It was always going to be a day of farewells and (happy) endings. 31st of December was our last day in New York and we decided to leave with the best possible view in our memories.
Because we are both creatures of habit, once again the day started with bagels and a wonderfully perfect flat white from Stumptown. Good cup of coffee used to be something I could not have imagined my morning without. A big bonus of flying west is that mornings are your best time of the day.
Even after over 7 days in the States, I still would wake up around 5 and enjoy my early morning, watching the city come to life through a window. Around 7 we would leave our hotel and walk 2 blocks to Stumptown. On this last day I treated this as a ritual. I took it slowly, took my time to take pictures and enjoyed the frosty air.
One “the usual for you guys?” breakfast order later, we were on our way to the Rockefeller Centre to see the Top of the Rock.
The whole experience in the TOTR is very well prepared and I was pleasantly surprised. Even the lift ride was fun, with a countdown to the top floor and the lights off.
Since it was the middle of winter, it was freezing cold at the top. Luckily, we could go back into the warm waiting area, with benches and sofas to sit on and listen to some music.
The view of Central Park on a clear day from such height is something I dreamt of seeing. Yellow cabs moved slowly in queues and I spotted the ball in Times Square which was waiting to drop later on that night, to the delight of the crowds awaiting the New Year. It all felt very festive.
We stayed up for a good hour, going in and out to admire the view once more. To spot another iconic Art Deco skyscraper, to spot the end of Central Park and to wonder what it’s going to be like to live in the new building dominating the skyline at 432 Park Avenue with a panorama of the whole city.
The only thing left on our to do list was sending post cards to friends and family across the Pond and deciding how we want to spend out last $8. On our way back to the hotel we dropped into the Grand Central Station one more time to feel the spirit of the season and look for people who looked like straight from Mad Men.
We said goodbye to our lovely hotel room and shared an insanely good chocolate and cinnamon muffin and a hot chocolate in City Bakery.
Until next time, New York.
We flew over Atlantic on an overnight flight with KLM. The atmosphere onboard was very festive and happy, we were served a couple of rounds of champagne and the pilot made a few more announcements than one would expect on a 7h flight. For once, I wasn’t worried at all if I was going to enjoy myself on New Year’s Eve. I drank my champagne, said cheers to people around me, ate my dinner and watched a couple of movies. It was a good ending of 2014, but 2015 was looking promissing too.