A guide to New York City: At Christmas Time!
Who wouldn't love to go to the "Big Apple" during the holidays? This post is about two years late, as I went just at this time, exactly two years ago. I thought I had already done a blog post about my trip, but I guess I was dreaming...anyways, I am so excited to share with you my trip to New York City. The reason I love blogging about my trips so much, is that it is like an electronic scrapbook. I can look back on where I have been and what I did all in one post, with descriptions and pictures, it's lovely! I have been to New York during spring break, and right after Thanksgiving. Both times were amazing, but the trip after Thanksgiving was my favorite! Everything was decorated for Christmas, and it was amazing to experience what it was like in New York during Christmas time, without all the snow! It really was the perfect time to go! Since it has been two years since I went, i'm going to try my best to remember everything I can, to make this as helpful as I can, and fun for ya'll! The pictures I have were taken with my iPhone, so the quality isn't the best. I also wasn't a blogger yet, so I didn't have that mindset of taking pictures of every place and finding the best lighting. However, they still captured the memories! I hope you enjoy reading all about where I went while in New York, and it inspires you to want to go someday! 1. The hotel - THE OMNI BERKSHIRE PLACE The hotel I stayed at was called the Omni at Berkshire Place. I have stayed at several omni hotels before in Dallas and Nashville, so I was excited to try the one in New York. The lobby was beautifully decorated with a huge tree, and I loved the marble floors throughout. We went up to our room and the room was very spacious. They even welcomed us with a little chocolate taxi for a treat! The location was really nice, only a few blocks from all the action of Time Square. Our stay at this hotel was really great, and I would definitely recommend staying here!
2. The shows - PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
When my family first brought up the idea of going to see Phantom of the Opera, I thought "no way, that sounds awful!" Little did I know, I would end up LOVING IT!! It is now my favorite Broadway production. The acting and singing was amazing and it was an awesome experience! If I remember right, it is the show that has been performing the longest on Broadway. The architecture of the building itself was so pretty! If you want to get a good experience of a Broadway show, then this is the #1 you should see.
THE ROCKETTES AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL
If you like Christmas productions, I would highly recommend going to see The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Its a light-hearted production of fun Christmas scenes, featuring the well-known Rockettes. They are known for their group dancing and fun costumes!
JERSEY BOYS
We also saw the Jersey Boys Broadway show, but I honestly didn't care for it as much. There was a lot of language, so it was hard to watch. It captured the story of Frankie Valli and how he rose to fame.
3. The food - ROXY'S DELICATESSAN
Be prepared to try the best cheesecake of your life here! The first time I went here, it was located in Time's Sqaure, but it is not located across from Radio City Music Hall, the perfect treat after a show! Their cheesecakes are huge, and taste as amazing as they look!
RAY'S PIZZA
I've googled to see if we in fact visited the same pizza restaurant as Buddy the Elf, but it seems there are several pizza places with the same name...so who knows! The pizza we ate was delicious and was right inside Time's Square.
LITTLE ITALY
It was so much fun to take the subway all the way to Little Italy. Almost every other door was an italian restaurant, so we just picked one that looked nice. It ended up being really delicious. Italian food is my favorite, so I tried the lasagna and Cesar salad. You should definitely put in your plans to come try one of the italian restaurants. It's also right next to Chinatown is, where all the cheap knock-off purses and accessories are at if you are wanting to shop for those.
GRAND CENTRAL OYSTER BAR & RESTAURANT
This restaurant was the most unique we ate at. It was in the lowest level of Grand Central Station. They specialized in seafood and fine dining. It was a really cool atmosphere!
4. The attractions - TOP OF THE ROCKEFELLER PLAZA
This was my absolute favorite thing we did while in New York! You got to ride an elevator up 70 floors to get a stunning view of the entire city! You can walk around for a 360 degree view and see central park on one side, and the empire state building on the other. The pictures do not do it justice!
TIMES SQUARE
The lights are just as bright as the movies here! It such a busy and fun place to be. There are tons of stores and restaurants! When I think of New York City, this is what comes to mind; the busyness of people, crowds, and bright lights.
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
This famous statue may now be where you thought it was. You actually have to ride a boat out to Ellis Island, where there is the statue, along with the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. You can walk inside the Statue of Liberty and get pedestal or crown access with different tickets. It was so cool to look back at New York from Ellis Island.
THE 9/11 MEMORIAL
This memorial is a very emotional place. Almost everyone remembers the day when the tragedy struck New York. The memorial actually has pools that are the exact size that the twin towers were, and the names of all those that lost their life are inscribed all around it. There is also a museum that you can go to and see remnants and stories from the day. This is a really humbling place to visit.
CENTRAL PARK The famous Central Park has been featured in countless movies, and it is much different in person than on TV. There was simply not enough time to tour the entire park in a day. We rode in a carriage led by horses, so it was a really fun experience. The guide took us to see several bridges, such as the one featured in Home Alone 2, and Elf! It was really cool to see where all the people from the city get their nature time. There was even a skating rink in the park too!
ROCKEFELLER PLAZA
This was one of my favorite places that captured the holiday spirit. In the center was the famous ice skating rink and gold statue. Above it, was the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, which was lit while we were there. Everything was decorated and it was just such a fun atmosphere. Even the Salvation Army volunteers were doing the Cha-Cha Slide on the sidewalk, it was so much fun! Rockefeller plaza is also where Top of The Rock is located that I mentioned earlier. At night, they do a big Christmas lights show on one of the buildings across from the big Christmas tree.
5. The shopping - MACY'S
The Macy's in New York is one of the largest stores in the world, with 11 levels of shopping! To put it simply, this store was overwhelming. It's a shopper's paradise. They had luxury handbags and perfumes, and everything you could want all in one store. Even their Christmas decorations were extravagant. The best part was their window displays. You should definitely stop by this historic store, even if you are just wanting to check out the cool window displays!
6. Miscellaneous - Here are some random places and pictures that were taken.
7. The transportation - JET
It was so unique and an amazing experience to ride on a private jet to New York.
TAXIS
The major way we got around was walking, but when we were too tired we took a yellow cab.
SUBWAY
A subway may seem scary, but it is actually really cool to ride! Just make sure you get on fast, because the first time I went to NY, my Mom and Brother got shut out and left because the doors automatically close. Don't let that scare you, it' s a really fun experience. I also added a funny picture of one of the warning signs inside of the subway, lol.
Now it is time to go home, sadly!
I got to experience this trip with my Mom, Great Aunt, and Cousin. It was a wonderful time, and we were able to pack a lot of activities into a short amount of time. New York City will always be one of my favorite places I have traveled. It's so amazing to experience the magic of it all first hand. I hope this post will give you some insight on the best attractions and things to do! It was so much fun writing about it and looking back on all the memories. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or go to my contact page and I will try to answer them the best I can, Have a wonderful day, and "Welcome to New York!!"
-Amelia