Sunday, April 5, 2015

City Views, Country Dreams

Happy Easter from New York.

Earlier today the sun came out, although the temperature stayed on the cool side.  Just before midday, I walked through Central Park and over to see what this year's Easter Parade might show me.



Over ten blocks of the Avenue are closed to vehicular traffic, and thousands of folks wander around.  Some wear fantastic headgear that they have designed; other folks are tempted by vendors providing ad hoc hat assistance.


Some folks dress their dogs.  Some dogs are not required to wear hats, but are taken along for the ride.  Or walk.


I saw quite a few groups who had chosen some sort of unifying theme for their creativity.


I admired this smiling fellow's subtle use of carrots.


As the Avenue's crowds thicken, it can become tricky to take photographs of interesting hats if the wearers are strolling briskly.  Some hat wearers are more obliging and will pose for a long, long time.


The ladies in the following picture had two different approaches to hat decoration.


Church services were plentiful along the Avenue.


As I scurried along trying to capture interesting costumes, it was often easier to take a back shot.


The two fellows in the next picture had a butterfly theme in their outfits.  They were bending down to pat a dog, I think.


Another back view.


And yet another back view of some girls who definitely knew how to have fun.


This little bunny was staying warm in her daddy's arms.


Some of the strollers adopt a classic look.


Others, like this fellow, always have a distinctive look.  I am sorry not to be able to remember his name.


Roses are red, and tights are, too.


These three friends had different inspirations.  The fellow with the white hair was also trying to take a photo, and stepped into my frame.


The mother of these two adorable little girls wanted to take their picture next to this person who seemed to be a walking topiary.


I asked permission to take this little girl's photo.  I particularly liked her relaxed bunny ears, and the look of the Kabuki figure on the uniqlo shop in the background.



Lots of people seemed to want to have their picture taken along side of this gentleman.


The next hat was typical of many that started out as simple straw hats, and then got extra toppings.


I thought that this lady's black and white outfit was very chic.


Not too many cloche hats on display.  Like the above lady in black and white, this lady was part of group from a vintage clothing establishment.


These two folks just met.  A quick photo op.


This is not a very good photograph, but the hats were interesting.


Here is another person who clearly likes to stand out in a crowd.


This quintet had come all the way from Japan to show off their egg hats.  Sort of like extra large decorated eggs in tiny egg cups.


Here's a dramatic back lit profile view.


I encountered several balloon artists making hats.  These folks were dressed up as whimsical clowns.


This year the scaffolding that had been around St. Patrick's Cathedral while maintenance was underway had been removed.  You all can see how clean the stones look.


More flowers!


More straw hats with plastic eggs.


This lady was greatly inspired by nasturtiums.  Her outfit was really dramatic, but also quite beautiful.


Since very early this morning, crowds of people had been queuing up to attend one of the many mass services at the Cathedral.  Tickets were advisable.  (I admit that I have never gone to a church service that required a ticket.)


Sir and Madam.


I think that you can the the dollar bills on her arm and shoulders.  You cannot see her roller blades in this photograph.


These ladies are very well known fashionistas who always find wonderful ways to wear exotic, often vintage clothing.  It's always a delight to see them in their Easter finery.


Is that a cupola?


Definitely dressed up for Easter!


Lots of flowers had been planted along the Rockefeller Center esplanade.  I see a chocolate shop in the distance....


I took this picture of the adorable little girl's mom taking her picture with the giant green bunny


Another little family group was taking advantage of the benches to have a bit of a rest.  I hope that you all are not too weary at this point?  I have a few more pictures to show you.


Dancing bunnies in red shoes made everyone happy.


These folks dressed in vintage elegance felt the need for hot dogs.


This chap in the long gold coat was also wearing gold Doc Martins.  He was also hoping to sell some of his intricately decorated eggs.


The man in the madras jacket wore a top hat covered with rounds of yarn.  His lady had a small hat featuring a tiny ball of wound up yarn.


