NYC: Day 2

We started this morning with scrambled eggs (I learned to make in the microwave) and monkey bread (from Christmas).  Then, we FaceTimed with our Minnesota family and Brooklyn family for family Christmas.  The MN Yoh kids are getting to be more personable – Theo was asking questions and engaged in the process; Zadie was talkative as well; Miles was on camera, but quieter. 

    

On our way to the subway (without Arturo guiding us!), we picked up coffee and hot chocolate at the neighborhood coffeeshop, CoffeeLand.  The subway picture of Ellie and I actually includes Jeremy and Madison in the reflection; we had fun trying to capture it.

        

Jeremy was excited when Arturo pointed out the soup kitchen restaurant that inspired the soup nazi on the show Seinfeld. 

Our first destination was to watch a performance of the Alvin Ailey dance company.  Jen works in their school and was able to get us tickets for their show.  They did three numbers (which dances they do vary by what day you see them), “Sacred Songs,” “T____,” and “Revelation.”  They were different from each other, but we enjoyed each one.  “Sacred Songs” had dancers in loose fitting clothing melding together, praising through dance.  The next section had two dancers who were incredibly athletic and physical in their dance; the girls thought it reminded them of an act from America’s Got Talent.  The final number, “Revelation,” was choreographed by Alvin Ailey and is a signature piece of the company.  It had a variety of dances to different Biblical songs.  It was fabulous.

    

Sandy tasked the girls with finding the biggest nutcracker they could.  We didn’t see many, but we did see this humongous thing!

    

A definite on the bucket list was to go to FAO Schwarz (toy store). So, we headed that way… only to find a line to get in that reached around the store and down a city block!  But, we hopped in the line and creeped along.  Jen had brought the Christmas gifts she and Arturo had for the girls, so while we waited in line, they opened gifts.  Jen made these really cute zipper pouches that had pictures printed on fabric with a handwritten message from Gloria and a picture of them with her.  They also got some spending cash.  Both things were appreciated. 

    

We we turned the corner to go into the store, we got another great view of the tree…. so we took more pictures!

         

Inside, it was all a little overwhelming, but the girls had fun looking at all the toys, stuffed animals, Barbies, and more.  Jelly Cat is apparently some exclusive brand which was all the rage.  They ended up buying these cute little stuffed bunnies before we headed out.

    

Of course, we wanted to see Macy’s.  It is a massive store; I am not sure how many entrance doors they had, but it went on forever.  We enjoyed looking at the section of windows done up with toys. We also rode the escalator up and down the 7 floors – some of them were the original, wooden escalators.

             

We took the subway to the Greek Kitchen to finish the night.

    

Goodnight after a good, long day.

NYC: Day 1

We decided that this would be a good year to head to NYC for Christmas.  It is iconic there this time of year, and we have the added benefit of being with family.  The girls compiled a list of things to do, talked it over with Jen and Arturo at Thanksgiving, and then sorted it into “Yes,” “Maybe,” and “Not this trip” categories.  This was how we decided what to do with our time. 

We left around 2pm on Christmas day (Thursday).  Madison needed to log some driving time, so she took a couple hours driving on the way.  We made it to Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania for the night, about 6 hours.  The next morning, we headed into the city. Jen’s friend had an apartment in Brooklyn (Crown Heights area) that we were able to sublet.  So, we took about 2-3 hours to get there – under the water twice in using the Hugh Carey Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel.  Jeremy navigated traffic well.  We passed the One World Trade building on our way.

We pulled onto our street and were blessed to find a parking spot directly in front of our apartment on Prospect Place.  I went in and got the key from the neighbor and we unloaded our things.  Arturo met us there, and we headed out fairly quickly to acquire lunch; it was almost 2pm at this point.   Arturo was a great guide.  (Jen was working to get over something and didn’t join us until Saturday night.)  He explained how the subway tracks worked and what to watch for.  Ellie was very leery of the subway at the start of the trip, but by the end, she was a fan. 

    

We settled on a Pho Bar – Vietnamese food.  We all got some version of a lunch special that had pho (soup) and banh mi (sandwich).  It was maybe my favorite meal of our entire time. 

    

The girls have been to NYC two times before – once with Maynard and Gloria when we were still shuttling them around in a stroller, and once when we walked a lot in the summer of 2019.  They remember quite a bit about the second trip, and little from the first trip.  This was relearning how things work in the city.  We didn’t get to sample doughnuts at the Doughnut Plant, but they are apparently very good. 

    

One of our first stops was the M&M store – an entire store dedicated to all things M&Ms.  It was a lot.  There was a quick moving line outside the store to get in.  There was a wall of tubes filled with various colors and flavors of M&Ms, clothing, shaped plastic container filled with M&Ms, customizable candies, and more.  Madison and Ellie went to the “flavors” section of the M&M wall to fill bags with all the unique flavors – pb&j, pumpkin, mint, peanut butter, and more!  They only put a few of each in their bag, but when you pay by the ounce, it adds up quickly!

    

We glimpsed a “hot now” Krispy Kreme right outside the M&M exit. 

From there, we headed toward Rockefeller Plaza to gaze at the iconic tree and ice skating rink.  On our way, we saw some other eye-catching sights. 

    

The tree was more than well-lit and we saw it (by the end of our trip) from maybe every angle. 

         

Our favorite part was probably these light up ornaments that hung on the Saks Fifth Avenue facade.  They would light up and flash to the music that was playing.  It was captivating. 

From there, we saw St. John’s Cathedral, a must-see on Ellie’s list.  It was beautiful and ornate and extravagant.  The strangest part was there was mass going on (we think… although there may have just been a lot of people sitting in pews??) while all these tourists milled around the back part of the cathedral. 

    

Maybe the coolest building we saw was the Louis Vuitton store.  I am not sure if it is open yet, but it is a sight!  It is a stack of luggage that comes out of nowhere!  Incredible. 

We also popped our head into Tiffany’s, but didn’t take a picture.  It was also pretty interesting inside – lots of men in suits, lots of sparkly jewelry, and digital windows that made it feel like it was always daytime in there. 

Our last major stop of the night was Central Park.  The girls wanted to ice skate, but it was fairly late when we got there and prices ($52 per person)were a bit steep if we weren’t committed to skate for more than an hour. 

    

We watched others skate for awhile, and ended up being thankful we hadn’t ventured down.  The snow, which had started by falling gently, had started to pick up along with the wind; it was a little painful as it pelted us on our exposed faces.

    

We took some time to eat pizza at the food court in Grand Central subway station – pretty grandiose place!

Then, we got on our subway to head back for the night.