Nothing like overstating the obvious, but Christmas in New York City is the most magically busy, sparkling, hectic, twinkling, bustling place on earth.
My girlfriend and I took our daughters to NYC for a 36 hour whirlwind tour of the city in her Christmas finery. We managed to shop, walk, eat, drink coffee and hot chocolate (lots and lots of hot chocolate), eat, walk, shop and see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
We left Maryland on the 5:50 train to Penn Station, and were out of the station and in Starbucks before 9 am.
We dropped off our bags and set out to explore. One of our first stops was the Time Warner building which has the stars in the photo above. They continuously change color - so slowly that you don't even realize that it's happening - they're mesmerizing. Here's a second photo taken just seconds after the one above, and you can see the color change:
While we were at the Time Warner building, we had a light lunch from Bouchon Bakery. Finding a place to sit was not easy, and we finally found a spot on the floor and were just about to eat when the security guard told us that we weren't allowed to sit there. Fortunately, some nice folks finished up their lunch and gave us their table. The sandwiches were so yummy, but the best part by far, was the s'more cookie for dessert. Beautiful and delicious! I wish I could show you a picture, but it was gone far too quickly for me to capture it.
We walked along Fifth Avenue and did most of our shopping as window shopping. Very Important Designers plus Fifth Avenue Location equals Very Expensive. It was lots of fun to look, and the people watching was almost as satisfying as the window shopping was. The sparkling decorations were all in place - in fact, I remember this snowflake on Fifth when I visited NYC in December of 1983. Ok - it may not be the exact same one, but it's darn close.
St Patrick's drew us in - along with many, many other visitors.
The spires are majestic against the New York skyline, but entering the sanctuary is a humbling experience. All walks of life, all faiths are represented in the people who visit St Patricks. Many are congregants who regularly worship there; others are passersby amazed at the architecture. Still others are wanderers searching for answers. All are humbled by the vastness of the sacred space.
Along the nave are smaller chapel altars - including one honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe. I love the imagery and the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and was so excited to see that her feast day last week had been honored - in abundance. Beneath the icon bearing her image was an enormous rose arrangement. But on the floor in the chapel were hundreds of vases filled with countless flower bouquets. The smell of the fresh flowers seemed to cling to us and travel with us as we continued around the cathedral. 
Sorry for the back view of that man's big head. I had a problem with big heads on this trip. I was seated behind a man with the biggest head I've ever seen during the Radio City Spectacular. When I wasn't leaning to the right or the left to get a glimpse of the production, I was feeling very bad for his mother. But again, I digress.
Ok - back to St. Patrick's. We stopped by their beautiful handcarved Nativity before we left. There were so many people admiring it and taking pictures that we had to wait for a moment before we were able to see it.
When the crowds moved away, it really was worth the wait. So beautiful - and it seemed to inspire reverence in the most jaded of visitors.
It was odd to reenter the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue after the quiet magnitude of St. Patrick's, but we were there just a limited time. And a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
We found ourselves near Rockefeller Center and got an evening view of the Christmas tree. Now, even though I've seen it on tv, and have seen the tree on two other occasions during Christmas visits to NYC, the sight never fails to delight me. Even now, it elicits a gasp of delight. And it's fun to see the people from all over the States, and all over the world clamoring to get a glimpse of and a photograph with - the famous tree.
We gawked for a while with the other onlookers, but the cold soon took its toll, and we needed a warm store to visit.
The Anthropology store at Rockefeller Center is fantastic. Like other Anthropology stores that I've visited, the designs and displays are really jaw-dropping. It's always fun to see the innovative use of ordinary items to create eye-catching and effective displays. Their window displays took ordinary things (milk jugs, shredded paper, etc) and turned them into art. One of my favorites was this window with the snowflakes cut from recycled paper and the bike wrapped in nubby yarn that looked as though it had very recently been a sweater.
Inside the store were plenty of other noteworthy displays - one used paper cone-shaped drinking cups, while another had clear plastic straws over the ends of grapevine and twigs. That one evoked an ice storm with ice coatings on the branches of the trees. I wish that I'd taken more pictures, but I was a little chicken and was concerned that the store policy police might not appreciate my unauthorized photography!
One thing that I absolutely could not resist photographing was the chandelier in the next photo. It's a one of a kind piece - and I'm so sorry that I can't credit the artist - because it's spectacular! I don't know if you can tell from the photo or not, but the brightly colored circles are plastic lids from milk cartons, orange juice cartons and other containers. There was a barbie leg strung in the mix, various beads and lots of other interesting items that surely would have been trash had this artist not saved them for this piece. Somebody else clearly appreciated this piece - there was a sold sign on it.
This chandelier was so large that it would make a great centerpiece for a restaurant or boutique. I hope it will be placed where lots of people can enjoy it.
After the excitement of the day - and the miles and miles of walking, we headed back to the Upper West Side for dinner and to crash for the night. We had a recommendation to go to Carmine's which was fantastic. It features Southern Italian food served family style - and the food was exceptional. Portions were more than generous, and the food has clearly generated a fan base. We arrived just after 5 pm and had to wait almost an hour for a table. When we left, the wait must have been at least 2 hours - there were people Everywhere!
The second day of our trip will have to be continued in the next post. Stay tuned. . .
