Christmas in New York

A friend and I took the ferry to New York yesterday.  I love Christmastime in NYC.  It's crowded, it's decorated over the top, it's exciting, and it's - Christmastime in New York.  I try to go in at least once a Christmas season.  And it's over fast!  With all the Christmas hoopla from before Halloween, in New York it starts at the proper time.  All right, some things are there early, but the tree isn't lit until December.

We went to the MOMA, where I confirmed that my favorite museum is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we didn't want to wait for the Tim Burton exhibit

the star on top of the Christmas tree up close:

We loved the Bergdorf Goodman windows:

with my friend Penny, who met us for window-shopping

we walked past the Plaza Hotel....

past Central Park on Central Park South

To Times Square, where we sat on the steps of TKTS for at least 45 minutes and watched.

Sponge Bob Square Pants was there, as were Minnie and Mickey Mouse, but the view from the top of the stairs was fun:

I bought pashminas on the street, and we stopped at the 39th St. flea market, and before you knew it, it was time to take the ferry back to the car, and then home again.

On my pedometer I walked over 15,000 steps, which is over 5 miles.

And that was the first Advent for me.  Turns out, my friends had no clue what advent is.  We celebrate it in Germany with a candle on each of the four Sundays before Christmas, a preparation for Christmas time.  Well, interesting, they said.