My wife and I spent a day in New York City back in 1987. We saw Wall Street and the city from the top of the World Trade Centre. For some time now, it has been a goal to go back  and the dream came true as my family visited the Big Aplle in the beginning of December. As my son is in his fourth year taking theatre at UVIC, the Broadway shows quickly became a main focus of the trip. My daughter is also involved in high school theatre so in short we are all fans! The first day was rain rain rain from the time we woke up till we fell asleep exhausted in our hotel. The rain did not keep us inside. We mainly explored the area around Times Square and got tickets to a matinee. The first show was Seminar, which featured Alan Rickman. A great way to start things off. Very humorous and entertaining indeed. I sat next to a couple of retired ladies from the upper East Side, who frequently goes to plays. They vividly told me about their lives and travels. Wearing my photographers hat I enjoyed the rain as it created some great reflections in the streets and a bit of drama.

We had a hotel right next to Madison Square Gardens for three nights, so the next couple of days were spent walking up and down 5th Avenue, having coffees, enjoying lunches at diners and of course going to the theatre. We saw three musicals: Avenue Q, Mamma-Mia and last but not least Memphis. They were all great shows performed with the professionalism you would expect on Broadway. My son stayed an extra day and also saw Book of Mormon and he still raves about it :)

My friend Philippe worked in a French restaurant on 2nd Ave. back in the late seventies. Philippe had asked us; "Why don't you check and see if it is still there? If you mention my name, you may get kicked out the door or you may get a free dessert. I am not sure which one it will be". The restaurant was still there. We stopped for a great lunch, good value, at "Les Sans Culotte". Philippe has since told me they still have the same wallpaper. Cozy spot.

Later in the week we spent a couple of nights at a great hotel in the lower Manhattan. We walked the streets, went to Battery Park and took in the World Trade Centre Memorial site, which was very beautiful. On Saturday morning we spotted a few people dressed as Santa... then a few more.. then another group.. and so on. It quickly became apparent that something was going on in the city. We had not heard of the annual Santacon and now we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of it. Fun!! Thousands of Santas and elves were scattered all over New York. We saw them at Seaport, Greenwich Village, Times Square and then a huge group later on at Grand Central Station. A great way to wrap up things in NYC. Below are a few of my favourites from New York. Check this link or below for even more photos.

Photos are captured with a Canon 5D Mark II. Lenses: Canon EF 16-35 2.8L, 85 1.2L II and 70-200 2.8L.

Please follow the link to more photos in this New York City Gallery.