I decided when I awoke that I would find free things to do which would be fun. So after breakfast, off I went to walk up to Saint Patrick's cathedral. The entire sanctuary covers pretty much the width of one block, so it's HUGE on the inside. Smaller chapels around the outside of the seating area are each dedicated to an individual saint, and each chapel holds a small informative placque. So each stop at a chapel turns into a mini lesson on some piece of Christian history. I grew up in a Protestant tradition, and don't know too much about the significance of lighting a candle, but I do like the concept of the light of my prayer living on beyond the moment I move away from the racks of flickering lights. So I contributed to the "poor box" and lit a candle, praying for the safety of all my friends and family, and moved on to Grand Central Station.

I kind of hoped to see something like this, but I had to settle for people watching, finding the famous oyster bar, more strolling around, and finally relaxing for a bit with a cup of coffee and more people watching. It seemed that the day before the holiday, the train capacity had been expanded, there were lots of announcements about extra trains on various tracks.

Then on to the lobbies of the Empire State building, where I was only interested in the art deco decorative touches everywhere, and more people watching. I've been up to the observation deck once, and don't really need to go again.

The famous tree in Rockefeller center was still shrouded in scaffolding, but the ice skating rink was open. It looked like everyone down there was having fun!

The tour package included a bus trip to the Upper West Side to see the inflation process for the various balloons.

Some of them were already inflated when we got there; the Kool Aid man, several smaller Christmas-y ones advertising Macy's, and one or two others. Hello Kitty was in process; and it was easy to see that the crew was having trouble with some of it. One of the workers had an item which looked like a huge Q tip, and he was reaching inside, poking around, obviously trying dislodge some small piece of the balloon which was blocking progress. Others were still lying limp and unrecognizeable on the pavement. I had a lovely view of Kermit the Frog from behind and to the rear. There was a very large tank truck for the helium, I think I could count nine separate tanks. This truck was easily as large as the tankers you see on the highway, and there probably was a similar one four blocks north where more balloons were being inflated.

We had about an hour to wander around before we were to gather and meet the bus to head back to mid town. On the way, the guide took us by several of the more famous displays, and gave those who were interested the opportunity to get off the bus and make their way on foot past the many store windows decorated for the holidays. I was planning to try to find a southbound bus, but the bus trip ended at Macy's which was only about six blocks from the hotel, so I got off there and walked the rest of the way.

I had treated myself to an expensive lunch, so it was back to the steam tables for a carryout supper.