I feel like I’ve made up for lost time this year (thanks, Covid!) with the number of trips I’ve taken. As a result, it’s been fun to update my blog with trip reports. 🙂 Rounding out 2023 is my recent trip to New York City a couple of weeks ago. **L O N G blog post ahead.**

My S(elf)A(ppointed)T(rainer) had to go to NYC for work and since his company was paying for his flight and hotel, I thought it would be fun to tag along. While my SAT worked and schmoozed with his colleagues, I played tourist in and around NYC. We used to live in central New Jersey (NJ) while in graduate school, so it was very nostalgic to visit and see some of my favourite places. Before we left, I did a little research and created a Google Map with a bunch of pin drops to mark ALL the things I wanted to do. Although I didn’t get to see or do everything I wanted, I still packed my days full of sights, sounds, and food and walked about 25 miles over 3 days! (Seems like my 7 Summit Challenge was good training for my NYC trip!)

We flew in on a Monday and most of that day was spent travelling. When we landed, we took an Uber to our hotel (Ace Hotel in Midtown–very trendy!), unpacked, then walked around the area to stretch our legs before our dinner reservation at Coletta (highly recommend). After our yummy dinner, we stopped at Milkbar on the way back to our room to inhale the delicious aroma of baked goods and to buy a cookie. (Fun fact: Milkbar is RIGHT BESIDE our hotel!)

Tuesday: The next day started with a coffee from Stumptown next door, after which my SAT and I bid each other farewell. My first stop was Central Park. I took the subway to West 81st Street and then walked over to the John Lennon memorial, otherwise known as “Strawberry Fields.” It was a beautiful crisp morning and I really enjoyed walking around and soaking in the city’s atmosphere. After some more walking, I arrived at Belvedere Castle, which offers great views of the park.

Next up was Zabar’s. When we lived in NJ, that was one of our favourite places to visit when we went to NYC. This shop is stuffed full of food (cheeses, deli meats, desserts, olives, etc.) and kitchenware in a relatively small two-story building. It’s a bit overwhelming because as soon as you enter, you see so much….stuff. But it feels like a NYC shop because it’s small yet crammed full of things and almost impertinent in its layout (i.e., stuff is EVERYWHERE you look). While browsing, I bought a couple of small souvenirs and breathed in that unique cheesy-briny-bready smell again. Yummy! My next destination was Levain Bakery, the home of the famous chocolate chip walnut cookie the size of your head. The original store on West 74th Street is tiny; when you open the door, you see a few stairs going down to the counter, which itself faces a couple of small round tables. However, what the bakery lacks in size, it makes up in the aroma department….wow. THAT SMELL of baked goods is AMAZING.

After getting my fill of cookie goodness at Levain, I made my way to the Morgan Library and was immediately impressed by the countless rare books and artifacts I saw. The library is the personal collection of Pierpont Morgan, prominent financier, collector, and cultural benefactor who was actively adding to his collection in the first part of the 20th century. During my visit, the Morgan Library featured several exhibitions, of which I had time for two: “Medieval Money, Merchants, and Morality” and “Morgan’s Bibles: Splendor in Scripture.” The first exhibit included things such as medieval coins, measuring weights, and indulgences while the second exhibit featured some of the earliest produced Bibles that are incredibly ornate and exquisitely detailed. Pictures do not do these artifacts justice, but here are a few anyway!

All that learning made me hungry, so I walked over to PLNT Burger and got a yummy burger and fries. (Hey, it’s vacation….I can get whatever I want!) After lunch, I was feeling a bit sleepy, so I went back to the hotel and had a quick nap. Pro travel tip: if possible, break up your day with a nap. You’ll feel refreshed and ready to tackle more sightseeing!

My evening plans continued in the “cultural” vein, as I started the night by wandering around the Columbus Circle Christmas market, meeting a few vendors (including Carolina of Exquisito Chocolates and Jewel, who makes paper earrings), and sampling a few treats. To cap off my night, I headed over to Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School to take some pictures and listen to a recital of artsong. It sure was fun to hear live music again and I was very familiar with much of the program, as I’d performed a lot of the songs myself!

Wednesday: After getting some breakfast, I walked to Rockefeller Center and took some pictures of the Rockefeller Christmas tree and area. The city was bustling and it was definitely beginning to look like Christmas! My first scheduled event of the day was to check out the “Top of the Rock,” a.k.a., the top of Rockefeller Center. I had a ticket for my timed entry at 9am and after checking in, my 9am group took the elevator to the observatory deck. Fun fact: that elevator ride takes 43 seconds to reach the 70th floor observation deck! It was really cool to see the city from so high up.

My next scheduled event of the day was the Rockettes‘ Christmas Extravaganza show at Radio City Music Hall. To be honest, I thought this show would be super cheesy and maybe not worth the ticket price. Yes, I suppose I’m somewhat of a snob! I was wrong. I thought this show was really well-done and the level of professionalism and ATHLETICISM was admirable. The show is 90 minutes long without an intermission, but it goes by quickly. The audience got to wear 3D glasses for the first 10 minutes of the show, which was entertaining to experience (Santa is driving his sleigh from the North Pole to NYC and you can “see” the presents falling off his sleigh and “feel” the chill as you fly through the air with him!). The Rockettes’ high kick line was impressive….I think I’d fall over from exhaustion after attempting 1 kick, haha. Anyway, if you’re in NYC for the holidays, I highly recommend the Rockettes’ show!

Similar to the previous day, after getting some lunch (this time at Beatnic), I walked back to the hotel for a quick nap. Refreshed, I took the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge. Late afternoon was a good time to walk over the bridge because I got to experience “golden hour” and take some good pictures (in my opinion). The light was really pretty! I noticed a couple of things during my bridge walk: 1) the bridge is VERY popular with tourists, and 2) there were a lot of vendors selling a “video experience, ” i.e., for $10, you stand on a 360 degree revolving platform while a video camera records your reaction to being on the bridge. I did not pay for such an experience. I guess I wanted an analog experience! And, I’m cheap. Finally, to round out my day, I walked over to the nearby Chelsea Market and did a little window shopping.

Thursday: This was my day to take the train to Princeton, NJ and indulge in a lot of nostalgia! I got to walk around the Princeton University and Westminster Choir College campuses, meet up with some friends, and have delightful conversation with all of them. I also got to window shop in all of the shops along Nassau Street, including Small World Coffee and the Princeton Record Exchange. Both of those places were regular fixtures during my time in Princeton. Fun fact: about an hour after I got off the NJ Transit train in Princeton, a Texas longhorn steer named Ricardo wandered onto the train tracks at the Newark Penn Station stop, halting traffic for about 45 minutes. Ricardo was “steered” off the tracks by animal workers and police officers and transported to a local animal sanctuary. This story is not some BS, haha! It was an eventful week and came to an end all too quickly. On Friday, we flew back to Phoenix, full of all the sights, sounds, and food we experienced. Happy Holidays, everyone!