Merry Christmas from New York

 

What a weekend! Chris got invited by a customer to attend their Christmas event in New York and I got to tag along. Why not go to New York where almost everything was paid for??? I thought everyone got an invite, but it turns out, it really was a big big deal Chris was invited and we even sat with the leaders at the event - more on that later... 

The other half we had to figure out was...could the girls stay home alone? Heidi jumped at the chance -honestly. The girls were excited to be home (ALL of the neighbors were told as well) - cameras were put in place and they ended up having a great weekend too! They shopped, went out to eat together, Heidi took spa-like baths in our bathroom and nothing burned down. Win-win. 

The company had us stay at a hotel called Dream - very much a boutique-type hotel. It was near Chelsea (I think) and had some of the hottest nightclubs - like Tao right next door. It ended up being a great location and a good hotel, though it was funny coming back to the hotel at the end of the night and having to get past security to the line outside the clubs. ha. 

I have never been to New York. I had flown through either JFK or LGA many times, and once, I stayed in Newark for work, and another time I went to the GE training center outside of New York. We truly did have a blast but I won't be moving to New York... ever. 

Our hotel room was nice but also very awkward. The bed was so SO low. very low. Chris had some issues getting in and out of bed but was very entertaining... THEN the toilet was so so high. Only my toes would touch the ground and the bathroom side to step into the shower required both of us to help each other in and out. The shower curtain was literally chain mesh and there were SO many circles. But it was clean, safe and good - just funny. 

It was cold! I think Friday was 20 degrees waking around and Saturday maybe hit 30. We bundled up and were ready to explore. We failed at first. We tried to go to Katz diner at the time that was suggested, but the line was wrapped all the way around the block, and told it was a several-hour wait. If it wasn't SO cold out, we probably would have waited, but not worth it. Then we tried to hit some of the Christmas bars that were also suggested and couldn't get into some or they were so busy it wouldn't have been fun. We basically learned EVERYTHING you need reservations for - which we did have for some things - but just didn't think everything needed it. 

But we just rolled with the punches and honestly still had so much fun. We didn't get frustrated or argue or anything - we just found it funny and it ended up working out the best. We stumbled onto another Christmas bar so we could get out of the cold and it was perfect. The bartender was fun, the food was amazing and they played Christmas clips etc that everyone would quote. 

We made a joke that we needed to take pictures of true New York to let Lucy know what it is like and had fun doing it. We took pictures of garbage, there was urine everywhere, pigeons etc. Also - what you can't take a picture of, is the magnitude of the noise. So much honking and just noise. 

But there is something to be said at how decorated everything is during Christmas! Every window front, trees with lights etc. 

We ended to the tourist area - it was BUSY! First our uber had a hard time navigating to the drop-off, but was very nice about it. We had to jump out earlier because they had a street blocked off with secret service everywhere. Who knows who was there. I think Friday we ended up walking 10 miles that day. No lie. Some of it was an accident. It was so busy, you would HAVE to go with the flow of the crowds and it was hard to pullover to look at your phone or whatever. It felt like rope drop at Disney or like after the fireworks when everyone is trying to leave. I was mentally prepared for it, so we just went with the flow.

We got to see the big things - like the shops windows with all the fancy brands, the Rockefeller tree, Times Square (from afar), the ball, whatever church, some other old buildings, Bryant Park - you know - the things you are supposed to see in New York. It was so busy, it was kind of hard to take photos and then a bus would fly by all the time. It was very funny. 

We ducked into Saks to warm up and look at ridiculously expensive things... I don't get it. but it was warm.

We then made our way to Bryant Park which had all these shops, food, an ice skating rink etc. It was cute. Busy, but you could get things with not much waiting. 

We tried one more thing in the tourist area and checked out a supposedly great Christmas bar. It was literally the bar where people wait for the trains. I felt like we just checked out an airport bar. We died laughing. We decided to go back to our area, closer to the hotel. Funny highlight was us trying to understand which way to walk and a real NYFD guy stopped and helped. We all had a good laugh and we were on our way.

The last place on Chris' list was another bar called Porchlight and this saved the night (though it was great evening walking around - lots of laughs). We got a table, the food was great, and the drinks were fun. I won our server over when the first thing I ordered, without my glasses on, was a Christmas-themed martini. Problem was. It was a jello shot. I couldn't read the description above. I think the server laughed for a long time, but then I committed to it and we had Jello shots... 4 to be exact as it became a running joke. 

We ended the night at a comedy club, which was perfect. We saw 5 different comics, all different and all great. 

We headed back home and checked out our hotel bar - $32 drinks are hard to swallow, but we made the best of it. There was a DJ, honestly, so many places would randomly have a DJ going - the bagel place, had a DJ, different bars during the day and so on. Weird concept but if you want to be a DJ, NY is the place.

We figured we had walked enough, ate enough and drank enough and was ready to crash. Even though the hotel was very secure, key entrances to use the elevator etc. I still rigged the door - hey if it helps me sleep why not. I don't think it would have actually helped, but it was funny just the same. 

We would get random updates from the girls - which we loved too. 

Day 2! Saturday. I think we got to bed at 2am - luckily we couldn't hear any of the clubs but the honking and city noises were loud. We slept in a little bit but hunger won to get us moving. 

Taking more pictures of the New york scene for Lucy...

We ended up at a place called L'antica Pizzeria da Michele for lunch and this was my FAVORITE meal - even over the party food. We should have taken more pictures of everything we ate, but it was decadent. We also needed food BAD - maybe we were just a wee bit tired from the night before. 

Saturday was a little more planned out - after the best meal - we headed to the broadway area as we had tickets to Book of Morman. As we waited for the line to form outside the theater - we popped over to this bar called Lily's I think and it was amazing how decorated it was!

I knew nothing about the show but it was the funniest thing I have seen in years. The cast was great, their talent for singing, dancing and acting was so so impressive. We had a blast. The theater was one of the smaller ones, but it made it great as we could see with no issues and it was like the music was blasting everywhere. I would go again to New York if I could see this show again. 

The show finished in time for us to head back to the hotel, take a much needed rest, before getting all fancy for the work event. We were actually both a little nervous to attend after seeing the others who were there, but we fit right in and within the first 10 minutes, Chris had a couple great conversations, exchanged cards, and was schmoozing with the big dogs. 

The best way I can describe it was an elevated wedding. There was a photo area, cocktail area and then a reception area with a band and dance floor. It started off in the cocktail area with a full open bar, specialty Christmas drinks too, and servers walking around with small amazing bites - like crab cakes, short ribs, tuna, mac n cheese bites etc. All these very elevated and very delicious one bite appetizers. Chris and I of course behaved ourselves and went into work mode, but man - this group could PARTY. Even their laughs sounded rich. 

Dinner was eventually served with a great caprese and salad starter, steak, and some tart for dessert (I was too full to eat it). THEN the dance floor exploded and everyone was dancing. It was crazy. As we were dancing too - they brought out slider burgers with homemade pickles and sauces and then brought in traditional New York pizza. The bars were flowing and it was a party. For some reason - the wives of the executives and even the few female executives kept on hugging me. I have no idea why. We made friends as we do and truly had fun. 

We called it a night and left the party when the others were getting really intoxicated and also didn't want to stay too late (mind you we left at 12:30am). We decided to have one more drink at our hotel lobby and get off our feet!

It was a great way to experience New York! Sunday we kept it simple, walked to get the best bagel I have ever had, then off to the airport. It was a quick flight home and I may have ran to the couch to relax. I totally went to bed at 6pm on Sunday. 

It now feels like Christmas but also - time to crank it up and get everything done for Christmas!!! Until next time New York