It’s Christmas Time in the City

I am pleased to report that I have officially crossed everything off of my December agenda…and the month isn’t even over yet. However, shopping for Christmas presents has yet to begin (hey, you win some, you lose some).

This weekend was a busy one, for sure (so much for the R&R that I mentioned in Friday’s post). But when the weather took a little break from the frigid temps and sporadic snow showers, I seized the opportunity to head into New York City and see all of the sights that were on my list.

While I usually am opposed to early mornings, especially on a Sunday, I made an exception to avoid the crowds. New York City is a whole different landscape in the early morning—the streets are relatively quiet, there are no lines to see the store windows, and it just felt way more civilized than the normal hustle and bustle that ensues after 10 am.

The first stop of the day was passing the New York Public Library and saying hello to Patience and Fortitude (the two huge lions that guard the entrance to the library at 476 Fifth Avenue). You can read more about the lions in this post. As is always the case this time of year, they were decorated with a wreath for the holidays.

Continuing down Fifth Avenue, it was time to look at some of the store windows. I am always impressed by the decorations at Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue, and this year was no exception (head over to my Instagram Stories to catch a glimpse).

After that, it was off to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, where surprisingly there were also no lines. I can recall visiting in the past and being pushed and shoved as I tried to make my way to see the tree up close, so this was certainly a more enjoyable experience.

One of my favorite things to see in the City this time of year is all of the Christmas markets that pop up. I stopped at both the Union Square Holiday Market and Winter Village at Bryant Park, where I purchased a rose gold arrow wrap ring from Lucid New York (okay, so technically I did buy one Christmas gift…but it was for myself).

After walking many miles and seeing all of the sights, it was time for lunch at 5 Napkin Burger at 150 E 14^th Street.  I am a huge burger aficionado, so how could I pass up a burger place with a name like that and one that came highly recommended by a friend? And, happily, the 5 Napkin Burger did not disappoint (although it did not exactly require 5 napkins to enjoy).

The best part about going into the City early is that you can leave just as the crowds are arriving.  And that was exactly what I did.