Christmas 2013 in NYC

We rebelled for Christmas and ran away for a while. It would seem we were not alone because apparently the entire world converges on NYC during Christmas. For a city I've only been to a few times it is amazing how much of my everyday cultural life comes from it. I was shocked as we drove around that I could come up with song after quote after story that takes place within an hour of the city, much to my sister's dismay. For example, every time we passed a sign that said White Plains I broke out into "New Rochelle... or maybe White Plains... no, New Rochelle! New Rochelle! That's the place that the mansion will be!" (It's from How to Succeed... in cases you did not know.) We started at West Point for Christmas Eve and Day and spent the rest of the week in the city, seeing five shows, numerous sites, and making decisions on a whim.

Never were two people more excited to stay up all night, thanks to the lovely sickos who coughed the entire flight, in order to start out on the great adventure. 

We made a few stops on the way to West Point. We saw the mansion at Lyndhurst and roamed the little town of Peekskill, the setting for The Facts of Life. 

We stayed at Thayer, a wonderful hotel on Post. One of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in and, for its beauty, one of the most reasonably priced. 

Freddie got us Christmas jammies. This might have made me very, very happy.

Christmas Eve we attended a service at the Cadet Chapel. Beautiful, Christ-centered, and fun. Restaurants were largely closed but we found a Hacienda to get some great Mexican food, and they let us take a photo behind their bar so that was rad. 

In the morning, which was very cold, we took photos around the Post. It was West Point that was the center of the Benedict Arnold issue - as commandant he offered it to the British.

We were focused on seeing shows! Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, After Midnight, Once, and Jersey Boys. My fav was prolly Once, but Jersey Boys comes in a close second. We got to meet Dule Hill (The West Wing, Psych) who is in After Midnight. 

We walked the High Line - a very long "park" built over former train tracks. 

We went off the beaten path to enjoy the Russian and Turkish baths... basically a variety of saunas (stone and wood and steam) and I love me a sauna. This alone made me envious of all who live in New York. Dear Everyone, go to this place. 

We ate at Fraunces Tavern, which -among other important events - was where Washington dismissed the troops after the Revolutionary Way. Great ambiance, good food, and a museum - it's like they knew I was coming. 

We visited Wall Street, the site of Washington's inauguration, and the World Trade Center memorial. 

We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on a very rainy day. Since my knowledge of art is basically maxed out with Impressionists we stuck to that section. They had a very nice collection with a sufficient amount of Degas. Oh, look, there we are with Degas himself. 

We enjoyed the city as a whole. We climbed on the [dry] Bethesda fountain, walked in (and directly out of) the Plaza, pushed passed people on the Brooklyn Bridge, and relaxed at my friend Bonnie's apartment (shout out and thanks to her for letting us crash there). 

Until next time.