Our daughter’s 18th birthday was two days before Christmas and, to her surprise, she found an airline ticket in the pocket of her new winter coat. Our plan to spend Christmas morning at home in Florida and Christmas night in New York City was in motion.

The flight into LaGuardia was smooth and our first glimpse of the city from the airplane window had all of us excited about the next five days. We had made arrangements for private transportation from the airport to our hotel so we got a fantastic tour of the city. We loved seeing all of the holiday lights, but those lights couldn’t compare with Times Square. Flashing signs of every size and color made nighttime look like day.
We made our way to the Doubletree Guest Suites which is literally in the middle of it all. From our 33rd floor suite, we had a fantastic view of Times Square. We couldn’t wait to get back downstairs to explore the city. After walking up and down Broadway taking in all the excitement of the city, we found Carmine's, a bustling restaurant on a side street that piqued our interest. It was a 90-minute wait for a table, but it was worth it. We very much enjoyed our non-traditional Italian Christmas dinner.

When we returned to the hotel room another surprise was revealed after turning on the television -- a blizzard warning was in effect and 24 inches of snow was forecast for NYC. While we had hoped for a white Christmas, we were not expecting a blizzard.

The snow began falling before noon on Sunday. We walked everywhere that day and did our best to keep warm. Later that evening in the comfort of our hotel room, we discussed dinner plans. It was snowing harder and with sundown the temperature really dropped. It was also very windy. The blizzard was upon us! Although the easy choice was for my husband to go out and bring us back a pizza, we decided to be adventurous, so we bundled up and headed out.

We were told we could find about anything we wanted to eat two blocks away on 9th Avenue. The blizzard forced many restaurants to close, but we found one that was open and the food was fantastic!  Zigolini’s Pizza Bar is located at 675 9th Avenue and offered a warm and inviting atmosphere. At the end of the bar we could see a brick oven and instantly knew we were in for a treat. We ordered the Diavola pizza which was spicy, fresh and delicious. For dessert we tried the Pizzetta da Dolce Vita which was made with Nutella and marshmallows and marketed as their version of s’mores, it was incredible. Zigolini’s was worth the two-block walk through freezing wind and snow. When we go back to NYC, we’ll have this restaurant on our “must see” list.

The snow continued throughout the night and the once bright and colorful view from our hotel window quickly turned to a wall of white with the snow blowing sideways. Monday morning the view out our window was much different -- the city was blanketed in snow and it was beautiful. We walked to Central Park that morning and it looked like a winter wonderland, just as we had imagined. Monday night was spent indoors at the Broadway production of The Lion King. It was a phenomenal show with an extremely talented cast.

The blizzard may have kept the sightseeing busses from running, but we managed to see much of the city on foot: the tree at Rockefeller Center, the Top of the Rock, Radio City Music Hall, Trump Tower and Macy’s, to name a few. We took the subway to catch the  Staten Island ferry and a view of the Statue of Liberty. The return trip was just before sunset and we were able to snap some very cool pictures.

That evening we had dinner at Grand Sichuan. I think we ordered just about everything on the menu and all of it was amazing. We tried to eat there Monday, but they closed early due to the snowstorm. It was definitely worth the wait.

We also saw Chicago at the Ambassador Theater and were extremely impressed by the talented cast. We even managed to get a backstage tour afterward which was an added bonus.  Afterward we indulged ourselves with dessert at Trottoria. It was a fun evening.

One of the must-do’s on my list was to take a carriage ride through Central Park. I was afraid all of the snow was going to make that impossible. But on our last night there we were able to take a ride. We went just before dark and the park presented itself beautifully with glistening snow and the black lamp posts lighting the path.

We could not have planned our trip more perfectly. We flew in before the snow came and our return flight home was on schedule. We brought back wonderful memories and will never forget Christmas in NYC or our first blizzard - two surprises for the price of one.