First stop; Shake Shack. Razo had not eaten anything on the plane, and I knew that Shake Shack was going to become Razo's favorite food joint during her stay.
And how right I was..."Best burger and fries I have EVER had!"
We headed straight to the Rockefeller Center to see the infamous lighting of the Christmas Tree & go Ice Skating. I had never Ice Skated before and was looking so forward to it. I was a pro on the ice straight away, and Razo & I spent the most amazing first night together in NYC imaginable. I felt myself turn into a tourist for the night...and I somehow loved every minute of it!
By the way..I HATE tourists!
Day - 2, we had a little sleep in and got all rugged up for a day of shopping. We hit the shops on Fifth Ave to buy Razo a few winter essentials, and then on to Soho to continue our spending. We had a crazy day of walking and shopping, and I am still in shock at what an amazing traveller Razo is. 12 years old, and not one complaint!
We finished the night in Times Square - my least favorite part of Manhattan! But with Razo by my side, I didn't care one bit. We hit the M & M's store, the Hershey's store, Toys 'R Us, all the usual shenanigans that Times Square has to offer. And we topped it all off with a street meat, New York hot dog for dinner. YUM!
Day - 3, we became tourists. We caught the train from my Upper West Side apartment to the financial district way Downtown to see Ground Zero. I hadn't been here since my last trip 3.5 yrs ago, and I enjoyed it so much more the second time around.
We then headed for Wall Street, where Razo took SO many hilarious happy snaps.
I wanted to show Razo a good mix of tourist versus 'real' New Yorker experiences, and for that reason, I refused to catch the ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty. Instead, we continued walking to Battery Park; the best view of Ellis Island from Manhattan. She got her photo taken with the faux Statue of Liberty, and spent some time chasing squirrels.
After all that walking, we hopped on a train to Grand Central Station. We continued on to The Empire State, as I had allowed Razo to do ONE tourist thing! An hour and a half later, and line after line, we found ourselves at the top. It truly was a magnificent view!
Day - 4, was a lazy day! We were exhausted...let me rephrase that; I was exhausted!
We had a yummy brunch at Fairway Cafe, where Razo ordered the works; stack of pancakes, bacon, eggs, has browns, milkshake. The works! Next was a visit to the Natural History Museum, which was amazing! So much fun, and once again, Razo enjoyed racing around the museum posing in photo after photo.
We ended the night back on Broadway, watching Marry Poppins. Such a fantastic end to the night. We had hoped to get in to an amazing cafe called 'Serendipity' for old fashioned deserts after, however I had not anticipated how popular the cafe really was. We arrived at 11pm on Sunday night, and the wait was going to be over an hour. So we settled for 'Insomnia Cookies' on the way home instead.
Day - 5, the day I had been dreading. Razo was flying home today. We had been anticipating snow all week, and until yesterday, the weather man had promised snow for her final day in NY. Razo was super excited, as she has never seen snow before.
Unfortunately, there was NO snow! We spent the day getting lost in Central Park, and finished an amazing five days exploring Manhattan with Ice Skating in the park. This time we were not such pro's, and when Razo asked to hold my hand around the rink, she slid forward penguin style while I remained holding her hand and dragging her body at least 10 meters along the ice before I crashed and fell alongside her. We were laughing so hard that Razo couldn't stay on her two feet for the next 5 times around the rink.
It was an absolute bittersweet end to our trip. But it was amazing. Razo has decided she is moving to NY as soon as she finishes school!
YAY!!!
