Girls' Day Out in New York City

When the month of December arrives, I'm always filled with anticipation. For the past several years, I've traveled up to New York City with friends for a day trip run by our local Parks and Rec department. Always the second Saturday of December. This year, my sister-in-law (SuSu) decided to go with me. I thought I'd share some pics from our trip today. There's nothing like The Big Apple during the holidays!

For just $65, we rode a nice tour bus up to the city with other folks signed up for the special with the P and R Dept. The catch is that it leaves at 4 am, but most of the trip-goers opt to sleep on the way, save for one very obnoxiously loud guy and a pit stop for Starbucks in Delaware. This year, the bus pulled up to 34th Street around 10:30 in the morning, leaving us the rest of the day to explore the city at our leisure.

Our first stop was Macy's, which was just across the street. Tip: find a nice restroom and charge your iPhone while you do your make-up.

While my phone charged, SuSu and I eyed my subway map and decided where to go first. A pair of very sweet New Yorkers saw us trying to decide which subway line to take down to Ground Zero, and offered a few suggestions. Most New Yorkers I've ever encountered have been very kind and quick to help with directions.

Love the old Macy's escalator!

First on our list was to see the Macy's windows, which were nice, but nothing that really blew our minds this year. This may be the first year we didn't walk up 5th Avenue to see all the windows, but we had plenty of other things to do....

SuSu and I opted to ride the subway around town, which is much more cost-effective than taxis, and easier on your feet than walking. We each loaded a subway card with $10 (could not find the ulimited "fun pass" to save our lives!) and it lasted us almost all day.

Our first stop? Ground Zero and St. Paul's Cathedral, which is right across the street. Lots of history! We like to eat in off-the-beaten path spots, so we picked a deli down a side street and munched on subs and fries.

I remembered this same group of street performers from two years ago:

We hopped back on the subway and made a stop on Canal Street to hunt for "treasures." I scored a super-fun J Crew knock-off bubble necklace with matching earrings for $20. I've been wanting one for months, but didn't want to pay shipping from China and also possibly end up with broken bits in a shipping envelope. SuSu picked up a large cowl scarf.

I bought the gold one, SuSu bought the skull top:

Next on the list was to see this year's tree in Rockefeller Center...large and lovely, as always!

Our trip to the Upper East Side for Serendipity's frozen hot chocolate was a bust. 5 hour wait. No, thank you. We hopped back on the subway and bought some of the best popcorn in the world from Garrett's while we waited for our bus to pick us up on 34th street.

All in all, it was a great trip. I'm lucky to have a sister-in-law that's fun to hang out with. I can't wait for next year!

Other NYC trip recaps:
2011
2010
2009
2008

Have you ever been to New York City?

Get your party hats on! My Weekend Bloggy Reading link party is scheduled as usual for tomorrow morning (8 am ET), so be sure to swing by with your best post of the week.

Here's the button code for the party if you want to get a head start! Recipes, crafts, home decor, party ideas, tips and tricks, you name it. Come prepared to showcase your blog and find some great weekend reads.

<a href=" http://www.serenitynowblog.com/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/Amanda_SerenityNow/Blog%20Party%20Buttons/WeekendBloggyReading.png" border="0" alt="Weekend Bloggy Reading"></a>