Monday, June 27, 2022

NYC - Part Three

Wednesday started off on the early-side with 9 am tickets to the Top of the Rock observation deck at Rockefeller Center.  We had "first breakfast" at the hotel (of course!) and then decided to check out Black Seed Bagels in Rockefeller Center...




... the kids thought it was awesome that there was so much shopping and stuff underground ;) It was delicious but we all agreed it wasn't quite as good as Liberty Bagels.  We still polished them off though!


After our bagels we popped over to see what was happening at the Today Show and got a glimpse of Hoda (my kids had no clue who she was and weren't impressed at all - boo!).


We made our way up to the first observation deck and G was feeling a TEENY bit nervous.  The Empire State building had bars which made her feel WAY better than the glass up here.


The view was awesome and different than the Empire State building because you could see so much of the park. 


SQUINTY!

It was also fun for them to see where they had been previously...




This was part of our City Pass and I don't regret doing two "observation decks" at all.  The other choice with Top of the Rock was the Guggenheim and while I would have preferred to check that out I knew my kids would have humored me but not really loved that.  Sigh.  Next time we go Griffin and I will hit up all the art museums while the boys do the Intrepid because looking at helicopters doesn't interest me at all ;)





LOOK HOW CUTE!




We headed back inside to make our way down and had to stop at these cool windows...




After Top of the Rock (it took us about an hour) the plan was to head to FAO Schwarz and then the Lego Store again (Luke wanted to pick up the Lego statue of liberty AT the NYC store) BUT I hadn't checked previously and those stores didn't open until 11!  We headed back to the hotel (just a few blocks) thinking we'd grab some water on our way to Central Park but then decided it made the most sense if G, Mason and I hung out in the executive lounge and Luke and Dave headed back to the Lego store really quick since we weren't sure if we'd make it back that way again.  We played cards and relaxed a bit while they ran to pick that up and then we all regrouped and hit up a 99cent pizza place on our way to the park.  If you're looking for this exact one it's 1723 Broadway and was cash only and they only had cheese.  NO PROBLEM.  We grabbed our boxes...


... and headed over to the Columbus Circle area to hang out and eat.  We knew we were going to walk to the American Museum of Natural History (we had 1:00 tickets) and wanted to see parts of the park we hadn't gotten to see the days before.


We ate, listened to some music and got to see the world's cutest field trip.


The pizza was OUTSTANDING!  We bought 10 pieces for our crew (Dave gave one of his away to a guy who asked for a slice) and my boys PROBABLY could have eaten another.  So if you have kids my kids ages use that as a guide ;)


We walked and strolled and checked out all the things along the way...


... if there are turtles, we'll find 'em!


We also saw some baby Canadian geese and smelled the best honeysuckle.  Wish we had a couple extra days just to explore Central Park for sure!

Next stop was the American Museum of Natural History (again, part of City Pass) and it was SO COOL!  It's really unlike any other museum and you could spend HOURS AND HOURS there.  When you really just sit and think about the scope of what you're seeing it's pretty unreal.

Meteorites....


... slices of redwood...


... the coolest blue whale...


... and what literally feels like every specimen of every thing ever ;) hahahaha






SO FUN!





One very upset little girl because of the big cats ;(


... and one big brother trying to talk her through it.  


We spent about 3 hours in the museum and then saw a show in the planetarium which was visually incredible but, honestly, a little over everyone's head and I was the only person in our crew who didn't doze off.  Which could also have been due to the busy days ;)


We grabbed some ice cream and hung out on the steps waiting for our Uber.


So... we had 5:15 dinner reservations as Five Napkins Burgers but that would have meant cutting our time at the museum down a bit so we could head back, change and get there on time.  The kids had REALLY wanted to see FAO Schwarz earlier in the day and it was closed so Dave and I made the game-time decision to have the Uber take us to FAO Schwarz instead and we figured we'd roll the dice with finding dinner somewhere.

WORTH IT!


We checked everything out (twice!)


did the piano (if you're there in the summer/spring you have to have socks!)


... and I'm SO GLAD we switched plans around.  You can eat burgers anytime, right???


On our way back to the hotel we were totally distracted by this crowd gathering outside of Rockefeller Center and so, logically, we joined in.  There was a Rolls Royce and a huge van and paparazzi and it was all very intriguing.  We waited for a bit, listened to some of the photographers chit chat, watched random non-famous people walk out and feel REAL awkward about the crowd and eventually cut and run ;). Turns out it was Haley Bieber who we missed (not disappointed - hahahaha).


By the time we got back to hotel and got changed we were cutting it REAL close on time (we had Aladdin tickets at 7:00 and it was about a 15 min walk from the hotel) so we decided to chance it with hors d'oeuvres in the executive lounge and WE WERE SAVED!!!  There were wings, macaroni and cheese balls, dumplings, bread, cheese, veggies, etc.  PRAISE HANDS!!! We heavily snacked and then bee-lined it to the theater... 




SUCH GOOD SEATS!!!



Masks are required on Broadway through the month of June but you were allowed to take them off if you were eating or drinking and lots of people were taking them down for photos.  We found it to be way more "relaxed" than anticipated.



THE SHOW WAS UNREAL!!! Like - there are no words.  The cast.  The costumes.  The GENIE!  As soon as it was over we wished we could go again.  My kids were entranced the entire time and it was WAY better than I thought it was going to be.  If you're going to NYC it's an absolute must-see!


Harry Potter was right across the street and if we hadn't had Griffin we probably would have checked out this show as well.  I heard great things but I also read that it was LONG and I'm not sure she would have made it ;)


We made our way back to the hotel...


... with an essential pitstop along the way ;) A round of hot dogs for everyone!


Seriously one of my favorite pictures ever... love everything about it.

Just when I thought the night couldn't get better we got back to the room, were all showering and climbing into bed (and trying out our roller wheels from FAO Schwarz) when we saw FIREWORKS!  LIKE, WHAT?!?!?! Earlier that day we had tried to walk over to the Bow Bridge in Central Park and were told it was closed to set up for an event that night well apparently that event was the NY Philharmonic Orchestra concert and fireworks in the park that we could SEE FROM OUR ROOM!


The windows in our room cracked open a bit and it was so cool to hear all the traffic and then the firework booms in the city.  Super magical.


And that was day three!  Another super fun, super full day. 

HAPPY Monday, friends!!!







 

11 comments :

  1. Your New York posts are taking me back! We took our kids when they were just a bit older than your three (we also have two boys and a girl) and it was our very favorite trip as a family! It is an exhausting trip for sure but just so much fun! And there really is nothing like a Broadway show!

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    1. You for sure don't go to rest ;) and I totally agree about Broadway!

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  2. Day 3 was a winner! And I have to say, I'm really enjoying the G in New York vibe. It's clear that everybody is enjoying their trip, BUT G IS THRIVING.

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  3. Took my kids to Aladdin in 2017. Was such a good show! Would love to see it again.

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  4. Sorry if you talked about this already, but were you able to buy the Broadway tickets with the City Pass?

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  5. Andrea, I have enjoyed reading your posts about NYC so much, thank you for sharing! My hubby has mobility issues so he isn't into going but I'd love to take my now 17 & 16 year old kids some day! You've covered so much! Before you even said it, I thought the same thing about the hot dog vendor picture, it just screams NYC!! :)

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  6. I have such fond memories of FAO and Broadway plays with my grandmother; we'd go into the city for the day shop all morning and then hit up a show before heading back home. We always had the best time at FAO checking out everything.

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