We visited New York City for the weekend in early December
2017. Initially, we had planned to stay for only one night, but as the weekend
approached and snow was forecasted, we thought it might be fun to arrive prior
to the snowstorm so that we could see the city before, during, and after. We
used Hilton HHonors points for a free award stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in
Midtown West, which is located on 54th Street, just two blocks south
of Central Park. On Friday night, we took the bus to the city, and after
checking into the hotel, we had a great casual ramen meal at nearby Hide-Chan
Ramen. On Saturday, the snow started, so we adjusted our plans accordingly so
that we could walk in Central Park at the height of the storm. But first, we
enjoyed an excellent sushi omakase lunch at Kappo Masa on the Upper East Side,
followed by a visit to the Neue Gallerie to see its Klimt paintings, including
the most famous “Portrait of Adele
Bloch-Bauer”, which was featured in the movie “Woman in Gold”. During
our walk through Central Park, we stopped in at the Loeb Boathouse for a drink,
but so did hundreds of other people and there was “no space at the inn”. (Our
stop was not a waste of time, however, because the building and setting are so pretty
that we would like to return sometime.) After happy hour drinks at Iguana
Lounge across the street from the hotel, we enjoyed a fancy dinner at restaurant
Gabriel Kreuther, which overlooks Bryant Park and its outdoor winter/holiday
village and ice rink near the main branch of the New York Public Library. On
Sunday, we again walked in Central Park, stopping at Wollman Rink to watch the
skaters, and enjoying the sunny blue skies offset by the snow-covered ground. It
was fun to see so many dogs, children, and families enjoying the first good
snowfall of the year. We had a quick dim-sum lunch at Shun Lee Café near
Lincoln Center, then walked back to the hotel, retrieved our bags, and caught
the bus home. Every weekend in the city goes by way too fast!
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