Madeline and I got up early and staked out our claim at 71st and Central Park West. Hot Chocolate, cameras, and cell phones in hand, we waited for the parade to start at 9 am. What a thrill when the first balloon came into view.
The whole morning was like a dream come true--from Snoopy to Santa! Between those traditional first and last balloons, we saw others including Sponge Bob, Kermit, Spiderman, and Kung Fu Panda as well as celebrities Kanye West, Joan Rivers, Jessica Simpson, and Miranda Cosgrove.
Santa was the real headliner, and he was clearly having a ball, rockin' the sleigh!
After Santa passed by, we walked around the corner to a tiny little bar called Saint Honore's Cafe and had a slice of Margarita and a warm beverage in the mezzanine. The TV was on over the bar, and we enjoyed listening to Matt, Meredith, and Al describe the 15 giant character balloons, 27 floats, 1600 cheerleaders, 800 clowns and a dozen marching bands we had just seen, live.
Incomparable.
Glad you enjoyed it. Having grown up 15 miles from NYC, watching the parade at least once is a given. New Year's Eve, however...there is no way I was ever going to be part of that madness.
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