It occurs to me (and I have not missed hints from others) that I have been lax in writing about the travels of Hubby and myself as of late. In fact, the last trip I wrote about was almost a full year ago! I never even jotted down the precious memories from the Magical Mystery Tour that Hubby surprised me with for our anniversary and Christmas last year!
After building up the suspense for many, many months, the magical moment arrived when Hubby would finally tell me where he was taking me on the surprise trip – the night before our departure! We met for dinner with friends, and he presented me with a gift-wrapped travel book that would tell me where we were going. The only thing I knew prior to this was that we were leaving extremely early in the morning and that I should have every stitch of clothing in the house ready to pack the night before. I was absolutely excited as I unwrapped the book to reveal our destination – we would be spending our anniversary, Christmas and New Year's Eve in New York City!
On December 22, 2007, we departed for our cross-country flight and arrived in The City's La Guardia Airport late in the evening. Taking a taxi across the river and into the heart of The City was exhilarating – my first glimpse of this marvel of civilization! The lights and sights and sounds were overwhelming. Our hotel was beautiful – the Embassy Suites in Battery Park – overlooking the Hudson River and a stone's throw from Ground Zero in the heart of the City's Financial District.
We ventured out on the 23rd to explore The City and begin our grand adventure! The weather was cold and rainy, but that does not stop true adventurers from Seeing, Experiencing and Exploring all that they can! We reveled in the experiences that The City had to offer – venturing into The City's heart at Times Square. We also had a date on Broadway – to see Monty Python's Spamalot at the historic Schubert Theatre. What an experience – an absolutely brilliant performance on the Great White Way!
We capped off the evening with a visit to Rockefeller Center to see the famous Christmas Tree – however found ourselves frustrated at the wind, rain and cold. Our first evening in The City was exhilarating and exciting, but laced with the frustrations that bad weather can bring – especially because we were slowed down by Hubby's injured foot and his reliance on his cane.
December 24th dawned with better weather prospects and better moods. It was, after all, our eight-year wedding anniversary! The views from the grand glass-fronted lobby of our hotel presented a stunning look at the Hudson River and New Jersey – a stark contrast to the day before. After fueling ourselves with a hearty breakfast, we were off to explore The City again!
We found ourselves in Herald Square – I so desperately wanted to see the famous Christmas displays offered by the big department stores of The City, and I was not disappointed! Macy's was our first stop where I found myself marveling at a sequential display through the windows showing inspiration from Miracle on 34th Street and Santa traveling the world to deliver presents.
Looming over us was the marvelous Empire State Building – New York's tallest building standing sentry over The City. A marvel of Art Deco Design and I was finally seeing this modern marvel in person!
We were awe-struck by the sheer size and enormity of the building…and the line that stretched around the block to get inside! But we both figured that you can't go to New York City and not go to the top of the Empire State Building, so we fueled up with lunch across the street and took our place in line. As we stood under the scaffolding that covered the sidewalk (renovations!), we looked around us and promptly chose to ignore the people in the bright yellow jackets that were shouting about there being a two-hour wait to get to the observatory – that this was the line before all the other lines - and hawking "express" tickets to the top of the skyscraper and a ride in some sort of virtual reality simulator.
We did, however, perk up when a person in an actual Empire State Building uniform came around with a bull-horn confirming the two-hour-wait-in-line story and selling authentic express tickets for a mere pittance compared to what the yellow-jackets were offering. Hubby stepped out of line and followed the employee to inquire about getting these tickets.
Now I should stop right here and state that Hubby was wearing his Military Patch Jacket – sporting patches from all of his duty stations, including Iraq and Kuwait – and was on a cane with a hefty limp (not from the war, mind you, but from a jet-ski incident three months prior!) And he seemed to have the stereotypical "war veteran" look – bushy beard and long hair. In fact, many times during our treks through The City, people approached Hubby and thanked him for his service to our Country. It was very heart-warming.
He approached the Empire State Building employee and asked about getting this deal with the express tickets. She took one look at him and said, "Sir, you don't have to pay the extra fee. You just go right on up to the front doors and tell them I sent you at no charge."
