Hello, it’s been a while! I write to you with a NYC Thanksgiving special. My first NYC blog post was over the Christmas period, and now I’ll share Thanksgiving. This trip was back in November with my mum and sister Avni. As with my two Paris posts, one is Priyanka’s trip and the other is Priyanka and Avni’s trip. If you’re travelling with Avni, chances are it’s very well planned with all the right hot spots. I should really dedicate a little spot here for her to guest blog the full AJ experience…
Behind the scenes:
- This trip was specifically for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade that my mum has wanted to experience for years. At long last we finally made it!
- The Thanksgiving parade is a really big tradition in the States and falls on American thanksgiving weekend, around the end of November. People come from all over to experience it. With that said, you need to arrive early and find your spot fast. It’s like a famous city’s Santa Clause parade but 10x more busier (the photo above was my view).
- The floats are weirdly huge and also a bit random. For example, we had Ronald McDonald, the Pillsbury Dough Man and Dragon Ball Z characters all float past in one parade. People were fascinated.
- The parade kicked off with the famous turkey float in celebration of thanksgiving, and slowly transitioned into the start of the Christmas period, ending with Santa on his sleigh. I assume this is why there’s no famous NYC Santa Clause parade – they do a combo one over thanksgiving.
Final thoughts:
- The parade is a very fun experience and definitely worth it if you live near NYC or happen to be there over Thanksgiving. I think I prefer christmas parades as the entire event is dedicated to the festive period and always feels so exciting and relevant, but I’m so glad I got to experience this one as the parade is so famous world-wide.
- The parade is only a few hours, so if you’re in NYC for a few days, here are some good spots and things to do:
- Brooklyn walking tour – 100% recommend! These are free walking tours and you tip your guide at the end. It’s always nice having a local show you around and give you some fun facts.
- Partners Coffee is a cool coffee spot in Williamsburg with good coffee and atmosphere.
- I said it in my last NYC Post but I’ll say it again: one of the best skyline views is from Dumbo, Brooklyn.
- La Esquina is a secret bar/restaurant – so fun and vibey inside! They don’t take reservations so be sure to arrive at opening time.
- Marie’s Crisis was an experience! It’s a small piano bar in the West Village for musical theatre lovers. The pianist plays a song and you bet the entire crowd is singing along, facial expressions n all. It got pretty full on at times, with people singing at the top of their lungs, but still a really fun experience!
- We went to an improv show at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre – so good and definitely recommend!
- Sadelle’s is a really tasty brunch spot. Their bagels were delicious and overall a really good vibe. Definitely book ahead though.
- Wayla is a nice Thai restaurant with good vegetarian options.
PS – Grimaldi’s is the famous pizza spot under the Brooklyn Bridge, but did you know that it’s under new ownership, so not technically the original anymore? Long story short, the original owners bought Juliana’s next door so if you want the original Grimaldi’s pizza, go to Juliana’s.
View from Dumbo, Brooklyn
View from the Brooklyn Bridge, featuring Avni
Central Park
