The Holidays Have Arrived!

Esther and I just wrapped our respective midterm frenzies, and headed out tonight to actually enjoy "the capital of the world" that we live in. It was lovely to take in the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, filled with carefree tourists and happy families. We wandered over to Bryant Park, where the lawn has been converted into a giant ice rink that was much more crowded than the one at the Rock. We hypothesize that it must be exorbitant rates at the Rockefeller Center rink that probably drove everyone over to Bryant Park. In the mean time, we browsed through the holiday shops surrounding Bryant Park and came upon a stall selling Max Brenner's chocolate treats! A worker at the shop gave us samples of caramelized pecans coated in chocolate - simply divine. I haven't had chocolate in a while (this was the first year I didn't manage to taste any Halloween candy - no Twix, no Kit-Kat, no nothing! Shocking.), so I'd forgotten how a such a small treat can be so utterly enjoyable. Esther debated between getting the "chocolate syringe" or the "O.M.G. Chocolate Chip Cookie." The shopkeepers said the syringe can be a bit too much chocolate, so she settled for a warm chocolate chip cookie. Nothing like a WARM chocolate chip cookie on a sub-50F night!

I loved seeing the Christmas ornaments out, the pumpkins for sale, the beginning of Christmas shopping... The holidays make the harsh winters on the East Coast more bearable, and even enjoyable (singing carols about white Christmases and sleigh rides just seemed a bit incongruous in sunny, mild California). I'm learning how to dress appropriately for the winter now - learning NOT to be fooled by a sunny day into thinking that it WON'T be cold outside - so perhaps I'll be able to find the fun of the holiday season here too!