Surprise!

We took the kids to New York City yesterday! None of us had ever been, unless you count layovers at JFK (which I sort of did... until yesterday! haha!). We skirted around Manhattan this summer when we drove down to Washington, D.C., and that was when we realized that it really wasn't that far! I have always wanted to see the city at Christmas time, and yesterday was the only weekend day this month where we could possibly do it. We held off on making a final decision until the last minute (Saturday night), wanting to make sure the forecast would be okay. Once we knew we'd be fine, we were all over it!

After we got the kids fed and dressed, we hopped in the car and headed to destinations unknown (to them!). Really, we were headed to the train station in Stamford, Connecticut, just 33 miles from Grand Central Station. As luck would have it, we purchased our train tickets just in time to hear the final announcement for an express train, leaving in just a minute. Perfect! We ran down the stairs, hopped on board, and were on our way! The kids still had no real idea where we were going. Niko had suggested New York City, but he figured that would be "too far." hehe!!

Arriving in Grand Central Station was, well, grand! Such a huge, beautiful station! We walked out onto 42nd Street (which instantly got the song stuck in my head), and headed over towards 5th Avenue. It was lunchtime, and the kids were "starving," so we stopped at a McDonald's along the way. And then, it was time to walk up 5th Avenue and see the decorations! We admired the sights and sounds of the city, and even walked around inside St. Patrick's Cathedral. Oh, and we found the Statue of Liberty at a gift shop! (we'll have to go see the real one some time, haha!)

We soon found ourselves outside of FAO Schwarz. Now, I remember going into the one in San Francisco when I was a kid, and just how awesome it was! It has since closed down, but this one (the flagship store) is still open! It didn't feel as big as the one in San Francisco did, but I am also a lot taller now! Anyway, we walked right on in! Which was sort of a miracle, since everyone told me I could expect to wait in line for at least half an hour to get in. But nope! No line! The kids walked right up to the "guards" and posed!

And then we went inside, where it was blissfully warm (outside was hovering just below freezing all day). Gus thought it was too hot, but I enjoyed feeling my legs again! We walked around and let the kids look at whatever they wanted. Maya looked at all the Barbies, and Niko was especially interested in the Legos. As we walked toward the Lego section, I saw the sign for "The Big Piano." Curiosity piqued, I walked over. It was FREE, and there was NO LINE!!!!

I just showed the kids this video from the movie "Big", and they couldn't believe it was the same piano. Crazy!

Once we finally left the store, we walked across the street to check out Central Park. I would LOVE to see it in the summertime-- I enjoyed it in the dreary, freezing cold, and can only imagine how pretty it would be with everything lush and green! We walked by the zoo and watched a keeper doing an animal enrichment activity with the California sea lions. Just then, the Delacorte Clock struck the half hour, and the thing came to life! The kids loved watching the animals spin around as it played Christmas carols. An unexpected treat!

After that, we just explored the southeast portion of the park to our hearts' content. It was amazing to be in this big, beautiful park while surrounded by massive skyscrapers. So, so cool!

After getting the kids a pretzel to share, we headed out of the park and back into the canyons of buildings. This time, we walked over to Bloomingdales, where the window displays weren't that great. Such a wasted effort! But good exercise. After that, we headed back over to 5th Avenue, and had planned to walk down the other side. And we did, for a bit! We admired the decorations, and even got to watch a fur protest (joy...).

Then we went into Rockefeller Center and got ourselves good and lost!

It was warm, though. And we found the skating rink! And we eventually found our way out the other side, winding up on Avenue of the Americas. From there, we decided to head over to Times Square. It had been snowing lightly off and on for an hour or so at this point, and we wanted to see it before it got too heavy. And both kids wanted to check out Toys R Us! Really, though, it was my favorite part of the visit. I loved the bright lights of Times Square at dusk, and it started snowing much more heavily when we got there. The kids loved the toy store, and seeing all the costumed characters outside (even Niko liked them, which is a first!).

After that, it was dinner time! We went to a pizza/Italian place inside an old church in the theater district. Despite having to wait for a while to get a table, the kids did great! Service was fast and the pizza was good. Everyone was happy to just sit and warm up for a bit. And then it was time to head back to the train station. The snow was really coming down at this point, turning the roads into wet, slushy messes.

It was hard to see, since it was flying right into our faces! But we made our way back to Grand Central, and I suddenly looked up to see this:

That's the Chrysler Building (and the front of Grand Central Station). We had totally missed it earlier in the day-- but there it was! Our last view of Manhattan before ducking back into the warm, dry train station! Pretty cool! And, once again, we showed up just in time to catch an express train back to Connecticut. And from there, it was an uneventful drive back home, with both kids sound asleep in their seats. All in all, a perfect day!