Merry and Bright :: Day 1
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones! My parents arrived late on Christmas Eve, but I’m going to count day 1 as Christmas since we couldn’t do much other than convince my Dad, yes, my apartment really is that small. “You mean this is it?”.. yes, yes it is. My Mom and I were actually talking about how it’s funny how everyone has their own perception of New York, but you really can’t judge the city properly until you have actually visited. Some things are much smaller… and others much bigger. The people are for the most part pretty friendly, and yes, the taxis do honk that much. Oh and another one.. I hate to crush dreams, but for those that their dream is to go to Times Square for New Year’s Eve? Please visit Times Square on any ordinary day and thennnn tell me you want to stand there for over 12 hours.. in the cold.. without bathrooms. Just saying! New York City is really something different to each person and I think that’s something that makes it really unique and truly an experience.
Since this was my Dad’s first (and possibly only) trip here, I wanted to make sure it was very memorable! It did take me two years of convincing him to come after all! To give him a little credit though, he’s NEVER been to the East Coast in over 50 years… so I suppose 2 years isn’t too bad. We kicked off the morning with a baked french toast casserole I made and opening some presents. I got my parents these Explorer passes that gave us 5 events/destinations of our choice to check out. I chose this one because it had the best options for the best deal compared to their competitors. I’d highly suggest using their services if you are thinking about visiting. Just be smart about the events/destinations you choose. Some of the other passes pick the destinations for you and include locations that are actually suggested donation entry, so they say you are getting a deal.. but I’m never going to go to the MET and pay the suggested price of $25 when I could go for $1 if I really wanted. Ask me more about this if you are ever considering them for a trip in NYC or other metro cities!
After opening some really wonderful presents we headed for the metro! My Dad only had a few swiping problems before he was walking through the metro like a native New Yorker! From there we headed downtown to the destination of the day.. Rockefeller Center.
What do tourists do in the city when everything is pretty much closed (minus Chinese restaurants)? Go to the Rockefeller tree and look at the 5th Avenue store window displays. I definitely knew it would be crowded.. but boy was it CROWDED!
If there is one thing New York does well.. it’s Christmas decor! The city definitely has it down to a T.
Once we made it up 5th Avenue, we took a quick trip into Central Park South before heading back down to Rockefeller Center.
Back into the craziness….
After snapping.. A LOT of pictures of the tree we were headed to the Top of the Rock to pick-up tickets. Another bonus to the Explorer passes I got? We got to skip the line for this event! Score!
Oh hey, green and red Empire State Building! After being at the top of the world on the Top of the Rock it was time to head back to the Upper East Side for some Christmas grub by yours truly!
On the menu for the evening was bruschetta, honey dijion salmon, stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes and mint corn. We needed a feast after all of our walking!