I admired this fellow's imaginative used of egg cartons.  I thought his bright green shirt set off the hat's design very well, as did his smile.


The lady in the blue jacket is holding a very clever rabbit puppet that lots of little children found amazing.


This next photograph was taken in the busy interior of a Lindt chocolate shop.  I did not leave the shop without some chocolate.  Lent is over.


As I continued my homeward bound walk up Fifth Avenue, the crowds seemed to be thinning.  However, balloon hats were still being created.


I thought this tiny hat was rather charming.


I found these hats rather fanciful.  The orange one is actually a sailing ship.


Crossing 57th Street and leaving the designated Parade blocks, I saw this dad and daughter.  The daughter's Easter basket was noticeable empty.  Perhaps she had expected to fill it at the Parade?  Or perhaps she'd given away candy.


On their way home, lots of folks kept their ears on.


Another pair of ears.


On my way back across the Park, I spotted some more ears.


And lots of horse drawn carriages.


And walkers, joggers and bicyclists.  But not many flowers yet.


Perhaps in this coming week some leaves will appear on the trees, too.


Back home again, I am pleased to show you all my brand new chocolate hazelnut bunny.  I think I will just admire him for a while.


After all, I did buy some delicious chocolate truffles at the shop, too.  

I hope that you all will enjoy seeing these 2015 Easter New York city views.  Thank you for your visits and kind comments.

53 comments:

  1. That was fun to read Frances! I always enjoy your view of the Easter Parade. You get some great shots! I'm glad to see that you bought some chocolate for yourself - every Easter needs a chocolate bunny!

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    1. Pondside, it really was great fun, being in the midst of so many folks enjoying themselves, lots of smiles along the Avenue.

      Also a great time to rediscover the joys of chocolate. xo

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  2. What an amazing selection of head gear...you couldn't call them hats! Some were very elegant, but some must have been very heavy to wear.
    Were you not tempted by the bunny ears in the first photo?!

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    1. Headgear definitely describes many of those creations. Many required ribbons tied under chins, and a helpful hand every so often. Good that the wind had dropped off on Saturday.

      Those bunny ears are cute, but no, I was not tempted. xo

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  3. I get such vicarious pleasure from your NYC photos, especially the Easter ones. It made me happy for everyone there that the sun came out. It's been a long winter for all of you on the east coast. Enjoy your truffles and the lovely chocolate bunny. Happy Easter Frances!

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    1. Carol, perhaps one year you might join the fun at the Easter Parade.

      As of now, I've sampled some deliciously flavored truffles, but that golden bunny is still intact.

      xo

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  4. It is so much fun to look at your pictures Frances. So many hats! I liked the one with nasturtiums on the hat – her outfit was color coordinated and it looks like a garden up there on her head. I also enjoyed the fashionistas ladies – quite an Easter fashion statement between them. I am pleased that it did not rain with so many lovely creations to photograph. I, also, have never heard of having to get tickets to attend a service in a church – New York must have many faithful.

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    1. Vagabonde, I think that you would love this event. There is a great gentle spirit about the entire thing. So many fashion ideas, so many reasons to smile.

      Yes, grand that the rain stayed away. xo

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  5. Looks as if you had a very busy and visually exciting day!
    Loved all the great variety of outfits!
    What fun!

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    1. Definitely something for every sense of taste. A delightful mix!

      xo

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  6. What an amazing array of Easter hats and outfits you have captured for us here! Thank you for these wonderful pictures, dear Frances! I loved the nasturtium lady the best, but enjoyed so many of these creations! so glad you had some chocolate to enjoy....truffles and a little bunny sound just right.
    Happy Easter break!
    Helen xox

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    1. Helen, that nasturtium lady was really something. It's not easy to be wearing what she was wearing and to still be able to appear elegant.

      Back to work for me today, but the chocolate is still available. xo

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  7. How wonderful that so many people put so much effort into dressing up. It is quite a spectacle. I hope you enjoy your chocolate Frances

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    1. What's so great about this annual gathering is the gentle exuberance of it all.

