A week in NYC - first timers

Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 10:49 AM
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A week in NYC - first timers

FIRST DAY - Thought I would post this trip report while most of it is fresh in my mind. My husband and I, both early-to-mid-sixties from the west coast, decided to spend a week in NYC to celebrate my birthday in late September. Having traveled extensively in Europe (London, Madrid, Rome, Prague, Paris, Athens, Vienna, Budapest), and almost always staying in apartments or flats, we thought it was about time to check out New York City. First thing we learned as we looked for accommodations is that vacation rental apartments are pretty much not legal in NYC, and in the interest of NOT finding ourselves in a mess, we decided to look for a hotel room with a kitchen. After booking and canceling and booking and canceling a number of hotels, in the end we opted for Affinia Dumont in Murray Hill.

With only five full days to explore NYC, it's likely that the things we missed outnumbered the things we were able to do and see. We didn't get to many museums, that will be for another visit - we wanted to see as much of the city and be out and about to experience the energy of NYC. We were fortunate that until our final day, the weather was fine. As Californians, we're not used to humidity, but the air felt good to us and the sun was shining much of the time. We were probably overly excited the first time a few raindrops fell - drought at home, you know.

We grabbed a taxi from JFK to our hotel Friday night, and were very pleasantly surprised to have a huge room on the 34th floor, with a full kitchen. The hotel was really wonderful - they had stocked the kitchen with groceries - no charge to us - and gifted us with a bottle of wine upon arrival. The room was quite grand - at least for a city hotel - with a lot of square footage, two lovely queen beds with great linens, a large desk and an overstuffed chair, and as it was a corner room with extremely large windows, we had spectacular views of the East River and also a northern exposure that was filled with a lot of light. Can't say enough good things about our hotel - it is an older apartment building converted to a hotel, and while there isn't much in the way of a grand lobby (although they do pour free wine every afternoon at 5 p.m.), the staff went out of their way to make our stay a good one. Great a/c which to me is a make or break hotel amenity. The room was kept spotlessly clean - housekeeping even washed the dishes we had used for us. (We did leave a nice tip every day.)

We walked to Grand Central Station from the hotel to have some chowder at the Oyster Bar there - http://www.oysterbarny.com/ - we were appropriately impressed with the station itself, having only seen it in movies. So iconic, we loved the architecture and especially the ceiling, and just the hustle and bustle in general. We found the restaurant - wow, there are a lot of places to eat in the station - and sat at the counter. My husband ordered oyster stew and I opted for clam chowder. After about ten minutes, the waiter came back to tell me the chowder was gone for the day, so I switched to Clam Stew. Both our stews were utterly delicious - I liked mine just slightly more than I liked the taste of my husband's - perfect supper after a long day on airplanes and taxi. Strolled back to the hotel and were duly awestruck by the views of the city from our windows. So awestruck we neglected to pull down the shades and were awakened by blinding sunlight early the following morning ...

For our first full day, we had booked a free tour with Big Apple Greeters - http://bigapplegreeter.org/visitors/ -- have done this before in Chicago, and it's a pretty cool way to get an overview of a city. Our greeter, Audrey, met us at our hotel at 11 a.m. and took us all over until about 4:30 p.m. We walked and walked, and she gave us a quick tutorial of the subway, and a great map which had both streets and subway stops on it (amazing how none of the other maps we were able to find had both - we held on to this little paper map until it was almost in shreds by the time we left the city). Audrey walked us through the Garment District, where it was French Fashion Week (?) - we saw elegant models strutting their stuff on an outdoor runway and lots of booths with fancy French fashion-related items. We headed on to Times Square (where Audrey showed us where our theater was for the Broadway show we had tickets to later in the week), on to City Hall and then to the 9/11 Memorial. We also bought week-passes and took a subway somewhere for practice - that's how much I remember of that part - and visited Lincoln Center (where we bought Opera tickets for our last night in town) and on to Chinatown where Audrey chose a small restaurant she likes and allowed us to pay for her meal, along with ours. Dumplings (steamed) and a couple veggie dishes - good, but nothing memorable enough to make me recall the name of the place).

