We spent several days in New York City before Christmas again this year. Scott's parent's and my mom were there and we actually had a very relaxing time. Well, as relaxing as New York at Christmas can be when there are 10 million people around you trying to get their Christmas shopping done. Here are a few of the highlights.
We spent the first night walking from our apartment to Times Square. We especially enjoyed the Helmsley Building and the Empire State building. Both were totally decked out with red and green lights. At Times Square the kids were on a mission to get to Toys R Us, ride the Ferris Wheel and spend their money as quickly as possible. Harley was ecstatic when she got the My Little Pony Cart. The boys settled for a Mega Bloks Taxi. Boy, were they relieved.
We saw the fabulous Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. I loved how the spectacular show ended with a live nativity with real camels and sheep. It was beautiful. Of course, Nash wouldn't admit that he enjoyed it. He is way too macho for that.
One morning I caught the kids sitting in the window of their bedroom playing I-Spy while they looked over the Manhattan skyline. They love the city so very much.
The weather was remarkable for New York in December. One evening we took the Staten Island Ferry just to look back on the skyline. It was gorgeous.
After tons of walking my mom, mother-in-law and I were complaining about our sore feet. The kids decided to make us a spa. They massaged our tired feet, wrapped them in hot towels, covered them in lotion and then painted our toe-nails. Isn't it lovely?
No trip is complete without risking your life or at the very least the chance of incarceration in China Town and Little Italy. At one point on my search for the perfect Tory Burch handbag, as Atley and I were being led by a particularly shady character into a dark dungeon complete with one dingy swinging light bulb and a dirty cot in one corner, well beyond the possibility that anyone could hear our screams for help, I thought to myself, "Self, maybe this isn't worth it!" But, then I realized dying for a new purse will always be worth it. So, we proceeded and succeeded in our quest. However, perhaps next time I will risk only my own life and not the life of my son. He doesn't have as great a love for fashion as myself. And yes, I am thankful for that.
We strolled down Fifth Avenue enjoying the lights, stopping at the Plaza Hotel in hopes of seeing Eloise. I insisted we buy chestnuts from a street vendor. That was a truly disgusting experience. With the exception of Nash we all found them utterly inedible. Go figure! My pickiest eater is a fan of Chestnuts and Vietnamese food. Finally, we took a moonlit carriage ride through Central Park.
One of my favorite things about visiting New York at Christmas is seeing all of the window displays. Here are a few of my favorites from Macy's, Tiffany's & Saks 5th Avenue.
Before heading home we visited Macy's Santaland. We only had to wait about an hour and half but as we were leaving, the line to see the big guy was more than four hours long. We also saw the most adorable puppet show at Macy's, depicting the true story of Virginia O'Hanlon. You might have seen the Christmas special, "Yes, Virginia."
