Well, the city is in chaos mode. Thanks to a little time period called The Holidays.
For now we'll start with that fateful Thursday that kicked everything off...
It all began early Thanksgiving morning when I really got to experience what going to see the Macy's parade in person REALLY entails. Every three or four blocks barricade off with police directing traffic to cross the street on only designated corners. Lines trailing outside all the nearest coffee shops and clusters of spectators invading each other's personal space.
And only about 75% of them were wearing masks! I just hope that means more people are getting vaccinated- I still wear one out even though I've been fully vaxxed since summer.
Anyways I really was not up for getting stressed over all this, except for when I literally had to loop around three different streets to find my big sibling and their partner so we could watch the parade together. That had me totally on edge until I finally found them just in time.
Once the parade started, it was without a doubt the best way to watch it compared to seeing it broadcast on TV for the majority of my life. The Macy's parade is the one Thanksgiving tradition I have always been adamant in sticking to every year; it's definitely one I'll keep with my own children in the future.
It was a little hard to figure out who was who on some floats this year; we even sent a video message to our parents asking them to identify this older looking band on one of them- we found out later it was Foreigner!
Despite some mystery celebs on our part, we completely lost our cool seeing the Blue's Clues float with Steve and Joe themselves along with the newest host Josh. The Sesame Street float exclusively featured just the Muppet characters without any celebrity guests or human characters; probably a COVID precaution, but still one of my favorites to see each year!
It was a huge surprise seeing Darren Criss in the parade. I have only seen him in person one other time, back in California when I saw him starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Among other exciting appearances were Sara Barellies and her Girls5Eva costars Busy Phillips and Renee Elise Goldsberry, Jordan Fischer aboard a Disney Cruise Line themed float, Jimmie Allen, Nelly, and so many more!
And of course, the cherry on top is always when Santa closes out the parade on his amazing rooftop sleigh.
When the parade was over we were all famished so we found a popular Thai restaurant and warmed up with some pho, dumplings, and curry dishes. Out Thanksgiving feast was going to be much later that night so we were more than happy to eat as much as we could for lunch.
After that we went looking at the leaves changing in Central Park for a bit before the sun started setting. Then I was able to invite my sibling and their partner up to my dorm where we all just passed out asleep for a few hours. It was a long morning as you can imagine, and we'd had a packed evening the night before when they arrived in the city.
We were glad to have gotten some rest before we made our way back toward Central Park for our Thanksgiving dinner at Tavern on the Green. They really have the tavern ambiance down to a tea, especially in the front room and bar where we ended up having our table next to. I just wish the lighting was better for when our family called just before dinner was served. And all the loud chatter and music around us so we could hear them talking about how their own Thanksgiving was going.
To sum that conversation up, it wasn't very long.
Thankfully, we were served our first of four courses for out meal. The most delicious and savory mushroom soup I have ever had, so much so that I've made it a goal to learn how to make my own version.
My salad course was an onion and lentil salad with red cabbage and balsamic, which was really tasty. I actually had never tried lentils before then, and the onions and balsamic really tied together well with them.
Then came the official Thanksgiving feast plate, that, while super delicious and with all my Thanksgiving go-to's I really wish had bigger portions.
I mean I get that they have a lot of guests at restaurants for holidays like this, but this is one of those holidays where you want to stuff your face full of all that turkey, stuffing and potato goodness!
Maybe they could have more buffets at some places for situations like this.
Anyway, back to the food. Amazing white meat turkey and gravy, with luscious masked potatoes and a perfectly seasoned stuffing. I even gave in to the dark meat which I never eat, but this dark meat was the best.
We even had a dessert course; I selected a white chocolate egg nog pudding, which turned out to be a traditional English bread pudding. It had a very light sweetness and was stiff and a lot chewier than I had thought a bread pudding would be.
Even so, this New York Thanksgiving was such a memorable one. It was even more special to have at least one member of my family with me and to be thankful for all the others back in California.
I'd never thought that I would ever get homesick, not even during the holidays. But after being on my own, living across the country for almost four months straight, I can't deny it.
But, it wouldn't be long now until I would be back on an airplane to come home for Christmas!
Plus, my sibling and their partner were still in town for one more day so we had extra time together.
And what a time we would have.
