Everything & Anything New York City

mariebar1970

Got back last night, from a week in New york, so still very tired. crammed in as much as possible, and it was just amazing. I wil write a report, when I fell more human lol.

guineapig

the_salmon wrote: »

Well I am finally approaching the time for my trip, been about a year of floating round ideas, checking I can have time off with work, saving, and 1 friend being lucky enough to get some compo from a car accident he was in, but 3 of us are off to New York for 6 days flying on Xmas Eve, then off to Vegas for New Year and then 10 days in California.

This thread, and the Vegas one, have been absolute gold dust for information and ideas, so thanks to you all.

What I am after is any suggestions of where we can go for Xmas Dinner? We have tickets for the Knicks at Madison Square Gardens which I think is over lunch so will probably eat in the evening. I have googled a few things to see whats on offer with places open, but would like any recomendations if people would care to share. We don't want to be going too mad budget wise, and our hotel is in Manhattan (upper west).

Any suggestions welcomed

We stayed in the Beacon hotel in UWS and ate just around the corner at "Josie's" twice,the place was full of locals and we loved it! we also treated ourselves to a cocktail one evening, very nice too!
Josies is just on the corner ( turn left after booze shop and it's just one the next corner at the back of the hotel).

Lucy1973

mariebar1970 wrote: »

Got back last night, from a week in New york, so still very tired. crammed in as much as possible, and it was just amazing. I wil write a report, when I fell more human lol.

Would love to read it when you're good and ready:T:)

mariebar1970

well here is my account of our week in New york, for anyone that is interested.

Day 1, Sat. arrived in to JFK late evening, and were lucky enough to be picked up by my brothers friend, who gave us a wonderful late night tour of Manhattan.

Day 2 ,Sun. Left the hotel (doubletree metropolitan 51st & Lex) and headed to central park for breakfast in the boathouse. Very reasonable prices in the cafe part i.e bacon bagel $1.99. had a little walk round and then off to Times square to pick up our New york passes. These passes are fantastic and as well as saving us money, helped skip a few queues too. once we had the passed, went over to Madame tussards. whist this is ok, it is certainly not worth the entry price of $30 plus, but fine with passes.

We stumbled upon a masssive market on broadway, which is great to walk around, don't know if it is there on sat too though.

After that we made our way to the Rockerfeller centre, and up to the observation deck. the views are breath taking! We decided to do this in the day time, and then do the empire state building by night.

Next we headed down to the intrepid museum, and spent a couple of hours there. very interesting, especially Concorde & the growler submarine. we timed it to leave the museum, and head straight over to Circle line (almost next door) for a night time harbour light cruise. this again was excellent, and also included with the Ny pass.

After that we made our way back to the hotel & collapsed lol.

Day 3 Mon. We had a New york greeter booked, who came and met us at the hotel. he was lovely, and first took us to the subway to help us purchase our metro cards. it was quite easy to do using the machine. tickets are $27 for the weekly one. if anyone goes to a machine to purchase one, the machine will ask for a post code, just enter 5 zeros .

With tickets in hand we first headed over to Brooklyn heights, for some really nice views. Frank our greeter then wanted to take us near to where he lives in Astoria queens for lunch etc. It was really nice to get out about, and not use tour buses etc. we went underground & local bus, and really enjoyed it. We spent that long with Frank, that his wife phoned as she was worried LOL.

Later after we had exhausted Frank, we took a walk over to Bloomingdales, for a spot of shopping. my daughter wanted some uggs, and I assumed that we would be able to use the 10% discount card (from customer services) but no, not on uggs! They ended up costing $195 inc tax, so still really good. after that we dumped the bags back at the hotel, and headed off to times square for a bite to eat etc.


Day 3 Tues. we headed up to central park, got breakfast from a cart, and just sat for a bit. it was beautiful weather, really quite warm. Infact it was so nice, and central park is so lovely, we spent a good part of the day there, and went to central park zoo too.

After that we got the subway down to central station. WOW what an amazing building!! we had lunch at Chirpin chickin in the dining concourse, and it was very nice & cheap too!!

From there we walked to Maceys, did a spot of shopping then had a chill out in starbucks. Really comfy seats and free wi-fi, so a good place to chill for a bit.

from there we headed over to the empire state building for a night view of the city. there was limited visability, but we went up anyway, and really enjoyed it. then we went over to the skyride ( inside empire state building) Now whilst this is ok to do with the Ny pass, I don't recommend anyone pay the $36 for it. it is a very dated simulator, of a flight over Manhattan. the screen is grainy etc. like I said it is ok, but don't pay full price for it!!

Day 4 weds Headed over to the Flatiron building, took some piccies etc, and then went for breakfast at 'chock full o nuts' this was recommended by the NY greeter, and boy was he right. the bill came to around $18 all in, for the 2 of us with drinks, and we were so stuffed, we didn't eat again until the evening!

From there we went to the Police museum. i really enjoyed it there, and they have a section dedicated to 911, which was quite touching.

From there we went and did the uncle sams heros of the world trade center tour, and that was just amazing. it was an incredible emotional journey, led by a fantastic guide, who despite doing this tour many times, was clearly upset at times. what was good about the tour is that , we saw things we didn't know were there, and went in buildings, we wouldn't have thought we were allowed in. one of these was the american express building, where stands the 11 tears memorial. this is dedicated to the 11 empoyees who lost their lives on 9/11. we also went to an excellent vantage point to see the construction work going on at the site. Late I shall put a link to my facebook photos, in case anyone in interested in seeing the memorials etc.

