On 34th Street is where we start this tale… all about a girl and a boy and a big shiny city called New York.
Now, they’d come here before – last time during a hurricane – and that hadn’t felt quite enough.
So they returned to do a re-do. But not for oh so terrifying Halloween this time… they came for Christmas instead, surely the weather would be less scary she said!
And oh New York, you did not disappoint. Yes, it was colder, the days were shorter, and our cheeks were pink from the biting wind… but it was all rather wonderful all the same. Especially as we were treated to a glorious coral-pink-orange sunset every evening.
And then there was this guy… now as much as I love Halloween, well, Christmas is Christmas. So there was Santa spotting to be done.
Turn a corner and all of a sudden, and you’ll find the red suited dude on motorbikes (NYC Santas have upgraded from reindeer). With Santa Claus is Coming to Town blasting out from somewhere. Obviously.
But we couldn’t come all the way without meeting the real deal. Now watching Miracle on 34th Street had led me to believe that the actual big guy is to be found at Macy’s department store. So grinning – like the dweebs we are – we joined the queue to meet Santa…
What we’d expected was a big queue of kids that we could sneak past and get a quick snap – from afar. Instead, we turned a corner and an elf told us to ‘go this way’… and suddenly we were in a room – alone, well, us and elves – with Santa.
Still holding hands, we pressed ourselves against the back wall, possibly terrified, and had to be beckoned towards him.
Which resulted in this awkward photo with the ‘real’ Santa… who clearly might not be the real Santa as…
… as when the legends Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart met Santa at Macy’s too, that’s definitely another Santa. Shock. Horror! (Also they seem a whole lot more onboard with getting their picture taken than us it has to be said. Cooler than us!)
That said, give me the Yeti from the Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas window… and I am this happy. (Yeah, I know I am soooo logical!)
Essentially the window at Saks told the story of a Yeti who makes snow… who travels to New York. So far, so Elf.
It was such a popular window that you had to queue to see it. Yes, queue to see a window! (We may have cheated and just taken these pictures over people’s heads!)
As well as Santa (and Yeti) stalking, there was Christmas tree hunting to be done… so we went to see the Rockefeller Tree. Along with almost everyone else in New York. Nothing more festive that being crushed in a crowd of hundreds while looking at a big tree. Humans are weird when you think about it!
And it is BIG… but then when you look at it next to the Rockefeller Center, it’s pretty teeny really.
Instead my favourite Christmas tree of all was the one at the American Museum of National History with its origami decorations!
Complete with origami dinosaurs… really, really, really wished they had ones to take away!
I can’t have been the only one hoping for an extra huge tree though as these HUGE baubles prove.
Imagine the size of the tree that would go with these lights! (I was a little happy to find these!)
And when we weren’t tracking down all the Christmassy things… we were hanging out in Greenpoint and Brooklyn eating ALL the things.
Like vegan hot dogs from the indoor version of the Williamsburg Smorgasburg… London can we have have some vegan hot dog places, please?
Insanely sized and tasting pancakes that came with honeycomb butter (yes, honeycomb butter!) from Five Leaves…
Crazy good ramen burgers for him… so good he went back twice. Really wished they had a veggie version!
And Cheese Pops for me… yes, a cheese plate on a stick. Still confused? See below.
Choux pastry with amazing cheeses and mouth-watering toppings. Each one was better than the last.
I had to run back to the guy who sold me this and tell him just how fricking amazing it was.
Then I didn’t want to eat anything else in case it spoiled the memory of those cheese pops!
And when we weren’t eating ALL the things… there was street art to spot and walls to rock.
You know you’re in an area that’s cool with street art when you can do it when the police are so close by.
Ok. Not entirely sure why ok = rarr in my book but apparently it does. Ok?
A future record cover for a single that has not yet been recorded?
Not a future record cover perhaps… but I get points for being exuberant. I may have just had a strong coffee. (Perhaps we can blame my new crazy ‘getting my photo taken’ style on my recent take-up of coffee?)
And of course no trip to New York is complete without the following:
… a trip to the wonderful High Line. I’ve been now on sunny days and on crazy cold days, and it’s beautiful whichever way.
… some theatre… and my second mention of the legends Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen. We were lucky enough to see them in one of my favourite plays. As they’d you expect they were legen… wait for it… dary.
… doing something totally random… and for us, this was going to a spelling bee. Yes, an actual spelling bee.
I have never felt so stupid in all my life. I knew two words out of everything from the whole night. (And one of them was a Scottish word ‘Strathspey’ so that was cheating!) However, it was very funny though – so many characters!
… and doing something else really random… like driving a NYC bus…
… and did I mention the random… isn’t this the best Christmas decoration ever? Love you NYC!
