The Fifth Season

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address:  611 Fifth Avenue
Date: November 2021
Website:  www.saksfifthavenue.com

  We found ourselves in New York City for American Thanksgiving.  This is the offical start of the countdown to Christmas.  We took a little stroll along Fifth Avenue to experience something called The Fifth Season.  Along the way we enjoyed the sights and sounds as only New York can offer.

  We started our outing closer to Sixth Avenue as we visited the Bryant Park Holiday Shops.  We enjoyed a cake in a jar and found a few little gifts for our family.  Afterwards, we headed towards Fifth Avenue.

  Bryant Park is located right behind the New York Public Library's main branch.  As we headed onto Fifth Avenue we noticed that even the lion statues that stand guard at the front entrance of the library were wearing wreaths.

     As we headed north on Fifth Avenue we reached Rockefeller Center.  Angels playing horns lead the way to the giant Christmas Tree.  The tree this year was estimated to be about 80 feet tall and almost 45 feet wide at its widest point.  We guess that is how a lot of people feel after indulging in holiday treats, more than half as wide as they are tall.  We were too early for the tree lighting ceremony, but the tree itself was still impressive.

    Looking back towards Fifth Avenue the angels lead us to the Saks storefront all decorated for Christmas.  We had arrived just in time as the first show of lights was only a few minutes away.  We took a look at the Christmas window displays before finding a good spot to watch the show.

  This year the windows were of children's winter drawings come to life.  In the corner of the window was the child's name, age and their original drawing.  The window was a three dimensional, moving recreation of the original artwork.  A great idea and sure to be a thrill for the chosen artists.

  Some music was heard from across the avenue and the Saks Holiday Light Show was about to start.  The front of the store looked like a magical castle.  A wave of Christmas lights, music and colour swept over us.

    Everyone on the street stopped to admire the show.  Truly a great way to get yourself feeling that Christmas spirit.

  Just north of Saks Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center is St. Patrick's Cathedral.  We went inside to get away from the crowds and see the less flashy side of Christmas.

  The inside of the cathedral is as impressive as any light display that might be happening across the street.

  In the corner of the church was a large manger display.  We took a few moments to pause and then stepped back out into the lights and sights of New York City.

  As we travelled up Fifth Avenue we were treated to light displays set up on the sidewalk.  There was Frosty the snowman making a magic landing in his plane.

  There was an iconic New York yellow cab all lit up for Christmas.

There was a glowing cube that could have been a present or maybe an unsolved Rubik's Cube?

  Other stores besides Saks were also ready for Christmas.  The Cartier store was dressed up in lights to look like a glowing present wrapped in red ribbon.

  One store had a penguin in its window.  A lot of penguins live in cold climates, but live south of the equator.  That is a long way from the North Pole.  There are several species of penguin at the Central Park Zoo, including King penguins, if you keep walking up Fifth Avenue.

  There was a mailbox covered in lights.  You could leave your letters for Santa in this box.  The mailbox was just outside where the famous FAO Schwarz toy store used to be.  The store is now located further back down Fifth Avenue inside Rockefeller Center.

  A polar bear welcomed us as we arrived at the Pulitzer Fountain.  The fountain is located right in front of the Plaza Hotel.

      The whole fountain had been taken over by skating penguins, polar bears and seals as part of The Fifth Season.  We think the fifth season is that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Fifth Avenue is always a sight to see, but during this time it is something extra special.

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Map of Our World
Saks Fifth Avenue
Bryant Park
St. Patrick's Cathedral , Cartier , Pulitzer Fountain

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Post # 306

The News Building

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address:  220 E 42nd St
Date: November 2014
Website:  slgreen.com

  The News Building in New York City is known for both its interesting interior and exterior.  From its art deco entrance to its globe filled lobby, it is in a word... super.

  The front entrance includes a huge, three story tall granite carving.  At the top are the words "The News" and near the bottom, just above a crowd of people it says "He Made So Many Of Them".  This quote is from Abraham Lincoln referring to the common people who would be reading the daily newspaper.

     The lobby contains a giant world globe that is sunken into the floor.  This truly is the world news.

   The News Building has also played an important part in movie history.  In the Superman movies it played the part of The Daily Planet.  In the original Superman, Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) walk past the giant globe and out the revolving doors onto 42nd Street.  The exterior of the building is also shown in the movie.  The building exterior plays an increasingly smaller part in the sequels Superman II and Superman III.

