New York City with my Girlie, Day One: Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Hey there, and welcome back to Balancing B-G! Can you even believe that the Christmas season is upon us?!?! In my books, it certainly is the most wonderful time of the year and my elfish self couldn't be more excited that my world is beginning to look more and more festive by the day!

I've been away from my blog for the past week-and-a-while as I was off on a festive trip with my girlie, H. Traveling with my girls individually was something I hoped I would have the opportunity to do this year, and that became a reality for me and H with a trip to New York City last week! When trying to decide where the two of us might like to go earlier this fall, I had a few criteria that guided us in our choices: 1. We had to choose a location that wouldn’t take us too far away from M and E, as I just couldn’t envision us being away for too long without them; 2. I had to feel comfortable in the place we chose, knowing that I’d be the main planner and organizer, and knowing I would want to feel confident leading us on our adventures; and, 3. I really wanted H to feel excited about our destination, and for the trip to be a memorable one for us both. 

Rather like myself, H is a girlie who wants to see a great many places on this amazing planet of ours, so coming up with places that excited her was not a difficult task. When I thought of New York City, I knew it was a city we could easily get a good feel for in less than a week - no, you can’t see it all in that time, but NYC is a destination to be revisited and experienced again and again. And since I have been to the Big Apple several times before, I felt confident that I would have my bearings and be able to be a competent tour guide, so to speak. Now for the third criterion . . . when I asked H, “What do you think about New York City?” her beaming smile and sparkling eyes said it all before she could even exclaim, “Yes!” There we had it: our choice was made!

The Big Lego Apple

Based on our family's calendar, H's swim meet schedule, and some of the other travels I've been doing and planning for, we found a window of opportunity for our trip in December which happily coincided with the festive season and both of our birthdays: how exciting to view this trip as a way for us to celebrate our special days together! We booked our flights easily, and then a hotel, which was a little bit more difficult. Pricing for accommodations in Manhattan seems to have skyrocketed since my last visit a couple of years ago, and so we had to get creative in our search. I was quite set on being well located for ease of walking to many of our destinations and for my own comfort in knowing the area well. We wound up booking four nights at the YMCA just off of Central Park West and only a few blocks north of Columbus Circle: an excellent location! The only other preparations we made was to purchase City Passes, which saved us 41% on six fantastic New York City attractions, and of course I wrote up what is becoming my usual set of lists and schedules to be left behind for those running the home-ship in my stead. Thankfully, this time the odds were in their favour, as my parents and M only had E to care for, a much more manageable scenario compared to my trip with Mom to San Francisco, when my Dad and M had both girls' schedules to contend with. What would I do without my incredible support system?! I'm beyond grateful to family and friends who've taken care of my loves during my absences during these past few months!

You bet we were singing "YMCA" a la The Village People nearly every time we approached our hotel!

Anticipating my alarm on the morning of Wednesday, December 7, I woke well before it sounded despite the fact that it was set for the crack of crazy. I woke a slumbering H who had no problem shaking off sleep in order to get ready to begin our adventure. My Dad picked us up at 4:15 a.m. - so fortunate are we to have an early-morning volunteer to see us off! - and off to the Toronto airport we went. Our travel details couldn't have gone more smoothly: everything from check-in and security, to the actual flight itself, which was less than an hour long and quite literally felt like we went up, had a drink, and came back down. And we were in New York City! 

The flight to NYC was smooth and speedy.

La Guardia Airport, so named for Fiorello H. La Guardia, New York City mayor from 1934 - 1945 as we learned from our talkative cab driver Chang, is a well-oiled machine and is set up to usher arrivals through and out into the city with expediency. We were herded along an outdoor walkway and around some of the current construction underway at the airport to join a fast-moving line of people awaiting yellow cabs. We couldn't really believe our eyes as we saw the sea of yellow queued up to receive passengers. The sight had that similar effect on us as when you see a parking lot of sleeping school buses on the weekend or during the holidays.

Once in the cab, we met the afore-mentioned Chang, our driver whom I initially and most mistakenly thought did not speak English, as he didn't seem to know where I wanted to go when I originally told him our destination address. How very wrong I was! After getting his bearings and figuring out just where it was we were headed, Chang began giving us a play-by-play of everything we were passing outside. His high-pitched, sing-song voice delivered all manner of interesting information about both the city passing outside our windows and about his own personal life and experiences. As a self-proclaimed gambling addict, (he used to drive tour buses to Niagara, where he would gamble away all of his tour earnings at the casino) he asked us whether we felt luckier about taking the tunnel or bridge into the city. I opted for the bridge, as I'd always choose staying above ground over subterranean options, and Chang timed our progress. He deemed that we "won" as we reached the streets of Manhattan in what he was sure was a faster time than the tunnel would have allowed for. Along the way he pointed out the U.N., the Chrysler Building, and Trump Tower. During our trip, Chang's was one of the only somewhat positive references we heard when discussions of Donald Trump came up, as he reverentially said, "He big business man. Make lots of monies." But then, a few moments later when we were diverted around a large security blockade supposedly in place due to the proximity to a Trump building, he denounced the President Elect, exclaiming, "We pay for this for Trump!" I had to suppress a giggle as I looked over at my wide-eyed H, absorbing all that she was seeing and hearing through the unfiltered experience of this sweet, over-caffeinated tell-all driver of ours!

