Our Annual NYC Holiday Trip!

Our annual holiday trip to New York City is always one of the most popular events each year.  It just doesn’t feel like Christmas until I check out the Rockefeller Center tree, spend a little time watching the energetic singing Salvation Army bell ringers, and visit one or more of the holiday markets.

Usually I head to the shops at Bryant Park, but this year I was planning to visit the Food Hall at The Plaza Hotel, so going to the Columbus Circle holiday market made more sense.  The Food Hall felt a bit dungeon-like to me and, of course, given the high-end vendors, the prices were high.  I bought a mocha latte (which needed a lot more mocha) and did a little people watching.  The hotel is stunning and the holiday decorations were as gorgeous as I expected them to be.  Stopped by the Eloise gift shop, which along with tiny little jackets at $144 a pop, includes a Concierge desk.  Seriously.

I will say that I prefer the Bryant Park shops over Columbus Circle, but I did come across a wonderful young lady who makes the most adorable cat and dog pillows.  Was having a hard time making up my mind until I spotted this one with the duck inner tube—perfect for the guest room of the vacation house!  Unfortunately, no website for this vendor yet, but she expects to have an Etsy page soon (The Strawberry NYC). 

I was very disappointed when Alfredo of Rome closed its restaurant on West 49th Street last year.  It reopened earlier this year as Alfredo 100 on East 54th Street.  It has a more relaxed and cozy atmosphere; however, it’s not nearly as conveniently located as the former restaurant.  Happily, the Fettuccine Alfredo is as delicious as I remember.  I’m always a little surprised when the bowl arrives because the portion seems so small, but once I start eating, I realize how filling it is and I was barely able to finish.  It was a tossup between finishing the pasta or the $12.50 glass of merlot and the pasta won.  I’m not a wine expert by any means, but I’ve had wine out of a box that was far superior to that merlot.

I hadn’t planned on seeing a show on this trip, so I walked around for a while in an attempt to burn off at least a few of the Fettuccine calories.  Was a little disappointed in the store window displays, although I enjoyed the sparkly little trinkets in Harry Winston’s windows.  My energy started to fizzle out, so I decided to go see a movie to kill a couple of hours.  A lot of other people had the same idea and the inside of the movie theater was easily twice as crowded as streets in Times Square.  After multiple attempts to find a ticket kiosk that worked, I finally got my ticket for Annie and then began the trek to the actual theater. I lost count of the number of escalators that it took to reach the theater.  Made it just in time to watch about a dozen trailers of upcoming movies and just as the movie was starting, a gentleman decided to sit one seat over from me with a plate of food that stunk from the moment the movie started until the moment I left the theater.  Other than having to cover my nose for the entire movie, it was pretty enjoyable.  I think they should have called it anything other than Annie because there were very few similarities other than, of course, cute kids singing The sun will come out tomorrow… But it was a nice way to pass some time.

I always like to see the Rockefeller tree in the daytime and then again at night because it looks like two different trees.  The morning crowds weren’t bad at all, but the evening crowd was ridiculous.  I gave up trying to get anywhere close.  

Still trying to decide what trips to do next year, but will definitely be going to NYC on Saturday, May 16, for On the Town and will also have some “On Your Own” seats on the bus.  Will put together a flyer with the trip details in January and send it to our global e-mail list.

Let us know if there is anything special you’d like to do or see next year—we’re always looking for new ideas.  Wishing everyone a VERY Happy, Safe, and Healthy New Year ahead!