Traveling was one of the smoothest trips we’ve ever taken, which was great because we were worried about the Thanksgiving air traffic so soon after a government shutdown.
2 Yellow taxis complete with one having to swerve when another car hit construction cones.
Times Square with all the lights and smells with “Welcome to New York” & “Empire State of Mind” playing
Carmine’s, the best value of our entire trip. Huge thanks to Jess for recommending it to me! More Italian food than we could eat, allergy friendly, great service and family style meant less money too.
TUESDAY
NYC Subway about a dozen times. Still walked about 7 miles a day.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some of us were more excited than others but we all agreed there was some pretty amazing stuff in there. The Greek and Roman and Egypt exhibits were enjoyed by all.
“Fat pigeons” were on Michelle’s checklist and we saw plenty of those.
We dropped by the Flagship Apple Store to get Natalie a charger that worked and she was very impressed by that staircase.
The Flatiron Building was under scaffolding but the Harry Potter Shop was arrayed in holiday glory complete with Christmas tree scavenger hunt. The Butterbeer Bar was amazing.
We moved Empire tickets due to rain/no visibility and visited Macy’s (largest store in the world) instead. Got to see those wooden escalators and a “temple to American consumerism.” lol
WEDNESDAY
Continuing with our temple theme, we visited Grand Central Station as a temple to trains, and then went across the street to the best temple to books I’ve ever seen, the New York Public Library complete with Rose Room.
Then we went to Bryant Park with such fun stalls at the Christmas Market.
We were in a hurry for lunch so ate near the Lyric theater at the Raisin Cane’s Flagship location. They were, as Danny said, printing money with how many people they had there. Kate said the next time she was at our local Cane’s she would have to mention that the NYC store had a DJ and Longmont needs to up their game. lol
Then it was time for the main event, the catalyst for our entire adventure: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. When I heard that Tom Felton would be reprising his role as Draco Malfoy you bet I entered the lottery to get tickets over Thanksgiving break. Danny, Michelle, and I had read the play back in 2020 and I loved the story and had tickets for the 3 of us to see the play in San Francisco but of course that trip was canceled. Amazingly, for the 6 of us to see it on Broadway was about the same price as those tickets I had purchased for 3 people in San Fran years ago! And we were not disappointed. The special effects were truly magical and the story made us laugh a lot and cry a little. 5 stars. Would 10/10 recommend.
After the play we put our theme park skills to use by walking a long way and standing in line for a long time in order to see the parade floats all ready to go for the next day. I think Danny was right when he said NYC is like a giant theme park: food and shops everywhere, lots of people and lots of lines to stand in. So all those Disney trips really paid off and we loved the first big city vacation we took as a family.
After walking by the floats we had a fun and yummy dinner at Bareburger and returned to our hotel.
THURSDAY
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade! To get a good spot you have to wake up early, hit up Dunkin’ Donuts because the hotel buffet isn’t open yet, and head out into the cold to find a spot to watch from. We felt so American being there but we will be watching on the tv from now on. lol
After the parade we went to our reservations for Thanksgiving dinner at Rolf’s German restaurant. I had heard you went for the decor — totally worth it — but we loved the food and the service too!
Visiting the 9/11 Memorial Pools & Survivor Tree on Thanksgiving was pretty powerful. Natalie and I read the book Ground Zero by Alan Gratz. So good but a tear jerker for sure.
Then took a picture near the Bull on Wall Street in case Michelle could get extra credit in her personal finance class and, past Trinity Church where Alexander Hamilton is buried, and on to Staten Island Ferry to go past the Statue of Liberty (twice). I should have called it a day right there but I really really wanted a family photo in front of the Brooklyn Bridge (from Dumbo) for our Christmas card photo. Little did a realize what a journey that would be and really the photo isn’t even worth posting here, let alone printing on 100 cards and giving out, but getting some pizza and relaxing at the hotel rejuvenated us.
And then, the Empire State Building, a photo from which DID make it onto the back of the Christmas card. lol. Danny said the view was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
FRIDAY
Our last day we had reservations to go ice skating at the iconic Rockefeller Center rink. The North Dakota part of me was very happy. And hilariously, the scene of the Christmas photo that got put on the front of the card after I almost through the QR code in the trash.
We saw 5th Avenue & St Patrick’s Cathedral, tried Rice to Riches (turns out I paid 70$ to discover my children are not fans of rice pudding), and Shopping in SoHo. Well, we tried to go to Stussy and Supreme for Danny but the lines were around the corner and down the block so Danny, Michelle and I hit up a couple thrift stores while the other half of the family went back to the hotel.
Then Hubby and N headed to Central Park while Kate chilled in the hotel lobby. Michelle and I had wanted to spend more time there too but luckily she and Danny both found some great clothes at places like the Buffalo Exchange before we headed back and met everyone at the hotel.
Turns out getting a car from the hotel to the airport was cheaper than two taxis like we did on the way there. With a delayed flight we didn’t get home until around 2am. We were happy to be home but oh, so happy to have gone!
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