Introduction

Christmas is a cherished holiday my family always looks forward to because it brings us all together which does not happen often. It has become a tradition for my mother, older sister, younger sister and I to go on a trip for a couple of days during the holidays. Additionally, a christmas movie tradition in my family is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. This movie makes New York city seem like a 'Winter Wonderland' to the viewer by presenting the popular christmas attractions that 'The City That Never Sleeps' has to offer. For the last few years I have been dreaming of going to New York city for our holiday trip but it has yet to happen. I hope this planning brings me closer to reaching my dream vacation.

General Overview

Who:   My mother, my two sisters and I

When:   Christmas of 2012

Length:   5-7 days

Must sees:   Rockefeller Centre, Plaza Hotel, FAO Schwarz, Central 
                       Park, Statue of Liberty, Time Square, The Nutcracker Ballet

Motivations:   Home alone two, Christmas, Family, To experience 

                           'The City That Never Sleeps', Optometry School

Type of Tourist:   The Explorer- Independent traveling with some trip 

                                  organization and objectives. 

Types of Attractions

Entertainment                   Cultural                        Natural

-The Nutcracker Ballet                      -The Statue of Liberty               -Central Park

-The Plaza hotel

-The Rockefeller Centre

-Time Square

-FAO Schwarz

Traveler's Tips

• Avoid gypsy cabs, only get into yellow cabs with aqua-coloured riveted hoods.
• Internet is available at most cafes, hotels and copy centers
• Choose which area you would like to spend more money on, there is a wide variety of options allowing you to spend money on some things and save on others
• Always mention that you are a student, you will more than likely receive a discounted price
• Public bathrooms are few and far from each other, department stores, museums, hotel lobbies and Starbucks are a few places that offer good public facilities
• Avoid quiet blocks, keep your wallet close to your body and leave valuable jewelry at home
• Taxi drivers and restaurant waiters expect a 15-20% tip, bellhops are usually given $1-$2/bag

Transportation

Google maps approximates a 7 hour and 36 minute drive from my hometown, Belleville, to the center of New York city. We will depart for this trip early morning and expect to arrive in the early evening.  

Hotels

We will use the www.hotwire.com website to book our hotels. The only information you are given before booking your hotel with this website is the hotels star rating (out of 5), the price, and the area it is located in (not its direct location). This website has low prices because of the limited information given before the rooms are booked. Our price range for hotel rooms per night will be between $200-400. The most important features about the hotels we stay at will be location and quality. Depending on the overall budget, we will spend our last night of our New York city christmas trip in The Plaza hotel. A tourist who has stayed at this hotel stated “staying at The Plaza is an extended NYC experience! A ‘Must Have’ at least once in a lifetime”. 

The Plaza during Christmas

Entrance to The Plaza hotel

A concierge at The Plaza (from Home Alone 2)

Food and Restaurants

       New york cheesecake and a new york strip loin are two dishes that I will try on my trip since cheesecake is my favourite desert and I often eat steak so it would be nice to try the classic New York strip loin.  Blue Note is a famous jazz club in New York and has been known as one of the worlds finest jazz clubs that I would like to dine at. Main dish prices do not exceed $35 however tickets must be purchased for their events. My motivation for including this in my trip stems from being a big fan of jazz music and of the atmosphere in jazz clubs.  

       I love trying new foods and New York has food tours around the city to allow tourist to sample a variety of different foods from a variety of different restaurants. My preferred tour would be the 'Central Greenwich Village and a bit of Soho' food and culture walking tour because they include a wide variety of different foods in their tour (Italian, Middle Eastern, French, Cuban, Indian). This tour runs thursdays, fridays and saturdays, it lasts for roughly three hrs and cost $47/person. We would only do this tour if the weather permits us 
(info: http://www.foodsofny.com/village-soho.php). 

Entrance to the Blue Note Jazz Club

Performers at Blue Note

New York Cheesecake

New York Strip Loin

The Nutcracker Ballet

I saw the Nutcracker ballet performance as a little girl in Toronto with my family and I would like to experience it again as an adult, in a different city. The combination of a live orchestra and a beautiful ballet show makes for wonderful entertainment, especially when a christmas theme is involved. Ticket prices range from $70-300 and the show occurs at the David H. Koch Theater (formerly known as the New York State Theatre)

Snowflake scene from the Nutcracker 

Scene from the famous Nutcracker Ballet performance

The David H Koch Theatre

The Rockefeller Centre

The final scene of Home Alone two takes place at the Christmas tree in the Rockefeller centre. It is a heart warming scene when Kevin finds his mother standing in front of the tree. It would be special for me to visit this area with my family and create our own heart warming christmas memories. The Rockefeller Center has beautiful Christmas light displays as well as a skating rink. However, the skating rink at the Rockefeller centre is said to be small, crowded and over priced (December 18-January fourth: Adults-$17, children $12). A better skating experience could be had at Central Park or Bryant Park.

Breathtaking view of the Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tress

View of the lighting at the Rockefeller Center

Bryant Park skating rink

Central Park skating rink

FAO Schwarz

This toy store is world famous and a big 5th avenue attraction. It is the inspiration for the toy store in Home Alone Two, Duncan's Toy Chest. In the movie, the store was shown as every young child's dream toy store with endless amounts of unique toys. I was one of those children who dreamed of exploring Duncan's Toy Chest which is why I have included it in my trip.

Duncan's Toy Chest, Home Alone 2

Lego Santa Claus inside of FAO Schwarz

FAO Schwarz toy store on 5th avenue 

Central Park

A peaceful walk through central park while sipping a hot chocolate is something that this trip cannot do without. One of my family's traditions is to always go ‘walking in a winter wonderland’ over the holidays which we will do in Central Park. Although this is a natural attraction, its surroundings have been developed to maximize tourist expenses by adding hotels, coffee shops, souvenir shops, restaurants etc. A classic way of viewing central park is by going on a horse-drawn carriage ride. Generally, these rides cost $50 for the first 20 minutes and there is a $20 charge for every 10 additional minutes (plus tip).

Central Park, Winter Wonderland

Central Park with The Plaza in the background

Central Park with a horse carriage 

Statue of Liberty

This beautiful gift from the people of France is a sculpture of Libertas, the roman goddess of freedom. Although this tourist attraction has no relation to christmas it would not be a complete New York City trip without seeing the city’s iconic symbol.

Statue of Liberty

Time Square

This is one of the worlds most famous intersections found in the heart of Manhattan. It got it’s name from the building that was once the office of New York Times workers. Its overwhelming amount of digital advertisement has given the location an exciting atmosphere and has made it a popular tourist location (buildings in this area are actually required to have lit signs). This location also has no relation to christmas but it is another New York City iconic symbol that cannot go unseen. 

Time Square, New York

Time Square during New Years Eve

Optometry School

My academic plans are to apply to optometry school in the states and a potential school is the State University of New York College of Optometry (SUNY College of Optometry). While in the city of New York, I will visit the university and campus to see if I can see myself earning my degree at this school. 

State University of New York College of Optometry

SUNY College of Optometry location

Expectations

Going to a posh city like New York allows tourists to escape their everyday life and live in a way that they are not able to in their 'real world'. Travellers are able to walk along the luxurious streets of the glitzy, surreal city. This is the chance for people to escape real life. New York has used this feature and magnified it to maximize the number of tourist coming into the city. After this trip, I hope to have felt like I've visited a make believe Christmas wonderland city. I hope to have made lifelong memories with my mother and sisters. I expect this trip will fulfill my dreams of experiencing Christmas in New York.