Monday, several peeps from Rusty’s side of the family came in for the week!

Tuesday, the Bean’s, the extended Bean’s, and I all went to Enchant, which was a Christmas light maze!

Looking at Christmas lights is one of my favorite activities during Christmas time, so I really enjoyed myself!

The displays were beautiful, but the time spent with friends was even more precious!

Thursday, I had another familiar face join me for lunch as she was passing through the area: Lilly!

I had gotten to meet her when she visited her sister and my then-roommate, Natalee, in NC! It was great catching up with her!

Then, the fun REALLY began Friday evening. After work, I took the Amtrak to NYC where I’d be spending the New Year’s Eve weekend!

What prompted the trip was the announcement of Phantom of the Opera coming off of Broadway. It’s been on my to-see list for some time, especially on Broadway, so when I heard the news, I decided to make it happen! It just ended up working out to be over New Year’s Eve weekend, which is a pretty iconic time to be in the city!

Saturday was spent navigating the city, made especially tough with the barriers set up for the festivities that evening.

First stop was the Museum of Natural History. I’ll admit, my main draw to the spot was loving the Night at the Museum franchise.

My favorite part of visiting the museum was how much info there was concerning my favorite US president, Theodore Roosevelt!

It was an unexpected pleasure reading about his life and contributions to the world, whether through his writings or conservation efforts!

Afterwards was lunch at a local Italian restaurant, La Pecora Bianca. The pasta was made in-house and the atmosphere was bright, yet cozy!

The warm pasta was great on the overcast, rainy day. The tiramisu and coffee to top of the meal was welcomed as well!

Then, there was wandering around Central Park.

The weather made for a different view of the area and I kind of loved it!

The wandering continued, both on foot and on the Subway, down to Battery Park. The Statue of Liberty couldn’t be seen, but there was a neat memorial to World War 2 servicemen who lost their lives in combat in the Atlantic Ocean.

Still not quite ready to tuck in to the hotel room for the night, I enjoyed an arranged dinner menu from Cafe Un Deux Troix, which was near my hotel on Times Square!

First course was a Tartellettes d’Escargot au Pesto (fancy for “pesto escargot pastry”). SO yummy!

The next was a Linguini Fruits de Mer (fancy for “seafood pasta”). Let me tell you, I’ve had one or two seafood pastas in my day, but this one outranked them all. So much seafood and a generous amount of each to be sure!

Then, for dessert, Charlotte aux Fraises, which was layered with ladyfingers and chocolate mousse. Paired with a cappuccino,

Though I didn’t quite get the view of the ball dropping that I was expecting from my hotel room, it was still a great night. I even managed to stay up until midnight to ring in the new year!

The next morning, I was able to see it and with the wind blowing enough to toss up the leftover confetti, I almost felt like I got to experience the celebration all over again!

Brunch was at a local diner and was scrumptious!

Next was the Rockefeller Tree, which was beautiful! Honestly, the weather was superb, so it was great walking around and experiencing the city!

After more wandering, it was time for the main event: The Phantom of the Opera! The seats were great and the performance was superb!

While I still can’t claim that it is my favorite musical (Wicked still takes the cake), I can honestly say that I have never seen a show like it. It’s dramatic, larger than life, and an absolute classic! I’m so grateful to have been able to see it and experience it!

Afterwards, it was time to head home via the train once more. So glad I got to enjoy NYC once more!