Trip Report Dec 21-25

Third trip for us (family of three to include teen daughter) so did not repeat some things that one may typically do on a first trip(Statue of Liberty, Empire State Bldg, etc)....avoided Times Square when possible (my least favorite part of NY)....nice flight via Jet Blue from New Orleans (like the new Terminal 5 at JFK- luggage was promptly unloaded)...cab to Manhattan at flat rate of $45 for the three of us pluss toll/tip- no wait...warmly welcomed as repeat guests at The Barclay (booked via Priceline for a steal at $120/night!!)...hotel location is great, all staff were very polite,lobby and outside beautifully adorned for the season....cold during our stay but take it over our return to New Orleans at 80 degress and 150% humidity on Christmas day!

Higlights-in no particular order:

(1) Ice skating in Central Park (Wollman Rink, our preference over Rockefeller)

(2)Seeing tree at Rockefeller and store holiday window displays again (especially likde

(3)Spamalot- funny!! Purchased via BroadwayBox dicount prior to arrival in NY

(4)cheesecake post theater at Juniors -always good! was sure to pick up a whole one at Grand Central location before heading home

(5)shopping in Soho

(6)Lombardi%26#39;s pizza for lunch

(7)walking though FAO and ';playing';

(8)Dylan%26#39;s Candy Bar- loved the banana chip ice cream! Missed seeing the celebrity autographed bins that were there three years ago- maybe I just missed them as it was very crowded

(9)Enjoying the holiday hustle at Grand Central; the holiday market there; buying cheese, salami, wine there to have in our room for our pre dinner pick me ups

(10) Rubbing elbows and packages with Uma Thurman while shopping in ABC Carpet and Home (Broadway and 19th St)

(11) afternoon tea/hot chocolate at the Champagne bar at The Plaza after ice skating

(12) dinners at Bobby Vans (Midtown East location), Fig and Olive (Midtown East location), ROC (Tribecca-Christmas Eve- great food, suberb service, neighborhood gem), hamburgers at the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien (been there done it, good-but not great, too crowded-luckily we had enough cash wiht us that night of arrival since it was ';cash only';)

(13) teen shopping at H %26amp; M

(19) riding subway,taxis, and most of all, walking

(20) Christmas Eve service at 5th Avenue Presbyterian church- beautiful service and no ticket required

(21) walking through St. Patrick%26#39;s Cathedral again

(22) shopping on 5th Ave and in Upper East

(23) snow laden Central Park- post card perfect!

(24) cheese plate/wine at Artisinal in Murray Hill

(25) husband%26#39;s purcahse of Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap--had looked for on last two trips but unable to locate

(25) bagels at Ess-A (Midtown East)

(26) movie theater in Theater District on a rainy Christmas Eve midday to see ';Four Christmases';-not as funny as previews would suggest

(27) brunch at The Barclay hotel

(28) sitting by the lobby tree at The Barclay

(29) guitarist at The Barclay

(30) viewing the decorated lobbys and outdoor decorations of various hotels

(31) drinks at CasaBlanca hotel

Great trip! Thanks to someone (can%26#39;t remember who)on the board for recommending the 5th Avenue Presbyterian churcn for Christmas Eve!

Trip Report Dec 21-25

Hmm, I dunno, I think you%26#39;re padding the list. Nos. 27, 28 and 29 could easily be one ';highlight';, but the room price is a highlight unto itself!

Thanks for the happy recap! When%26#39;s your next trip here? (There will be one, you know...)

;o)

Trip Report Dec 21-25

...but the Dodger cap and the Ess-A bagels counted as one highlight. Plus, I bet some of us would love to know what happened between (13)H%26amp;M and (19)the subway. Come on, J5CUB, spill!

Nice report. I have to agree with you about the weather thing. Anytime I%26#39;m lucky enough to visit a place with actual ';seasons'; I%26#39;m happy, it%26#39;s supposed to be 80 degrees here today too.

(4) Juniors Cheesecake...mmmmmmmmm... guess I%26#39;ll have to have one delivered, it%26#39;s been too long.

(10) Uma Thurman!!! I wouldn%26#39;t wash my elbows for a month! (as opposed to the normal once a week)

Thanks for posting.

Not sure how my counting got off except after starting the list, in no particular order, I thought I would cut and paste and actually rank them but it would not work.....just jotted down things that we enjoyed as I thought of them....next trip?....the sooner the better and will probably be a ';ladies'; trip.

all of it sounds wonderful, #11 especially so....

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