Honestly, we would have preferred an apartment in Manhattan kahit na ba pinakamaliit, but the prices there are RIDICULOUS. As it is, 10k php/night na nga mahigit itong tinirahan namin. So we just prayed hard for our safety & Ate booked us an apartment in Brooklyn hehe. There’s a bit of a walk from the subway to the bnb, and the way is paved with nocturnal homies & homeless peeps who (to foreigners like us) seem quite scary. Kapit-bisig talaga kami mag-brisk walk pauwi gabi-gabi at nakatungo hanggang makarating sa bahay. Otherwise, Alice Court itself was nice & cozy. We shared the house with a couple upstairs – a long term tenant, and an 8-5 workspace below (one main entrance pero may kanya-kanya kaming pintuan pagpasok). The only thing I didn’t like was the shared laundry room in the basement which we were allowed to use from 5pm up only since it was also being used nga as a workspace in the day. I would have preferred our own washer & dryer sana para hindi na ako bababa tuwing gabi sa creepy AF bodega to load/unload clothes huhu.

Anyway, super thankful for my girls who, in spite of long & tiresome days, struggled to keep awake so they can go down with me & do the laundry. Kadalasan nga silang 2 nalang ang bumababa kasi alam nilang takot ako sobra maglabada magisa hehe. Thank you loves! :-*

The row of apartments of which one is Alice Court, our home for 11 days. Alice Court a House located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. It was built in 1899 and has 2 stories and 2 units. We occupied the ground level apartment.

As always, dependable Ate made sure we had a private transport to the bnb after a long & tiring trip. Fare was $88 dollars one way for an SUV para magkasya lahat ng maleta at kung ano-ano pang bitbit namin. To contact Carmel Limo, call 1-800-9CARMEL or 1-212-666-6666. The kids wanted to live like New Yorkers our first few days here, which meant subway & walking for our first week in NY huhu. Kaya ito lang ang natatanging kotse na nasakayan ko paglapag. The rest of the week, cadillac-kad na!

Our first day in NYC was December 22nd so the streets were understandably packed with holiday revellers. On the upside, mabagal lang ang lakad namin kasi nga siko to siko ang mga tao hahaha. Even if the kids wanted to speed up, it was physically impossible!

The top of Rockefeller Center Observation Deck, or Top of The Rock, is open Sundays–Saturdays 8:00am – Midnight. Last elevator up is at 11:00pm. Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 1-877-692-7625

Rockefeller Center, a national historic landmark in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, has an Observatory at the top of the Art Deco building with an ocean-liner style design offering the best of NYC views. Our basic ticket cost 2k php EACH. If you want a more detailed & elaborate TOTR experience, you will have to shell out more $$$.

The Observatory has a breathtaking 360-degree view of NYC with stunning sights of the skyline. The building is best known for housing the headquarters and New York studios of television network NBC, as well as the Rainbow Room restaurant. At 850 feet (260 m) high, the 66-story building is the 22nd tallest in New York City and the 47th tallest in the United States. It stands 400 feet (122 m) shorter than the Empire State Building. 30 Rockefeller Center underwent a $170 million floor-by-floor interior renovation in 2014. Hindi na pumalag si Kap sa gastos pagkakita ng skyline. ;)) Ayan oh, ang ganda ng ngiti!

Super ngisay na kami sa lamig, pero tiniis parin namin just so we can see the sunset & beyond. At para masulit din ang binayad, lol. You can read more about the Rockefeller Plaza HERE.

As you can see, Babyson was eager to spend na his birthday & Christmas money. 😛 Si Ate naman gusto masuyod agad ang buong NYC (para syang si Kuya Germs – walang tulugan!). Si Bae, hilong talilong hahaha. Hay buhay, ang hirap maging pamilya na may demokrasya. Dapat yata mag-switch kami ng parenting style to authoritarian eh, para kaming mga magulang ang laging nasusunod! 😛