It's the most wonderful time of the year...

                             

        Top ten things I love about Christmas in New York

No.10 

Eggnog

            

To me it tastes like Indian basundi - rich and creamy - with eggs. Unfortunately, you can drink it only so much. It's heavy!                                                                          

 No. 9
Pumpkin pie

      

Of all the pies, this is my favorite! Maybe because it is seasonal. You don't get it after winter. I like the smooth velvety texture of the pumpkin filling over apple pie, any berry pie, pecan or key lime pie.

                                                           
No.8
Pumpkins

Pumpkins are harbinger of winter. When they start arriving in the market in October, before Halloween, I know winter is not far behind. With their plump round shape, they look as cute as chubby babies. And that bright orange color adds so much life to the otherwise gray- brown wintry landscape.

             
 No.7
Roasted chestnuts from the carts on Fifth Avenue

This is my ritual- when I go to Fifth avenue to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree or the window displays at Bergdorf and Saks or just for a walk, I always buy a small bag of roasted chestnuts from the pretzel carts. It's so much fun to shell and eat the warm chestnuts while walking through the hordes of shoppers.

       
 No. 6
Christmas Music on radio      

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihW56Xa3
A week before Thanksgiving radio stations start playing Christmas music all day long. There are so many beautiful Christmas songs by Bing Crosby, Andy Williams and others and I like them all. But my Chirstmas season would be incomplete if I didn't hear Jose Faliciano's Feliz Navidad .


 No.5
Weary shoppers on cold wintry nights

When it gets dark at 4 pm, it feels good to have the stores stay open late into the night. And since I don't have to do any gift- giving, I can just enjoy watching other people lug their heavy shopping bags.      

   

   No. 4
Department store window displays
                                

     

Mumbai and Pune have their own version of displays during Ganapati Festival. Unfortunately, I am never there, around that time of the year, to see those. But I make sure to check out all the window displays on Fifth avenue during the holidays.         

     
 No.3:
      Skaters at the Rockefeller Center skating rink and at the Wollman rink in Central Park



Coming from a tropical country, I don't get the joy of skating on ice in freezing temperatures; but it is fun to watch!

     No.2
    Rockefeller Center Christmas tree

       
This year the tree is a 85 foot tall Norway Spruce from Hemlock Township, Pennsylvania. 45,000 lights will be used to decorate it.

                                                       

    No. 1
And the number one thing I love about Christmas in New York:

Christmas trees for sale on city sidewalks
          

  Most of them come from Canada. Through bitter cold, winds, snow, and sleet the sellers stand by their trees wrapping and primping them for the buyers to take home. And that's the best sight in NYC this time of the year.

It's the happiest season of all!

I have tried to make this post visually appealing by adding some images from google. In most cases if you click on the photo it will take you to the original web site.
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Photos of Fall

Central Park looks so beautiful in fall! Not that it looks bad in other seasons. In summer it's all green. The trees are laden with green leaves and the grass is green too; it looks rather monochromatic but quite nice. In summer you really can't see anything beyond where you are in the park. You are surrounded by thick, dense vegetation and it is peaceful and tranquil. But as the trees begin to shed leaves, the park opens up. All the hidden treasures - the fountains, ponds, bridges and walkways that you couldn't see before because of all the greenery, come into view. And the changing colors of the leaves make the park look very lively. 

If I am not mistaken, there is a shot of this fountain in one of the Karan Johar movies.

                               

New York city has so many beautiful parks. Just the Upper West Side has three big ones - Riverside Park, Morningside Park (below) and Central Park that is shared by the east and the west side of Manhattan.    

                                         

Helicopter flying over the cathedral of Sanint John

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