    On the floor surrounding the globe are distances to world cities.  We recommend that no matter where you are in the world, you try and find your way to The News Building for a visit.

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Map of Our World
The News Building

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Post # 305

Elephants of Toronto

   In 2013 the last African elephants left the Toronto Zoo. They were headed to California to live out their days in a larger space away from cold Canadian winters. We miss the elephants when we visit the zoo.  But don't worry, if you know where to look you can still find elephants hidden around Toronto.  Below is a list of places to include on your search. If you know of any more, please let us know.

1 ) Toronto Zoo

   A good place to start your search for elephants is at the Toronto Zoo.  The big elephants may be gone, but these three little ones still remain.  They are near the African Pavilion looking towards the old elephant exhibit.  The exhibit is now home to the zoo's Masai giraffes.

  We also spotted a couple of elephants on the roof of the Savanna Snacks store.  This store is located near the African Zoomobile stop and the old home of the Masai giraffes.

2)  Commerce Court

    If you are looking for bigger elephants around the city then Tembo is for you.  Tembo, Mother of Elephants stands in Commerce Court just north of Bay & Wellington. She is over nine feet tall.

  Behind Tembo are two little elephant calves following their mother.

  These bronze sculptures bring some extra life and fun to Toronto's financial district.

    Tembo is small compared to the towers of Toronto's downtown.  If you don't know where to look, you might just miss her.

3)  Toronto Police Museum

  Elmer the elephant has been around since 1947 teaching school children about safety.  He has been helping keep children safe in playgrounds and on the roads.  This little Elmer (above) can be found in the Toronto Police Museum.  

  Many schools around the city still fly the flag and participate in the Elmer school program today.

4)  Elephant & Castle

    The Elephant & Castle is the name of a group of pubs.  There used to be a couple of locations in the Toronto area.  The location at Yonge & Gerrard closed. This one (above) is located on King Street West near Roy Thomson Hall.

   The pub is named after an area of London, England.  The logo has an elephant with the turret of a castle on its back.

5)  Yarmouth Road

   This next elephant stands on the front lawn of a private house on Yarmouth Road in Toronto.  When we visited it was hiding behind a tree.

6)  My Roti Place

   The elephant painted on the wall of My Roti Place on Queen Street West looks ready to pull the crown right off of your head.  While you are there why not build your own meal served on Indian flatbread?

7)  Starbucks

     A lot of people inside Starbucks don't notice anything besides their cellphone and their coffee.  We noticed this Kenyan elephant on the wall of a location near Leslie & Sheppard.  It was there to show where the different coffee beans come from.  There was also a Sumatran tiger and Guatemalan parrots.

  8)  Utility Boxes

   At the east end of Seaforth Avenue you can find this pair of pachyderms.  More and more utility boxes around the city are being painted by artists.  We liked the colours and style of this elephant pair.

   Up on Sewells Road in Scarborough is a utility box that is just full of animals.  And yes, there is an elephant included.

9 ) Pearson Airport

   If you have ever found yourself departing from Toronto's Pearson International Airport in the winter, you may have been in the presence of another Toronto elephant.  These trucks are called elephants after the hoses that are mounted on a crane.  They are used to spray a glycol / water mix that looks like orange Kool-Aid.  The orange spray is de-icer.  Thanks to these elephants, planes are able to take off safely in even the coldest conditions.

10 ) York Cemetery

     In the far back corner of York Cemetery in North York, we found another elephant.

   The elephant was in a section with dragons, sheep, birds and more.  It appeared they were still waiting for the humans that would eventually join them.

11 ) Beechwood Cemetery

    Our last elephants can be found at Beechwood Cemetery.  This mother and baby are located a little bit outside of Toronto just north of Jane & Steeles.   We could have stopped our list at ten but we thought it should go to elephan.

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Map of Our World

Toronto Zoo
Tembo Mother Of Elephants , Yarmouth Elephant , My Roti Place Elephant , Utility Box (Elephants) , Utility Box (Animals) , York Cemetery Sculptures , Beechwood Cemetery
Elephant & Castle , Starbucks (Leslie & Sheppard)
Metropolitan Toronto Police Museum , Pearson International Airport

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Post # 304