Christmas in New York

New York will always have my heart. This I knew the first time I stepped foot into the melee of people, smells, noises. That was in 2003 and I was leading an Alternative Spring Break trip during the CMU days. Two years later, I accepted my first teaching job in the heart of Manhattan. There was no way to prepare for the madness that would be that baptism by fire. When I left one year later, I had to choose between a city and a long-distance relationship. And we all know how this one ends.

Over the years I made the pilgrimage back twice--once the year after i'd left and the second time with a group of students on a school trip. Hardly the way to see a city you love in real time.

Paul, being the city dweller and romantic he is, wanted to see New York in all its Christmas splendour. It took awhile but the stars eventually aligned and we made this dream a reality. And New York really knows how to do Christmas. Take the annual Tuba Takeover in Rockefeller Center: 

Or the beautifully decorated stoops:

Or FDNY's Christmas touches: 

Even Grand Central Station dressed up for the occasion:

The other parts of the city that were less dressed up still shone. Take the Flatiron Building:

Or the dog park adjacent to the Flatiron Building. We missed Frank--it's a city chock full of adventure for dogs. 

Along our thousands of steps, we discovered new buildings I'd never known before: 

And, despite the madness, a trip to Times Square was necessary: 

 

Lower Manhattan at a Very Brief Glimpse 

Even wandering the city on foot yielded some peaceful, beautiful moments. The sky was mostly blue and the temperature was warm, well into the 40s for all of the trip. 

 

Washington Square Park 

 

Hong Kong? Nope, Chinatown. A proper one this time, not like London's two emaciated streets.

Brooklyn

And for our major feat of energy, we took a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. 

 

 

 

Great signs all around:

 

Up the skirt of the Brooklyn Bridge: 

 

With views of the city from Brooklyn Heights: 

 

 

 

 

The Financial District 

Back in Manhattan, we made our way to Wall Street and took a detour through TJ Maxx. Because why not?

Our final and necessary stop took us past 1 World Trade Center, not yet a concept during my year living in the city. 

We were confronted by the very moving 9/11 Memorial, two waterfalls into the heart of the WTC foundations. I'd be lying if I said there weren't tears. My beginnings as a teacher started here when I lived on the floor of my friend's NYU 'dorm', a really fancy apartment in the heart of the financial district. On the morning of the 9/11/2005, we listened as a bell chimed for each life lost that day in 2001. This memorial too, was only the beginning of a concept when I lived there. 

And so, we made our way across the great metropolis one view at a time. Be still my raised in the midwest soul.