My New Year's Eve in NYC

I'd like to say this blog is just going to be about New York City's New Year's Eve tradition...the ball drop and 1.5 million people standing on one another for 7- 10 hours while they jog in place to stay warm, pee into bottles, and have pizza delivered to their standing spot...but it's not. This blog is going to be about the New York City's New Year's Eve tradition that I experienced. I may sound like I'm bragging, and I am. I just can't help it. I was extremely fortunate to know some very generous people who made my night possible, and otherwise would have never been able to afford such extravagance. So remember throughout my bragging, I'm filled with gratitude and fully aware of how lucky I was.

You should know before going to the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square (or if you're even planning on being in the city that day) that they start closing streets off pretty early. Shortly after noon. And once the barricades are in place, it's very difficult to get through. You must be able to present a very valid reason for going into Times Square. A reservation slip from a restaurant, your hotel key, or a license showing that your last name is Bloomberg. And even then some barricades you just can't get through, and you'll have to go to another street that is allowing people with a reason through. The blockades are not limited to just the center of Times Square. They extend outwards to streets in the 50s (Times Square is off 42nd).

If you are simply going to stand on the street and watch the ball drop, I suppose you have to be in place before the blockades go up. Though I'm actually not sure how you gain entrance to a pen (the areas cordoned off for people on the streets to stand). I think you just have to be there early and stand and never move and the barriers will go up around you.  If for some reason you can't get through, don't be a jerk to the cops. They're doing their job, and you should have been more prepared. Like we weren't. Half our group was in a bar on one side of the blockade and we couldn't get through. Luckily someone was able to bring us a reservation pass and we got through. If you do get through the barrier, you will be searched.

Standing on 42nd

Our hotel was on 42nd Street, so we were able to leave from the bar and stay within the barricaded area and walk across 7th Ave and Broadway and see some of the stuff being set up. Intersections are what one cop called "frozen," so even though cars can't drive through you can't just stand around anywhere. I was however able to stand on the yellow lines running down the middle of 42nd, and that was cool! A lot of businesses on the streets surrounding Times Square also close early, simply because no one can get to them anyway.

So we had reservation to attend a private party being held at the R Lounge in the Renascence Hotel in Times Square. Even though our hotel was about a block from the Lounge, we had to walk a pretty good ways. When we found a blockade letting people through we showed our VIP passes and were escorted by a police officer through the middle of Times Square between all the pens of people, feeling very special and sorta bad for everyone around us. But then there was that part of me that wanted to beauty queen wave to everyone like I was famous. Hey, what difference do they know?!

The R Lounge

The R Lounge is a fairly small room that seats maybe 50 people and has glass walls that look directly out onto Times Square and the New Year's Eve ball. The decor was breathtaking. Glass tables with bottoms that changed colors, chairs that looked like crystal or ice, whispy bouquets of huge white feathers, and candles everywhere. Every chair had a party hat on it, and I'm talking awesome hats that reminded me of the Mad Hatter's tea party hats. The tables had confetti and noise makers and mardi gras beads.

Then there was the food. Short ribs, sushi, shrimp, risotto, and so many hors d'oeuvres. The dance floor was fair sized and the dj was amazing and for more fun there was a free photo booth to play in. We missed out on all the performances and party stuff going on outside, but I doubt anyone cared. Although I only saw one announcement on the jumbo-tron about another country's beginning of 2013, apparently there is a mini celebration every hour as it strikes midnight around the world. That would have been cool to see more of.

So at 12 minutes to midnight the biggest surprise of the night comes...our group, and our group alone, will be watching the ball drop from the roof of the lounge! The only other people up there were employees of the hotel. We got up there just in time to snap a group photo and then watch the countdown. Even though we were on a roof, the building still went up higher, and confetti was thrown down from that rooftop, right on top of us. It was amazing. There were fireworks, of course singing, just one massive celebration. Managed to snag some confetti, which actually isn't all that easy with it flying everywhere.

When we got back to our table we actually had swag bags. Inside was hand sanitizer (which we should have used I guess since almost all of use were sick within the next few days), water, and a Waterford Crystal snow globe with the New Year's Eve ball inside. The actual Times Square ball is made of Waterford Crystal and this year was the last year in a line of commemorative snow globes. On a side note - snow globs cannot go through security in an airport. Might seem obvious now that I point it out, but it never occurred to me that the thing was technically filled with more than 3 ounces of water. I didn't give mine up, but I did have to go check a small bag for $35.

Trash!

After that it was just back to the hotel pretty much. It's amazing how fast Times Square clears out. I'm not saying you'll get where you're going quickly, I'm just saying Times Square empties out fast. The police start herding people out immediately so that clean up can begin. And the amount of trash left on the ground is unbelievable. But it's back to clean by morning time. I almost wanted to stay and watch them clean for a bit.

I really have to thank the Knapp family for their enormous generosity. Watching the ball drop on New Year's Eve was on my Bucket List, and not having to fulfill that dream by standing in the freezing crowds was incredible. I know for certain that I will never forget where I was when 2013 rolled in.