And thus we found ourselves on the fast track to the top. We approached the employee at the door and were handed off to another employee who hustled us through the (Beautiful! Stupendous! Amazing! Breathtaking!) marble-lined art-deco lobby and to the first set of elevators. We emerged on the sixth floor and were whisked immediately to the ticket window (ahead of the ticket line!) to purchase our tickets. Then, in a whirlwind we were whisked to the front of the security line and through the metal-detectors and into another set of elevators and then up, up, up to the observatory! I felt like a movie star!
We took our time and enjoyed the spectacular views of the City from the eighty-sixth floor observatory, and even decided to pay the extra fee for the views from the absolute top of the top of the City – the one hundred and second floor observatory. While the eighty-sixth floor has open views, the one hundred and second floor was glassed in, but it was amazing to see the difference in views between the two floors.
We wound our way down the building and back onto the street – amazed at this spectacular experience and how events managed to unfold for us. Certainly, two hours from our starting point we had seen the Empire State Building and were embarking on our next great adventure!
We found ourselves retracing some of our steps from the night before – wandering back on the periphery of the Theater District and at Sacks Fifth Avenue. These were my favorite Department Store Christmas Displays – decked out in blue and silver and featuring snowmen amid magical Christmas scenery!
And right across the street – the very famous Rockefeller Center Christmas Display – complete with trumpeting angels and stories-tall Christmas tree towering over the ice skating rink! It was absolutely magical!
New York City seems to breathe Christmas – everywhere we looked there were eye-catching displays – larger-than-life nutcrackers and Christmas wreaths and ornaments, snowflakes suspended from the sky, elaborately decorated Christmas Trees sprinkled throughout The City. THIS is how Christmas should feel – a sensory extravaganza that absolutely exudes the magic of the season for all to enjoy!
After basking in the atmosphere of Rockefeller Center, we continued our ramble through The City and found ourselves at the New York Public Library (a very famous sight thanks to the Ghostbusters – Hubby said that he expected them to come running out the doors at any second!) and ventured inside for a glimpse of their holiday display in Astor Hall. Then it was back outside, past the giant lions (Patience and Fortitude) draped in giant, festive wreathes and around the building to stroll through the Christmas Shops set up inside Bryant Park.
By this time, it was late in the day and thoughts of dinner were beginning to cross our mind. We found ourselves drawn again to Times Square and enjoying our anniversary dinner at the Hard Rock Café.
We wound down the night with an after-dinner stroll that found us marveling at the wonders of The City at night – the lighting spectacular and the completely different feel that The City had to offer. We found ourselves at Grand Central Terminal and meandered inside for a quick peek before returning to our temporary home at the hotel.
Christmas Day dawned as bright and crisp as the day before, and we were off to see Central Park. We spent the morning marveling at this wonderous patch of nature nestled snugly within the boundary of The City and set off to explore. We found ourselves quickly immersed in the feel of nature – climbing the rugged rocks at The Ramble, watching ice skaters at Woolman Rink, strolling through The Mall, visiting Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, rounding the Conservatory Water and crossing the Bow Bridge and ending a stroll through the woods with a visit to Belvedere Castle. We even managed to find ourselves on a horse-drawn carriage ride through the park!
I couldn't think of a better way to spend the holiday! We wandered past the Museum of Natural History and found ourselves in a residential neighborhood – it was so amazing to see parks, playgrounds and schools nestled in such a busy city! We found our way to dinner and a movie before retiring back to the hotel for the night.
December 26th found us bright and early at Battery Park – on our way to see the Statue of Liberty! The City certainly looks different when you are looking at her from the very southern tip of Manhattan! Hubby had the foresight to order our tickets in advance, so we approached Castle Clinton National Monument to pick up our tickets and were on the ferry towards Liberty Island in no time!
Liberty Island afforded spectacular views of New York City and New Jersey – and though it was raining a little bit we took our time and enjoyed all that the island had to offer. After another wait in line and passes through security checkpoints, we found ourselves at the base of the statue and looking up through the glass ceiling to the top. Unfotunately, the crown is closed and you can go no further than the base observatory deck, but the views are still spectacular!
After lunch at the gift shop and restaurant, we boarded the ferry again and set sail to Ellis Island. We did not linger very long at the Gateway to America – but did take in some of the displays and strolled through the ground floor. The Great Hall was overwhelming, especially once you stopped to envision hundreds of thousands of immigrants passing through in search of a better life and seeing through the massive windows that what they must have seen and dreamed about– New York City on one side and the ever-welcoming Statue of Liberty on the other.
