Merry and Bright :: Day 4-5

On day 4 we headed down to the tip of Manhattan to South Street Seaport to take a Liberty Cruise Tour. I was hoping to be able to take my parents to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but due to damage from Hurricane Sandy both islands have had to close down boat access for repairs until further notice. It’s okay though because we had a beautiful day to take a tour of lower Manhattan on the Zephyr boat.

One thing I really love about the city is giving people different perspectives.. the city from the streets, the city from the air (Empire State Building or Top of the Rock), and the city views from outside (Brooklyn, Hoboken, or the water). I think it’s a cool way to see different angles and have a different experience from just one view.

We really lucked out on the weather on day 4. Look at that beautiful skyline!

On day 5 we went to an area we got to know really well over this trip… Rockefeller Center. I have the directions memorized.. 6 train down to 51st street, walk to 5th avenue and turn left on 49th street!

This time we were actually going into NBC Studios for a tour. There weren’t any photos allowed, so you just get one of their huge sphere where the introduction video took place and their jelly bean logo. I’ve taken the tour before, but decided it would be a cool thing to do again with my parents. Plus, my Dad loves the Dr. Oz show! I was hoping to be able to get tickets for a taping, but most of the TV shows were on hiatus for the holidays so I figured this would be the next best thing because the tour goes into his studio. On this tour we got to check out the Dr. Oz show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and the SNL studios, which was all pretty cool. I’d definitely recommend the tour to anyone interested in the history of broadcast or a big fan of SNL, since that is one show that getting tickets to are next to impossible. To make you feel better though, they say the best seat for SNL is always from your couch, which sounds pretty accurate!

After the tour, we headed to a pizza favorite or mine, Motorino, to give my parents a dose of some classic Neapolitan pizza. You definitely can’t get that where we’re from.. By the time we finished eating the snow was at it again so we switched up to an indoor activity at the Chelsea Market. I always love heading down there because of the cute little shops and the beautiful building. I was especially excited this time though because I heard they decorate for Christmas pretty good, which I have to say I’d agree!

To cap off the day, my Dad and I headed up to the Upper West Side to the Natural History Museum, while my Mom went on an adventure of her own. this was my third visit to the museum, but there are so many exhibits that you could go back several times and learn something new each time.

I love all of their animal exhibits because they look pretty real. Even though the animals are stuffed it still gives me the feeling that I’m visiting a zoo!

We ran through most of the museum in 3 hours, but you could easily spend a whole day in there. After 3 hours we were starting to run low on energy though after a long day and decided to head back to the Upper East Side for Chris to cook us dinner. Yes, Chris cooked dinner for the first time for people other than just me!