Big Plans in the Big Apple

Guess what Brad and I are doing this Thanksgiving. Give up?

We're going to New York City! Yahoo! Yea! Yippee!! Holllllaaaaaa!!! We're going to spend the whole week in The Big Apple, and the best part is, we are going to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live! Ohmygoodness. I honestly couldn't possibly be any more excited ever, ever. Eeeee!!!!

And while the Parade will obviously be the highlight of our trip, there's another event edging in at a very close second: We're going to see Wicked on Broadway. Holy cow, I absolutely cannot wait!

We have big plans for the week that we're there. We've spent months pouring over every available activity in NYC, including landmarks, tours, museums, shopping areas, etc. and grouping them by location. Our poor visitor's map has already been well worn in.

We've decided that this will definitely be more of a "trip" than a "vacation," since there will be no relaxing for us in the Big Apple. We plan to wake up early each morning (especially Thanksgiving morning), eat a quick breakfast at the hotel, then head out for the entire day, only to come back late in the evening to crash for the night. Our itinerary is jam packed, and it's just how we like it. (Don't judge me for my color-coded excel spreadsheet. The level of my nerdiness is directly proportional to my level of excitment. Just consider yourself lucky that you don't have to view all the other tabs in that workbook. Ha.)

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New York City has so many iconic locations. The Statue of Liberty. The World Trade Center memorial. Central Park. The Empire State Building. Times Square. So many! I mentioned to my mom that I want to have breakfast at Tiffany's in honor of the classic film, even if it's just a donut by the entrance, and she surprised me by sending me this Tiffany and Co. coffee mug to prepare. I already feel so ritzy just from that pretty packaging alone!

Oh my goodness! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! I know that we're going over Thanksgiving, but I have to admit, I'm mostly excited about Christmas in New  York.  Can you believe we'll actually visit the real Macy's on 34th street? We'll get to see the Plaza like in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. We'll get to shop at FAO Schwarz and walk past the men dressed as toy soldiers at the door on our way to stepping on the Big piano. We'll get to ice skate at Rockefeller Center, all bundled up in our winter scarves. And we'll witness, live, Santa Clause starting off the Christmas Season at the end of the Parade!  This trip is a Christmas fanatic's dream come true!

Seriously, I have to calm myself down when I start thinking about it. Brad and I haven't been on a week-long vacation since our honeymoon six years ago, and neither of us have ever been to New York City. I can't wait to make all those wonderful memories!

Any recommendations, if you've visited the Big Apple in the past? Or if you love a movie scene or TV location in the city that's a must-see?

image sources: here, here, and here