      Oh yes, the chocolate tastes very good! xo

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    1. Thank you! I hope that you will be able to see this fun in person some year. xo

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  9. What a great Easter Parade, Frances. I've never seen this before. We don't have this in Holland or even in Europe I think. It looks very happy! In Holland we have 2 Easter days: sunday and monday. Just like Xmas. Thanx for your lovely pictures!

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    1. Jolanda, I am very glad to be able to share some of this joyous event with folks in faraway places. (Just as I love seeing the pictures that you show me!) xo

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  10. What a variety of colours and hat/costume ideas! Just imagine how much time it had taken to all those people to make or search for them. I congratulate their desire to be a part of the traditional Easter Parade! Dear Frances, thank you for taking us with you along the streets!! I suppose you came back home satisfied and smiling! And that chocolate bunny was definitely a reward for your tired legs, wasn't it?...:) Thank you once again! x

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    1. Rossichka, you would absolutely love this event. There is something for everyone, and it's all "free range," with everyone able to participate how and if they wish to.

      xo

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  11. Hello Frances,

    What an incredible Easter Parade.

    Your photographs have captured the fun, frivolity and high fashion of the day. It must have been wonderful to have been part of it all. Clearly, there is no limit to people's imaginations looking at the wide variety of headgear on show and it is so lovely to see so many entering into the spirit of the occasion. It is like a huge street party.

    The long hard winter seems firmly at an end now. Everyone must have been delighted to see such colour on the streets of New York after the interminable grey. The flowers of Spring will surely follow!

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    1. Thank you Jane and Lance. I wish that you all might someday join this promenade. The atmosphere is very pleasant, and every year's version is just a bit different.

      It is a street party to whick everyone is invited. With or without bonnets. xo

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  12. Thank you Frances for these fabulous pictures of the Easter parade! How amazing what people come up with and what a colourful event. What about you - have you never been inspired by wearing an egg hat or such thing as a sailing ship? Thanks for that great post!

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    1. Bayou, I am glad to share these photographs...and hope that some year you might be able to join the strolling along the Avenue. I don't think that I would ever perch a large egg or a sailing ship on my head, but in some past Easters I have actually worn a straw bonnet. (It seems more appropriate to wear straw bonnets when Easter's date is a bit latter and the weather is another ten degrees warmer!) xo

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  13. Enjoy is not a strong enough word to say how these photos blew me away. What an Easter Parade - and how lovely that the sun shone for the occasion.
    It had not occurred to me before how one eats chocolate at Easter because one has been deprived of it during Lent.

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    1. Sometimes I wonder if I post too many photographs, but on occasions like the Easter Parade (or promenade) it's hard to stop taking photographs, and I just hope that my camera's battery is strong enough to last the course. The atmosphere of the event is truly lovely.

      About that chocolate, I know that some folks have no problem with sampling chocolate eggs and chicks and bunnies before Easter, but I do like holding off during Lent.

      xo

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  14. What wonderful stylish Easter outfits you came across - thank you for photographing them so we can share the fun of the parade.
    C xx

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    1. Celia, it was my pleasure to take the Easter Parade photos to share with you all.

      It was also my pleasure, on last week's visit to the Barnes & Noble international magazine shelves (very near my favorite Union Sq Farmers Market) to see a copy of Gardens Illustrated. The next issue to appear on those shelves will be the one with your fabulous lino design. Wont' be long now. xo

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  15. That looks like great fun! I love the mix of chic and crazy. (Doesn't that sort of describe the city in general?) I also love the close-up shot of the gorgeous fair-isle knitting behind the chocolate bunny. Swoooon.

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    1. Kristen, I think that you would love this event. It's got just a wonderful friendly feeling, mixing the spiritual importance of the day with the generous creative spirit to be found in this city. Your comment said it so well.

