Expect the Unexpected...

 

I have, unfortunately, been somewhat discouraged this holiday season.  First, I was unable to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, which are inflated the night before Thanksgiving a block away from my apartment, due to a torrential downpour of rain, and I overslept the following day to get a decent spot to view the parade.  It didn't really matter, however, because I went to the top of Rockefeller Center with my parents instead and spent an hour on the observation deck trying to permanently imprint to my memory the astonishingly breathtaking views.

 

I have resolved to do as much touristy stuff as possible while living in New York, so although I was unable to see the Macy's balloons, not to be discouraged, I determined to see the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center the following Wednesday on November 30th.  Well wouldn't you know it, apparently President Obama decided last minute to ditch his responsibilities at the White House and make a surprise appearance.  Consequentially, the security was so tight that it was literally impossible to see the tree.  As one police officer informed us, "You might as well go home, we are literally sending you in circles.  The tree will still be here after January 1st, so go home"...geeze talk about a real Scrooge.  Anyways in order to embrace the holiday festivities we went to go look at the windows at Bergdorf (which are allegedly the best window displays because they take up an entire block-the them was the Animal Carnival).  

 

Lessons learned from this experience: 1). In a city as busy as New York you better learn to be flexible because things are constantly changing at a rapid pace. 2).  New Yorkers are shockingly grouchy during the holidays.