Just got home from a 5 day trip to New York City. My friend, Bonnie and I have talked about going to New York at Christmas time for a few years. Finally decided to go. We knew it would be cold, so we packed our heavy coats, gloves and hats, and took off for the Big Apple.
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| Ice Skaters and the Tree in Rockefeller Center |
Part of the draw for me, was the Christmas Markets. We have visited the Christmas Markets in Europe, but until a few years ago, I hadn't realized that New York also does Christmas Markets. Had to check them out.
We flew out on Sunday, December 11th. Arrived at Newark airport at about 4:30PM. We only had carry-on luggage with us, so we headed for the shuttle. Newark has a bus that goes from the airport to Grand Central Station. It runs every 15 minutes, so is very convenient. The price is $15 each way, or $27 for a round trip ticket. However, if you are over the age of 62, which we both are, the price for the round trip is $15 - quite a bargain. So, if you are a senior, it pays to ask for a discount.
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| Bryant Park Christmas Market |
They dropped us outside Grand Central station, and we walked the 2 blocks to our hotel. We stayed at the New York Helmsley Hotel - it is part of the Westin chain, and was quite nice. I had gotten us a pretty good rate there, considering that rates are higher at Christmas time. It's a popular tourist time in New York.
That night we headed out on foot to explore. Went into Grand Central and looked around, but then decided to walk a few blocks more to Bryant Park, where one of the Christmas Markets is. Found the market and walked around looking in the market shops that were set up. They had a nice tree in the center, and an ice skating rink. It is the only free ice skating rink set up for Christmas. You have to pay for the rental of skates, unless you have you own.
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| Having dinner at Celsius, Bryant Park |
There is also a temporary restaurant set up there each year. It has inside and outside dining. We decided to sit outside next to the rink and watch the skaters. They had nice heaters at each table. The restaurant name is Celsius. There food was pretty good. I had a hot wine drink, and we shared an artichoke appetizer. For dinner I had their Truffle Mac and Cheese, which was quite tasty and warm. Bonnie had their Chicken Pot Pie, which she enjoyed.
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| Wicked Hot Chocolate at Chelsea Market |
On Monday, we had reservations for the new 9/11 memorial. The memorial is free to go into, but because they are still building all around the memorial site, they only allow so many people into it at a time. You have to make reservations ahead of time to go in. Our reservations were for 2PM. So even though we didn't have to be there till the afternoon, we decided to spend our morning in the lower Manhattan area, so that we could explore that area, and then be nearby when it was time to go there. We headed for Chelsea Market first. That is where the Food Network does some of its filming, and I had heard of a place in the market that had good hot chocolate. We found the place. Jacques Torres is famous for their Wicked Hot Chocolate and candy. It is wicked because of the ancho chilies that are in the chocolate. The hot chocolate was very good, and I bought a candy bar to try later.
http://www.mrchocolate.com/
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| View from the Highline |
Then we decided to walk the Highline for awhile. The Highline is what used to be the elevated train tracks. Now they have turned the elevated area into a walking park/pathway. There are good views of the city up there, and certainly easier to walk from one area to another up there, then fighting the foot traffic below and waiting for lights to turn. I'm sure that in the spring and summer, it is prettier. All the plants are pretty much dead this time of year, but still, we had a nice walk and got some pictures of the water and skylines.
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| display in St. Paul's Chapel |
Then we headed for the 9/11 area. We were early, so we were walking around the general area. There is an old church that is a block from where the World Trade Center was. During the days after 9/11, the rescue workers were searching in the rubble for survivors around the clock. They set up beds in this church and gave the people a place to go to rest for awhile. There is a fence around the church that was covered in signs from people who were missing relatives. We went inside the church, and basically the entire inside of this church has become a memorial to that time period. There are displays of the signs that were there, and lots of info about that time. In a way, I thought this was more moving then the actual 9/11 memorial site that we visited later. The church is St. Paul's Chapel and was built in 1766. It is the oldest public building in continuous use. George Washington worshipped there. Even though I am not a church person, I found this place brought tears to my eyes, because of the 9/11 memorabilia.
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| 9/11 Memorial pond |
We then proceeded to the actual 9/11 Memorial, and spent probably half an hour in there. It is very nice, and a fitting memorial, with all the names carved into the sides of the ponds. The ponds are where the footprints of the 2 buildings were. They are constructing many new buildings around this area, and it is still all in construction.
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| View from Staten Island Ferry |
Because we were in lower Manhattan, we decided to take the Staten Island ferry around the Statue of Liberty. For those of you who might not know this, the Staten Island Ferry is one of those freebie things you can do in New York. There has never been a charge for riding it. You just go and get on it. It leaves every half hour. When you get to Staten Island, you are required to get off the ferry and take the next ferry back. It takes you very close to the Statue of Liberty, and there is nice views of the skyline of New York. By the time we were coming back on the ferry, the sun was setting and we had some nice sunset views, as well.