      Thank you so much for the fair-isle compliment. It's a pullover I knit from left over yarns...sometime back in the last century, and did wear on Easter for warmth and for some springtime colors, too.

      xo

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  16. Wow I so enjoyed seeing this post, Frances! I wish there was a similar event for Easter in Japan! It must be so fun to see those colorfully dressed folks in person!

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    1. Thank you, Ayumi! I had a feeling that you might enjoy seeing Fifth Avenue on Easter Day. xo

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  17. Oh my goodness! What a spectacular show! Thanks for taking us there!

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    1. Vicki, it is spectacular, but in a very friendly, low key sort of way. xo

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  18. Yes, this is really a Easter show for sure! I love it!
    Happy and lovely pictures of a great holiday Frances...
    Warm hug,
    Titti

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed my reporting, Titti. I think that you would love actually visiting the Easter Parade. Yes, it is a bit of a crowd, but somehow is not at all overwhelming. Just fun! xo

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  19. Dear Frances,

    I enjoyed your photo's of the Easter Parade very much. It looks like a fun event. Everyone looks so happy and there is so much to see.

    Thank you for letting me know about the missing ingredient. I changed it straight away :-)

    Wishing you a happy weekend ahead!

    Madelief x

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    1. Madelief, you've made me smile with your agreement about adding that ingredient to the pistachio cake.

      The Easter Parade really is fun, filled with a creative atmosphere celebrating all goodness.

      xo

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  20. Muy simpático el sombrero con zanahorias :)
    El resto de fotos son geniales.
    Abrazos.

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  21. What a lot of trouble everyone goes to. It's such fun coming here for your regular reports. And I'm glad to see not one scrap of icy slush left.

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  22. Lucille, it also surprises me each year that so many folks take part, each in very individual ways, with lots of generosity of spirit.

    Yes...slush is over! Something else to celebrate. xo

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  23. Frances, your Easter parade posts are always a treat and an excuse to do some New York daydreaming. I wonder why other cities have not adopted this tradition? You have shown us what everyone else has been wearing but I am wondering if you partake in this Easter costume tradition? I am picturing you wearing one of your colourful knitted hats.

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    1. Val, I did not wear a hat, but did try to wear some springtime color with my usual black. I wore the fairisle sweater that's under that chocolate bunny and the rosy pink knitted hap with the lacy edging that I've shown in a prior post.

      Maybe I will don a bonnet next year...maybe it will be a little warmer if Easter falls on a later date. xo

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  24. Oh, the New Yorkers always know how to enjoy themselves! Their love for fun and the little bit over the top is so entertaining.
    I hope spring has arrived in NYC for you.
    Wishing you a good week!
    xoxo Ingrid

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    1. Thank you Ingrid. I'm going to take my camera over to the Park soon, and hope to finally see some daffodils blooming.

      xo

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  25. LOL!! Only In NYC! That was fun Frances; the only hat -wearing I saw here on the farm was my husband in his old basball cap. Soon you'll be strolling the parks filled with blooms!

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  26. Jeri, glad you liked seeing those amazing hats. There were quite a few chaps wearing baseball caps on Fifth Avenue, too.

    Yesterday I walked across the Park and saw that daffs and forsythia are beginning to bloom. It's raining this morning, so I expect to see many more flowers within a few days.

    The show has begun! xo

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  27. What fun! Loved your photo essay. Thanks for sharing. xoxox

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  28. Thank you so much. Perhaps you'll be able to visit this special Easter Parade some year yourself. xo

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  29. Hopefully my comment will get on my friend; lovely as always and your eye for detail is fantastic; have had a good ramble through a few other blogs while the internet is behaving itself. As always your blog is a great place to come to, sit and have a ramble with a good cup of tea to hand and watch Frances' take on NYC. Love it! Stay well my friend xx

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  30. Sitting with a cup of tea; sun streaming in window and loving every word and picture of Frances' take on NYC. Stay well my friend x.

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  31. Blogging is the new poetry. I find it wonderful and amazing in many ways.

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