For years, Chris and I have wanted to spend Christmas in New York.  Well... this year we finally did! Bryan & Bre were kind enough to let us stay in their apartment in Manhattan, since they were visiting family in Utah. The place provided an awesome view right off the river and was in a perfect location! We swapped them one of our cars while we were away. We’re pretty sure we got the better end of the deal. Overall, it was a perfect vacation. We managed to do and see most everything we wanted! Visit the sites, see the city, shop 5th ave, eat great food and, of course, enjoy Broadway.  We road the subway everywhere we went, and by the end of the trip we felt like locals. :)  Between Chris and I, we took over 800 pictures. Check out some of our favorites below!

Christmas in New York

All of the above pictures were taken from the top of the Rockefeller Building. From one side of the building was a view of the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, and from the other side was a view of Central Park. It was the only sunny day we experienced, and the perfect day to view the city!

Ground Zero was not what I imagined it would be. First of all, there wasn’t a huge, fancy monument in it’s place like I expected...  and the site was larger than I expected. The size of the gaping whole made sense, but it really hit home about just how big these buildings were and, therefore, just how many people died.  Above, is a picture of a temporary wall hung on the fence, listing the fallen heroes of 9/11.  It was so sad to look over that and see the rows and rows of names!  I’ve seen that type of thing before at monuments in DC, but since this is a tragedy I can actually remember, it hit me differently this time. I expected a formal entrance and a self-guided tour with signs.  None of that. We just walked down the street until Chris said, “This is it.”  It just looked like a huge construction site in the middle of the city. A few people were walking around us and two or three people were leaning on the gate, looking ahead.  We went in a nearby building which is apparently where tours are given, with a huge window overlooking ground zero. We went on a Saturday so there wasn’t much activity in that part of town. It made for an especially reverent and sobering experience.  It was even more sobering to see the actual workers on the site.  I wonder how they feel, working there? If it’s somewhat spiritual and if they have any neat experiences.  Or perhaps they feel it’s like any other work site....? It’d be interesting to find out.  So what are the rebuilding? I believe they’re building 5 towers in it’s place, in a spiral - somewhat as a stairway to Heaven.

Our last night there we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Unfortunately we didn’t know how to work the camera in the dark, so we didn’t get as many good pictures as we would have liked,. You’ll just have to trust me when I saw it was breathtaking.  On the other side of the bridge lies Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, a small pizza place, and the best I’ve ever eaten! The owner was there and very italian, which made for a fun experience! It was one of the high lights of my trip! I insisted on picking up a pizza on our way out to the airport the next day.

Something wicked this way comes! It was pretty much the coolest thing ever! The second Chris told me we were going to New York I booked tickets to it! It was so witty, I was only frustrated that I didn’t think to write it first.  :)  They don’t allow pictures, so the best we could do is a picture before and after the show.  Before going to Wicked, we ate at .  It was such a fun atmosphere with head-shots of famous people all over the walls. Chris’s sandwich was HUGE - he could only eat half of it.  It was some great eating leading up to great entertainment.  I’ll sum up Wicked with the following: The stage work was amazing, the songs moving and the story classic. It’s worth every penny and MUST see!  I SAW WICKED....ON BROADWAY!!!

Grand Central Station and the top of the Chrysler Building

The Rockefeller Building and the tree in front of it. The star on the tree is made of 2500 swarovski crystals and weighs over 500 pounds! Directly below the tree is the sculpture and below that is the surprisingly small ice-skating rink.

We love “30 Rock”.  Need I say more?

St. Patrick’s Cathedral was truly amazing architecture, inside and out!  There were life-sized sculptures of   eight different Saints flaking each entryway, set-back in the walls. The ceiling was made of so many angles it made you dizzy to look! The stained glass, especially, was breathtaking.

“Make it shine like the top of the Chrysler building”

We didn’t have the time, or strong desire, to go inside the Statue of Liberty.  Maybe next trip. For now, seeing it from a distance left us satisfied.

Grand Central Station was smaller than I expected, but the network within was so much larger! Shopping everywhere! We heard there were fun places to eat within. All we found was a restaurant  overlooking the  station. It was snooty and overpriced, but fun to say we ate in the station.  It was two days later that we realized there were tons of places to eat below! lol