neadods | The Christmas Travels Catch-up Post

So: what I was doing when I wasn't online.

Friday night was a candlelight tour of a local colonial-era mansion. Alas, as I remember the way it used to be (when I last took the tour *cough* years ago, said tour is no longer given with actual candles. Dim lamps and plastic electric candles do not have the same effect.

Which did not stop me from taking this picture of the dessert table in the dining room. The "trees" are made of rock candy:

Saturday it was up at NYC. Taking the bus up and back doesn't leave a lot of time - not even enough to relax with a good meal - but there's something to be said for eating street fair food while talking with a friend. I love the Bryant Park fair, and it was tons nicer with cider in my hand and

suricattus chatting with me.

brewsternorth and

hhertzof, maybe next time.

The Macys windows were a bit stupid - kids could use touch-screen screens to write a letter to Santa, and then the windows showed how it flew to him. Urg. Lord and Taylor was a little more traditional:

My favorite display, though, was in the NY Public Library. (Which was also selling hilarious "Christmas In NY" cards, with "a pigeon in a Central Park tree," "five golden bagels," "six crabby cabbies," "eight messengers leaping," etc.) The library had greenery everywhere:

A gigantic tree (second shot because I thought it would make good computer wallpaper):

Evergreens wrapped around the necks of all the busts:

And a menorah over the door:

And then there was one of those only in New York pictures. There were clumps of Santas everywhere, although I was too stunned to take a photo of the guy with a reindeer head with the red lightbulb on the nose.