I'd heard of Rockefeller Center ever since I was a kid.... primarily through watching The Today Show. I didn't give it much thought- just how I don't give much thought to many things around me. I knew that there was something called The Rainbow Room there that I'd seen it in countless movies-not to mention Sleepless in Seattle which I absolutely love-and that it was generally something big in NYC.
And then when we were in NYC this April, a lot of my friends were talking about going to "the top of the rock". I thought it was a show of some kind- stand up comedy type. I had absolutely no idea it was an observation deck. But we went. And I was blown away. You know all those aerial shots of NYC in almost every movie out there? Yeah- it's that- and with a magnitude of a 100. I never get all nervous and excited about meeting celebrities (or reading about them for that matter) but I definitely do get all fangirly about seeing places that have featured in countless films. And so, standing at the Top of the Rock at 10.30PM in 10 degrees Celsius with a hundred people was amazing. Beyond anything I would've expected. The lights and the cars and the energy are multiplied when you're looking at it from the 69th (?) floor. But more than just the view- is the rest of Rockefeller Center. Or Rockefeller Plaza. Whatever floats your boat.
Nestled between the shoppers' paradise that is Fifth Avenue and the hype and bright lights of Times Square and Broadway lies a wonderful somewhat pedestrianized plaza surrounded by towering skyscrapers and flanked by buildings on all sides. It's surreal. Right in the middle is an ice rink which I'm told is not an ice rink in summer. Around the ice rink are flags of almost every country in the world. And to the north, south, east, and west of the plaza lie cafes, bistros, and shops- not to mention lovely fountains and gorgeous flowers. When I was there in April, I went to Rockefeller Plaza on a Tuesday and the fountains were surrounded by blood red tulips. When I visited on Wednesday morning, glorious pink hydrangeas had taken their place in full bloom in preparation for Easter.
You might not even realize it's there- I certainly didn't. But it is there. (Can you tell I'm struggling to write?)
There's a wonderful chocolate shop called Teuscher Chocolates which had a gorgeous display at the time.
There's also a LEGO store (yes) and an Anthropologie.. not to mention countless other stores. There's also the famous Radio City right before it and if you exit Rockefeller Center onto 5th Avenue you're right in front of Saks. Saks Fifth Avenue..... (Did you know that I actually had to look up where Saks FIFTH AVENUE was located? Sometimes I cannot take a hint).
But the nicest thing to do is to just watch the ice rink and all the flags and buildings around it. So relaxing.
One thing you should not miss out on doing is eating the whoopie pie on the dessert menu at the Rock Center Cafe. The cafe has wonderful views of the ice rink and is perfect for eating right before you go up to the Top of the Rock. I think the picture says it all.
If you happen to around in the morning- REALLY early in the morning (7AM), try checking out the Today Show's fan area.. you might get on TV.
For more info on Top of the Rock check out their website http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/. There's an interesting pass called the Sunrise/Sunset one which lets you go twice- that's a good option to get but otherwise stick to visiting at night time. Breathtaking.
No comments:
Post a Comment