Now that's a bagel!

A carbo-hound such as myself can't visit NYC and not have a bagel. We were fortunate to stumble across LeBagel Delight in Brooklyn when strolling the streets adjacent to our hotel.

And yes, it did live up to the hype surrounding New York bagels. I was impressed by the size alone. Note the tic tac case for a sense of scale...

From Times Square to South Street Seaport

Our day began early when we met my Australian cousins for breakfast at their hotel in Times Square. My cousins are touring the U.S. for 7 weeks during their summer break and just happened to be in New York the same weekend we were! We had a fun visit and look forward to hosting them in Portland in mid-January.

Our next stop was Behind the Emerald Curtain at the Gershwin Theatre. If you are anywhere near NYC and remotely interested in the theatre, I cannot recommend this backstage tour of "Wicked" highly enough. It's hosted in an entertaining fashion by two actors from the production. Their passion for their work was inspiring.

At the conclusion of the Emerald Curtain tour, we hopped aboard a Gray Line bus tour of downtown New York. We had an entertaining guide and enjoyed seeing some of the smaller neighborhoods of New York on our 2.5 hour ride.

And what visit to Times Square would be complete without lunch at the BK Whopper Bar? Our verdict? It tasted... well... like a Whopper.

Our final stop of the day was South Street Seaport. We learned on the bus tour that we could get half price broadway tickets on Saturday for Sunday matinees at the TKTS booth at SSS so that was our first stop. We enjoyed views of downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn across the river while listening to a Christmas choral concert near the tree in the first picture.

Holiday Train Show

Today we made our way to the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden. The NYBG is in the Bronx so it took us about an hour on the subway to traverse the length of Manhattan Island. We purchased a 7-day unlimited ride MetroCard for the subway/buses and it served us quite well for the duration of our stay.

The Holiday Train Show is a G-scale train layout with a collection of 140 buildings constructed solely of natural materials. I believe the building on the left is Grand Central Station. I know the building in the middle is historic Yankee stadium! The show is inside a conservatory which felt toasty warm compared to the colder than average temperatures gripping the city. We hadn't thought about all of the school groups touring the show but the children's excitement enhanced our experience.

On our way back through Manhattan we stopped on Fifth Avenue to do some window shopping at Tiffany's, Bergdorf Goodman, and FAO Schwartz. The crowds were too intense for me to do any actual shopping but the holiday decorations were beautiful. One favorite was a sparkling, lighted belt wrapped around the Fendi boutique.

We returned to Rockefeller Center for another look at the famous tree and a trip up to the observation deck. From Top of The Rock, we could see all of Manhattan including the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Statue of Liberty, and Central Park. We arrived at dusk so we watched the sun set over the skyline before seeing the Christmas lights turn on.

A trip starts in Brooklyn

I've wanted to visit New York City at Christmas for a long time. When Mr. Snootypurse found himself a few miles short of elite status on his airline of choice, we decided that this would be the year. I was shocked by the hotel prices in Manhattan. The Hampton Inn was $450/night! Fortunately a local friend recommended staying in Brooklyn Heights. Thus we found ourselves soaking up views of downtown Manhattan from the Brooklyn Promenade the morning after our arrival.
Mr. Snootypurse ventured across the East River to Wall Street hoping to see the interior of the NYSE. Unfortunately it's not open to the public but he was able to see the exterior with it's holiday Christmas tree. The stock exchange is the light colored building to the left of the tree.
We stopped by Rockefeller Center briefly before attending the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes. Following the show we met a friend at Grand Central Station for dinner. It was a double-win for us as we enjoyed the visit and found a good place to eat in the city. The downstairs food court has outlets for many well-known New York restaurants without the lines!