Christmas in New York City

As if Breckenridge wasn’t enough, my December included a second trip. This time, I met up with my daughters, Cori and Kimberly, and granddaughter, Jordan on Christmas Day in New York City and we spent the next four days seeing and experiencing as much as we could.

We had a long combined bucket list and by the end of the week we had managed to check off nearly everything except the Brooklyn Bridge… return trip?!

Soon after arriving at our hotel in Manhattan/Times Square, we headed out to see Rockefeller Center. Everywhere, there were so many people crowded onto the sidewalks, restaurants, and stores, but we made our way through and thoroughly enjoyed it.

As you will see from the photos, we made the most of every day while we were there. We visited the Empire State Building via the Express Pass and raced along the red carpet past the four-hour long crowd waiting for the elevator to the 86th floor for some amazing views.

If you ever decide to take in a Broadway musical/show, I highly recommend getting “rush” tickets. We saved hundreds and saw the phenomenal “Waitress” from the fifth row of the Orchestra section because Cori and I stood in line at the ticket office for an hour that morning. After the show that night, Kim and I stopped for a much-needed slice of pizza.

Rushing for show tickets doesn’t always work out. Kimberly and I stood in line for an hour the next day for tickets to “Mean Girls” only to find out that there were maybe just two tickets available. However, we got lucky again with great mezzanine seats for only $25/seat (student discount) when Kim and Jordan “rushed” Head Over Heels.

Riding the subway up and down the line was an eye-opening experience and spending time at Grand Central Station where we whispered to each other under the Whispering Arch was so cool (#itreallyworks #jordancanyouhearmenow #IloveyoutooKimmie).

It was intense standing in a mob of people waiting 40 minutes for the doors to open for the Staten Island Ferry, but ultimately it was worth it to see the Statue of Liberty and we did enjoy the leisurely ride back.

Of course, Ground Zero and the World Trade Center were on the bucket list. The line was way too long for Kim to get into the 9/11 Museum, but we did spend time at the south reflecting pool before going on to the Eataly inside the World Trade Center building. We didn’t escape the crowds here, but we did manage to have a lovely lunch at the Osteria della Pace. Kim and I enjoyed some great wine and Cori had a drink while we shared salad, warm bread and cheese, and for dessert we treated ourselves to some amazing gelato – a first for Jordan!

You never know what you are going to see in NYC! Apparently, Naked Cowboy is quite the attraction in Times Square as we saw him being mobbed and heard someone yell, “I can’t believe we found Naked Cowboy!”. Note: It was not Jordan, but she did find him quite entertaining, lol.

When we stumbled upon Bloomingdales, our first inclination was to keep on going, but with a little coaxing from me, the girls decided it was worth a quick dash in to take a look, but for all the significant others out there reading this, we did not, I repeat, did not buy anything! We did, however, find plenty of souvenir shops to frequent, including one funny little shop at Grand Central Station where we found some real gems!

The Plaza Hotel was on our bucket list and it did not disappoint. It also got us in out of the rain while we explored what has been called the best hidden secret of New York, the underground Food Hall where we had some amazing pasta. The girls also tried the pork dumplings, but I did not. After lunch, we went on the hunt for macaroons, which I also did not partake in, although they got rave reviews from the girls. Jordan and I shared the peppermint yogurt which was pretty good. We enjoyed the food hall tremendously but upstairs turned out to be quite a treat, too. We noticed a hotel employee guarding the inside lobby entrance against onlookers like us, but Kimberly took a play out of her momma’s handbook and successfully sweet talked her (our) way in! We went in with quiet excitement and oohed and ahhed our way through the halls past the infamous Palm Court and paused for photos at the beautiful Christmas tree just outside the lobby — all are areas reserved for guests only! What the heck, we were guests too, lol.

Touring Central Park was a fun experience because we went by carriage in the rain. The seat cushions might have been a little wet and we might have smelled some horse urine, but after a quick check, I determined that Kim’s butt did not smell of the same! #thethingsmomswilldo #Imighthavebeentricked

Before we saw our second Broadway show, “Head Over Heels” we stopped in a local pub called Hellcat Annie’s Tap Room for a drink and a quick bite; it was definitely a place that the locals go and while the menu/food wasn’t all that we might have been looking for, the beer was cold and the warm pretzels were pretty tasty, right Jordan? After the show, we stopped for an impromptu visit with a NYPD police officer and his palomino draft horse.

On our last day in the city, we saw the Christmas windows at Macy’s in Herald Square, were entertained by the Salvation Army dancing bell ringer and then we headed to Bryant Park for a quick visit.

Our tour of New York City was fast-paced and required great coordination, which was expertly planned and executed by the very capable Cori Chazen. Each one of us had contributed our must-haves and Cori did not disappoint. The trip was originally planned for Ms. Jordan Chazen and Kimberly Crawford and I were invited along and I am so glad we were. What a terrific time I had with all three of my girls. Christmas in NYC with you was everything that I had hoped for and more.

I will gladly follow your hat, coat, or boots wherever life takes us together, always.

Mom/Grammy