a ton and only took the subway 3 or 4 times while we were there just to save our legs and any energy we had left.

We walked through Central Park and recalled the movies we remembered were filmed there - Mr. Popper's Penguins, Home Alone 2, Elf etc. It was so clean and peaceful and the kids appreciated their "leash" being loosened up and allowed to run around. We made our way over to the east side of the park and marvelled at the impressive apartments, walked into the lobby of the Guggenheim and made our way to 5th Ave.

Christmas in New York! I gawked at the window displays of Sak's, Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany and Co. I don't know exactly what they were trying to sell but they were works of art to look at!  We explored FAO Schwarz and Zanna played on the gigantic piano keys from Big. The Plaza Hotel sat across the street but under some scaffolding for repair. We liked being out after dark when the city really lit up and everything seemed magical.

The evening of the second day we bit the bullet and went to see a real Broadway show - Annie! This was the perfect family musical to see in NYC at Christmas.  It was an incredible experience and an huge opportunity for all of us!!! "It's a hard knock life, for us!" 

Day three we explored Chinatown and the Financial District which included a visit to the 911 memorial. Soberly we remembered the events of that fateful day as we circled the two memorials and tried to explain it to the kids. A museum is currently under construction.

From there we headed over to Grand Central Station which now gives me new meaning to the phrase, "What is this? Grand Central Station?". Then we hung out at the New York Public Library, found the kids section and some comfy couches and connected to their free Wifi. It was lovely!

That night was the official lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. We knew it was a big production and if we were going to attempt to go, we should get there early. We were in the area by 4:30 or so and crowds were already swarming, policemen were everywhere setting up gates to corral crowds like cattle and we found ourselves being pushed along in a sea of people with no idea where it was going! Wayne took control and dragged our family out of the current and into a nearby store whose doors were not yet locked. He thought we'd cut across the store and come out on the other side to see if it was better over there. As we approached the doors to exit, in walked in Matt Lauer! Zanna said, "Hey, that guy's on TV!" and I said, "Hey, Matt Lauer!". So that was our big famous person sighting. When we got out and the crowds were not better and we realized the tree wouldn't be lit for another 4 and a half hours and - what do people do when they have to pee? - we hit the road back to our hotel. We knew that although it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, we'd be way more comfortable watching from our hotel, warm and able to use the facilities whenever needed! And we saw Matt Lauer in person, so there you go!

On our way back to the hotel we happened to wander by Tiffany's. I thought it would be interesting to look around. Really. It wasn't a hint. The fact that we walked out with a Tiffany blue box is strictly coincidence.  Wonder what's in there? I'll show you sometime:) And yes. I posed my Tiffany bag and box and took pictures of them. Because when will I get the chance again?

 Our fourth day was our last day but we didn't leave until later in the evening. We checked out and  leaving our bags behind the counter, we walked across the street to check out the museum we had been looking at from our window all week. Truth be told, this was really the only thing that didn't live up to my expectations. Maybe because we have such fantastic museums in our own city, many of which have been recently renovated or kept up to date at least. We found this New York one underwhelming and frankly, disappointing. It didn't help that the evolutionary worldview clouded just about everything and while not surprising, wasn't even well done! No matter, we were exhausted anyways. Our flight home went well and even came with $40 of meal vouchers to use in the airport thanks to WestJet. Perfect for a quick Tim Horton's stop in Toronto:)

I loved NewYork City and we made such good memories!! I'd go back in a New York minute:)