Staying at the Waldorf=Astoria, NYC

I have always wanted to experience the Christmas season in New York. The massive window displays and the Christmas tree in Rockefeller center. Plus that energy that comes with the excitement of Christmas and all the joy that it brings. This past year I finally was able to see and experience it all. My mom and dad booked two rooms at the Waldorf Astoria and invited Brian to come join us there. It was so great to have Brian there and he served well as our guide and taxi haler, haha. Our first night there we set out to see the tree in Rockefeller Center. Apparently, everyone else was too, haha, it was so crowded! But we finally made it there and across the street they had a light show with music and huge snowflakes, which is what my dad is starring at in the photo.


We also made it in to the Rockefeller building where they have a large ceiling mural painted during the Art Deco period. It was so cool! The picture below is what is above the main entrance of the Rockefeller building:
As you walk in the lobby of the GE building and look up you'll see the huge mural done by artist José Maria Sert, which depicts American Progress and Time. This picture is of the man which hovers over everyone standing up top each pillar.
After braving the crowds Brian brought us to one of his favorite restaurants in the Tribeca district, Ivy's Bistro. The food was wonderful and it was nice to get away from the husle and busle and go somewhere that was a little more low key.

Outside Ivy's Bistro:

Relaxing inside:While we sat enjoying the food and atmostphere it began to lightly snow outside and since it was a nice night we decided to walk most of the way back to our hotel.
I have never experienced the snow in New York city and it was so pretty. When we got back to the hotel we made sure to rest up for the famous brunch that we were to experience the next morning.

Brunch was amazing! There was all kinds of different food to choose from. Seafood, cold cuts, cheese, pastries, omletes, desserts, the list goes on and on. I had the best Eggs Benedict with troufle hollandaise sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It certainly filled us up for the remainder of the afternoon.

The chocolate fountain they had:

Food coma:

After recovering from one of the best meals we headed back out into the cold to see the Met. It was so cold, much colder than the previous day, but it was just bitter, no snow involved this time and in it's place was some biting wind. It was perfect weather to spend some serious time indoors admiring great works of art instead. But before we went to the museum we stopped by Brian's high school. It was neat to see where he went to school. It was so different from my high school and it was cool to see the differences and image a much younger Brian roaming the halls of this school. From there we made our way to the Met. We split up in the museum and Brian and I explored French Rococo and Bouroque rooms as well as the modern art section after viewing Egyptian and Roman sculpture. I could have stayed in there all day and with the weather like it was, it's not surprising that we spent a good two hours inside the museum. Eventually we met back up with my parents and decided to make a quick stop to Central park and see the resevoir.