After the tour, and gathering up my feelings, we headed over to century 21 department store. Very much like Tk maxx, and I love it!! The OH doesn't totally agree though, as I found my beloved yankee candles in there, and got a little carried away!! We did manage to cart them back to the hotel on the subway though so panic over. until of course it came to packing the cases, which was a difficult task LOL

Day 5 Thurs. headed over for a helicopter trip, which was really enjoyable, even if only 15 mins long.

From there, as it was so warm & nice, we decided to head off to coney island. stopped off a southstreet seaport first, for a bite to eat, and stumbled upon the Titanic memorial lighthouse. not a lot to see though, as Titanic park is being worked on at the moment. anyway got eh subway over to coney island. Grabbed a hot dog 7 lemonade, and chilled out for a bit. (The theme park was closed)

Went to Ny aquarium, which was a bit if a disappointment, as there is work going on, and there were no sea lion shows etc.

After that left coney island and headed back for another go in century 21, then over to times square, and had dinner in planet Hollywood. wasn't that impressed to be honest, but with the Ny pass you get $10 each pass holder off a meal. Also you get $10 off each in the shop.

Day 6 Fri headed over to the natural history museum, which was great, but we didn't stay that long, as OH didn't think I was interested enough to spend half a day there ( there are 4 floors) We then headed over to the Magnolia bakery for cupcakes, which were scrummy.

After that we went to the King Tut exhibition (mainly for OH) but i did quite enjoy it too) Now after that it was around 7:40 pm. all week we had been checking out the queues at TKTS, inc the one at seaport. they were always just too big. however, with 15 mins to go before the start of the shows, there were no queues , and we got tickets for Rock of ages. fantastic seats too for 50% off. the show was just amazing, and we left on a real high.

Day 7 sat. went up to central park again, then over to the Guggenheim for a look. to be hones t this was a look more at the building than the paintings etc. then we headed to Fao Swartz , for a play on the big piano etc.

after that we went for a bite to eat, before collecting our luggage from the hotel. My brothers friend picked us up again, and we headed over to
liberty park NJ, for some lovely views, and then too the ferry over to liberty island. This was well worth the trip, whist you get a good view from the ferry, it's good to be up really close to the statue.

From there was went to a lovely portugese restaurant in NJ, before heading over to Newark airport for the flight home.

We had a fantastic time, and really enjoyed getting around using the subway. we didn't need a cab or tour bus once. of course we would have probably got a cab from the airport, if we had needed it.

Food is cheap, and most tastes are catered for. There is a vast array of healthy food available, and loads of outdoor green grocers.

New York has far more to offer than I anticipated, and it felt much safer than we thought it would. You get the odd homeless person asking for money, but hey you get that in most cities. Personally I now adore the place, and hope I am lucky enough to visit again.

Lucy1973

Loved reading your trip report. Can't wait til our trip next year...and more importantly,you answered a very important thing for me re Yankee candles. I love C21 and didn't know they also stock YK:T

greenface

Mariebar great report and im out of breath reading it. Thanks for sharing pop a few photos up if you can too. Big Apple greeter has to be a must for some newbies even to help with the subway etc

mariebar1970

Lucy1973 wrote: »

Loved reading your trip report. Can't wait til our trip next year...and more importantly,you answered a very important thing for me re Yankee candles. I love C21 and didn't know they also stock YK:T

They had quite a few candes Lucy, although mainly medium to large jars. They are located downstairs, just round the souvenir gift section. I got loads & ended up having to pack some in to a spare cabin bag. They put the bag through the x ray machine twice & then opened it & swabbed the candles for drugs. It wasn't a problem though, the guy was quite amused by my stash lol.

thatsfabulous

Great report!! I didnt know they sold Yankee candle either. We managed to pick some yankee candle up in Bed Bath and Beyond- got some in sale too.

I agree about the sky ride, infact I didnt even think it was ok. A total waste of money.

Has anyone whos been to NY recently seen 'THE RIDE'? We seen it at the traffic lights all these people were sat facing sidewalk not forward staring at us through the massive glass and were very curious as to what it was and no one seemed to know. Its new! Looked quite good aparently there is performers onboard and it takes you around NY to tourist attractions and the places they go to there are actors.

http://www.experiencetheride.com/home/

Dont think I'd pay $60/$65+ tax pp for it though.

Lucy1973

mariebar1970 wrote: »

They had quite a few candes Lucy, although mainly medium to large jars. They are located downstairs, just round the souvenir gift section. I got loads & ended up having to pack some in to a spare cabin bag. They put the bag through the x ray machine twice & then opened it & swabbed the candles for drugs. It wasn't a problem though, the guy was quite amused by my stash lol.

Thank you Marie. Can you remember roughly how much the jars were??

Lucy1973

thatsfabulous wrote: »

Great report!! I didnt know they sold Yankee candle either. We managed to pick some yankee candle up in Bed Bath and Beyond- got some in sale too.

I agree about the sky ride, infact I didnt even think it was ok. A total waste of money.

Has anyone whos been to NY recently seen 'THE RIDE'? We seen it at the traffic lights all these people were sat facing sidewalk not forward staring at us through the massive glass and were very curious as to what it was and no one seemed to know. Its new! Looked quite good aparently there is performers onboard and it takes you around NY to tourist attractions and the places they go to there are actors.

http://www.experiencetheride.com/home/

Dont think I'd pay $60/$65+ tax pp for it though.

Just saw the trailer for "The ride". Looks fun:)