Our Christmas Visit to NYC

We recently took a girls trip to New York City to celebrate my mother’s 70th birthday. It’s been her dream to see NYC at Christmas time, so we packed out bags, jumped a plane and made it happen. We learned almost immediately that it’s a lot colder than Louisiana and it’s nearly impossible to do everything on your bucket list in one trip…but we tried! Full disclosure, I was a Princess Passenger on this trip. My sister handled all of the plans and reservations so shout out to her for keeping us organized!

We flew into LaGuardia on a Sunday afternoon and took an Uber to our hotel off 52nd street. Taking an Uber in Manhattan isn’t for the faint of heart. The city isn’t really set up for a road trip so just keep that in mind! We stayed at M Social Hotel which was right off Times Square, so within walking distance to plenty of restaurants and activities. They have a great in-hotel restaurant with an incredible view of Times Square, which is where we ate on our first night. We had a big day planned for the following day so we needed to take it easy night one!

Monday morning, we woke up bright and early…or should I say dark and early because the sun wasn’t quite up yet when we left the hotel and headed towards the Today Show Plaza! This was a big bucket list item for my mom but had it not been, I would have nixed this in a heartbeat. Not because I wasn’t excited about seeing it all in person but because it was cold. Unseasonably and unreasonably cold. When we arrived a little before 6am, it was under 20 degrees with the “feels like” temperature around 9 degrees. We were layered up and had roughly six “hot hands” each stuffed in gloves, shoes, bras…you name it. Once we got through security and to the plaza, we had prime spots. The production crew at the Today Show is really next level. They immediately got to work chatting with the crowd to pick the best stories for the pre-recorded shout outs…and we got picked! It was a really heavy news day but they kept spirits appropriately high as to not be disrespectful but also not completely damper the mood. It was a really fine line to walk and they did it beautifully. Once Al and team came outside to do a few spots and walk around for photos, we were out. We just couldn’t hang anymore and honestly, I’m glad we left when we did because I think I lost a toenail but would have lost a full blown toe had we stayed out there any longer.

One of the benefits to getting out earlier than the sun, was an unobstructed photo with the famous tree in Rockefeller Square!

Despite being out and about for several hours, it was still barely 9am so we headed to Carnegie Diner for breakfast. I don’t think coffee has ever tasted so good. The menu was full of delightful sounding breakfast items and I thought I was making a “healthy” choice when I ordered Peanut Butter & Bacon Pancakes as they surely had more protein than a fruit filled one…but I was wrong. These were dessert pancakes and they were delicious.

Next we headed to the Museum of Broadway and I’m so glad we did. This ended up being one of the highlights of the trip as it’s just a really well thought-out and curated museum. We were able to spend a couple hours here…away from the chill! They have a ton of original costumes, some even from the Follies!

We rounded out the day with some shopping and sweet treats and more shopping. We were even convinced to wait in line to see the Macy’s Santa. We ate dinner at Lillie’s Victorian Establishment and I’m not sure if it was the over-the-top Christmas decor or the wonderfully warm Shepard’s pie but it was delightful.

We were absolutely exhausted after day one but that didn’t stop us from kicking off day two early! The first thing we did was head to Ellen’s Stardust Diner for breakfast and it didn’t disappoint! In addition to really tasty breakfast foods, the talent of the staff is top notch. It was very entertaining…and delicious!

Our first show of the trip was the Radio City Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular. While I imagine the show is a hit every year, this year was their 100 year celebration so it was truly…spectacular! Radio City Music Hall is a gorgeous theater and I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house. I was surprised when the show ended up being way more than just the Rockette’s kick line. There was singing and troupe dancing paired with a beautiful orchestra and light show. It definitely took me by surprise.

Once the show was over, we head over to Bryant Park to browse the market and wait in line for the infamous Smore’s N’More Hot Chocolate…which was fine. It didn’t blow me out of the water but it was a nice little sweet treat!

We ended the day in Central Park feasting at the Tavern on the Green, which has a truly gorgeous atmosphere. The food was delicious and the espresso Crème Brule was absolutely sinful!

For day three, we took our time heading out…and by this I mean it was still quite early but we got to at least sleep to 7am! We saddled up and head to the Financial District for something I had on my bucket list…a NY bagel! And my word…it was amazing. We went to Liberty Bagels and while it was very difficult to decide which, I ended up with the Everything Bagel and Scallion with Bacon Cream Cheese. Delicious!

We got our inappropriate pictures with the bull before stumbling upon a few famous graves at Trinity Church. The architecture of that church is breathtaking. We found a couple uniquely cozy bookstores and got a decent view of the Statue of Liberty. But a majority of our afternoon was spent at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. That museum is truly beautiful. It was fascinating watching my daughter experience this museum as she didn’t walk in with the memories of that day that the rest of us did. I was a senior in high school on September 11, 2001 and was flooded with memories from the second I walked in. Lily was essentially learning a lot of the details for the very first time. It was a heavy but meaningful afternoon.

We ended our trip the only way one can…dinner and a show! We ate at Carmine’s Italian Restaurant which might have been my favorite meal of the entire trip. It’s family style and we thought we were ordering a safe amount to not have too much waste…but we were wrong. It’s the most food…but it’s absolutely delicious and worth every penny and every second we waited for our table!

Finally, we headed to Gershwin Theater for Wicked. We struggled with picking which Broadway show we wanted to see and I’m so glad we landed on Wicked. Though Lily had seen it on the road, there is nothing quite like seeing it on Broadway. It’s such a beautiful show and the music can’t be beat. It was the perfect way to end our trip!

Overall, it was a fun-filled trip! A couple takeaways from my first visit to the city…it’s impossible to do everything in one trip, you will need reservations in advance for everything, Ubers are crazy expensive, and everything takes longer than you anticipate. It’s a nice place to visit…but I was very glad to be home!