Chirping birds and Christmas bells in the Greatest City in the World (part 7)

Another thing we learnt during our visits in the Greatest City in the World was that while Hong Kong is very hot and humid with risks of typhoons in the summer, NYC’s summer is generally sunny and pleasantly warm! And the Big Apple has something different and amazing to offer to its visitors at any season!

In spring, there are all the colours and fragrances of the flowers, the melodic chirping of the birds and the simple pleasures of enjoying coffee or lunch at an outdoor café or restaurant…

In summer, renting a Citi bike and riding around the city is an absolute joy! We travelled along the Hudson River and crossed the famous Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn. I think that those were the moments I really liked NYC the most! The weather was simply perfect. You could almost hear Joe Cocker’s voice and his song “Summer in the City” in the evening…

Autumn in NYC brings the vibrant hues of the trees, the squirrels looking for food and coming so close to you, and the costumes and pumpkins of Halloween...

Just strolling around the neighbourhood becomes a favorite pastime…

The parks turn into living paintings…

Nature is at its best before going to sleep for the winter…

And winter brings with it the magic of the Christmas bells.

You will feel like you are in a giant fairyland and expect to come across Santa Claus somewhere on the way.

There are colours everywhere…

The giant red balls in front of the Exxon Building are magical.

You cannot miss the famous Rockefeller Plaza’s Christmas tree put in place in mid-November and lit in a public ceremony on the Wednesday evening following Thanksgiving every year since 1931…

Nor the 12 angels along the Channel Gardens, created by the artist Valerie Clarebout in 1955, which are an annual presence at Christmas time…

The light show on the facade of Saks Fifth Avenue, an American luxury department store chain, is spectacular…

The hot air balloons at Hudson Yards will make you wanna fly…

But nothing, anywhere in NYC or even in the whole world, beats the Christmas spirit of the Dyker Heights neighbourhood in Brooklyn.

One of the house owners, Lucy Spata, started the tradition of decorating her house for Christmas in the 1980s and her neighbours followed!

Almost each house is a winter wonderland…

Giant Santa Clauses…

Sledges and reindeers…

Snowmen… 

Penguins…

Angels and elves…

Nutcrackers…

Lollipops…

Christmas trees…

It was freezing cold outside when we visited…

Despite that, we still wandered around the area for hours with our jaws literally dropping in front of almost each and every house!

The original house where this Christmas tradition began looked like a gigantic container of Christmas decorations had just been dropped on the front lawn…

If you are a Christmas fan, this is your place!

I guarantee that you will not be disappointed at all!

Each season in NYC has something unique to awe you with but there is one thing you can see all the time - some of the most stunning sunsets ever!

The Hudson River and the East River are the perfect backdrops for some amazing views of the city and neighbouring New Jersey!

And a memorable way to end any visit to the Greatest City in the World! See you soon, Big Apple!

(with the kind help of my friend Wanda Rene)

Published in Elle Bulgaria in May 2025.