Christmas in New York

Debbie flew in from California to attend a conference in the city. She arrived almost a week early, so we could spend some time together. It's been a year since our last visit.

Debbie doesn't do anything that isn't over the top if you get my drift. She had made arrangements for us to spend two days in Manhattan just the two of us, a sister weekend. We arrived at a Hotel named "Dreams". Our room had dark blue headboards, dark blue carpeting, white walls, white down filled comforters. There was blue lighting peeking out from under the beds, a glass topped desk which was also blue lit, a flat screen TV, a double head shower, and cashmere feel robes that made you feel as though you were in a spa.

After we unpacked we headed to the bar and had a martini and returned to our room to dress for dinner and then to The Majestic Theater were we had and center row seats for Phantom of the Opera. I was like a child in awe, this was my first Broadway Show. The costumes, set and talent were breathtaking. As we exited the theater a light snow flurry topped off the whole experience. We strolled along the Streets and Avenues,and through Times Square before stopping stopping for dessert and coffee. We then returned to the hotel for a night cap and sleep because we had a big day ahead of us.

10:30am we attended a meditation session before going to the spa for a 35 minute massage. I felt so good that I way over tipped for the services but what the heck, it's the holidays. After a quick change of clothes we checked out and arrived at
Brasserie 8 1/2 for brunch. It was fabulous, there was seafood, breakfast omlettes,
Eggs Benedict, meats, poultry, fruits, salads and about 15 different desserts. We spent quite a long time eating,after all we had a long day ahead of us.

We walked around the city until 8pm. We saw the store windows in all their grandeur.
We went into the famous F.A.O. Schwarz. You had to line uo outside because the store was packed. I was dispointmented, I was expecting something a bit more over the top. It was packed with shelves of toys and mobs of loud, running excited kids. I thought I'd see a store like Tom Hanks visited in the movie Big. We spent about 15 minutes in there before heading back into the freezing windy city. We watched the skaters and viewed the tree at Rockefeller Center, visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, and found another church, St. Thomas were the service was sung by a boy's choir. It was incredible, the chruch has a boy's choir boarding school so you can amagine the quality of their voices. Following the service there was an organ recital which gave you goose bumps as the sound filled the cathedral. It was quite an experience.

Freezing cold and weary we dined and headed back to NJ where we relaxed and had a glass or two of "drink".

Deb stayed the night and the next day then headed back for the conference and I returned to work. Deb returned back here on Thursday and waited for a break in the weather before heading up to PA to visit the folks. Today she flies back to CA where her busy work schedule and lifestyle continue. I'm finally packing up my Thanksgiving decorations and am regrouping for Christmas. It's been a busy week.

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