Note: This is a longer than normal blog post since this trip was longer than my normal quick weekend getaways. I kept it all in one post since we stayed in the city for the whole trip.

NYC Subway Tip: if you’re a subway user: The OMNY tap-and-pay system is awesome! Turn on your express transit on your credit card in your Apple Wallet. Scan your iPhone or Apple Watch at the turnstile for your rides and go right through. You don’t have to unlock or open your phone. The rides are $2.90 each and if you ride more than 12 rides in 7 days, those rides after 12 are free. So, the most you’ll pay is $34 for 7 days. This is the way to go if you’re willing to figure out the routes and ride in sometimes crowded trains. You’ll often get to your location much faster than taking a taxi or Uber. And it’s definitely much cheaper than those options. And much warmer in the winter than walking blocks and blocks in rain or snow. Apple Maps was very helpful in telling us which trains to take and which exits to use when getting off.

We headed to JFK on Hawaiian Airlines. We had time to pick up some Hilo Lunch Shop snacks for the flight attendants for this long flight. Happily, we used miles to upgrade our seats to NYC on Hawaiian Airlines. This allowed me to try Moon and Turtle’s Chef Mark Pomaski’s menu! The food isn’t as good as Moon and Turtle fare but not bad as far as airplane meals go. We arrived at JFK and caught a taxi to the Knickerbocker Hotel. On this first day, we acclimated by walking around Times Square and the nearby winter shops at Bryant Park. I love experiencing winter in NYC. The cold is nice if you don’t have to live in it.

On day 2, we headed to Don Don for K-BBQ. The chef/owner has two other restaurants that have Michelin stars and Don Don also had good reviews. We enjoyed the tasting menu with a 13-day dry-aged pork jowl, collar, and belly. We enjoyed an afternoon of walking around and enjoying the holiday lights. Then had pre-dinner drinks at the Gold Bar at the Lotte Palace Hotel. We celebrated our friendship and our time in NYC with a special dinner at Le Bernardin.

Day 3 included more Bryant Park Christmas shopping. Then, we had an amazing lunch at Caviar Russe with champagne and lots of caviar! That evening, we enjoyed Aladdin on Broadway. What a fun show with clever jokes! After the show, Craig introduced us to Los Tacos No. 1. If you go after a show, don’t worry about the line. It goes quickly. After tacos, we walked to Sake Bar Hagi to extend our evening with some nightcaps.

On day 4, we headed downtown to Ground Zero since Naomi hadn’t been to NYC since 9/11. I visited the beautiful Oculus for the first time and shopped at Eataly. We also had time to enjoy a freshly-made pasta lunch there. On the way uptown, we stopped at Trader Joe’s for a few more snacks to bring home. The evening activity took us to Madison Square Gardens to see Andrea Bocelli in concert. What an amazing performance! After the show, we stopped at Bourbon and Branch next to MSG. Good selection of bourbon and yummy snacks.

We headed to Greenwich on day 5 to eat pho at Saigon Shack. We enjoyed pho, BBQ pork, and spring and summer rolls. It’s a cash-only place so be sure to bring some with you. After lunch, we walked the High Line. We ended at Hudson Yards, where I saw the Vessel for the first time in person. It brought me back memories of Project Runway episodes! Dinner was at Per Se. This was the highlight dinner of this trip for me. Our nightcap was at the Center Bar at the Columbus Circle Shops. Then we decided on another few nightcaps and some Joe’s Pizza at the Rarities Lounge in the Lotte Palace Hotel.

On day 6, our friends left and our daughter joined us. Upon her arrival, we showed her around Bryant Park which is conveniently just a block away from the Knickerbocker. Next, we had reservations at the Miracle on 9th Street Christmas pop-up bar. After our cute Christmas drinks, we headed uptown to Central Park and visited the Bethesda Fountain. My daughter shopped at the Columbus Circle Shops while I went to the Lincoln Center TKTS booth. I secured seats for the Harry Potter show on Broadway. But first, we took Sammie to Los Tacos No. 1 before the show. If you love the HP series, you’ll love the show. Aaron and I had seen it before but had forgotten that it wasn’t a musical. After the show, we stopped at one of the Halal food trucks near the hotel. Sammie got to help prep the order in the truck! I think she counted that as her favorite experience of the trip. Plus, we got snow flurries today!

On day 7, we woke up to more light snow. It was a beautiful day, unlike the rainy day before. We walked to Bryant Park for some food. There, we finally got to eat a Pickle Stickle. We drank some hot cocoa and enjoyed a pork belly bao. We stopped at the New York Public Library right next door. We admired the amazing artwork and shopped in the gift shop. After that, we went to Grand Central Station for more holiday shopping. We then headed uptown to 5th Avenue. We saw the displays. We admired the Rockefeller Christmas tree. We even did more shopping. We ended with dinner at Yama Ramen and Sushi to warm us up before returning to the Knickerbocker.

We went back uptown to the American Museum of Natural History on day 8. While waiting in a rather long line for the bag check, we enjoyed a yummy Nathan’s hot dog. After a couple of hours at the museum, we stopped at Zabar’s for caviar. Dinner was conveniently located at Bond 45 before ending with a martini at the rooftop bar at the Knickerbocker.

We took the Roosevelt Tramway to Roosevelt Island on day 9. It was so crowded! Standing room only and no space to move! If you’re afraid of catching a cold from crowded places, this experience is not for you. We saw lots of frustration from residents trying to get home and tourists trying to get their photo ops. By the way, we used our OMNY tap-and-pay for the tram. We had a nostalgic lunch at Serendipity 3 and enjoyed a frozen hot chocolate. The kids were so little the last time we went there. I highly recommend reservations if you plan to visit. On the way downtown, I stopped again at the Lincoln Center TKTS booth. This time, I got great seats for & Juliet. Before the show, we still had enough time to go downtown to see the Brooklyn Bridge. We waited slightly longer than usual for the train. We wanted a specific train since it was a direct route but it was delayed due to an accident! After we realized the issue, we caught a different line with a very easy transfer. We made it to Brooklyn Bridge in time for beautiful sunset views. We ended the day with caviar and champagne in our room and then off to see & Juliet on Broadway. Fun music and great choreography at & Juliet.

We went downtown to Battery Park to get views of the Statue of Liberty on day 10. On our way back to the subway station, we visited the Charging Bull statue near the NY Stock Exchange. After that, we headed to Canal Street to see what was going on with the sidewalk vendors. By then, it was time for Sammie to have lunch with friends at Hudson Yards. Aaron and I left Sammie and headed back to midtown for lunch at Don Don again. This time, we shared a pork belly plate and beef noodle soup that hit the spot on this chilly day. On all of our subway trips, Sammie paid close attention to train details and which exits to use. She easily found her way back to our hotel from Hudson Yards. We braved the crowd and the chilly weather for the last time before packing up for our journey home.

I flew home on Christmas Day in my Christmas shirt. We took off almost two hours after expected due to the wings needing to be deiced. Thankfully, we had upgraded our seats with our miles. We were comfortable while we rested, shopped, and streamed shows before take off and during our flight. We missed our original connection to Hilo. Thankfully, we caught the next flight home and had Christmas dinner as a family. Living Hilo Style in NYC.