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| Just outside Radio City Music Hall |
By this time our legs are getting tired. We pretty much walked all over lower Manhattan today. Since we have tickets to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, we decided it was time to take the subway up to Central Manhattan. We'd had a late lunch of deli sandwiches, so we were not particularly hungry. We found Rockefeller Center and did a little exploring there. I purchased some candy at Teuscher's Chocolate store. For those of you who aren't familiar with these chocolates, they are the best in the world. I will have a posting in January about food, and will talk about them more, but they are Oprah's favorite candy, and mine. I had a client that used to bring them to me, now I have to get them when I can. They are not available everywhere, although I could order them online. But they are expensive, so they are a special treat.
http://www.teuscher-newyork.com/.
After exploring Rockefeller Center, taking pictures of the tree, and buying candy, we headed for our show. We found we could have gotten the tickets cheaper if we had gotten them in Times Square, but since we didn't know if they would still have seats available, we had gotten them in advance online. Oh well, the show was great, and we had a great time. Spectatular scenery on stage, the girls were great, and the theatre was beautiful. Got a taxi back to our hotel. Our feet hurt and we were tired.
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| Columbus Circle Christmas Market |
Tuesday we had the day free until evening, when we had dinner reservations and were meeting a friend. We decided to have breakfast in Grand Central Station. There is a corner there where you will see people standing and talking into the corners, it looks a little strange, but if you talk into the corner, you can clearly hear the person in the corner opposite talk back to you. I understand that during World War II that spys used those corners to deliver messages. We had to give it a try. After breakfast, we stopped again at the Christmas markets at Bryant Park, then went on to Times Square, checked out what plays are on, and then went to Columbus Circle to the Christmas Market there. This was the best of the markets and reminded us more of the ones in Europe. We had a light lunch there, then headed for Bloomingdale's and did a little shopping. I also found a Barnes and Noble and asked them to help me with my Nook, it was having problems with the web and email. They downloaded an upgrade and set me up.
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| Bonnie at Serendipity |
Then we headed to Serendippity where we met Chelsea and Cory for dinner. We had a good time visiting with them and dinner was great. Good thing I had made reservations, there was quite a line, but we went right in. I had the lemon chicken with asparagus, and it was delicious. But the best thing about Serendippity is the dessert - they are famous for their Frozen Hot Chocolate, and you have to leave room for it. They are big enough to share! Also, you can order the Frozen Hot Chocolate mix from their store on the internet.
http://www.serendipity3.com/ Took a taxi back to hotel after dinner and saying good-bye to our friends.
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| Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge |
Wednesday we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, another free thing you can do while in the city. Great views of the city skyline. We took the subway down to where the bridge starts. There is a walking path across, which is above the cars. It was a sunny morning, a little brisk and breezy, but really quite nice. We strolled across and back, taking a few pictures and enjoying the walk and the views. We then went to Macy's - on 34th Street, did a little shopping, saw Santa and just enjoyed the window displays.
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View from the Top of the Rock
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Then we took the subway back uptown to our hotel, got changed for the evening, and walked over to Times Square. We stood in line at the half price ticket place and managed to get tickets for The Follies for that night. We wandered around Rockefeller Center some more, just to see the tree, watch the skaters and such. Then we took the elevator to the Top of the Rock, where we had some nice views of the city as the sun set. After that we asked where a good pizza restaurant would be, and were given the name of John's Pizza near Times Square. Went there and we shared a pizza before the show. Our play was in the Marquis Theatre. Bernadette Peters had the lead, and she was good, although I could not connect to her part, it was a weak woman's role really, she was not a happy person. The person who I thought stole the show was Jan Maxwell, I identified more with her role - she played a strong woman, she wasn't whiney, and she belted out her parts. You wanted to root for her. She definitly should win some awards for that part! We did enjoy the show.
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| United Nations Building |
Thursday was a travel day. We had breakfast at a little hole in the wall restaurant around the corner from the hotel. It was recommended by our doorman, and was good. Then we walked to the United Nations building, about 2 blocks from our hotel. Took a few pictures, then went back to hotel and checked out. We caught our shuttle to Newark and flew home. Got home about 8:30 PM, George picked me up and brought me home. Baxter and Sadie were thrilled that I was home, and all was right with the world again.
Another free thing to do in New York is to go to Times Square to their Information Center. They will give you a piece of paper to write down your wish. On New Years Eve they drop the ball in Times Square, and thousands of pieces of confetti fall to the ground. On those pieces of paper are peoples wishes. This year, when it drops, one of those pieces of paper will have a wish on it that I wrote.
