Christmas Holidays in New York City

[ChanneLing]

How many people have heard of “Home Alone 2” here? It’s a fun movie to watch, especially in the Christmas season. The story takes place around Christmas time in New York City so you can have a good look of the city getting in the holiday spirit. I remember when I was a child, the movie channel always rebroadcasted this movie in November and December, and I’ve watched it more than 5 times. Spending Christmas holidays in NYC had been ranked high on my bucket list ever since.

After many years, the dream came true. I was very lucky to make it and spend 10 days in NYC during the holiday season. It was also my first time visiting NYC so everything was so film-like. It’s truly a charming city which has so many faces and angles that can satisfy everyone’s fantasy. And in this article, I’m focusing on the Christmas of NYC.

Christmas market is a must-have event in many cities and also in NYC, or more correctly, in Manhattan. The top 3 Christmas markets here are Union Square Holiday Market, Winter Village at Bryant Park, and Columbus Circle Holiday Market. All of the above three are open-air and most vendors they have are selling holiday gifts, winter clothing, handcraft goods, or foods. Visitors enjoy their time there shopping or eating with family and friends. Oh! And Winter Village at Bryant Park wins extra points with their free admission ice skating rink (great for those who already have skates).

Speaking of the ice skating rink, there’s one more place we cannot miss – Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and ice skating rink! It’s a very iconic place around the world, which means it gets super crowded on holidays. My friend and I stayed at a hotel a few blocks away and every night we had to make detours to avoid being stuck in the middle of the crowd. We didn’t see it at first and tried once, and that was…terrible. We spent 30 minutes to escape from that place and finally got to the place we stayed in. But still, if you visit NYC during Christmas holiday season, Rockefeller Center is a must-not-miss place.

↓ Street View and Holiday Installations

↓ Union Square Holiday Market

↓ Winter Village at Bryant Park

↓ Columbus Circle Holiday Market

↓ Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and Ice Skating Rink

Do you like holiday markets? What’s the most special holiday you’ve ever had abroad?

[Sorbe]

Hi @ChanneLing ,

Thank you for this festive post. It’s only 6 months till Christmas, so it’s good to be prepared in advance. Jokes aside the scenes from “Home alone 2” are still vivid in my eyes. It was a must watching this and other movies on Christmas Eve night. Do you have any traditional movie that you always watch with your dears during the Christmas period?

[ErmesT]

It seems new York can be very special during Christmas, @ChanneLing

Thank you for letting us visit the paces with you, even if five months in advance. In this way we will be ready for sure

BTW, as I see you love to post photos, I need to inform you that we have a limit of 1000 picture, in Local Guides Connect, and in six months you have already reached 1/3 of your quota.

Please check this post to know how to manage your photos: Uploading a photo on Connect? Read these guidelines first

I there you will also find a link to some detailed post:

• Embed the photos, as indicated on this post by Traci: Tips-for-Uploading-Images-to-Connect-to-Stay-Within-Limit

• Clean-up a bit, as indicated here: Tips-and-tricks-to-manage-the-photos-in-Connect

Feel free to tag me if you need a detailed “step by step” procedure

[system]

@Sorbe A little too early for Christmas for me, I am still in summer mode:) @ErmesT These photos are awesome though and would love to visit the Big Apple someday @ChanneLing Thanks a bunch for sharing.

[AdamGT]

NYC is an amazing city and in10 days there you would certainly have seen a good part of it which can be seen in your great photos. How did you get around this big city and what was your highlight @ChanneLing ?

[Osmamedi]

Gracias por compartir esta experiencia. Tuvo que ser un tiempo súper. Saludos desde #Colombia .

[ChanneLing]

Hello @ErmesT , thank you!

Oh my! I didn’t notice that we have 1000 photos limit.

Thank you a lot for letting me know and sharing these articles with me. It’s so helpful!

By the way, I have one question. In the article shared by Traci, it’s mentioned that if we insert HTML to link images that are hosted elsewhere, like on Google Photos, it will not count against our limit. In this case, if we use photos from Google Photos, is there any setting (like privacy) we need to change? Or we just right-click the photo we want to share and that’s it? Thank you!

(Test inserting a picture with HTML as below. So this one won’t count?)

identifier.html (768 KB)

[ChanneLing]

Cool! It works! @ErmesT

I kinda understand. It’s like linking an image from elsewhere to here so it won’t occupy by storage on Connect. It’s very helpful! Actually, I think it’d be a better way for me to share photos lol.

