I have successfully managed to experience a stress free St. Patrick’s Day parade in four easy steps.
1. I got in early to beat the crowds, spotting Paddy’s Day decorations in the unlikliest of venues, people (and dog) watching and catching the marchers preparing for their long day.
Zigolini - screams Irish, doesn't it?
Irish wolfhound getting into the holiday spirit
Getting ready to put their best foot forward
St Patrick's Cathedral looming large
Early birds catch the worm. No idea how long they'd been sitting out there.
Auxilliary police unit getting ready to march
2. I went to the end of the parade route to avoid the worst of the crowds and figured about four blocks before the end the bands would get a second wind, knowing that a well-deserved pint was just a few blocks away. I stayed for the early part of the parade while the crowds were still thin on the ground, and took way too many photos for the short time that I was there. Sorry, but I get a bit snap-happy sometimes.
Bloomberg's not an Irish name, is it?
3. Tedium was beginning to set in. Now I love brass bands, men in kilts are cool and horses and wolfhounds are great, but it’s the inbetween stuff that really drags. Those people who you don’t know, who wander along the route doing nothing, attempting some kind of royal wave. But I got through the tedium by remembering it was really, after all, all about the kids.
4. Just as the crowd was beginning to fill out, I turned tail and left, heading north in search of a very different kind of green parade. Just one final image of St Patrick’s Day – the Actor’s Chapel glowing green on my way home.
The Actor's Chapel glowing green
Hope you had a happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Where's my backpack? 
Nobody does a parade like NYC! (Unless it’s the Parade of Roses in Pasadena!) Thanks for posting…
Ooh, now I shall have to put Pasadena on my list! Happy St Patrick’s Day.
some truly amazing photographs..captured spirits!
There was lots of pomp and splendour to photograph, but I really enjoyed the little moments along the way. One of my favourite photos is the one of the policeman carrying a little boy in the middle of a long line of policemen marching along the avenue. Glad you enjoyed my take on Paddy’s Day, Liz. xxx
thank you for sharing your wonderful gallery!
So glad you enjoyed them, frizztext. Hope you had a wonderful St Patrick’s Day!
Lovely photos, very evocative of the beautiful spring day. We were there too, for a little while—or rather, we were trying to make our way across Fifth Avenue in Midtown, not too successfully. Central Park was full of teenagers, a few of them even Irish, in various shades of green. I didn’t take too many photos, as I knew you would do a wonderful job of documenting the day! 🙂
The weather was beautiful, wasn’t it? Not the best of days to try to get across town, though. Hope you got where you needed to be, eventually 🙂 Loved your unusual picnic!
We gave up trying to get across (it wasn’t that important) and wandered off in the other direction. It was a happy day just to be out and about…
P.S. I love how Chuck Schumer has to be labeled with his own identifying sash (but not Mike Bloomberg, apparently…)
Haha, I think Mike Bloomberg was just trying to get it all over with as soon as humanly possible. I wonder if he’d refused to wear a sash. Chuck, on the other hand, seemed to be loving every minute of it.
Never too many pictures! thanks for sharing these
You’re most welcome! Hope you had a lovely Paddy’s Day. xx
So glad you got snap happy! Scrolling through the image was like being there!
Really great shots; you captured it so well!
Thanks for sharing this!
Lee
Happy you enjoyed them, Lee. x