Ah, NYC. The city that never sleeps! It has been on my bucket list forever to visit this city and it was the wonderful, abundant universe that sent me there on the most magical time of the year, Christmas! I am not a huge Christmas fan to be honest, I don’t even put up a tree, but there was something so special about that city during the month of December. If I could do it again, I would spend a few weeks there, but unfortunately I only had 2.5 days to really see the city. Oh, you best believe I had my butt walking all over to see whats good. I played the role of the Canadian tourist on this trip. Of course I didn’t see it all, and I hope to go back there again when its warmer to find the hidden gems. Here are my Top 6 must see’s when playing tourist in New York City ( AT CHRISTMAS TIME).

World Trade Centre Memorial

I mean, how could you go to New York and NOT see this? That day when 911 happened will always be planted in my mind, so to actually go walk on the ground where that devastation happened, and seeing the names of everyone that passed that day was really surreal. It’s sad, but it made me feel grateful for the life that I am still living and to not let a day go to waste.

 

Brooklyn Bridge and Dumbo

Ok, so I wasn’t a real Sex and the City fan until a few years ago, but the scene that really stuck with me was from the movie, when Miranda and Steve meet in the middle of the Brooklyn bridge to forgive each other and start over… AWWW. So OBVS I had to go see it and walk on it! Let’s all be honest, who isn’t a hopeless romantic. It was December after all, and if you aren’t used to walking, just be prepared to do a lot of it, and bundle up. No joke. I will never complain about Vancouver weather ever again. NYC was cold AF. I felt like I needed a balaclava walking over that bridge. She was a beauty though!

Once you cross over that bridge into Brooklyn, there is a little area called DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under The Manhattan Bridge. The Manhattan bridge and Brooklyn bridge are super close together, so that whole area under there is DUMBO. Cute little shops, cafes and cobblestone streets (Kinda like a Gastown feel). If you are feeling up for it, walk over the Manhattan bridge after! Its not as pretty as the Brooklyn bridge, but once you walk over, you end up in China town and that is an adventure in itself.

Shopping

 So I’ll tell you right now, I HATE shopping… one day I will have my own assistant to just go shop for me because I am way too impatient to go look for clothes ( I am like a boy in that aspect), but regardless if you like to shop or not, you gotta go into these stores! Any Friends fans in the house? Bloomingdales, although not actually shot there, was Rachel’s stomping grounds as a personal shopper. (OMG note to self, need to hire someone like her). Little did I know, that Bloomingdales is the parent of Macys… go figure. The Macys in NYC is apparently the largest in the world! It was huge… Just go see. And of course, if you are there during Christmas time, you have to see the legendary Saks off Fifth… they have the most crazy, beautiful light show on the building, and of course the Christmas windows. Be prepared though, its right across the street from Rockefeller Centre, and it was like a mosh pit! So many humans!

Rockefeller To See The tree, But Go Skating at the Library…

Since you are already at Sak’s looking at the lights, turn your head and look across the street at the beautifulest tree you ever did see! It really is something magical. Depending what time you go, if there are less tourists, get close to the tree. We were there on a Sunday night- if I could do it over I would choose a week night. There were so many people there, literally shoulder to shoulder. It was cool as I don’t mind crowds, but lines can go to hell. I wanted to ice skate under the tree, but I was not about to wait in a 2 hour line in the freezing cold, to pay to skate and freeze some more. LOL

What was awesome about walking all over town is you stubble on stuff you didn’t care to see, but see it anyways! We ended up finding a Whole Foods, (Hallelujah), and it was across the street from the Public Library (where Carrie almost got married) along with a Christmas market, with a smaller tree! However, the tree was still amazingly tall and you could also skate around it! With a smaller line. Hell ya! BY THE WAY, they don’t mess around in New York with their Whole Foods; they had a pizzeria in there and a restaurant with hard alcohol and wine. It really was heaven. If you go skate around the library tree, pop your head in the library to see the beautiful architectural design… and if you want to see more historical beauty, just one block further is Grand Central Station! Oh My God, is that a building to see. So many Gossip Girl References that I will refrain from mentioning now.

Greenwich village

This place was really cool hub with bars, restaurants, jazz clubs and had the LGBT-friendly vibe. It was also close to NYU, and if I were to live in NYC, this area would probably be it. It reminded me a lot of home. It’s definitely a cool place to explore if you are in your 20’s and early 30’s.

Broadway

I’m not going to say much about this because it is a no brainer. Everyone has different tastes, and if I was there longer, I would have seen a few shows. Because it was Christmas I saw Home for the Holidays, a Christmas musical. I’ll be honest the only reason I went to that was because I love Kaitlyn Bristowe from The Bachelorette and she was hosting the show. (No shame)

So there you have it, my Top 6 for NYC. Sorry guys, this was a longer post, but hopefully worth the read! Have you been to NYC? Are there places I missed that should be on this list? Let me know so I can plan my next trip!

Namaste