Christmas in New York - Day Three
- cazphillips2
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
We eased into Day Three with a morning spent exploring Central Park further. It was nice to have a cruisy start to the day and to amble around the park ticking off a multitude of famous movie scenes. I enthusiastically suggested to the Favourite Husband that we could photograph ourselves in famous spots re-enacting said scenes. I was thinking we could improvise with the snowball fight scene from Elf, but no, the lack of snow was an issue apparently. Sticking with my Christmas obsession, I pitched the ultimate Home Alone 2 reenactment: I buy a bag of bird seed, dump it all over his head and shoulders et voila; he’s the Pigeon Lady at Gapstow Bridge.
“Why am I the Pigeon Lady and not Kevin?” he queried.
D’oh. “Because I have the woolly hat selection, obviously”
Still not sold, tough crowd.
Late morning rolled around rapidly and we had our rescheduled Top of the Rock visit at the Rockefeller Centre. I don’t know if I’ve already mentioned before, but the Rockefeller Centre is massive. And it is very easy to get lost. But this time we knew where we were going for our VIP tour. Because yes, I had splashed out the extra to bypass the queues. And I cannot stress this enough; worth every penny. The package included the guided tour complete with stories and history. And no, I can’t remember it, you’ll have to do the homework yourself. It became a bit of a private joke that I appeared to not only be invisible, but inaudible too. Three times I conveyed to the guide that the Favourite Husband and I were a party of two. We were not with the other larger group of eight, nor were we with the other group of four. Just us, me and him, husband and wife. Favourite Husband and Invisible Wife perhaps. After about half an hour of being ignored it became quite good fun to throw random remarks in with no consequence, although by the time I added hand gestures I’m pretty sure he did see and just thought I was fitting. Terrified of being asked if I had sufficient medical insurance, I managed to rein it in before emergency services were called.
Our package also included private photographs in front of the famous tree, pictures with Santa, on the Beam experience and the Sky Lift. A private “ride” on the beam, minus the huge queue for the non-VIP’s. All finished off with a champagne toast. And did I mention, you don’t even have to queue for the elevator. After about an hour in I was really starting to relax into my role. People gazing adoringly at us thinking we were celebrities. Definitely some whispering around “Oh my goodness, look …” It was all I could do to stop myself from offering to have photos with my fans. I repeat, I cannot recommend this enough, the whole experience was awesome. If you can stretch to the VIP tickets do it, the other queues were long. And nothing is more satisfying than pretending to be rich and famous, when in reality you’re anything but. I was surprised that even the Favourite Husband embraced his new found status remarkably quickly and with great enthusiasm. Even the staged photographs, his normal idea of a living hell, found him puffing his pecs out and turning side on for the camera. Not to be outdone in my one opportunity to shine, I found that if I distracted him in even the smallest way I was duly able to hog the centre frame effortlessly.
When investigating which ticket package to purchase, I had been unsure about the Beam and the Sky Lift, because I am not good with heights. With previous adventures I had pushed myself to be braver and I have never regretted that. (Well, maybe the paragliding on honeymoon, that feels like an experience that was ill advised given my fear.) Before committing I watched the videos of both and realised that I could easily do them. Knowing what to expect helps contain my anxiety and this was definitely the case, I’d even go as far as to say I enjoyed them. Ish.
Our experience at Top of the Rock culminated with a champagne toast, sitting on a sunlit window seat, overlooking the breathtaking city below. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
From here it was a very quick photo stop in Times Square, I’ve been before and recall being thoroughly underwhelmed the first time, and the second time was no different. I guess it’s a mandatory photo op for us tourists, but other than that I’d avoid it. We deliberately chose to swing by in the daytime as the congestion of people in the evenings is insane. And despite us being VIP’s now, nobody outside of the Rockefeller Centre appeared to have got the memo, and the crowds were not held back for us. (Don’t get sucked in and have your photo taken by or with any of the people dressed up a characters, they’ll fleece you for your hard earned dollars.)
Food was calling again and we decided to try our luck at Joe’s pizza but drew the line at queuing around the block. Joe’s Pizza is another Tik Tok/IG viral fad and as I am down with the kids and pretty rad, I was all over it. What I was not down with was standing in the cold for carbs. Instead, we found another pizza place round the corner with no queue. Now this could have been down to the decidedly gruff customer service, with all the charm of a bulldog chewing a wasp, but at $1.50 a slice, frankly who cares. And it was good pizza!
And then after a meander through Bryant Winter Village again and a marginally less congested wander, it was time for our first big challenge, navigating the subway. Because we were off to Brooklyn baby. Specifically, to Dyker Heights. Dyker Heights is known for its residential Christmas light displays, this would get the Christmas spirit activated. We used an App called Citymapper which was clearly designed with me in mind. It has a “simple” option in the filters which was brilliant. It also tells you which exit you need to continue on your merry way once you get to where you’re going. But wait, there’s more! It tells you which end of the train is best for your exit, so you pop up right by the right stairs or turnstile like a Subway Ninja. I kept this superpower to myself for days. Every single time I nailed the perfect exit without so much as a double take, I waited for the Favourite Husband to gasp, “How are you doing this?!”
Crickets. Not even a raised eyebrow.
So eventually I cracked and blurted it out like the needy genius I am.
His response? A slow blink. “Huh. I hadn’t noticed.” Rude.
It was cold in Brooklyn, and the walk from the subway exit to where the App told me the light displays started, was less than scenic. But keep going, there are various carts and people using their driveways to sell hot drinks and cookies; perfect. I was still hoping for a warm, spicy eggnog, but settled on a high sugar hot chocolate instead. We enjoyed a good hour and a half before it got so busy (as in police controlling traffic/visitors) that we decided that was enough for us. Great experience though, and definitely got us in the festive mood.
Then we were back to Midtown where we grabbed a meal at Bill’s Bar and Burgers. I’d booked us a table on Open Table from the subway which was a godsend as the queue for tables was again very long. It was good old fashioned American pub food, the clue is in the name. It was good. I love nothing more than sitting with a tasty meal, a cold drink and a hot man watching the world go by. In the absence of any hot men I allowed the Favourite Husband to sit with me … kidding … I got him his own table. Hee hee …
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