Christmas is breaking out all over Manhattan and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. The ice rinks are up and running, Christmas trees are popping up everywhere and light displays are starting to illuminate the night. Here are a couple of shots I took this evening.
Pretty, right? The only thing is, I’ve been spoiled by too many Christmasses in London. They know how to do Christmas lights there. Something I never see here are lights strung from one side of the street to the other. Those are the Christmas lights I grew up with – in Ireland and in England it is par for the course, and I miss the excitement of turning a corner onto a new street and being amazed at the stunning aerial displays. Here are a few photos of London from Christmasses past.
London really knows how to do Christmas.
Where's my backpack? 
hehe we really do! I had a VERY bad experience with a ice rink but other than that I love when London becomes a winter wonder land
Oops, you want to watch out for those ice rinks, slippery little devils! London is right at the top of my list of places to be at Christmas – my absolute favourite thing to do is the Charles Dickens Christmas Day walk – run by London Walks – everybody gathers by the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square at 2 in the afternoon on Christmas Day – you know, right when you’re stuffed full of Christmas dinner and ready to escape the family 🙂 – and you go rambling around Dickensian alleys listening to excerpts from Dickens’ novels and his life story. The streets are almost always traffic free because of the holiday. Really good stuff – and it’s free to boot (although I gave the tour guide a big old tip for his trouble, he was fantastic) 🙂