We stopped for coffee before boarding the ferry to return to Manhattan. After setting foot in Battery Park, we took some time to explore Castle Clinton National Monument and then worked our way back to the Subway and embarked on some post-holiday shopping back in the main portion of The City.
December 27th dawned and found us with no set agenda. So we set out from the hotel on foot and headed for the heart of the Financial District – Wall Street. We passed by Ground Zero and took a few moments to reflect and marvel at the efforts at rebuilding that were taking place at the site of our nation's most horrific attack. It was absolutely mind blowing to see the devastation and ruin, but so very inspiring to see The City rising up again like a Phoenix from the ashes.
After a brief walk, we found ourselves at the corners of Wall and Broad Streets – the New York Stock Exchange loomed before us, decked out in a patriotic light display. We turned and found ourselves at the base of the Federal Hall National Monument and looked up to see the site at the top of the steps where George Washington was sworn in as our very first president and secured his title as the Father of Our Country.
We took some time to explore this site – it is after all a stop in our National Park Passport book – and learned a little bit more about the history of our great country and its founders.
Our aimless meanderings for the day found us again at Grand Central Terminal, marveling in the fabulously art-deco lobby of the Chrysler Building, ogling at more art-deco stylings and the world's largest interior globe inside the Daily News Building and having lunch and coffee at the United Nations. Late afternoon and evening saw us visiting Trump Tower and seeing more spectacular Christmas window displays as we ventured and shopped.
December 28th dawned bright and beautiful, so we took the day to wander the streets and visit stores for shopping. Amidst our travels, we found ourselves at the Ed Sullivan Theater – home of The Late Show With David Letterman (Hubby so wanted to get tickets, but the writers were on strike and there were no shows filming) and the equally infamous Hello Deli. We lunched here and had the opportunity to meet Rupert G. Our big brush with celebrity in The City! Afternoon and evening were spent again in Times Square – taking in the exuberant vibe of The City.
December 29th dawned with the promise of more rainy weather, so after our ritual morning stop at the Starbucks located at Four World Financial Center, we ventured out for some indoor activities at the Museum of Natural History. We took in the Planetarium Show, saw meteorites, dinosaurs, infamous and marvelous life-like dioramas and other gems and treasures.
December 30th found us at the South Street Seaport – seeing the Titanic Lighthouse monument and stumbling across Bodies – The Exhibition. On a whim we took in this marvelous exhibition (I had already seen the Body Worlds exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany and knew that Hubby would find this very similar exhibition fascinating.) Then we ventured over to Pier 17 and the shops and unparalleled view of the Brooklyn Bridge. After lunch, we boarded a bus and headed North – farther afield from The City's main attractions in the center of Manhattan lay Grant's Tomb and we were off in search of this historic landmark. This marvel overlooking the Hudson River echoed the lines of Napoleon's Tomb in Paris, and we spent time immersing ourselves in even more of our great country's history.
New Year's eve dawned cold. Having seen everything on our must-see list, we lazed around the hotel resting and relaxing and looking forward to celebrating New Year's Eve in Time's Square! We departed the hotel with full stomachs and extra sandwiches tucked away at five in the afternoon to make our way towards the madness that would be our way of ushering in the New Year. We found our way to the heart of Times Square and began seeking the special Handicapped Viewing Area that was promised on the Internet. After a few inquiries, we found a NYPD Officer that escorted us to the front steps of the Hard Rock Café – located in the Paramount Pictures building and directly underneath where the ball drops at One Times Square.
Despite our best efforts at bundling up against the cold and drinking plenty of warm beverages, we found ourselves freezing – and applying the free mittens that were being handed out to our feet as extra socks to keep our toes warm. Happy feet equal happy people. ☺ As the night went on and our section became more and more crowded, we soaked in the electric atmosphere and watched and listened to the goings on via huge monitors throughout the square. Finally it was time – the final countdown and the ushering in of the New Year! Confetti and streamers filled the air and it was pure magic as everyone found themselves cheering and singing Auld Lang Syne.
Seeing New York City had long been a dream of mine. I never imagined that I would find myself welcoming in the New Year in New York City – at the Center of it all – but here I was. And it was all made possible by my wonderful Husband, whom I love more and more every day because of all the wonderful things he does and just because he is who he is – making my dreams come true.
