Valentine's Day in New York brings out the romantic side of this city. Conjuring up images of so many of the great romantic classics – An Affair to Remember, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally – the city shines. Hotels fill as romantic weekends are planned, dinner reservations fill up months in advance and florist delivery services hurry around the city, putting smiles on the faces of even the most hardened New Yorkers.
People stop and smile, hold hands, and horse-drawn carriages circle Central Park. Hallmark's fill up with all the last minute shoppers all trying to capture their feelings with perfect prepackaged sayings. Jewelry stores crowd with hordes of men with nervous looks and decisions to make, and Godiva sends out millions of gold boxes. Rockefeller Center is packed with couples trying out long-forgotten skates, and the streets bustle with excitement and anticipation. Love songs even float through the subways from the hands of the station musicians. The city is filled with reds and pinks – in the windows of stores, the roses on the street – a break from the black, bleak winter. Even the weather cooperated this Valentine's Day with a gorgeously sunny day, inspiring millions of New Yorkers to venture outside.
Many of these New Yorkers – native and tourist alike – seem to be in their own worlds, too focused on the one next to them to notice anything else. Somehow it all just seems softer, nobler than on other days, proving that despite its veneer, New York City does know how to love.
