Tuesday, December 15, 2015

New York: December 15, 2015; finally

Romulus, Michigan:  wide open spaces

Cold in Detroit / Romulus this morning.  The day in stasis actually turned out to be relaxing.  Nothing to do and no feeling that I had to see anything.

Gray and cool day this morning in Romulus (outside Detroit).  December 14, 2015.
New York City:  very few wide open spaces.... crowds

I made it to New York City, a city that literally makes smile.  It was a huge difference from this morning, though.  The whole land of airport hotels was pretty wide open.  NYC, of course, is pretty crowded.

Warm in New York, too.  I walked around this evening with just a hoodie and a t-shirt.  I could have used another layer, but it was tolerable.  Landed at around 5:45 PM, and it took just over an hour to get to my hotel from LaGuardia.

I headed over to Rockefeller Center as soon as I could, since I came to New York City to see it all gussied up for Christmas.

Except for the zamboni, the classic view of Rockefeller Center with the statue of  Prometheus.  The tree is smaller than it seems on TV, and the rink is a lot smaller than it appears.  (A warm) December 15, 2015 at 8:13 PM.  f/4, 1/60 at ISO 1600.
You don't see the crowds on TV.  Very crowded, and many people not respecting the unspoken rule at tourist spots:  take your shot and leave to let other people get their shots.  December 15, 2015 at 8:12 PM.  f/3.5, 1/50 at ISO 1600.


Christmas lights and windows

I've always heard that the stores along 5th Avenue, especially Macy's, go all out for Christmas, too.  Saks Fifth's Avenue store is crazy.  Across the street from the tree at Rockefeller Center, it plays incredibly loud music and has a light show that synchs with it.

The ridiculously large light show at Saks Fifth Avenue.  Music is playing very loudly, audible over the crowd and traffic and from a block or so away.  December 15, 2015 at 8:24.

The ridiculously large light show at Saks Fifth Avenue.  December 15, 2015 at 8:24.

The ridiculously large light show at Saks Fifth Avenue.  December 15, 2015 at 8:24.
The ridiculously large light show at Saks Fifth Avenue.  December 15, 2015 at 8:24.

The windows at Saks are seriously strange.  Some of the windows have a theme which , if I recall correctly, is "winter wonders of the world."   It consists of a series of monuments or buildings or natural phenomena but adapted for winter.  For example, the Snow Sphinx of Egypt or the Ice Great Barrier Reef.  See some below: 
The "Frost Taj Mahal." Window at Saks Fifth Avenue.
The "Ice-Cold Colosseum of Rome." Window at Saks Fifth Avenue.
These windows are so nonsensical and made me laugh out loud.  I had to stop, though, because some people were really enjoying it and I overheard a woman say, "It's so beautiful."  Hm....

Lights at Bvlgari.  5th Avenue.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

This shot might be too Gotham City, but I still like it.  St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City.  December 15, 2015 at 8:15.  I brought a tripod with me, but it was much too crowded to use, so I bumped up the ISO, but because of all the light, it didn't need to go extremely high.  f/3.5, 1/6 at ISO 1600.

Interior of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City.  December 15, 2015 at  8:32 PM f/3.5, 1/6 at ISO 1600.

Ceiling of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York city.  December 15 ,2015 at 8:32 PM f/3.5, 1/6 at ISO 1600.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I'll be heading to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.  Weird to go when it's so warm, but I'll try to be in the mood for it.