So ah New York… you were big, you were shiny, you were busy, you were crazy…
You were colourful, you were exhausting, you were sparkly, you were full of calories…
And oh gosh you were rather damn lovely. So until next time…
Have a merry Christmas everyone… and if you see Santa, say hi from me. I know him. (Even if I am slightly scared of him!)
Merry Christmas Zoe!! x Love this post so much!!
Thanks Rachel! Hope you had a most excellent Christmas too x
So jealous of all of this and I think you really did make up for the hurricane holiday!!! Merry Xmas Zoe – Hope you’re having a wonderful one xx
Merry Christmas to you too Wendy! Yes, it definitely made up for it – no bad weather, neither of us got sick and NYC wasn’t closed so a definite improvement! 😉
Wonderful, cheery post for Christmas morning. Thank you and have a
lovely festive frolic. X
Aww you’re welcome ediemoonbeam! (I did mean to post it early December but never got round to it – so glad it was a nice one to read on Christmas morning!) Hope you’re having a good festive frolic too xx
SANTA I KNOW HIM! I love that you went to meet Santa, that’s now on my New York wish list now too! Also: big vs small trees, dinosaur, spelling bee, all that *food*! You look so happy! Merry Xmas to you and yours. Hope Santa is good to you xx
Hope you had a lovely Christmas too Jo! Ha ha, well, meeting Santa is more of a cautionary tale but if you’re prepared for it, then it’s good! And definitely happy – lots of NYC and food does that to me 😉
Another good blog in a random kind of way 🙂
Ha ha, thanks Frank, it is my speciality – randomness 😉
Merry Christmas to you both!
And as for origami dinosaurs: get your hands on a copy of Dinogami – all the folded paper prehistoric beasts you could ever wish for.
Sarah Rooftops recently posted..Sunday Morning
Merry Christmas to you too Sarah – hope you had a lovely one? And yes we really should do that! We attempted to make some from web instructions but they were quite wonky! 😉
Merry Xmas to you and your boy! I think I screamed as a kid when I met Santa so I imagine I’m still scared of him too 😉 Love this post and bookmark for future holidays. Also lovin’ your scarf – so pretty!!
Merry Christmas Jane! Hope you had an ace one? Ha ha, yeah, I’ve heard a lot of kids do that – can totally imagine why! And thanks on the scarf – it’s my favourite right now! (By Hilary Grant)
Those cheese pops, I think I need those in my life! Not like I’ve not already eaten my body weight in cheese in the last two days of course 😉
Looks like you both had such a great time. Happy that you got to have a redo and no hurricans foiled your plans! Merry Christmas to you and hope Santa was good to you! X
You sooo do Sam! They were amazing, just thinking about them now makes me want to try them again! Yes, no hurricanes this time! Merry Christmas to you too lovely xx
You do have the best time! I love it all and am v jealous of you seeing Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan! If it’s not rude where’s your scarf from? So want it for me!
We certainly try Hettie! Aww, they were so good… it’s such a great play and their chemistry is amazing too which made it even better. Not at all rude, it’s by Hilary Grant – http://hilarygrant.co.uk/
Lovely post. Those giant baubles and lights are cool. Oh and pancakes with honeycomb butter! I die.
Been looking at booking a trip (BA flight sale!), would you have any recommendations of where to stay (hotels)?
Thanks Angela! (Yes, the pancakes were amazing. Don’t think I could handle them now post-Christmas!!) We stayed at the Box House Hotel in Greenpoint (http://www.theboxhousehotel.com/) which I would highly recommend if you want to do Brooklyn as well as Manhattan. You can get the boat from Williamsburg to mainland which means you get the amazing views… and there’s nearby tube stations too. If you do stay there or in that area, I have lots of cafe/bar recommendations too I can give you 🙂
Such a fab post, and it looks like you had such an amazing time! I’ve just booked to go to NYC in March, cannot waaait! The first and last time I went was almost exactly 10 years ago… I’m definitely going to have to check out some of your recommendations!
So glad to see that your latest NY trip was more successful than the last. Loved everything you both did there – most jealous! NY is still on my ‘to go’ wish list. Hope you’re enjoying the festivities! x
oh zoe. you make me want to go again. and we are definitely not allowed to go this year. we’re meant to be having a year off! but maybe…
francesca recently posted..Top Drawer prep
Love the Elf reference 🙂
Wow the highline looks so different from when I went on a hot sunny day in early September! I love it there. Looks like a wonderful trip. x
Polly Rowan recently posted..A Year in Blogging
The food! Oh, the food.
Jess recently posted..Super Easy Salted Caramel and Almond Fudge
Wow. Your blog is just the most beautiful thing (I just spent about an hour looking at your ‘home’ posts, very inspiring!) and I would just love to join Blook Club,