New York City over Christmas should definitely be on your list. What a magical time!

Prior to returning to work, I decided to visit my brother for awhile. He’s been on a business project there for quite some time, so I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I could stay at his apartment for free. He’d been swamped at work, so I knew I’d be by myself for most of the trip. Prior to my time in Asia, I wouldn’t have liked this, but now I was excited to explore on my own.

I took the American Airlines flight from Kansas City to Chicago O’Hare to LaGuardia. I tried to read my book Unbroken because I wanted to see it prior to the movie release, but I was so tired I fell asleep before the plane even took off. From LGA, I took the Q70 bus to the Jackson Heights stop, hopped on the subway E blue train, and got off at the 23rd street stop in Manhattan to get to his apartment. It was a misty afternoon, but I wanted to walk for a bit. I’d been to New York City two other times, but I’ve never experienced the city full of the Christmas spirit. I decided to cut through Times Square on my way to Rockefeller Center. By this time it was dark, so I could enjoy the light show on the Saks building on Fifth Avenue. The light display covered the walls and was synced to loud Christmas music. I journeyed on to see the famous Christmas tree and ice rink at Rockefeller Center. I spent a lot of time here just people watching and taking in everything around me. I took a different route home to see Radio City Music Hall at night. I enjoyed the smells of the street food vendors and watching the interactions of people. It’s a beautiful thing to not be in a hurry and not really have to be anywhere. It was a bit chilly, so I stopped in Starbucks for a Chai Latte to get me warm while I walked.

I started my next day off with a walk through the newly finished High Line. I walked the entire 1.5 miles through the elevated trail that used to be part of the New York City Railroad. It’s a beautiful aerial greenway, and it winds through Manhattan’s west side, mainly through the Meatpacking district and Chelsea. I really recommend the trail.

After that I decided I was sick of walking, so I used my brother’s Citi Bike pass, checked out a bicycle from one of the many stations in the city, and pedaled around the area, down around the World Trade Memorial, then through Battery Park. I made my way to the South Street Seaport TKTS booth to get tickets for some shows. I was going solo, so I got some great last minute deals with great seats since I was only purchasing one ticket. I decided my best options were Cinderella and Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. My brother works in One New York Plaza, so I met him for lunch. We walked through the area, and he took me to one of his favorites: Luke’s Lobster. Yum! I had my first lobster roll and some ginger soda. Go here!

For dessert, we shared my first Cronut from Dominique Ansel’s bakery, which seems like a blend of a croissant/doughnut. It was nice treat.

Later that evening, I decided to try to go to a recommended Ramen noodle place before seeing Cinderella that night. It was packed shoulder to shoulder with a line out the door. Since I was alone, I decided I wasn’t in the mood for it. I was craving a slice of pizza, so I picked one I thought looked nice and walked in.  I settled towards the back of the restaurant. A gruff man started talking to me. When he realized I wasn’t intimated, we actually had a great conversation about his life and mine. He was from Jersey (which he told me was the capital of NY), and he said the pizza in this area couldn’t compare to what you could get from his hometown. What was an awkward start turned into a really unexpected but tremendous experience.

I walked around the corner to see Cinderella. The stage design was phenomenal, and the show was just ok. The Cinderella story isn’t my favorite, but I’d wanted to see it performed since I never had. The little girls in front of me with princess outfits and booster seats got so much joy out of the performance that it made everything worthwhile.

I decided the next day was museum day. I spent the morning in the incredible Natural History Museum.  I loved it. I stayed in there so long that I had to take a cab to lunch. I’d scheduled lunch with one of Michael’s best friends Dennis Sullivan. He choose Connolly’s Pub & Restaurant, and Irish Pub on 5th Avenue. I enjoyed the chicken bruschetta panini. It was great to visit with Dennis on his stomping grounds.

Dennis pointed me towards my afternoon show at the Radio City Music Hall. As I mentioned, I saw the Christmas Spectacular, which was indeed spectacular. I loved it. It was a medley of things, and it included the famous Rockettes.

I walked around the corner to the MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art). It houses some of the most influential modern and contemporary art in the world. I walked through the entire museum, and I recognized a lot of the pieces.

That evening, I met a group of people at my brother’s girlfriend’s apartment for appetizers before dinner. We all then went to dinner at Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant that was delicious. After that we stopped by Falucka to hang out awhile before heading home.

I had some time before my flight on my final day. Jacob, Jenna, and I had lunch at Dig Inn Seasonal Market. It has a neat buffet style concept. The food was tasty, and the people were friendly. We stopped by the flatiron building and Madison Square Park. They took me to Eataly, a high-end Italian food market. I wanted to eat there, but since we’d just had lunch, I vowed to visit the next time I was in town. What a great place to engage all of your senses!

I took the same route back to the airport. The flight home stopped in the Reagan airport in DC, which proved to give me some entertainment from a dramatic girl. She was so intense and loud that everyone was staring and the airport security had to talk with her.

The great thing about NYC is the number of things to do and eat. Each time I go back, it’ll be full of new adventures and flavors. It’s an incredible city!