New York, New York

New York is ready for Christmas, and I've always wanted to see it in full swing.  Mom and I arrived on the last day of November and were fully immersed in the spirit, starting with a walk around Midtown Manhattan and the evening Radio City Christmas Spectacular show.

New York Public Library

Our hotel was so centrally located on W 46th Street and 5th Avenue that what began as a quick tour of the neighbourhood before the show turned into seeing all the major Midtown sights on day one.  First stop was the New York Public Library, whose magnificent pillared entrance flanked with two regal lions was decked out in Christmas cheer.



We experienced the bustle of Grand Central Terminal and toured the Christmas Marketplace before stopping in at the Chrysler Building next door.

Grand Central

Across from Rockefellar Plaza, St. Patrick's Cathedral was gleaming white, newly cleaned and looking its best.

What I was most excited to see was the giant Norway Spruce in Rockefeller Plaza, which would be lit during our time in the city.  We made our first visit to see the preparations for the big event.

In the evening, we walked the two blocks over to Radio City Musical Hall, ready to watch the Rockettes kick the Christmas spirit into high gear.  This was our family's birthday gift to Mom, and it was a highlight of the week.  The show was indeed spectacular and much more than I expected - part musical, a lot of dance, and even a 3D animated tour of New York.

After the show and our sushi dinner, we wandered over to Times Square to see the lights.  I learned that the area started when the New York Times moved into the central building, and people would come to get their news.  Billboards started popping up, and the first electronic one was for Wrigley's Gum.  The news ticker remains, but One Times Square is now an empty building (save a Walgreens at the base) wallpapered with billboards, and is the most visited place in the U.S.

Day Two was Uptown day.  We started by walking through the southern portion of Central Park, with the main purpose being a visit to the Gapstow Bridge.  Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was a major influence for this trip, and often for life in general.

We took a hop-on-hop-off tour uptown and saw Columbia campus, Harlem, the Dakota, and stopped at a few museums, mostly just to look at the architecture.

We later accidentally ended up at the tree lighting ceremony in Bryant Park behind the library.  We had no idea it was going on, but someone handed us cowbells so we knew we'd have to stay and see what was happening.  We luckily found some dry seats under an umbrella and had explored the outdoor market and grabbed some dinner.  The main event was a performance by professional figure skaters, who were champs skating in the rain.  It was such a fun spontaneous (on our part) event.

Regardless of the rain, we took the nighttime bus over the Manhattan Bridge and through Brooklyn.  It was rather unfortunate that we couldn't see too much, but still valuable to hear the guide talk about the borough.

The following day was Downtown day, and we ended up getting off the bus at the Flatiron building and strolling through the neighbourhoods until we hit ocean.  I particularly loved the area around NYU, and stopping for some cheesecake on Mulberry Street in Little Italy.  Chinatown was bustling and colourful, and the financial district contrasted the artsy streets further north.  The World Trade Centre memorial was a moving tribute, with giant fountains flowing into deep pools in the footprint of the Twin Towers, and One World Trade Centre rising behind.

This evening was the big tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Centre, and it was literally impossible to get to, although I tried.  Police lined the streets guarding barricades, so that the crowd had to follow in one direction and only crossing at particular intersections.  After circling several blocks all the way around the square, only to find that there was no actual way to cross the street to be in the right area, it became obvious that it was closed off.  So I went back to the hotel (a mission, it was almost closed off too), and watched the ceremony on TV.  About an hour after it ended, I went back out to see it on it's first big night.

Saks across the street had an amazing light show going on while onlookers admired the tree, playing a dramatic Carol of the Bells, with an interlude of the Home Alone soundtrack between shows.

On our last day in the city, we went up the Empire State Building.  It was great waiting until the last day, because we had fun picking out the buildings we had seen and routes we had walked.

I was impressed by this pigeon, who had flown up 84 floors just to rest here

Mom and I split up for a while to do our own thing, so I tested out the subway and went back to Central Park for a walk.  There are lots of meandering paths and I got a little lost for a while, but enjoyed every minute anyway.

Finally, before leaving for our flight home, I made one last visit to see the tree in it's full glory on it's first full day.  The square was full of skaters and people enjoying the first clear day of the week.
And after an fascinating cab ride with a driver who told us his life story, Mom and I had a celebratory Manhattan at the airport and toasted a fantastic trip to an incredible city. Until next time, New York.

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