Day 121 – New Year’s Eve
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2010
1
117
120
Trip End
Jan 04, 2011
Where I stayed
New York City, New York
Friday, December 31, 2010
We walked to the Grand Army Plaza (corner of 60th and 5th) and picked out a horse and carriage…a little NYE surprise for Max and Sienna. They were so excited to be going on a horse and carriage ride through Central Park, surrounded by snow, and on NYE too!!!! We were pumped too! The ride was just perfect, relaxing and a nice way to start our NYE in NYC.
After personally thanking our horse, we crossed the road to The Plaza Hotel, stopping for a look around the lobby….nice! We strolled back to our hotel for lunch and a nap in preparation for tonight.
We all got ready for our New Year’s Eve dinner at the Sea Grill restaurant located at the Rockefeller Centre (beside and level with the ice skating rink). There was a great vibe whilst walking to the Rockefeller Centre. Lots of happy people all gearing up for a big night. There were certainly a lot of tourists who had obviously arrived in NY just for NYE. The sidewalks were crowded and this was only at 6pm! They had already barricaded Time Square off from 3pm. Everyone we spoke to advised not to go near Time Square with the kids as the crowds get so large the pushing and shoving is quite bad. We agreed.
Our table at The Sea Grill was perfect! Right below the Rockefeller Christmas tree looking across the ice skating rink. The kids happily watched the ice skaters all through dinner…fantastic. Dinner consisted of a Prix Fix 3 course menu. Max chose shrimp cocktail as an appetiser and Sienna had the Seafood Chowder…..Brett enjoyed both immensely!!!! We both had the crab salad. For entrée (that’s a main over here) Max had the fish, Sienna had pasta, Brett had the roast pork and Lee-Ann enjoyed the lobster…….fantastic meals. This time Brett just stuck to his meal instead of polishing off the kids’ meals too! But dessert was the best…..Chocolate pudding all round….mmmmm! We all thoroughly enjoyed staring up at that amazing Christmas tree all lit up, something we will never forget. Sienna seduced a waiter that thought she was just too cute. He said to us "thank you for having such gorgeous children". Odd thing to say….so we just said “no problem at all, anytime”!
We left the Rockefeller Centre and checked out the windows in Saks on 5th Avenue. A bit like the Myer windows in Melbourne…with a twist of 'Sex and the City’ glamour. A beautiful light show appears on the external wall of Saks each night over the Christmas holidays…really nice.
We headed back to our room so the kids could have a rest before venturing out again to bring in the New Year. We logged onto the internet to pass away some time and were lucky enough to Skype with a great friend back home, Geri and her daughter Kara. We were all so pumped to see her and Kara. The kids were just so excited. It reinforced just how much we have missed everyone back home. I think we can finally say that we are ready to come home……but not before celebrating the start of 2011.
We decided to go to Central Park to see the fireworks to bring in the New Year. We all love Central Park, especially covered in snow. Not sure how safe the subway is at night we walked the 10 blocks up to 60th. We asked some NYC police officers standing at the corner of Central Park what their thoughts were on taking kids into Central Park for the fireworks. They seemed to think it was absolutely fine. The place was lit up anyway due to the running of the “Emerald Nuts Midnight Run” marathon. The what???? Yes, only in NYC do they have a fun run starting at midnight on NYE where contestants dress up in costumes.
It was rather strange being in Central Park at night, normally a ‘no go’ zone. It was very safe with hundreds of people including kids walking around. We found a spot next to the Central Park Bandshell where they were playing music and commentating on the countdown. We had a great time and felt like we brought the New Year in with a bang as well as saying a fitting farewell to an AWESOME holiday. Sienna was not too keen on the fireworks…too loud, but Max loved it.
We headed back to the hotel to avoid the Time Square stampede that generally crosses the city after midnight. We skyped Ann and Tony who had arrived home that morning….so strange to think they were here yesterday afternoon.
A fantastic night, one we won’t forget.
