The Parents in NYC Part 1

After a long trip from Saskatchewan, and missing their connecting flight to Newark from Toronto resulting in a hotel stay and early morning flight, my parents arrived.  They were exhausted and worn out, so their first day here was mostly catching up and napping, which was probably for the best anyway since there was a huge storm that day that threatened to bury NYC and NJ in a rain and snow.  

On day two, we got up bright and early and headed up to the Columbus Circle area of Manhattan along Central Park for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  We got there a little later than we had planned, so we didn't get an awesome place to stand, but we could still see the balloons and taller floats AND we were right next to Mark Ruffalo in his apartment.

Meagan Trainor on one of the floats.

We didn't stay for the whole parade because we were cold and we really just wanted to say we were there, so we decided it would be a good day to walk down to Rockefeller Plaza.  It was lightly snowing and was actually a little bit of a wonderland, just a tad too cold for me.  The rink is open and they were in the process of decorating the tree.  So pretty!

We also decided it would be a good time to check out the Top of the Rock.  Little did we know that while we were down in the bottom of Rockefeller Center it had started to majorly snow!  Our view from the top was less than spectacular, but I think my parents like checking it out regardless.  I was so proud of my mom who is deathly afraid of heights; she had no issue up there at all.

By that time we were pretty tired from getting up so early to go in for the parade.  We decided to head back home to Jersey City and go to one of our favorite restaurants, right across the street, the Skylark on the Hudson.  They were having a Thanksgiving Day buffet with all the fix in's.  I questioned how good it would be (only $22) because all of the ones I could find in Manhattan were anywhere from $50-200 a person!  Turns out it was so good!  I was more than impressed and we left very full and happy, plus it freed up one whole day that we would have had to stay home and cook during my parents very short trip.

After some much needed rest and letting the food settle, we made our way back into the city to check out the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes.  I was really excited because I had heard nothing but good things about it from everyone that I knew that had gone.  We made a brief stop back at Rockefeller Center to check it out at night.  So beautiful.

We also happened to catch the end of the Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas light show as well.  They project a light show onto the side of the building.  I had never seen it and I loved it!

I had also never been inside Radio City Music Hall.  Check out the chandelier right when you walk in.

Right from the start of the show, I was mesmerized!

If you are in NYC around Christmas this is totally a must see!  Like a I said, breathtaking and it covers every aspect of Christmas.

After that very long day, we were pretty tired.  We took Black Friday to relax and do some shopping at the mall by my place in Jersey City.  We got a few great deals and finished up some more Christmas shopping.

Saturday, Josh had to go back to work for the day, so the parents and I headed to Central Park.  It was SO cold, but we thought in stead of walking around the park and freezing, we would get a bike powered rickshaw to chauffeur us around.  The tour was great and our driver, originally from Russia was super informative and even taught me a few things.

I was so cold after the tour that I just could not stop shaking!  Our next plan for the day was to see about getting me a new iPhone, since mine had been dead for few days and Verizon and their awesome customer service would not help me out at all.  I managed to get a replacement until I can get my upgrade in 12 days (yes, Verizon would not move my upgrade date up 12 days, after being a customer for seven years).  Needless to say I was pretty happy, and it made getting around the city way easier.

                  

We stopped for lunch at TGI Fridays, then headed down to Grand Central Terminal to check out the holiday market and the train show there.  I ended up getting a super cute Maple Leaf ring, and scouted out a few other things too.

Next stop was the NY Public Library, another of my favorite places in the city.  The marble, the ceiling and the gorgeous Christmas tree they have up right now...  Can't get much more perfect than that.

Our first few days with my parents were a whirlwind as always, but so much fun!  Check back later for the second half of our adventure!