The Munce Family: NYC for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving took an entirely different shape this year as we ventured off to NYC for the holiday. We opted for an AirBnB type set up, a brownstone in Brooklyn. We had a 10/10 week.

We arrived mid afternoon on Tuesday with time to get settled and get our bearings with a walk to the nearest Starbucks :). On our way back to the house, we found The Swan for appetizers and a drink. It was quaint and decorated for the holidays and felt perfect. We unpacked and relaxed a bit before going for pizza at Saraghina (5 stars) for dinner and then home.

On Wednesday, we hit all three of the items on Greta's bucket list by (#1) Going to Manhattan where we ventured up 5th Avenue ogling at the shops and Christmas decor and then landing at one of the largest (#2) Sephoras we've ever seen while the guys went to Nike and had personalized sweatshirts made. We continued past The Plaza to Jams for a midafternoon pick me up and time to rest our feet. We landed in Central Park for the incredible city views and photo-ops. We had hoped to end up near the Natural History Museum so we could see the floats for the Macy's Day Parade but that adventure lead us for miles and hours and left us with full bladders and painful feet thanks do detours. We did manage to make our way through and the floats are incredibly impressive but I would probably be a bit more prepared next time (rookie mistake). We walked to Time's Square and made it just in time for (#3), Hamilton. It was incredible and everyone loved it. We finished the night with late night pizza at Bond NYC and made our way home by 1am(!!!).

We were so tired on Thanksgiving Thursday and it happened to be a rainy morning which actually worked in our favor. We snuggled on the couch and watched the Macy's Day parade and had a late brunch before making our way to our ice skating reservation at Rockefeller Center. This was the highlight of highlights for me. Carefree family fun with permanent smiles for everyone. It was a great outing. We came home via the Brooklyn Bridge, it was refreshing and breathtaking before coming back to get into jammies, order Thai take out from Sweet Basil and having a family movie night.

On Friday we checked out the High Line, which the kids found somewhat interesting but preferred getting on each other's nerves over appreciating the beauty :/. We found street food which actually made a world of difference and then we walked through the Chelsea neighborhood, passing Cornelia Street (iykyk!!!) and Sullivan St. on our way to the Museum of Ice Cream, Piper's choice. They had a ball and soooo much ice cream and photo ops. I revived myself with a stop at ClareV before we lucked into a table at Bryant Park Grill, and finally to Aladdin the Musical, a joy for all.

Saturday was our last full day and the temps dropped pretty significantly, we walked to Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington's farewell speech to his troops took place, a Dave highlight. Wee made our way to the Statue of Liberty where we got the VIP experience of walking up 546 steps into the Crown where it was only us and a couple of park rangers. We had lots of time for questions and photos, a highlight for everyone. We went back to the house to pack up and had one final dinner out at Bar Camilo before an early bedtime.

We had an awesome time. The kids handled the logistics and walking as well as expected and loved the big city. Dave and I loved (almost) every moment of our time exploring as a family.