After our mid-afternoon lunch, we walked through Little Italy, where we briefly made friends with Tony-the-Nose, a restaurant hawker who gave us a complete rundown on everything Italian and New York. Went to the original Ferrara Bakery http://www.ferrarabakery.com/ for cannoli to take back to our hotel. Whew - it was a lot of walking and a great way to figure out what was what in preparation of our taking on the city on our own. Highly recommend the Greeter programs - non-profit and completely free with the volunteer greeters being locals who love to show off their city. You're not allowed to tip them and the only way you get around is walking or public transportation. You get to choose what you're interested in when you apply, and they match you with someone who is also interested in the same. You have to apply early, and even then it's not definite you will be assigned a greeter, but so far we have lucked out the two times we have applied. Audrey was really great - born in Brooklyn and lived in Manhattan for the past forty years - she loves her city and was very energetic and knowledgeable.

Back at the Dumont, we were tired, and our feet were sore, but we were hungry a few hours later (you know what they say about Chinese food ...) and didn't want to go out. We considered having pizza delivered, but then I found some good reviews for a pizza place just around the corner, specializing in thin-crust pizzas. We figured it wasn't far to walk, and how good would a thin-crust pizza be after the time it would take for delivery anyway? So glad we walked over and had our pizza in person - we agreed it was just about the best pizza we've had since Rome a few years ago. Seriously thin-crust: cracker thin and right out of a wood-fired oven. Vezzo is a neighborhood kind of restaurant, very busy on a Sunday night, good service, decent prices, and GREAT pizza. http://www.vezzothincrust.com/

More to come ...
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 01:21 PM
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I'm really looking forward to reading more!

Lee Ann
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 02:52 PM
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scdreamer,

Wonderful, I am glad you enjoyed your stay in NYC.

I too, look forward to reading more of your adventures in Manhattan.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 06:24 PM
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Loving your report hope to be back in NYC Dec/Jan 2016//17.
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Old Oct 3rd, 2015, 06:51 PM
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Great report so far...looking forward to more!
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Old Oct 4th, 2015, 03:00 AM
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So glad you enjoyed - let's hear more!
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Old Oct 4th, 2015, 09:26 AM
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MONDAY - I have decided to identify the days by their names instead of "first" second" etc, because we arrived at night on a Friday ... and was that Day One or was it Sunday? Anyway ...

MONDAY morning - up at the literal crack of dawn as the curtains had been left wide open once again to an amazing nighttime view of the East River. East being the key word here, and we were blinded by the sun quite early, especially considering we were still a little bit on west coast time, three hours difference, and not in a good way.

We had planned for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres with a NYC couple we had met last spring while visiting Prague - and then dinner out with them. So we were trying to plan our day with enough time to get to their apartment on the upper east side by 5 p.m.

We made coffee in the little dispenser in the kitchen and this we agreed was the only bad thing about our hotel. Blecchh, not good. We decided to head out for coffee and then try to follow a self-guided walking tour of "Historic Lower Manhattan" that was in my Frommer's Guide (don't tell Fodor's!) Even though I have had some - let's say "interesting" - experiences with self-guided walking tours, I am always a sucker for them, and my good-natured husband is kind enough not to remind me of past fails in this area.

First thing we did was head out of the hotel in the only direction that held absolutely no cafes or diners. Walked and walked south along 34th, finally found a small diner and got our coffee fix.

Then - walked back to the hotel and on to Park Ave where we caught the 6 subway uptown to to Grand Central and then headed downtown on an express to Bowling Green, where our walking tour started. (Beginning to prematurely feel like a local with all the "uptown" and "downtown" entering my vocabulary. Hah, that was soon put to the test.)

On the subway, I saw a sign indicating that the Staten Island Ferry left from the area (Look! Something shiny!) and was immediately distracted from the walking tour. Got off the subway, determined to find the Staten Island ferry, so we could ride over and back and see the Statue of Liberty. Just keep in mind we are out-of-towners, and somehow couldn't grasp the fact that the ferry was about a two-minute straightforward walk from the subway. So - we asked some nice looking young men who were handing out flyers where to catch a transfer to the ferry. Surprisingly they were sure we would be much happier going on another boat they knew of to the Statue itself. And safer! And saving a lot of time! One kid told us that the "tourists" (surely not us???) were being mugged on the Staten Island Ferry, which takes almost an hour each way. Danger danger!

Okay, we're not quite that close to the edge of the turnip wagon, so we found our way to the ferry terminal and even bought a couple Nathan's hot dogs to carry on with us. Allowed ourselves to be transported by the crowd onto the ferry and had a great ride (Hey! It didn't take an hour! We weren't mugged!) over and back. Some great conversation with fellow riders who live in the city - one guy insisted we need to get out to Yonkers, The Showplace of NY! ... and gave us detailed transportation instructions. "First ya take the (insert a number here) and then ya get off at (insert a street name here) and then ya take the (insert ... well, you get the picture)" - really nice and sincerely friendly guy. And others who wanted to talk about sports teams. And none of them even tried to mug us. Also - on the way back, we stood on the front landing of the ferry, and everybody was making room for everybody else to get some good photos of the city.

