A post titled "Christmas in the Big Apple" being published in late January is obviously way overdue, but I love getting to recap my travels to look back on later. This past Christmas, Andrew and I and our good friends Jack and Catherine took an extended weekend trip to New York!
We had an early- and by early, I mean really early- 3:45 am wake up call that caused me pain for the rest of the trip. The good thing about an early flight though is that we arrived in New York just in time to take a stroll down 5th Avenue and grab a late lunch and frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity.
Afterwards, we strolled through Central Park and saw the Saks lights before heading to Rockefeller Center for one of the most exciting parts of the trip. We were lucky enough to snag tickets to Jimmy Fallon, and it was everything I thought it would be and more. Jimmy was hilarious, and it was so cool to see how the show we watch so often comes together!
The guests the night we attended were Amber Heard, Ice Cube, and Elvis Duran. I was sure hoping for Justin Timberlake, but no such luck. We still had a great time, and we even made it on TV, barely, but made it!
After our television debut, we headed to Keen's Steakhouse and had one of the best steaks I have ever had! Want to make your mouth water? Check out the picture of the Porterhouse below. Our dinner reservation was not until 10pm, so after a 3:45 wake up call and long day of traveling, we crashed at the hotel!
We had another early wake up call on Friday to head to Rockefeller Center for the Today Show. We grabbed breakfast at Bouchon Bakery (I recommend the Chocolate Croissant) and headed to The Top of the Rock Observatory.
The boys! These two were friends in Kindergarten and then became college roommates.
We had lunch at The Smith, and we all really loved it! After lunch, we visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. I had not been to the museum before, and I am so glad that we decided to visit. It was fascinating to see the preserved remains of the buildings and read so many stories about the heroes of that tragic day.
We had dinner at Cotenna, a quaint little Italian wine bar and restaurant in Greenwich Village. I hadn't been to that part of Manhattan before, and I felt like it was an escape from all of the hustle and bustle- we loved it! We followed dinner with drinks at 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar and Patent Pending. 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar is the igloo bar that took over Instagram, Pinterest, and travel blogs. It was super fun and the spiked ciders and hot chocolates were delicious. Every few minutes, the igloos light up and blare Christmas music. We changed pace after this bar and headed to Patent Pending, a really cool Speakeasy disguised as a coffee shop. The entrance had us all deceived! We also snuck in a visit to the Empire State Building.
Saturday was another full day of sightseeing! We headed south and attempted to see the Statue of Liberty. The 1 hour line for security changed our plans, but we still got a picture with lady liberty in the background and got to see the Charging Bull while we were in the area.
We also visited Dumbo, grabbed pizza in Chelsea Market, and walked along the High Line. In Chelsea Market, there was an Etsy pop up shop. It was so cool to see other makers and the opportunities they have in their community.
Probably the funniest part of the day was Andrew going the extra mile to take a picture for Catherine and me. NYC is full of some pretty serious photographers. We kept noticing people literally laying on the ground to take pictures for people. When Catherine and I were trying to take a picture, we turned around to this....
Yes, we died laughing. No, the picture did not turn out well, but we did all get some great laughs out of the ordeal!
Next, we headed to the Plaza for Afternoon Tea. This is something I have always wanted to do, so I was so excited! It was definitely a treat, but I recommend it if high tea is your thing.
We headed back to the hotel to take a quick power nap and freshen up for the night. We stopped for dinner at Angelo's before heading to the Lincoln Center for the Nutcracker!
It's not a trip to New York without cheesecake, so we stopped by Times Square for Juniors after the show!
Sunday morning we headed towards Central Park for brunch at Sarabeth's and ice skating! Brunch was super fancy and delicious. Andrew had the crab cakes eggs benedict and I opted for the French toast- it was all very good. If you ever want to go to Sarabeth's, reservations are a must!
They gave me a size 6 rather than a size 9, so I didn't make it very long on the ice!
We took another stroll through Central Park and visited the Natural History Museum before having to head to the airport.
Reality hit really hard the morning after getting back to Memphis and heading to work...
We had the best time in New York... Christmas in the city really is all it's cracked up to be! Thanks for reading!
xoxo,
Mere
