Times Square the Sunday Before Christmas

Yesterday, we traveled down to Midtown Manhattan after waiting out the second snowstorm of the weekend. Our first stop was the world famous eight-story Macy's building on 34th Street. After braving the insanely crowded first floor, which staffs more security guards and perfume sales ladies than most malls' entire employee rolls, we traveled up to the eighth story to get a glimpse of Santa land. We didn't actually go through the entire wait to see Santa, but it did look like a neat experience. The window displays on the sidewalk outside of Macy's were just as good as the hype, but with all the reflection coming from the windows, it is impossible to get a good picture of them.

From there, we walked NE on Broadway past the Empire State Building to the frenetic lights and signs of Times Square. We went into a Hershey's chocolate where everything was way overpriced. We also went into one amazing - though horrendously crowded - Toys 'R Us that had a full-sized ferris wheel inside, an electronic T-Rex from Jurassic Park, and several large replica buildings made out of Legos.

Afterwards, we walked by the Radio City Music Hall to the Rockefeller Center, NBC studios and the well-known ice skating rink and ginormous Christmas tree. The area was, not surprisingly, very crowded. And after braving the crowds this long, we were ready to go back to the apartment.