Early morning flights always seem like a great idea until the alarm clock goes off at 2:30am. And then I ask myself what in the world were we thinking?!? But, an early flight means an early arrival time & a whole extra day in NYC!
By 4am we were on the road & headed to IAH! We had an uneventful flight & landed in NYC right on time. We got a taxi & were at the hotel shortly after lunch time. We stayed at the
Park Central Hotel which is on 7th Avenue between Times Square & Central Park. We have stayed there several times & absolutely love it.
Once we got checked into the hotel, we didn't waste any time. Brenda's favorite thing in NYC? Getting a hot dog from a hot dog cart on the street. So, that was the first thing we did. I mean, who wouldn't want that as their first "meal" in NYC? =)
I am a planner & organizer so we always have an itinerary before we go. You almost have to if you plan to do & see as much as we do in 5 days. But, I also know that generally, the itinerary goes out the window on day 1. This year was no different. It was an absolutely gorgeous day {although VERY cold...temps in the 20's} so we decided to head to the Empire State Building. GREAT decision because the visibility that day was 25 miles & the views were amazing.
We headed to Macy's next. All of the large department stores in NYC decorate their store front windows for the holidays. They spend all year planning & putting them together and have a huge unveiling a few weeks before Christmas. The decorations inside are also stunning.
After a little shopping, we headed to
John's Pizza in Times Square for supper...it's our favorite pizza in NYC! The building is an old church that has been converted into a restaurant. They even make the pizza in the middle of the restaurant so you can watch. After supper, we grabbed some cheesecake to go from
Junior's & headed back to the hotel and enjoyed it in bed. It had been a LONG day & was going to be an early morning.
Day 2 is next! **Kelly's Korner readers - be sure to check out Days 2-5 in the January Archives!