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! 

We began day 2 down in the financial district at the Federal Reserve Bank. You may have heard about it recently in the news after the FBI foiled an attempted plan to blow it up.. If you’re lucky, you can sign-up for a guided tour that shows you around the exhibit and also takes you down to the gold vault. They fill up pretty fast and even at a month out I was only able to get us a self-guided tour but it was still interesting. Inside the exhibit, you learn about the role of the Federal Bank and how our money is created and processed. you also got to try and tell the difference between counterfeit and authentic money. It turns out, everything about how our money is designed is very thought out with counterfeits in mind. 

With money on our minds we headed south by the New York Stock Exchange where we found this building called Federal Hall that was pretty neat.

We lucked out and jumped in on one of their tours of the rotunda. It turns out the building dates back to the 1800’s and is the site where George Washington took his oath to be the president at a building previously at the site. Pretty cool!

After getting a lesson on some American history we grabbed a bite of New York pizza to eat (thanks Chris) and headed to our next destination.

Even if you aren’t that interested in the museum, check out the National Museum of the American Indian because the building is beautiful and, bonus, it’s free! Before housing the museum, the building served as the old Customs building.

the museum isn’t too big either so it’s a good place to stop in at and get a little history before your next destination. Here’s a little secret too… they have these swivel round love seats in the music exhibit that are super comfy, plus they play a pretty interesting movie in that theatre.

After the museum we took a quick trip through Battery Park, but decided it was a good plan to head back to the UES and have a low-key evening because a storm was headed in and it’s a little hard to explore when you’re being pelted in the face with hard wind and snow! 

By Day 3 the weather calmed down a little so we were back to the streets! We started the day with a trip to Alice’s (necessary) and a walk by Madonna’s apartment (no Madonna sightings though). There was just one other necessary stop before heading downtown.. The puppy store. You see, there is a puppy store near the 77th street station that I just can’t really resist going in when I go there. Looks like I’m not the only one who could resist either though…

Don’t worry, Scooter is still an only child.. and no dogs were transported across the country. I must say it’s a little easier to say no when the price of that puppy in the window is $2,500. 

On our way to get tickets for our Movie and TV tour we made a couple short trips. One to Grand Central Terminal to take the typical “where is waldo” photos and then to the New York Public Library, which was decorated very nice for the holidays.

Next up, our TV and Movie Sites Tour by On Location Tours. Something I was really excited about with our Explorer passes were some of the tours included, this being one of them. For this tour we hopped on a comfy coach bus and cruised around the city for 3 hours to learn about different places movies and TV shows have been filmed here. You also learn about all of the shows that took place in NYC, but were pretty much actually filmed on sound stages in LA. 

Some of the highlights on the tour for me were seeing the Friends apartment, Ghostbusters headquarters, Men in Black Headquarters as well as different locations from The Devil Wears Prada, I Am Legend, and Batman.

That’s a wrap for days 2 and 3! More to come!

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!