Many will find it weird, but it is true. In my 9 years living in New York, I had never had a Christmas in the city, until last year when the just city conquered my heart.
We have a tradition that every year, my brother’s family and I gather at my parents house for Christmas. But last year, a European client who visits the Hamptons during Christmas wanted me to talk some business and hence I couldn’t go home for the holidays. The client was too important for the firm to deny. But is so happened that the morning of 24th, the client had to return urgently and I was spared the torture of working on Christmas. I called my travel agent but there was nothing that could get me home in time.
Yvonne was going to spend the Christmas with her family. I had been dating her for close to a year now but I still didn’t want to spoil her plan. However when she heard what had happened, she wanted me to spend the Christmas with her family but I denied since I hadn’t officially met them.
When I I reached home and deliberated for quite some time as to what I could do but soon the barrenness of my apartment on the day of Christmas Eve started to get to me and I couldn’t stand being in there. So I stepped out to spend Christmas with New York.
The first destination that hit my mind was Central Park. I had been to the place a numerous times, but I wanted to see how it looked different on Christmas Eve. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed, nothing much changed. I came out and saw the Hansom Cab and immediately found myself missing Yvonne. A cab stopped and a female who looked a lot like Yvonne stepped out and started walking towards me. I thought I was dreaming but then she came close and kissed me. As soon as I recovered from the shock, I held her hand and pulled her towards the cab. Finally, it had begun to be a romantic Christmas. Yvonne confessed that she tracked me with the help of my iPhone app.
After the ride, we went to the Columbus Circle and even after seeing it so many times, its architectural beauty still enchanted me. From there, we went to the Holiday Market on Union Square and I was shocked to know that I had missed this place the whole time I was here. We did some shopping around and moved ahead to the Rockefeller Center.
The first thing I wanted to see was the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. I had heard about it since childhood but never had the privilege of seeing it first hand. Another weird thing is that the tree usually goes up a week after thanksgiving, and I still hadn’t seen it. When I reached there, I was first astonished by its sheer size and then captivated by its beauty. All those lights and that fantastic decoration was simply a feast for the eyes. We wanted to go skating but the rink was overflowing and we dropped the idea. But we were lucky that we got to skate at the Bryant Park and that too free. Yvonne then dragged me to Barney’s and Bergdorf’s and what not for shopping. In the end, I felt that I knew every inch of Madison Avenue, but who’s complaining. I had to agree, it was a good experience. Plus, I managed to pick gifts for everyone where she did the choosing task, not me.
I didn’t remember when was the last time I had had so much fun cruising through New York. I had become a New Yorker long back, but that day, I truly and completely fell in love with New York.
