New York, New York

Frank and I both had a lot of vacation left at the end of the year so we decided to take a pre-Christmas road trip to New York for a few days. We arrived in New York yesterday afternoon and after checking in at our hotel in Hell's Kitchen we headed to Chelsea Market to wander around.

Chelsea Market is a feast for the senses. There are so many amazing food shops and I loved wandering around the kitchen supply shop looking at all sorts of cool tools that I covet. All the food smelled incredible but with dinner reservations at six at Del Posto we didn't want to ruin our appetites. We couldn't resist stopping at Amy's Bread for an olive bread twist and tea, however. Everything at Chelsea Market was decked out for the holidays and I particularly liked the mass of lights creating an arch by the clock in the center of the market. It definitely had me in a festive mood.

We still had some time before our dinner reservation at six so we took a little walk around Hi Line Park. Hi Line Park is built on a section of a former elevated freight railroad spur that was used to transport goods directly to factories and warehouses without disturbing the traffic on street level. As trucking became the primary means for distribution the line fell into disuse but was revitalized as an urban park opening in 2009.  The park does an amazing job of incorporating original elements of the train line with plantings. I particularly thought that the seating that could roll on the old tracks was really cool. Since the park is elevated it also provides some beautiful views of the city that Frank and I enjoyed.

At six Frank and I headed to dinner at Del Posto. We had the five course tasting menu which was absolutely amazing and deserves its own post later. After dinner we headed to Rockefeller Center to see the decorations and the Christmas Tree. Everything was beautifully lit up and I really loved the enormous ornaments lit up in the fountain nearby.

Around Rockefeller Center we stumbled upon a cool light show displayed on the side of a building. Initially we saw huge gears ticking down so we waited and when it got to zero a show began with the windows appearing to move and snowflake bubbles exploding of the face of the building.

We then went up to the Top of the Rock Observatory to see the view of the city at night. The view was gorgeous, especially the Empire State Building lit up in red and green.

We ended the evening by getting drinks at a small bar in the West Village called Little Branch. It has a very nondescript door on the street but when you descend the stairs you find a cool bar with amazing drinks. It was a great way to end a wonderful day.

If you are interested, check out the rest of our New York trip here: Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.