New Years In New York

I spent my first New Year's in the big city. It was a fun experience, unlike any New Years I'll probably have again. My friends from Dallas, Michelle, Elizabeth, and Tamara, came to spend the whole week with me and we had a great time! See pictures with narrative here!! Here are some of the details of what we did all week:

-- New Years Eve was spent in Times Square watching the ball drop. We left my apartment at 3pm and by 4pm, we were in our "pin" for the evening. The police begin to barricade the blocks into sections as they get full and you are stuck in your barricaded block for the duration of the evening...no bathrooms!! So, we stood and waited for 8 hours. This was actually a great year to do it because the weather has been so mild...not super cold and no precipitation (first December since the 1800's that there's been no snow)! We were well bundled up, of course, but it wasn't horribly cold. We were able to sit on the ground and play cards for the first hour, but we were in a prime spot inside our bin, so after that, everyone else began crowding over and we had to stand to keep our spots and not get trampled! The first couple of hours there wasn't much going on and time went by pretty slowly. At 7:00, they started having celebrations every hour for New Year's in other countries, so we'd have a count-down, fireworks, and confetti. We brought snacks with us and I spaced mine out every 2 hours to have something to look forward to! People came by with free stuff...scarfs, hats, pom-poms, etc... which also helped keep us preoccupied. Also, there were all the crazy people around us which made for great people-watching. At midnight, I got so into taking pictures, I forgot to really watch the ball drop....it is MUCH smaller than it looks on TV...very tiny, really. The best part of where we stood is that we were by all the news crews. Michelle and I were on the Times Square JumboTron a TON! Also, Anderson Cooper (from CNN and host of The Mole) passed by us multiple times (Michelle loves him)!! He stopped and took pictures with us and talked to us...he was SOOOO nice and friendly and very handsome! The night was fun and it was a low-key, no-pressure New Year's Eve. If I'm still here next year, I'd like to do something a little more "trendy" rather than touristy. But, I am definitely glad I had the Times Square experience this year.

--We went back to Joe's Shanghai for dinner in Chinatown...was fun to be there with Tamara who's actually been to China and could compare the food to the real-deal and introduce us to some new things.

--While in Chinatown, we got to go in a "back room". I've been wanting to do this and was glad I was with some girls adventurous enough to try it. A vendor asked if I was interested in designer purses. I said I was and they took us to their store, moved aside some bags, slid open a panel in the wall and we followed a man up some stores to a room full of fake goods! It was a fun experience, even though none of us bought anything.

--Went ice-skating in Central Park!! So great to have this experience. I hadn't skated in several years and my hips aren't what they used to be, but it was a lot of fun and very pretty. Definitely a great NYC memory to have!

--Elizabeth & Tamara introduced us to a Jewish restaurant they'd been to last time they were here. It's called Barney Greengrass and is located up on the Upper West Side. Tried Matza Ball soup for the first time and it was delicious!

--Went to the NYC library..a lot of movie scenes have been taped here so it was neat to see. It is also a very beautiful building.

--Shopped around the Holiday Bazaar that was still up in Bryant Park. Michelle and I bought really cute knitted hats!

--Went to the Charmin Bathrooms in Times Square. Charmin set up bathrooms there just for the Holiday Season when the area becomes extremely congested with tourists. They were very nice bathrooms in a very lively environment!

--Had breakfast at Norma's in the Le Parker Meridian Hotel. Norma's is widely known as the best breakfast in NYC. It really was excellent!!

--Went in the Pierre Hotel on 5th Avenue to get some directions from the concierge and once inside realize it was a VERY nice, VERY beautiful hotel. Later, we discovered it is actually a Four Seasons Hotel.

--Went in Saks to see their holiday decorations...beautiful. We also shopped in the Holiday area and found some really great stuff at 70% off!!

--Went to a transvestite restaurant for dinner (hope this doesn't offend any readers)!!! I had heard it was fun and so had Elizabeth and Tamara. It was entertaining. They do a little show while you eat...it was slightly racy, but not horrible.

--Went to Marie's Crisis (where I went on my 30th b-day) and we heard some excellent show-tune singing around the piano.

--Went on a harbor cruise around Manhattan. A really neat and new way for me to see my city. It was a pretty day and we enjoyed the tour guide.

--Went on a tour of Ground Zero. This is something new down there and the tours are done by people who were directly impacted by 9/11. We saw things the ordinary person wouldn't know about. It was very neat to see, very sad and touching. There is also a new museum down there that we went through and it is done very well...again, very sad, but good to see.

--I went in St. Paul's Cathedral and Trinity Church for the first time. St. Paul's is the oldest building in Manhattan and Trinity has the oldest congregation. Both very pretty churches. St. Paul's was used as a rescue site for 9/11 and now serves as a memorial.

--Saw the acclaimed Broadway musical, "Jersey Boys". I've been wanting to see this because I've heard such great things and it has won many awards. It was very good-- music was great!

--Saw the new Broadway musical, "Grey Gardens". This is the story about Jackie O's cousin and aunt who went senile. It was a very interesting story and I really liked this musical! Christine Ebersole played the lead role and was very good...rumor has it that she'll win the Tony this year.

--Went to Brooklyn to do the typical walk through Brooklyn Heights and lunch at Grimaldi's. This time, however, I got to go to the Jacques Torres chocolate factory for the first time. Delicious chocolates and GREAT hot chocolate...seriously, chocolate that is hot...not hot cocoa with water.

--Had dinner at Sardi's...a famous restaurant in Times Square known for their caricatures of actors/actresses. It was a very nice dinner.

All in all, it was great week and a very fun way to spend New Year's Eve. I have a great group of friends in Dallas that I spent the last 6 New Year's with. Unfortunately, most of that gang couldn't make it up to the city. However, Tamara and I figured out that this was our 7th New Years Eve together...hope the tradition keeps on!!