Oh boy, these next few Actifit reports are going to be jam-packed with pics from very uniquely New York City events, including the New York Botanical Gardens Train Show, Eric Prydz's HOLO concert, and the 99th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade! I hope you enjoy my photo tour of these events today and tomorrow as I share my actifit journey with you all!
Wednesday started like just another school day, with my short walk to work, but we only had to work a half day due to a school holiday on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving in the USA. Part of Wednesday's activities at school were a hip-hop 50th anniversary assembly and a Thanksgiving luncheon.
The faculty and students put on a great show: narrating a script about the history of hip-hop, dancing choreographed routines to classic songs, and sharing spoken word about the power of hip-hop community. My two favorite performances were a dance routine to a compilation of Nikcy Minaj songs and a powerful spoken word poem shared by one of my fellow teachers.
After the assembly, I hurried back upstairs to help serve the students and faculty of 6th grade a Thanksgiving luncheon that included: roast chicken, cornbread, sweet potatoes, collard greens, stuffing, and mac & cheese. Students and teachers alike were having a great time eating tasty food and relaxing on the day before a 4-day weekend. Check out my plate of sweet potatoes and collard greens. Delicious!
After school let out, I quickly hurried home to change because I had to stop by Macy's department store in Manhattan before heading up to the New York Botanical Gardens up north in The Bronx. At Macy's flagship store in Herald Square, I had to stop by to pick up tickets to the bleacher viewing area for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, a 99-year-old New York City tradition with giant balloons and celebrity floats. More on that tomorrow!
I popped back onto the subway, leaving Macy's, and it took me another 45 minutes to get up to Allerton stop in The Bronx. Something I want to do more often is document some of the art of our subway stations, which is often taken for granted. Check out this sweet stained glass adorning the Allerton elevated station.
It had to walk 5 blocks over to the East entrance to the New York Botanical Gardens, which is on the opposite side of the grounds from the conservatory where the Holiday Train Show is set up. I definitely got my steps in as I made the mile-long walk from the subway station to the exhibit. I passed quite a few landmarks in the NYBG on the way.
East Entrance
Bridge over the Bronx River
The fountain by the NYBG main entrance has been drained of water and decorated for the coming winter holidays.
Going to the Holiday Train Show is a family tradition for my mom and us. Using nothing but glue and various natural plant matter, dozens of New York City landmarks are recreated on a smaller scale and navigated by a series of different model train tracks. It is amazing to see these historical and famous NYC buildings made out of sticks, leaves, and stone.
Ferris Wheel at Coney Island
Grand Central Station
New York Botanical Gardens
Yankee Stadium
Brooklyn Bridge
New York Public Library (the one from Ghostbusters!)
Bethesda Fountain at Central Park
New York City Hall
Macy's Department Store in Herald Square
Financial District including The Freedom Tower, The Statue of Liberty, and more!
I could post another dozen pictures, but maybe I'll leave that to another post. If you want to see more, let me know in the comments. After sole family pictures, we went for a quick pizza dinner on Arthur Avenue, the mecca of Italian pizzarias and restaurants in The Bronx. We went to the historic Arthur Avenue Retail Market, which has some tasty good choices mixed in with its various food market stalls.
I love walls covered in stickers, and there were some gems up here in The Bronx to share with you.
We ordered a variety of 6 pizzas to split among the 9 of us. The highlights were a stuffed pizza with prosciutto and a spicy pizza with salami and peppers. Of course, what Italian dinner would be complete without some tiramisu to share.
I had an hour-long subway ride home to go from The Bronx back to Brooklyn. To close out an action-packed day, my partner and I got tickets to see the first of three sold-out shows by EDM legend Eric Prydz. He is bringing his 3D lighting production show called HOLO to New York City for an exclusive run of 3 shows before a stop in Mexico City and Melbourne to end 2023. We are so lucky to live in NYC to have access to these special performances!
Since Prydz didn't play until 1.30 am, I needed to take a nap to rest up for an event longer Thursday that would include the concert, the parade, and a trip up to Westchester for a family Thanksgiving meal with my extended family. So I laid down at 9 pm and set my alarm for midnight. That means my odyssey for Wednesday is complete, and I'll catch back up with you all to complete my Thanksgiving adventures for my Thursday, Nov 23 Actifit Report.
Thanks as always for stopping by to read and enjoy my actifit report as I document my activity and NYC adventures with all of you!
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