Christmas In New York

No matter how many times I travel to New York City, I still feel like a kid. There is nothing like NYC in my eyes. The hustle, bustle, lights, people and smells. If you have never traveled to NYC at Christmas time you have to do it at least once. This lens is a small, and I mean small journey to NYC at Christmas time. I could never include everything to do but these are some of my favorites. Hope you enjoy your virtual tour of NYC at Christmastime!

You already know that this is a must do when in NYC. You cannot go to NYC at Christmas time and not go see the awesome, gigantic Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. While you are there you may even see a proposal or two, that happens alot there it seems on the ice skating rink. I've seen a couple myself! How romantic!

This year the tree lighting is on November 30th. Be sure to check it out on tv or in person.

If you are a kid or a big kid at heart, you have to visit the Toys R Us in Times Square. Can you believe that there is a 60 foot ferris wheel inside? Yes, I said inside!!! It is amazing. It is a sensory overload, your eyes don't know whether or not to look up, down, left or right. Inside you will also see a life size T-rex dinosaur and lots of awesome lego displays. A lego display of the Empire State Building and tons of others are sure to amaze you! Oh, and don't forget to go to the candy section.....YUMMY!!

As your nose gets red and your bones are chilled from walking the street be sure to warm up at John's Pizzeria in Times Square. There is usually a wait, so be prepared for that, and you may even have to wait out in the cold for some time before you get in....but once you are in it is sure to delight your senses and warm you up. I'm not sure I can say it was the best pizza I had, but it was great!! The atmosphere is great, fun and casual. We went before New Years and it was stil decorated for Christmas. It added to the nice atmosphere. The service was quick, especially considering how crowded it was. But, not necessarily the friendliest. We had the mozzerella triangles...they were ok, nothing extroidinary. The pizza was delicious, crispy, not too doughy, the cheese was great and good sauce too. I would definatley return. I was actually shocked at the amount we spent....was expecting to pay alot since everything is so expensive in the city. But, our total bill was $28 - not at all bad for a Manhattan lunch! We just got the traditional pie, mozzerella triangles and 2 sodas. I thought it was a great value for the atmosphere and the food was delicious!

The streets are filled with vendors, lights, characters and tons of people. If you go after Christmas you may even see them setting up for New Year's Eve. Of course the streets may also be filled with snow, or slush. After all it is December in New York City, you have to expect there may be snow. I think it just adds to the magic of it all, but make sure you wear the right kind of shoes for walking through that slush!

Ok, ok, so going to NYC during Christmas time is a bit of an ordeal. It is crowded and cold.

But, is it worth it??

Here is a video of the NYC Rockettes in the 2012 Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade.