Since it was on Sunday, I made a weekend out of it and drove in on Saturday and stayed in a hotel right on the outskirts of Chinatown and Little Italy. I have not driven there since the late 90s, but I didn't feel like taking a bus. I'll wager I got there quicker anyway, and arrived just as the next snowfall started, but NYC has gotten hardly the amount that we have in Boston; I even overheard somebody say, "it could be worse, we could be living in Boston."
So Saturday was colder and wetter than I would've liked, but I did do some wandering, ending up in the Village like I normally do. As ever the city presents some interesting images or scenes if you're paying attention. I still couldn't live somewhere with so little greenery, however.
Amazingly enough Sunday, the day of the parade, turned out to be sunny and a scorching 40 degrees. This also meant dripping awnings galore, so trying to find a spot where it wouldn't be dripping on me was a challenge. It was also set up like a real parade, with police barriers and a crowd of people with cameras, I mean smartphones. Saw way too many selfie sticks and people using tablets as cameras, but, modern times.
I believe that the spectacle that I'm used to seeing, lion dancers going from storefront to storefront, was mostly done on another day, as this was more like a traditional parade, with floats and corporate sponsors and politicians. But there were a fair amount of lions and other interesting beasts.
More shots can be seen here. I already want to return and explore even more of the city. In better weather, one hopes.
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