We left Hunter at around 1:30 and walked to Fifth, taking a downtown bus. We got off at 56th and walked back to 57th to see Tiffany's windows. Since I had to pick Alex up to see them, I didn't get any photos of his enjoyment of them, but he did enjoy them a lot. They have a carousel theme this year and their windows show carousel animals getting free and roaming Central Park. Here's a link to photos that are of a much better quality than my camera (or skill) can take.
http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/the-holiday-windows-at-tiffany-company-2011
From there, we walked down Fifth to Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Alex fondly remembered our visit to Saint Bart's last year, so once we were in front of St. Pat's, he agreed to go in. He was thrilled to be around so much majesty. Because Dan still identifies as a Catholic, I took Alex to some saints' shrines and lit candles there with him, telling him to keep Daddy and his family in mind while we did. I also took him to see the large creche there and I realized that he didn't understand what it was because he'd never heard the Nativity Story. (Hicksite Quakers don't place a lot of emphasis on literal interpretation of the Bible, viewing the stories as illustrative moral lessons instead of history. The Hicksite view of the nativity is that the story contained in Luke is a mixture of fact and fiction and that it did not take place in December anyway.) I told him that I would explain the scene in front of him with Daddy.
This is Alex at the main altar of the Cathedral.
Our next stop was Rockefeller Center. At night, during this time of year, this area is too crowded to take a child into, but during the day, it has a lighter crowd. Here's Alex at the Angel Promenade
And at the tree:
At Rockefeller Center, there's a new store - the answer to every Lego junkie's dreams. A Lego Store at which shoppers can fill up a cup with Lego pieces from a whole wall of buckets of pieces. Alex was in his glory!!! That's the wall behind him in this photo. I helped him fill his cup with a bunch of unusual pieces, such as axels, hinges, wheels, etc. He's been able to build so many things from it. Not bad for $7.99 I think.
At this point, given that we'd been mobile since about 8 AM, Alex was tired and, at the same time, was excited to play with his new Legos. I suggested that we get some hot cocoa and treats which would give him lots of time to play with his Legos right now. I asked him where we should get this hot cocoa and he immediately said "F.A.O. Schwarz!!!!". We took a bus back up to 58th, but the Schwarz cafe was a little crowded and I knew he was anxious to play with his Legos. So, I suggested another "cool" place: Bloomingdale's! (I was flubbing. I didn't think he would think it was all that cool and it doesn't even have a toy department. But it does have Santa and it's right across the street from Dan's office. I was aiming for a Santa visit with Daddy in attendance.)
We walked up 58th to Lexington Avenue. If I'd been hoping to make Dan's part in it a surprise, this sharp little guy caught on quickly. He immediately recognized Dan's office building. Oh well. He surprised me again when we walked into Bloomingdale's. He announced that it was a really cool place indeed. We went to the 6th floor to get some hot cocoa and fancy cupcakes at Cafe B. Alex didn't ever care if we left. He had his hot chocolate and his new Legos and he was in little boy heaven.
I had to ask him several times if he wanted to go see Santa in person. Since he'd received the personalized videos Santa had sent (from Portable North Pole), he figured he didn't need to see Santa again. "I talk to Santa all the time now.". I urged him that it was very different in person.
Once he SAW Santa - he was excited again. Once Dan arrived there, I snuck over to a register to buy a small pack of Matchbox cars so that Santa could hand them to Alex in his visit. (They'll do it only if there's no crowd where other kids will see it.) This is Alex receiving the cars. NOW he's all about Santa again.
On the walk south from Bloomingdales to Saint Bart's, he told me that he and Santa were now best friends.
We took Park Avenue south and took in lots of the lights.
I didn't get photos of our visit to Saint Bart's. It was very dim inside and Alex distracted me with his deep conversation. We lit a candle there too and stayed a little inside a side chapel that had a (Byzantine like) mosaic of Mary and baby Jesus. In another chapel, we came across someone fervently praying and in crisis, so we ducked out quietly. Alex - who doesn't usually like dark places - wanted to sit down and talk. He told me that Jesus loves everyone. He also said that it's sad to be alone and that he doesn't want to come between me and Dan. (????) I tried to get him to talk more on it, but he wanted to talk more about the sadness of loneliness and how he feels sorry for anyone who is alone. It touched me.
From Saint Bart's, we walked through the Met Life building to Grand Central and then back out to 42nd so we could get to Bryant Park. It's one of our traditions to ride the carousel there next to the rink and in sight of the large tree in the park.
And for our last stop before dinner; but not the least for Alex - a visit to the train display at the New York Transit Museum store in Grand Central. Again, my crappy camera doesn't do it justice (and my video of it was taken sideways), but it's amazing.
By the time we wrapped up here, I was absolutely famished and so was Alex, so we stopped at a Mexican restuarant in the Dining Concourse of Grand Central. We caught at 8:10 train home.
Alex went RIGHT to sleep - needless to say.
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