While it was not yet check-in time at the YMCA when we arrived, we were able to keep our luggage in a storage area, and then begin our explorations of the city! Our hotel was just a few blocks up from Columbus Circle, and we were so excited to find a rather extensive Christmas Market at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park West, and West 59th Street at the southwest corner of Central Park. We fell for everything about this festive Market: its warm and inviting energy and light, the narrow and bustling aisles featuring a myriad of cheery huts and the friendly vendors of everything imaginable, including crafts, clothing, Christmas decorations, jewelry, countless possible gift ideas, and of course food. We grabbed a small lunch there at Kaya, offering freshly prepared Taiwanese-style street food, and then began what was to become a daily tradition for the duration of our stay in NYC: we each chose a macaron which we shared and savoured together. According to Wikipedia, "A macaron is a sweet, meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food colouring." Sounds nutritious, non?!? "The macaron is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies." According to me and H, macarons are a little piece of heaven that we first discovered in one of the world's biggest cities, and that we hope to find a source for closer to home and, with some luck and lots of effort, try to replicate in our own kitchen some time very soon.

Day One's macaron selections: Carrot Cake and Red Velvet.

Appetites pleasingly sated, we walked down 5th Avenue, marveling at all of the festively decorated storefronts and window displays. When we reached Rockefeller Centre, we halted: the tree, towering over all of the onlookers and skaters below it, sparkled in its majesty over the square. In the immortal words of Buddy the Elf, "Wow! That's a big one."

Rockefeller Centre's beautiful Christmas tree.

We had some fun building minis at the square's Lego store, and then opted to visit our first City Pass attraction, since we were right there: Top of the Rock Observation Deck. The three levels of observation decks, including the 70th floor open-air roof deck, afforded us bird's eye views of the city, helping H to get a bit of a better feel for her geographical surroundings.

The view of Manhattan, with the Empire State Building at the centre, as seen from the Top of the Rock.

 

 

Surveying Central Park and the North side of the city.

When we came down from the Top of the Rock (Would that be called Rock Bottom?!), it was time to head back to the hotel in order to check-in and prepare for dinner: we had a reservation on this first night, the only day of our trip that we had any real kind of schedule to adhere to. During our walk back to our hotel, we soaked up the festive spirit of the city, so grateful to be enjoying it together.

So this brings us to our hotel room at the YMCA . . . In the spirit of a popular Saturday Night Live skit from many a year gone by, 'Mr. Subliminal' might begin by narrating the details thus: We walked down the corridor of our eighth floor hallway (cell block), passing the stark white walls and alternating blue and orange vented doors (for maximum prison cell airflow). Inside, the quaint (cramped) quarters exuded a minimalist theme (barren), a bed (lumpy), bedside-table and chair our only furnishings (dump salvations). The mottled flooring gave an aged (dingy) impression, and the unsealed window air conditioner unit allowed for fresh air (cold, whistling wind) pumped directly into our room (cell), along with the continuous night-time white noise (sirens, traffic and car horns) to aid the arrival of sleep for the weary traveler (inmate). Invigorating (cold) showers each morning helped wake us for the day ahead. And all of that doesn't even cover the ridiculously hard-to-flush toilet, the bathroom door with no doorknob on the inside, the plugged sink, and the sauna-like temperatures in the bathroom upon our arrival. Truly, H and I giggled about the lamentable conditions each morning and night! All of that being said, the staff were all very helpful when we asked for assistance (an engineer was sent up immediately to fix our heating situation), the room had all of the necessities and was decently clean (and there were NO bugs!), we felt very safe (there was a vigilant security desk operating at all times in the front lobby), and the location was excellent (a stone's throw from Central Park and easy walking distance to many of the areas we wanted to explore). Besides, we were there to see the city, not the walls of our hotel room.

Note the cracks to the outside you can spy around the air conditioner. Ahhh, but the heater right in front of the window counteracted the cold air coming in. Who cares that we were heating the outside as well as the inside? Environmental concerns? Pshaw! The folks who installed this unit were obviously of the Trump mindset: climate change is a hoax perpetuated by the people in "Jina"! And yes, we also bumped our heads on the non-functioning T.V. several times!

Closing the door while in the bathroom was a bit of a challenge without a doorknob!

Our dinner plans on this first evening in New York had us quite excited: we were heading to 'Serendipity'! If you've ever watched the 2001 romantic comedy of the same name, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, you'll know of the place, kitschy in all its clutter, quaint in its coziness and warmth. Having learned from my previous visit to New York that waits for a table can be lengthy, I made sure to have a reservation made for this trip, so H and I were able to waltz in past the line of folks who were just learning this lesson. We were seated upstairs at a fantastic table by the fireplace, and enjoyed a great meal together. The highlight at 'Serendipity', however, is the dessert. Famous for their frozen hot chocolate, they also offer a variety of other tasty treats, and H and I were in the mood for ice cream. We ordered a sundae, which come as three-scoop master pieces. Our personalized sundae featured chocolate, pistachio and butter pecan ice creams covered - and I mean covered! - in caramel sauce, whipped cream and cherries. Mmmmmmm!

We walked back to our hotel through the city twinkling with Christmas lights, stopping at the Christmas Market again along our way and basking in the excitement of a fantastic first day, and in the wondrous fact that we were in New York City together, which still felt surreal. We were very much ready for a night of sleep to recharge us for another wonderfully full day ahead. Stay tuned for more details to come :)

A few final moments at the Christmas Market as it shuts down for the day.

My wonders: Have you ever been to New York City, and if so, have you ever been there in December? Do you have a favourite time of year to be in NYC? Have you ever traveled with a child/one of your children solo? Where did you go and what was your experience like?