Let The Memories Begin! – Day 21
Today is Christmas Eve, our third day in New York City. The weather has turned sharply colder (high of 4 deg C and low of -6 deg C). The good news was the rain has stopped. We were excited at the possibility of a snow shower in the afternoon – a White Christmas.
We headed back to John’s Pizzeria for brunch again as Ashley missed the Shirley Temple. This is our last opportunity to dine here as they will be closed at 4pm today and on Christmas day. As we walked on the street, the wind was chilly and Ashley complained that her cheeks were freezing. I was covering her cheeks with my hands to keep her warm. She was glad to be indoor when we reached the restaurant. We ordered the Baked Ziti and sides Sausage and Meatball. Since we had the pizza yesterday, we decided to try the Calzone with garlic sausage. Needless to mention, our drinks was a pitcher of Shirley Temple. While the pizza we had yesterday was good, the Calzone pales in comparison although the garlic sausage topping was good. We liked the meatball and concluded that if we should return, we would order the traditional pizza with meatball topping.
As the weather was cold, we gave up going to Staten Island. We decided to do more shopping instead as most stores will be closed on Christmas Day. On our way, we saw the New York Public Library. We went to Gap Kids to get a hat and H&M thicker gloves for Ashley. Hopefully, this would keep her warmer.
Next, we went to Macy’s at Herald Square, claimed to be the world’s largest store. The holiday window display was interesting and there was an interactive display which allows you to wave and control the snowflakes. It was indeed large and we had problem finding the products. We needed to get an extra luggage to fit in all the new purchases. We were surprised that most of the luggages on sale did not come with locks. In the end, we settled for a High Sierra Pack-and-Go. It is folded and is 30 inches when opened. We bought a separate TSA lock. Ashley was disappointed that the toys section was small and there were not much selection. However, it was interesting to see wooden escalators still in use within the store. We did not visit the Santaland where you get to meet Santa as it was known to have a long line.
We left Macy’s and stopped outside for a snack. ZA bought Waffles with Ice Cream and Coffee from the Wafels & Dinges cart. The waffles tasted good and we enjoyed people watching from our table too. The snow did not happen and our dream of a White Christmas did not come true.
Next, we went back to Disney store for Ashley’s last shopping opportunity. It was not as crowded today at Times Square as we noticed that part of the road has been closed to traffic for pedestrian. We spent a lot of time in the store as Ashley could not decide what to get. There are some interesting products at this store which we had not seen in Walt Disney World. We especially found the singing ‘It’s a Small World’ doll cute. Every hourly, the store also had ‘fireworks’ projected on one of the magical trees. To our delight, the music used was the same as that of Magic Kingdom.
It was dark when we finally left the store and headed to Red Lobster for dinner. There was a long line of people waiting to be seated and we were told wait time of 30 minutes. We checked out the nearby Hard Rock Cafe with similar wait time and decided to wait at Red Lobster. Considering that it was Christmas Eve, the wait was not too bad. We were seated 20 minutes into our wait. The interior is spread out over three floors and we were seated at the second floor. It had a nice and cosy ambience. Our server was friendly and attentive although he had to serve the third floor as well. After taking our drinks order, he brought a basket of Cheddar Biscuits. They were soft and cheesy and definitely the best we have tasted so far. Ashley ordered her Macaroni and Cheese, Jarod had the Admiral Feast, ZA had the Bar Harbor Lobster Bake and a Samuel Adams Winter Brew and I had the Wood-Grilled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops. The accompanying Caesar Salad that Jarod and ZA had and my Garden Salad with Bleu Cheese dressing were really good. Our seafood were plentiful, delicious and wonderfully cooked although I preferred ZA’s lobster. Ashley loved her Mac and Cheese too and enjoyed sharing our lobster and scallops. However, the star of the platter was the shrimp skewer, it was succulent and luscious. We enjoyed our dinner. The one thing to note in New York City was the ever presence of police. This was our first time seeing a policeman stationed in a restaurant.
After the scrumptious dinner, we headed back to our hotel. We had to pack our luggage as we will be finally heading home tomorrow night. As I did not like New York City, I was happy to go back. I find New York City crowded and stressful. It is truly a city that never sleeps with constant blaring of sirens even right into the night. Somehow, I wished I was still in Orlando, enjoying the free dining and festive atmosphere.