Here's how quickly my plans for New Year's Eve changed:
"Hi. I'm going to be in NY for New Year's. I have hotel points I need to use so when I checked around, NY seemed like the best option. Do you want to join me for New Year's Eve in Times Square?"
"Wow. That sounds wild. I have some tentative plans with my friend Camille though. So, I don't know..."
"Bring her along. I have a suite, so there's plenty of room for everyone to sleep."
"Let me just check with Camille and I'll get back to you. Sounds great and I think she'll be up for it. I've never been in Times Square for New Year's. Have you?"
"Not for 35 years. Call me and let me know."
So, with that invitation from my friend Steve in California, my idea for a quiet dinner and home by 11pm took a dramatic turn. Camille, a native New Yorker who had also never been to Times Square for New Year's Eve, happily agreed to the invitation.
On Thursday, Dec. 31, at 3:00, we boarded the bus to get to Port Authority. Thankfully, the traffic from the morning's bad weather and accidents had cleared and the ride was quick. We dropped our bags at the Doubletree Hilton on Broadway and 7th, and headed out. Already, the crowds were thick, barriers were in place to keep the sidewalks clear, and security was abundant. However, with our hotel passes dangling from our necks, we roamed freely for a couple of hours before returning to the hotel.
The evening's festivities began at the hotel at 8pm: champagne, dinner, dancing, comedy show, more champagne. At 11:30, we bundled up and joined the hundreds of thousands of people who had been outside in the rain for hours. Even though we couldn't see the ball from where we stood, we were near the center stage to hear Jennifer Lopez and at 11:57 a recording of "Imagine". (Maybe the words we all need right now.) If you watched the event on TV, you know what happens at midnight: pandemonium! Music, hugs and kisses, horns blowing, confetti everywhere. We tried to walk down the street, but movement was nearly impossible. Eventually, we walked around the block and headed back inside for a nightcap. By 2, we were asleep.
Before 9am the next morning, the party rooms were transformed into serene breakfast rooms. The servers who poured champagne and drinks a few hours before, now carried trays of orange juice and coffee. I wondered if they had slept at all. After breakfast, we visited all my favorite holiday spots: Rockefeller Center, the windows at Saks, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. No crowds! On the way back to the hotel to get our bags, only a few remainders of confetti on the streets hinted at the revelry that had accompanied the last night of the year.
"Hi. I'm going to be in NY for New Year's. I have hotel points I need to use so when I checked around, NY seemed like the best option. Do you want to join me for New Year's Eve in Times Square?"
"Wow. That sounds wild. I have some tentative plans with my friend Camille though. So, I don't know..."
"Bring her along. I have a suite, so there's plenty of room for everyone to sleep."
"Let me just check with Camille and I'll get back to you. Sounds great and I think she'll be up for it. I've never been in Times Square for New Year's. Have you?"
"Not for 35 years. Call me and let me know."
So, with that invitation from my friend Steve in California, my idea for a quiet dinner and home by 11pm took a dramatic turn. Camille, a native New Yorker who had also never been to Times Square for New Year's Eve, happily agreed to the invitation.
On Thursday, Dec. 31, at 3:00, we boarded the bus to get to Port Authority. Thankfully, the traffic from the morning's bad weather and accidents had cleared and the ride was quick. We dropped our bags at the Doubletree Hilton on Broadway and 7th, and headed out. Already, the crowds were thick, barriers were in place to keep the sidewalks clear, and security was abundant. However, with our hotel passes dangling from our necks, we roamed freely for a couple of hours before returning to the hotel.
The evening's festivities began at the hotel at 8pm: champagne, dinner, dancing, comedy show, more champagne. At 11:30, we bundled up and joined the hundreds of thousands of people who had been outside in the rain for hours. Even though we couldn't see the ball from where we stood, we were near the center stage to hear Jennifer Lopez and at 11:57 a recording of "Imagine". (Maybe the words we all need right now.) If you watched the event on TV, you know what happens at midnight: pandemonium! Music, hugs and kisses, horns blowing, confetti everywhere. We tried to walk down the street, but movement was nearly impossible. Eventually, we walked around the block and headed back inside for a nightcap. By 2, we were asleep.
Before 9am the next morning, the party rooms were transformed into serene breakfast rooms. The servers who poured champagne and drinks a few hours before, now carried trays of orange juice and coffee. I wondered if they had slept at all. After breakfast, we visited all my favorite holiday spots: Rockefeller Center, the windows at Saks, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. No crowds! On the way back to the hotel to get our bags, only a few remainders of confetti on the streets hinted at the revelry that had accompanied the last night of the year.
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