First Day In New York City

Well, it's 12:30 a.m. in the Big Apple.  I should be in bed, but wanted to get a few pictures posted.  New York, is such a GREAT city.  There is no doubt that this time of the year it is at its very best.  Cartier's gives you the right idea in the pic above....the city seems to wrap itself up as a gift for everyone who lives and visits here.

For ages, Lyn has wanted to ride one of the horse-drawn carriages in Central Park.  Today we got to.  It was a lot of fun...a beautiful winter day, full of sunshine and great memories.  We shared a carriage with a mom & daughter from Aruba with these great Dutch accents.    The ride ended right in front of the amazing Plaza Hotel.  We went inside and explored a bit.

Here's Lyn at one of the many ornately decorated spaces in the Plaza lobby.  I could have taken hundreds of photos at the Plaza alone.

This beautiful tree was tucked away in a little lobby near the hotel restaurant and bar.  I thought it was gorgeous.  One of the neat things about the Plaza is this conservatory-type space where they hold formal afternoon teas.  Lyn sorta wanted to do it, but it was 50 bucks a person for teas and crumpets/cookies.  Uh, no thanks.  (But it sure was a pretty place to drink expensive tea if one were so inclined!)

I've been to many cathedrals in Europe, and I halfway expected to be disappointed in St. Patricks.  I wasn't at all.  It is truly a beautiful edifice.  It took my breath away. It was so clean and pristine...looked like it was brand new.  I was truly impressed.  (Especially since I just completed--for the 2nd time--Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, all about the building of the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral in England.) I want to go back earlier in the day to see the sunlight stream through the rose windows.  Exquisite.

Tonight was incredible.  After dinner at a randomly selected Italian restaurant on Restaurant Row (a very good one, by the way), we went to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular.  We saw their road version last year in LA.  It was like a kindergarten show in comparison to what we experienced tonight.  We were both blown away.  I expected corny but was radically impressed--especially with the technology.  It really upstaged the Rockettes in my opinion...or at least equalled them.  I kept wishing Shane, Billy, and Curtis could have been there to see it.

This is the lobby of the Radio City Music Hall.  Sooooo pretty!

This is just ONE of dozens of incredible HD-projected set designs that looked so real you would have sworn they were three-dimensional.  This was supposed to be Santa's Toy Warehouse.  

We ended the evening at the Top of the Rock--the 67th floor of the Rockefeller Center.  I got this shot of the Empire State Building. From this distance, we were able to watch a "dress rehearsal" of the dropping of the New Years Eve ball on Times Square.  It was so cool--lots of new LED technology. I took pictures and video, but don't think they'd translate well here.

It was an awesome day #1!

Off to bed!