NYC is very crowded during the Xmas holidays

I had to raise my arm high to get a picture above the crowds at Rockefeller Center!
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Our first day in New York City we took it easy, partly because we were a little overwhelmed by the masses of people!  Crowds are something to be expected anytime you travel to a large city, but during Christmas break I found the size of the crowds almost ridiculous!  I think the amount of people contributed to the slower pace of our days - it's hard to get anywhere fast when you can only move as fast as the crowd (or be constantly weaving, pushing, and accidentally pushing your way through).  Still, all the people contributed to the festive atmosphere of NYC over the holidays, and it's part of the fun to slowly walk around the city and take in the sights.

My lovely Jacques Torres souvenirs
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Our hotel was in an excellent location, off of 5th Avenue and 40th Street.  We were very close to Grand Central Terminal, and so of course had to go take a look at the beautiful Main Concourse right away.  I think it's such a beautiful terminal and also a fun place to visit, as there are restaurants and shopping to keep you busy, in addition to the terminal's actual function!  We enjoyed the light show (complete with music) that was playing across the ceiling, in honor of the Christmas season.

We also stopped at the Grand Central Market within the terminal while we were there, my favorite part of the terminal.  We scoped out what we would later come back to buy for dinner:  blackberries, cheeses, almonds soaked in honey, turkey pastrami, and a fresh baguette.  Too bad we didn't have room for all the lovely pieces of cake I saw on display at one particularly enticing booth!

We made the mistake of trying to walk up 5th Avenue for some shopping.  The high volume of people made walking more of a shuffle.  Once we turned into Rockefeller Center, hoping to glimpse the ice skating rink and the Christmas tree, we pretty much came to a stop against all the other people milling around.  The line to get into the ice rink blended in with the huge amounts of people trying to take pictures of this area, and it was near to impossible to keep even our small group of 4 people together!  So we decided to jump on the subway and head down to Soho, an area that was quieter (at that particular time, anyway).  We walked up and down Spring Street, where there was still plenty of shopping but much less people.  We headed down to our favorite chocolate shop, Jacques Torres, on Hudson and King Streets.  I cannot say enough good things about Jacques Torres.  They have one other location in Brooklyn that I have not been to, but I don't see how they could top the Hudson St. store.  You can go up to the chocolate bar to get hot drinking chocolates (I got mine with fresh orange, very rich!), hand-pick your own boxes of truffles (I was conservative and only bought myself one 12-piece box), plus see through glass windows into the factory area where the chocolates are made.  Do not miss this if you love chocolate - plus they make great souvenirs.