New York City at Christmastime!

Diana and I had a beautiful time in NYC with our dear friends this past weekend.  Visiting NYC at Christmastime has been on my bucket list and now with Diana's passions for dance and theater, it was the perfect destination for an overnight and we got so much accomplished in a day and a half!

Saturday

We were up at the crack of dawn and my friend Jeanine took the wheel and lead us to the city that never sleeps.  

The girls were so excited (as were the Mamas)

Jeanine grew up in NY and was the perfect tour guide.  She shared history and stories with us along with fun facts that kept us informed and entertained and I told her she really needs to start a side business because she was a PRO and never steered us wrong!

 It took us about 3.5 hours to get to NY...I started snapping pics right away of course!

 

When we got there, we went right to our hotel and our room was ready early! We checked in, dropped off our bags and immediately headed out!  I highly recommend the Courtyard Marriott on E 40th Street!

Not sure you can tell but that is Grand Central Station out the taxi window!

Our first stop would be Serendipity but since we could not get a reservation and could not get a live person on the phone we weren't very hopeful about getting in.  We thought we would give it a shot anyway.  Friends?  We completely lucked out...I guess you could say it was truly "serendipity"...there was NO LINE outside and it is usually down the street.  We got there right at 10:30am so we thought maybe it was that time and the fact that it was raining...it may have deterred some people?   Anyway we weren't questioning it...we just squealed with excitement!

It was everything I had dreamed of and saw in the movies...the most quaint...adorable and festive little shop!

We ordered Frozen Hot Chocolates to start of course...their specialty and the thing that made them famous...Diana and I shared the Chocolate Mint one...so delish and so much fun!

We also enjoyed a delicious lunch!

After that, we walked around the corner to the famous Dylan's Candy Bar- the girls were so excited to fill bags of candy...

and then...on our way out...I kid you not...Theresa Guidice walked in with her entourage...my friend and I looked at each other and asked at the same time, "is that Theresa from the Housewives?" Sure enough it was and as we were contemplating asking her for pictures, the manager of Dylan's told us to do it and that "she will love it." Well she said yes with a smile and we got our pic taken with her (even though the girls had no idea who she was- ha!)

After posting these pics on Facebook, I got a text from my hubby that sent Jeanine and me into hysterics- we were dying!

Exhibit A

 and my response was "Pretty Much!" Ha!

Once we left, the girls were looking her up on their phones and Diana exclaimed, "Oh My God she is a meme!" Well if that wasn't an understatement- hysterical!

The girls were just so excited that we met "a famous person." Then we met another one- I kid you not!

We kept walking towards Times Square and Jeanine showed us many landmarks like The Plaza, Bloomingdales and more...

and then we made it to Times Square which was overwhelming yet incredible- such huge marquees and tons of lights!

 and then this....Diana flipped out because in the middle of the street, a famous photographer (Jordan something- I am sorry I forget- she knows him) was filming Lily from Dance Moms!  She was so sweet when Diana asked her for a picture and I told her Mom that I feel like I know her since I watch her all the time!  She was lovely too- nothing like how the moms are depicted on TV- you can see how they create drama for ratings for sure!

We hit the Disney store which was incredible...I loved all of the Frozen II memorabilia!

and then headed back to our hotel to change quickly and get to Rockefeller Center by 3pm for our backstage tour!

The tour was INCREDIBLE- we learned all about the history of the music hall and got to see behind-the-scenes including historic costumes, the lighting booth and all the hallways with dancers and actors running through!

Our favorite part was meeting a Rockette!

Christmas Spectacular was just that- absolutely spectacular- just a beautiful production- add it to your bucket list- STAT!

After the show, we walked down to the famous Rockefeller tree and ice skating rink -the crowds were what I expected for the entire weekend but in truth, it was the first time we felt a crowd like this-completely overwhelming and Diana and I got kinda panicky but thank God for my friend Jeanine who reminded us to breath and look up- we eventually made it through- snapped a few quick pics and grabbed a champagne truffle at the famous Teuscher of Switzerland- I loved Jeanine's stories of going there with her mom :)

Then we made our way to The Glass House Tavern for dinner- it was great....and we were famished by this time!

After dinner, we walked a bit more and ended our night browsing around the Winter Village at Bryant Park which was right near our hotel- they had an amazing skating rink set up and the cutest little outdoor shops

Then we crashed hard! 

Sunday

We started our day by checking out and loading the bags in the car and our wonderful concierge got us free parking on the street for the day.  We then hit Starbucks to get our caffeine and chat!

At 9am it was time to taxi over to the famous Tavern On The Green where we had brunch reservations.  It was exactly as I had dreamed- the most beautiful place I have ever dined at- better than in the movies and what you read...just incredible and our favorite part was that Kate, Diana's acting coach and Mrs. Mullen's daughter walked over to meet us and we had so much fun chatting over brunch and learning all about Kate's story- she lives in the Upper West Side and we are spoiled that she comes up to NH so often to stay with her mom but at the same time, it was fun to be with her in NYC too!

I call this one "A Tween and A Teen On Their Phones" 

 

Then when we were finishing up, Kate's husband John came to say hello and brought  Finn to see us!  He was so happy and excited and Diana gave him the Simba stuffed animal we had snagged him at the Disney store- he is just a little love and we were happy to spend a little time with him too!

After brunch, Kate took us on a walk to see some of Central Park- so beautiful and made me want to come back in the Spring to see everything in full bloom!  

She brought us to the John Lennon memorial which was so emotional...I made sure to capture pictures for Rob.  The most incredible thing happened as soon as we got to the memorial too.  There was a guitar player there playing and singing Beatles songs and the song he was playing when we arrived was "Here Comes The Sun."  This song was playing when Rob's mom was passing and ever since her passing, anytime he is facing something serious or important or life changing, that song happens to come on so he is convinced it is Mom telling him she is there- again very emotional....

When we bid farewell to Kate, we hopped in one last taxi for the weekend and got back to our car...snapped one more quintessential NYC pic...

Oh New York we loved you...you didn't disappoint and now we need to see you during the other three seasons!

Our ride home took a little longer on Sunday but we still made it home in about 5 hours to spend some QT with the fam and catch them up on our wonderful adventures!





Linking up with Erika for Tuesday Talk HERE