Holiday!

So far the festive holiday stuff that I have spotted around town has been mostly on 5th Avenue. Saks, Henri Bendel, Bergdorf and lots of other stores already have their decorations out. Bloomingdale's on Lexington and 3rd is getting there, and I believe Macy's over on 6th and 7th started decorating first, as I noticed trees (and pumpkins) lining the streets right before Halloween!

There's ice-skating in Rockefeller Center next to the big tree, in Central Park at Wollman's Rink and in Bryant Park at The Pond. I'm not crazy about ice-skating. Too slippery if you ask me, but I'll probably be out and about throughout the winter to watch from the sidelines since there's always tasty food and attractions nearby—especially at the one in Bryant Park!

Saks Fifth Avenue—on 5th Avenue!

The exterior of Bergdorf Goodman on 59th & 5th has lots of wreaths!

Wollman's Rink in Central Park

More to come of course...

Empire State Building Colors

I've been seeing pictures of the Empire State Building a lot more lately - mainly thanks to NewYorkology and ESB_Lights on Twitter. The twitter handle LatinoEvents posts gorgeous photos from time to time as well. It's cool to learn about the meanings behind the different colors that appear every other night or so—on Halloween the lights were orange and the next day for the ING Direct NYC Marathon, they appropriately stayed orange. Recently they were purple to honor the March of Dimes foundation, and blue for World Diabetes Day.

Tonight, it was back to its usual white.

Two famous buildings from a distance

From Queens you can sometimes see two of our city's most famous skyscrapers - The Empire State Building and The Chrysler Building. Whether it's dark or bright, day or night, you can see their pointy tops beyond the few tall buildings and water towers in Long Island City.

It's always nice to be on the subway and look out the windows or across the platform to see amazing sights like these. I hope that everyday commuters take a moment every now and then to enjoy the unique and bold sights and sounds that we have all around us from whatever point in New York City we might be in - Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, The Bronx or Manhattan.

View of The Empire State Building and Chrysler Building from Queens borough Plaza

Big apples in the Big Apple!

Apparently there are a few big apples throughout this city. I found some info on flickr that details their purpose and what they were a part of. They were decorated and placed around the city back in 2004 as part of the Big Apple Fest, "a public art initiative to promote the city and benefit charities."

I came across one of these back in July and another one on Halloween night. This was when I realized there might be more than just the one! These sculptures are very unique and obviously tongue in cheek!

This one is on 86th Street and York Avenue

Spotted in Midtown East between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue

The Empire Hotel

A very scenic part of New York City starts at Broadway in the Upper West Side. From 59th Street's Time Warner buildings and the fountain at Columbus circle, to 66th Street's Lincoln Center and in between at the Empire Hotel on 63rd Street. Julliard, Avery Fisher Hall and Fordham University are all within the vicinity as well.

Scenes from Gossip Girl and Sex and the City 2 have been shot here, and thanks to all of the recent hype, there will likely be many more to come!

This is a great little part of town to visit if you are visiting. The famous Tavern on the Green restaurant is nearby, plus Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond and a Leows theater featuring IMAX makes this a great spot for shopping and entertainment.

The Empire Hotel with the Time Warner Buildings in the background