Christmas in the city

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! I had a wonderful time in Wisconsin with family, including many delicious vegetarian Thanksgiving foods (and lots of pie!). Although I was sad to leave, I got to return to New York City in full holiday swing. Christmas in Manhattan is a truly magical experience! I had an excellently festive weekend with Andrey, who visited me for the second time this semester, before we are both immersed in final exams; here are some of our adventures...

One of the many Christmas tree shops that pop up on street corners in December:

All the flags downtown were at half-mast to honor Nelson Mandela this Friday:

Rockefeller Center was packed but absolutely lovely on Saturday (I wish I'd gotten a better picture of the amazing tree!):

30 Rock:

After visiting Rockefeller Center, we took a walk down Fifth Ave to see the windows. Unfortunately this is the only picture I took that actually came out, but I assure you they did not disappoint this year:

A snippet of the light show projected onto the side of Saks on Fifth Ave during December:

 This candle is probably the best thing to ever happen to me (I'm not even exaggerating that much). It is a Christmas tree in a candle. No joke. Andrey is a total candle-hater, and immediately made a beeline for a salesperson to ask which one was burning in this store so he could buy it. I burned it for half an hour yesterday and my bedroom still smells like a real delicious tree! (Thanks for the early Christmas present, Andrey!)

And lastly, the New York City Subway system is holding parties in vintage train cars every Sunday in December; you only need to swipe your MetroCard to get in. How cool is that? I'm hoping to go next weekend, if I'm not drowning in flashcards and study guides.

Hope everyone is having a lovely December!