New York City 2012 - Day 3

Once upon a time, I had started recapping our trip to NYC from 2012, and then aaaallll the holidays happened and I never got to finish.  If you missed those recaps for Days 1 and 2 they are here and here.  This is the recap for Day 3, our last day, and by far my favorite day!  I like to call it our Serendipity Day because we went to see several of the sights from that movie… one of my favorites!

Since we had been to NYC a few times before this trip, we had seen most of the touristy attractions, so the number one thing on my list for this trip was to eat at Serendipity on the Upper East Side.  As I said before, Serendipity is one of my favorite movies of all time so I have wanted to go there since I first saw the movie back in 2001.  Unfortunately a lot of people also feel the same way, because the place is always packed.  We had tried to go the night before, but it was late when we arrived and the wait was still a couple of hours, so on this last day of our trip, we figured that we would get over there before it opened to enjoy a late brunch. 

We arrived about 15 minutes before they opened, and there was already a long line of people that had formed down the sidewalk.  What?!  Fortunately we only ended up waiting for about an hour if memory serves me correctly, but the weather was cooperative so it wasn’t too bad.  

The anticipation was killing me by the time we got inside, not to mention that we were starving!  Unfortunately we were seated downstairs, so we didn’t get to see the table where they sit in the movie, but I was just happy to be in there.  It was so cool!  I opted for the Ultimate BLT on challah bread and it hit the spot.  Then, of course, we had to have one of the Frozen Hot Chocolates just like they did in the movie.  It was so exciting!  I was like a kid in a candy store… literally.  Haha.

The lady who ran the cash register was about the most eccentric person I have ever laid eyes on… she had bracelets up and down both arms, she wore tons of makeup, and she was wearing quite a get-up!  She also had a super deep gravelly voice that was extremely unique.  I assumed at the time that she was the owner, but I don’t know for sure.  She is definitely someone that I will never forget, though!  I couldn’t resist (discreetly) snapping a picture of her.  Apparently I was a good blogger before I was ever even a blogger.  Hehe. 

After we left Serendipity, we went by Bloomingdales which is the department store where Jonathan and Sara met in the movie while shopping for gloves.  We didn’t go in, but I wanted to see the famous façade with all of the flags.

Next up, we took a break from the Serendipity things, because I had to stop by The Plaza Hotel for another one of my favorite movies… Home Alone 2!!  I mean, this is where they say #ThisIsPeterMcCallisterTheFAAAATHER!!!!

The décor inside The Plaza was unreal.  I took a picture in front of this amazing Christmas tree and you can’t even remotely tell how beautiful it is from this picture.

After The Plaza it was on to FAO Schwarz to see all of the fun stuff from the movie Big.  This was our second time in there, so we didn’t dance on the big piano.  Been there, done that.  I did take a picture with the toy soldier door man, though!

Once we were done there, we hopped across the street to Central Park because I had to see the famous Wollman Ice Skating Rink with that famous, gorgeous view.  It did not disappoint!  Unfortunately we couldn’t actually ice skate that day, though, because I had injured my foot a few weeks prior, and I was in a boot for the whole trip.  Bleh.

We strolled around Central Park for a while after that, stopping by Gapstow Bridge… one of the famous bridges that have been in movies like Home Alone 2, The Devil Wears, Prada, and Cruel Intentions… do y’all remember that movie?  Another one of my favorites!

See my boot?  Haha.

After that we wandered through the streets of Manhattan, weaving in and out of any stores that struck our fancy, as we made our way to Rockefeller Center.  We had purchased tickets for Top of the Rock, the observation deck on top of Rockefeller Center.  Unfortunately the day was dreary and foggy, so they warned us that there would be low visibility, but low visibility and all, it still took my breath away.  The view is just unbelievable.  I enjoyed it better up there than the observation deck on top of the Empire State Building (from a previous trip).  We arrived around 5 and stayed for a couple of hours, so we were able to capture the city at daylight, at dusk, and at night.  It was incredible.  If you haven’t ever seen it, you must add it to the top of your list for your next trip.

For dinner, we didn’t have reservations anywhere, so we dropped in a little pub and then we made one last stop at the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.  I couldn’t leave New York without saying goodbye!  

Our final stop was Macy’s in Herald Square… the one that is in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and also oodles of movies.  I never knew just how gargantuan that place is until we went in there.  And fun fact, the higher the floor, the dumpier the store gets.  Seriously, the first floor was about as swanky as it gets, but by the time you get to the eleventh floor, there are old beat-up wood escalators (probably original from when it opened), cracks in the walls, and really dingy looking floors.  It was really weird. 

I was in search of Santa Land, because I have always dreamed of seeing it and sitting on Santa’s lap there, but the line was unbelievable and it just wasn’t worth the wait.  And unfortunately you can’t even see him unless you commit to standing in the long line, so we didn’t even get a glimpse of him or his amazing Santa Land.  Boooo!  I was able to snap a picture just outside, though.

After Macy’s it was time to head back to our hotel as we had to get up bright and early for our flight home, but we did grab one last look at Times Square before heading up.

Meanwhile, Jacob was back home hanging out with my parents and doing all the fun things!

The entire trip was just a dream of a trip and it was definitely one of my favorite trips of all time.  There’s just something about Christmas in NYC, y’all.  Just something about it…

And we can’t wait to go back someday and bring the babies!  

*Linking up with Home of Malones for Thoughts for Thursday.