Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
I was beyond excited that this past December I got the chance to travel back to one of my favorite places, New York! New York is such a wonderful, vibrant place that is so different than any other place I’ve ever been. There’s so much to explore and do and eat that it can honestly be a little overwhelming to narrow it down to what you should plan for your trip. That being said…I’ve written down some tips that I learned planning this trip as well as a roundup of things that we did + where we stayed + what we ate.
First up, some tips!
- We wanted to go at Christmas time, but not pay an extreme amount or get caught in crazy crowds. We ended up booking our trip for the first weekend in December and it was perfect! The tree at Rockefeller Center was up and lit and the entire city was decked out, but it wasn’t too crowded! We booked our flight and hotel through Expedia back in July to avoid any surge charges closer to time.
- Speaking of Expedia…I love it! This is the second time I’ve used Expedia when planning a trip and it is so easy to use and they are so good about updating you and communicating with you. Plus, I love that I can bundle my flight and hotel to save more money.
- Don’t plan too much. Honestly, this was the best part about the trip! We didn’t want to schedule a bunch of shows or make a bunch of reservations because that can be stressful, especially in a city where you can get caught up exploring! Don’t get me wrong…I love me some Broadway shows but I wanted to take some time this trip to enjoy more of the city.
- Pack comfortable shoes. Enough said.
Now…on to the details! Here are all the details about our trip!
Where We Stayed
We stayed at the Kimberly Hotel is this amazing, fabulous boutique hotel located in the perfect location. It’s a fifteen-minute walk from Central Park, ten minute walk to Times Square, and ten minute walk to 5thAvenue (Aka the good shopping.) Besides its perfect location, the hotel itself exceeded our expectations with all of its accommodations. We had wonderful house keeping, helpful guest services, and a gorgeous rooftop bar and restaurant with a view of the city. Well worth spending a few extra dollars to stay somewhere as enjoyable as the Kimberly!
What We Did
In a city like New York, you could stay there an entire month and never get through even a fraction of all the things you can do and experience there. However, we tried to make the most of our time and do some “classic” NYC things as well as some touristy things. Since we went at Christmas time, we had some holiday activities to cross off our list: see the lights at SAKs, see the tree at Rockefeller Center, and see the Radio City Rocketts Christmas Spectacular. Again, I cannot emphasize enough how amazing our hotel location was because each of these activities were a 5-7 minute walk from where we were staying! These were three things that I had wanted to do so badly for years, and they did not disappoint. If you go to New York at Christmas time I highly recommend you checking these out! We also wanted to do something special in Central Park…I’m not a big fan of horse drawn carriages simply because I don’t believe in the idea of an animal being overworked, but we were trying to decide between ice skating or a petty cab ride. Ice-skating looked so fun but there was a line and it was going to be close to one hundred dollars for both of us AND no phones allowed on the ice. (DUM DUM DUMMM) So…we investigated the petty cab situation and ended up settling on that! We had a thirty minute ride that included our driver telling us all about Central Park, famous movies that have filmed there, he let us get out and walk around, he took pictures of us, he had a blanket for us to use while we rode…it was amazing! Our ride was supposed to be thirty minutes but between all of the stops and pictures, we were probably with our guide for almost an hour! Our experience was $100 and I think it was totally worth it! We loved our guide and had such a memorable experience. Another thing that we did that I had wanted to do for a while, was visit the Chelsea Market. Now this was a good hike from our hotel, but we got to see so much of the city on our walk and it was really fun to walk around and experience this indoor market. The last special thing we did was go to the Irish pub that the T.V. show, How I Met Your Mother, based their pub off of. This excursion was definitely planned spontaneously because we knew we wanted to see something T.V./movie related and when we were googling stuff in our hotel room we came across it! It was by far one of my favorite places we went the whole trip! If you’ve seen How I Met Your Mother, this pub looks nothing like the one in the show and it is actually named McGee’s rather than MacLaren’s but it was so fun! At the bar they had a list of specialty HIMYM cocktails and the place was so warm and welcoming and decorated beautifully for Christmas! If you’re a fan of the show, I definitely recommend you checking it out.
Where We Ate
Now for the good stuff…the food! We ate at so many wonderful places it’s honestly hard to choose a favorite. Our first night there we ate at Pazza Notte and had some DELICIOUS pasta! It was a small Italian restaurant a little off the beaten path, but we had a great time there. They also have a prefixed menu that you can enjoy that includes an appetizer, entrée, and dessert for $30! After dinner, we just had to get some banana pudding from Magnolia’s Bakery. This. Is. A. MUST if you have never been to NYC before. It is seriously the best in the world! For brunch we went to The Smith and it was delicious! Greg had some yummy eggs benedict and I had two enormous waffles with blueberry compote and bacon on the side. We did eat some pizza at just a random pizza shop we came across for dinner and honestly…it was so good! Enormous slices and juuuuustthe right amount of grease. The next day, we waited in line at Ess-a-bagel which was a place a friend of mine came across on Instagram and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! People aren’t lying when they say New Yorkers know how to make a good bagel…it was well worth the wait and I loved that I could make my own bagel sandwich! I ordered an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, bacon, and tomatoes and Greg had a lox bagel. Be warned…delicious bagels can be expensive. We also ate at the Chelsea Market while we were there and our food there was delicious! We divided and conquered and I got a deli sandwich and Greg picked up some sweet and spicy pho…made from hand tossed noodles right then and there! So good, and so fresh! Our very last supper was at PJ Clarkes, which is sort of an old school New York hangout. Definitely the sort of place you would go grab a drink after work or meet up for a nice dinner with your parents. The fries and the clam chowder…absolutely to die for! Nothing like the classics to wrap up a full weekend in the city.
We had such a magical time being in New York at Christmas-time and had so much fun exploring new things. If you ever get the chance I hope you make the trip there and maybe partake in some of the things we enjoyed. Happy traveling!
Miles of Menus 