Our Trip to New York City!

My Facebook and Instagram followers already know this, but we just got back from a weekend trip to New York City! We’ve always said we wanted to take the kids there when they were old enough where it’s a little more manageable – and I have to say, 6, 7, and 9 are PERFECT ages. These kids were champs – they went from 9am to midnight and definitely outlasted the adults! Cartwheels in the hotel room at 11pm, I kid you not. My parents joined us, and we made such wonderful memories. Truly. I hadn’t planned on blogging about it, but I thought it might be fun to show you what we did – and in case you’re planning a trip and don’t know where to start, this might be helpful for you. (I was CLUELESS!) And selfishly, it’s a great little online scrapbook for us and my parents, so we can always look back and relive it;)

Since I hadn’t planned on blogging about it, all of these photos are from my phone (oops – how many times have I said THAT?!), so I apologize for that…but I think they still capture the incredible sights!

We headed out on Friday morning (we drove), and our elf, Sparkle held down the fort for us. So nice of him to give us a marshmallow message to send us off!

We arrived, mouths wide open in awe at the sights! We checked in at our hotel, the Marriott Marquis, in the heart of Times Square. It was UNREAL. I mean…look at our view!

Unbelievable.

We put down our stuff and headed to Ellen’s Stardust Diner for a late lunch. This place was an experience! Singing waiters and waitresses, standing on tables – and the food was incredible. I was told by many friends that it’s a must-see in NYC and I’d have to agree.

After that, we walked around, went in some stores (holy M&M store, Batman!) and headed to Rockefeller. Oh my word, that tree!

The light show was incredible:

We walked inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral which took our breath away.

Never seen such detail in all my life.

Naturally, I had to stop by to see my boyfriend, Jimmy. He was a little busy and couldn’t come out to say hi, but whatevs. One day we’re going to NYC sans kids and I WILL MEET HIM. Mark my words, people. If it’s the last thing I do.

We went in some more awesome shops, like the super cool Lego store.

And finally were hungry again after our late lunch and had dinner at Juniors. Highly recommended by friends, and again, they didn’t steer me wrong. Plus, it was literally across the street from our hotel, which was perfect. We had done A LOT of walking and were ready to be close to our place.

The next day, we stopped in the Magnolia Bakery on the way to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. They ran out of muffins, so the kids got the treat of all treats: cupcakes and cocoa for breakfast! What a cute place that Magnolia Bakery is too…loved the decor.

And the show…there are no words.

To quote my son: “That just blew my mind!” It really did.

Afterwards, we walked to a place near Radio City called Pasta Lovers Trattoria for lunch and had a BALL.

It was so festive in there, with tons of white Christmas lights, and we were still on our high from the Christmas Spectacular. Brick oven pizza, wine, and cannolis for lunch? Why not!

From there, we took the subway to see Macy’s and all those incredible window displays…

…then hopped back on the subway to Central Park, where we took a fun rickshaw ride and ice skated at Wollman Rink. Bucket List: check! (I really want to rewatch Serendipity now!)

We were wiped when we got home, so we ate at the hotel restaurant for a late dinner, then hit the hay…

We woke up and had breakfast at Juniors for one last meal – it’s the perfect stop for breakfast:

How many dishes can 7 people make?!

Then we walked around a little bit more, (not ready to leave!), and hit a few more stores – they kids were dying to go to Disney and Toys R Us…which, much like the rest of New York, did NOT disappoint…

This guy moves, and there is a freaking FERRIS WHEEL IN THE STORE. Again, our minds were blown.

And perhaps one of the most memorable highlights of the weekend happened at the very end of our trip, when Batman, Captain America, and Bane took my son by the hand, hoisted him up and created this amazing photo op:

The busy sidewalks just stopped, everyone cheered – and my son got right into character and ate up every second of it. This is getting framed and put in his superhero bedroom for sure!

We then headed back to our hotel, checked out, and headed home.

What a trip. What memories. What an experience. New York City is definitely something to see at Christmastime.

When we sat down at our dining room table, eating carryout pizza because there was no food in the house, my husband and I looked at each other, equal parts elated and exhausted, and – hand to God – said simultaneously: 

“We did it.”

😉