heading out to the big apple

like most of our best vacations, our christmastime trip to NYC was kind of a last-minute decision.  i don't even think there were six weeks between the time we booked it and when we actually took off. the biggest hurdle was finding somewhere to board the dogs, being the week before christmas and all.  but after doing a little yelping, i found a pet resort not too far from home that seemed perfect.  it was run by a couple who'd basically doggyproofed their entire house and turned it into a "home away from home" kind of place, and as luck would have it someone had canceled their booking for the dates that we needed.  i took them to visit the house for a meet & greet which went really well, and it was so good to know that our pups would be in a safe place with new friends where they had the run of the house and backyard without having to be put in crates or confined to small spaces for hours on end.

we dropped them off early in the morning on our way out to the airport, dropped the car off at a nearby lot and caught the shuttle to the terminal. it was surprisingly easy to drop off our luggage and get through security, and with about an hour to kill we headed into the american airlines lounge.

there was a pretty decent spread of breakfast foods, and the bean was happy with their custom avocado toast.

i took a bathroom selfie, of course.

and then before we knew it, it was time to board the plane.

it was lovely to stretch out and get comfy while watching "the office" and snacking on a dish of warm mixed nuts before lunch.

it started with a nice little salad with a warm roll and butter, plus the small plate appetizer of roasted beets with goat cheese and a citrus vinaigrette.

for my main course, i'd gone with the gorgonzola-crusted beef filet served with a balsamic demi-glace, potato gratin, asparagus and roasted tomatoes.  i enjoyed my meal, although the bean mostly slept through it and the hub made faces at his plate.  heh.

you'd think i was full after all that, but when the attendant offered me a hand-scooped hot fudge sundae i didn't say no.

please.  you wouldn't either.

i pretty much passed out cold after all that food, and basically slept the rest of the way across the country.  

we grabbed an über to take us to our hotel, which turned out to be just up the street from grand central station.  it was raining pretty steadily as we headed out, but we were so excited to be there that it didn't matter.  we borrowed a couple of umbrellas from the front desk and headed out to walk around and check things out.

i knew the bean was thinking of the time that their beloved BTS performed here for the tonight show.

we left the train station and then came upon this amazing christian dior display at saks fifth avenue just as the music was starting up:

and then not too long after that, we got our first glimpse of the famed christmas tree at rockefeller center.

it was fun being there in the rain, because the crowds we'd seen on instagram were nowhere to be found.  

by then, it was almost 11:00 and we were all tired from the long day of travel.  the time difference should have kept us up (plus all that inflight napping we'd done), but we were happy to get back to the hotel, unpack a little and fall into bed.  besides, we were there for a whole week so we had lots of time to get out there and explore.  still, it was a good start to our vacation!