City sidewalks, Busy sidewalks

This post is a few weeks late, but the weekend was so much fun that I wanted to post about it anyway.  Two weeks before Christmas, Tory and I headed back up to New York for a weekend with some of our favorite people.  We checked out all of the holiday window displays, got some free hot chocolate and purple Santa hats from FedEx, visited the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, saw the tree in Rockefellar, went skating in Central Park, ate some more delish pizza, and saw my first broadway show- How to Succeed In Business...Without Really Trying. 

My favorite Christmas song ever, ever is Silver Bells (Stevie Wonder version), and I have always dreamed about experiencing Christmastime in the City.  Tory and I decided to make this our big gift to eachother for our first married Christmas and hooooow much fun did we have?  Here's my review of New York City at Christmas:

The holiday displays are gorgeous.  I don't think I really had a clue what went into these little bits of Christmas magic.  The best thing I can compare it to is Disney World in a glass box.  My favorite was Lord and Taylor- this was the first one we saw at 4 am Friday night/Saturday morning after dinner and drinks.  There were no lines or massive crowds and our beer and pinot noir blankets kepts us warm as we admired the Christmas scenes in each window display.  My least favorite was Bergdorf/Goodman- humans dressed in suits and gowns with beastly animal heads.  So strange and not at all Christmas-y.  We also ventured inside of some of the department stores.  Saks was my favorite inside- all white and snowy.  Added bonus: I spritzed myself with a tester at the Chanel counter, took a peek at the price-tag and realized I was sporting $495 eau de rediculous... but I got to smell expensive for the day.  Add Chanel Beige to my "never-gonna-happen wish list."  Macy's had a really impressive display and the decor inside was red and cheery fabulousness.  The crowds, however, spoiled a little bit of the charm at Macy's for me.

Part of Lord and Taylor's display- Santa flew across the sky!

One of my favorite holiday pasttimes during is hunting for the best public Christmas tree.  The best tree in DC is in the Willard Intercontinental Hotel lobby and I am happy to announce that I discovered the best tree in NYC is in the Public Library.  The one at Rockefellar was obviously stunning and ginormous, but size isn't everything.  The library's tree is smaller but inside of that stunning building it was just beautiful.  The family we asked to take a picture for us flopped big time at getting a good shot of the tree... I should have known when the mom asked me to zoom in on their faces when I took a picture of them in front of it.  The coolness of the picture is the tree behind you, lady, sheesh.

library

T and I in the Library

DeLongs with the locals

Rockefellar during the day

I also had my first visit to Bryant Park during this trip.  It was super busy and crowded but something about the smell of coffee and kettle corn in the air and the hustle and bustle of people shopping at the crowded vendors really made it feel like Christmas time.  Bryant Park was a welcoantme surprise for this tourist, I didn't know what to expect and I really enjoyed it!

apps at Celsius in Bryant Park

The highlight of the weekend was definitely seeing my first broadway show and we couldn't have picked a better one.  How To Succeed in Business was a perfect date-show.   Tory appreciated the corporate satire and the sleezy pervertedness of Finch and I was just happy to see dancing and hear show tunes.  Daniel Radcliffe was in his last weeks of performing and he was awesome.  He wasn't the best singer but he impressed me with some of his dance moves and mostly his comedic timing.  I don't watch Glee, nor am I a fan of the Jonas brothers, so I am not sure how the next two Finchies will work out, but I am certainly glad I saw Mr. Potter take the stage.  Soo fun.

The last thing on our weekend to-do list was to go ice skating.  Every time we are in New York it's been winter or fall and Tory has been dying to go ice skating but fear of crowds and wasted money has kept us from doing it.  With this weekend being our Christmas Weekend (and since he humored me and went to a show), we decided before we even left that this would be the trip that we actually bit the bullet, paid whatever it cost, waited in lines, and just did it.  We opted for Central Park because Rockefellar was a zoo and costed about twice as much and Bryant Park was pretty packed when we were there the day before.  We ended up making a great choice.  We met up with Gina and Dave and had a blast- Dave had never been skating before and gave it his best shot.  He was a great sport and hung in there until we all decided our toes were begging for reprieve from the freezing cold and hard plastic skates and our bellies were ready for some of New York's finest.  What followed was some more delicious pizza at Angelo's (not as good as John's but still pretty tasty) and a long train ride home. 

No cameras allowed on the ice- this is the best we could do

We packed a lot into these 2 days in the city but I am so glad we did it.  Every corner of midtown was packed with tourists of all ages and backgrounds there to see what it's Christmas time in the city is really all about.  Every hall is decked and there's a Christmas Tree and a Menorah in every window.  I swear I even saw some locals gazing up at the sights around them.

New York, you're always good to me.  I eat well when I'm with you and I sleep even better after walking for miles.  You entertain me, fascinate me, and delight me.  Underneath your layer of muck, there are centuries of culture, history, and magic.  I will be back for sure.  Maybe next time when it's a little warmer.

Another bit of New York's Christmas Magic: Santa Con on the library steps!