I ain’t sure that if the photo size (width*length) will stay the same if we use HTML to link images or will it be cut to a certain size to fit Connect design? Also for the photos which we upload to Connect?

[ChanneLing]

Hi @Sorbe ,

Thank you for liking my post. 6 months in advance sounds a bit too early lol. I just had that idea sparkled and decided to write it. About the movies, since Christmas is more a western holiday, most movies I watch during the period are English, like “A Christmas Carol”, “Scrooge”, “The Nutcracker”, etc.

By the way, for “The Nutcracker”, I highly recommend the ballet. I planned to watch the one played by New York City Ballet (one of the best ballets in the world) in NYC but the ticket was too expensive during the holidays so I didn’t make it which was quite a pity. Luckily, I had another chance to watch it in Montreal, and it was amazingly beautiful! Definitely worth the ticket.

[ChanneLing]

Hi @user_not_found , thank you! And yes, it’s a bit early for Christmas. Just can’t help myself sharing it lol. I’m glad you like to photos I took and the post.

[ChanneLing]

Hi @AdamGT , thank you!

Yes, NYC is definitely an amazing destination for everyone to explore. I spent 10 days there and I still don’t think it’s enough. The time I went was during wintertime, and I hope I could visit it again in Spring or Autumn to experience the city in different seasons.

The city is full of fun places and it’s hard to choose one favorite. But if I must, I may choose Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. You can find more about it in another article I shared: City Graffiti: Brooklyn Vibes of NYC.

[ChanneLing]

Hola, @Osmamedi gracias por agradar mi publicación! Y sí, ¡fue un viaje maravilloso!

[ErmesT]

Good question @ChanneLing

Yes, there are setting to fix, otherwise the image will be visible only to you, like on your test

As you can see, I cannot see your photo

My personal suggestion, in addition to @TraciC 's post, is:

1. On Google photos, choose the photos you want to share, and add them on a “shared album”. In this way you change the attributes of the photos, making them “publicly”. Give a name to the album (like: photos for post xxx). Once the photos are shared, never modify the album. If you have to write a new post, make a new album
2. Follow Traci’s procedure
3. Once posted, check it on anonymous mode, to be sure that the others can see your photos

If you have any questions, feel free to ask

[ChanneLing]

Thank you so much for answering me and all the tips! @ErmesT I appreciate it so much!!

I’ll try it once again! It should work now.

However, I was wondering why we have to create a new album every time we want to write a new post. Does the setting change or crash every time we add a new photo to the existing album? Since it’s gonna mess up my current albums and make it harder for me to find pictures on Google Photos.

[ChanneLing]

Test if I add a new photo to the existing shared album, will the old photos in the album still be able to show.

Caption: Golden Dragon Fountain in Grand Hotel Taipei.

[ChanneLing]

It seems work… but the photo size is different. @ErmesT

[ErmesT]

I can see your last (BEAUTIFUL) photo @ChanneLing

The reason is not easy to explain, I have made several test long time ago (I have been one of the first Local Guides to hit the limit) and what I am sharing with you is mostly based on my experience and on some feedback from Google Photos Community

It seems that the HTML address of a photo stored on Google Photos can change, due to several reasons, included a modification in the shared album where the photos are added. In fact what happened to me was that I added a photo in an album where I had some photo embedded in Connect. Immediately all my embedded photos of the post were no longer visible in here, and I had to copy and paste again all the HTML address

After that experience, I decided to proceed as I already told you, creating a new album for every post. This is not an issue for the storage, as the album is not consuming space, nor duplicating photos). As you can see, after 10 months, the photos still visible

[ChanneLing]

Caption: Main lobby of Grand Hotel Taipei

(Another testing)

[ErmesT]

That’s strange @ChanneLing

the size of your photo is defined at the end of the URL, in your case is “=w681-h512”

I had no issue with the size. Are you opening the photo before to take the link (that is the correct procedure) or are you taking a link of the miniature?

[ChanneLing]

Wow, @ErmesT , thank you a lot for explaining all these to me.

Now I see what you meant. There’s a risk to lose all photos at once if the shared album’s URL is changed from Google Photos side (and we don’t know when or how often it’d happen), right? Yeah…I can’t image how many URL addresses we’d have to update back if it happens. That’d be a disaster. Hmmm…it seems so far we don’t have a convenient way to upload photos.