Times Square on the coldest night of the year

I stopped by Times Square on what felt like the coldest night of the year. I had heard of the 'Lighthearted' structure that was set up by the tkts booth at 45th Street and Broadway. It had been set up for Valentine's Day and it was a few days later so I wasn't sure if it would still be there, since Valentine's Day was over, and it was!

While I was there, I decided to stop into the Visitor Center across the street to see what new set-ups they had inside (and mostly to warm up!)

The tkts sign - Mamma Mia is 40% off!

The 'Lighthearted' structure

There is a cool post by NYC <3 NYC here.

Inside the Times Square Visitor Center

The Wishing Wall

BROADWAY!

The New Year’s Eve Centennial Ball which dropped in 2007

Snowwy Weekend

Actually, it was a Blizzard-like weekend here in New York City. Rather than stay in and stay warm, I ventured out to take pictures in Central Park on Sunday afternoon before it got dark. Here's how it went before I eventually got cold and turned around to go back home and warm up!

When I got off the subway...



I saw snow everywhere...



On bare tree branches...



On top of the lake...



Next to the ducks...



all over the hills...



and that was all I could take!



I also saw some adorable Snowmen here and here.

Pink is in this holiday season!

Over on Lexington Avenue and 59th Street are some very pink holiday displays. Across the street from Bloomingdales are two neighboring shops Victoria's Secret and Shoe Woo, which have holiday decorations out that are fun, festive and all in PINK!

Victoria's Secret store entrance


Shoe Woo's window display




Here's an extra pink image - taken of the Daffy's window display in Herald Square:



Thanks @AmyDenev for ID'ing the shoe store for me on Twitter/TwitPic!

Santacon NYC!

Santacon was this past Saturday and the red and white crowds gathered in Williamsburg Brooklyn, New Jersey, Staten Island, Astoria Queens and Manhattan—all before dispersing around the boroughs throughout the day. I heard that most had gathered in Washington Square Park so my photo-blogging friends and I ran down to the West Village and got some great pictures of the red and white sea of Santas, reindeer, snowflakes and even elves!

Santas gathered in Washington Square Park in the West Village

note: they are all actually IN the fountain!
|

Radio Santa blasting some dance tunes

An inebriated Santa leaving the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria

Check out my flickr photostream for more Santa pics, including the one I dubbed, "Office Chair Santa."

Tree Lighting in Bryant Park

The holiday tree in Bryant Park was lit ton Friday night with musical performances and synchronized skating on The Pond. Since I skipped the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center on Wednesday (went last year and couldn't find a good viewing spot), I figured the event in Bryant Park would be perfect because there's a lot more space along 42nd and 41st streets.

The event was great and I was joined by Amy while taking pictures of the wonderful holiday tree and its surroundings, which include the skating rink, referred to as "The Pond" and Celsius, a restaurant/lounge/bar overlooking everything in the park.

The holiday tree

Skaters on The Pond

Celsius restaurant

The Museum of Natural History - ice skating

I hadn't been inside the Museum of Natural History since I was a pre-teen. My 8th grade class visited NYC and D.C. during a school field trip but I don't remember anything about it. Well now I'm a grown up and ready to take on every museum in the city and blog and post photos about it; remembering each visit and every view forever.

My main attraction to this museum was the Polar Rink - an outdoor skating rink next to the planeterium and along 81st Street. My initial understanding, based on photographs and random details, was that it was an indoor skating rink. Well I was surprised when I got there on the cold day that was Sunday March 1st and it turned out to be outside!

I'd had a busy weekend and was a little drunk still from Sunday brunch, but I was on a mission to see this so-called ice rink (it's not real ice, it's a synthetic, plastic-like material), on its very last day, which was this day (March 1st)!

what a cute bear, er, polar bear

Bethesda still feels summerish

In the winter the Bethesda Fountain is dry and the gooey green stuff in The Lake by The Boathouse is frozen over, but something about this spot can still make you feel like it's summertime and you've gone for a jog in your shirt and shorts, like most people did on a fairly warm February day when the temperature peaked around 50 degrees.

Now I've got snow pictures!

I jinxed myself in a good way - I finally took some cute snow pictures! On Saturday, January 31st I headed over to Central Park just before the sun set to see what the park looked like in the dead of winter. I figured the snow would be melted away from the afternoon sun, but instead everything was white (and black too, as you can see).

I've never seen the park covered in snow before. I was impressed. So I entered the park and walked along the slippery paths towards the pond where ducks and geese fluttered and flew about, picking at seeds thrown by a nearby park goer.

It was cold and I froze so I had to leave, but I was happy to see the animals, including a raccoon.

View from border on 59th Street & 5th Avenue. See it in the summertime.

and on flickr.