Maybe this is where I should state that we never found anyone in NYC to be rude or dismissive or anything other than helpful when we asked for directions or looked confused. Even the guys hard-selling the Statue tours were pretty funny when they warned us about the dangers - it all seemed a little tongue in cheek.

Now, back to the walking tour. You know, the self-guided one that was to take us to the historical lower Manhattan, where the remnants of the earliest days still remain. Sort of.

Now we're already looking at the time, and wondering where in the heck it has gone. That ferry ride wasn't REALLY an hour each way? How did it suddenly get to be afternoon? Time to rush. And to get hopelessly lost.

The tour took us along Battery Park - again we had to ask someone how to get there. This time I asked a policeman, because I figured he wouldn't tell me it was dangerous if it wasn't. And he kind of looked amazed and sorry for me at the same time, "Battery Park? Lady, you're already there. Just turn left."

Walked along the waterfront - the sun was shining down and the walkways were uncrowded. It was lovely. Then the self-guided tour directed us to Castle Clinton, where a semi-naked crazy guy was frolicking in a fountain, and offering to be in tourists' selfies. We passed on his offer, and then immediately got lost. Really wanted to follow the tour, but we never did find the "Large Flagpole." We did find Fraunces Tavern, after winding around the same street about five times, and went in for a beer and a sandwich, all the time freaking out at the time - how in the world does the time fly by so fast? We had to take half our lunch with us, forego the rest of the walking tour, find the subway station, get to the Dumont, dress and head uptown to our friends' apartment.

All the while the theme song from "The Jeffersons" kept running through my head. "A de-luxe apartment in the sky-y-y ..."

More to come ....
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Old Oct 4th, 2015, 10:48 AM
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Over the course of five visits to NYC between 1997 and 2013, I never encountered a rude New Yorker--all were helpful, friendly and polite. The rudest? The tourists!

Delightful trip report!
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Old Oct 5th, 2015, 04:25 PM
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My wife and I will be mirroring this trip in about 6 weeks time, arriving Friday night from Australia, spending 5 full days and flying out the next Thursday. I'm loving being able to hear about your experiences scdreamer, making our trip feel all the more real!
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Old Oct 5th, 2015, 11:36 PM
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I love New York. It is so specific, large and full of attractions that it takes a lot of days to explore its entirety and experience it´s energy of living. Times Square is always the first destination for most of the people for sightseeing and even though is beautiful, it does not reflect the culture and lifestyle of New Yorkers as there are mostly visited only by tourists. Soho, Greenwich Village and Little Italy are beautiful and rich with greenery, and especially worth a visit.
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 07:24 AM
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Yes, we found Times Square jarring and unpleasant. So crowded,noisy and not anyplace I would choose to spend my time. We walked through during the day with our Big Apple Greeter (see first entry) and then we had to fight our way through the crowds in the evening in order to get to the Palace theater. That was it ... never saw any reason to go there again.
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 08:01 AM
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Uh oh, now you've done it: told the truth about Times Square!
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 09:24 AM
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I often go into the city, but would love to stay and see it the way you did. How expensive is the hotel with the kitchen for a week?
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 10:41 AM
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TUESDAY - (third day ..)

Happy Birthday to me! - This was the impetus for our trip: back story - about seven years ago my two beautiful well-intentioned daughters threw me a huge, seriously really huge, surprise party. The kind where everyone you know, including people from the waaay back parts of your life that you barely remember and actually may have forgotten on purpose show up and jump out at you ... which pretty much scared the hell out of me to the point that I made a vow to ALWAYS be out of town for this part of the year.

Another warm and somewhat muggy day, but I kind of like humidity, as it's a bit of a novelty, so off we went for the action-packed day.

We had booked a free walking tour of the Brooklyn Bridge, including Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO. http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/new-y...nd-dumbo-tour/ Yes, it's billed as "free," but of course the guide is working for tips. We gave him $40 at the end of the tour, seemed a little overpriced for the content, but not sure if that was the guide's fault, or just the tour outline itself.

We met with the tour leader at the fountain in City Hall Park at 10 a.m. and off we traipsed across the bridge with a group of about 20 other tourists, following our leader like sheep. The tour guide was very animated and had some good historical information, but in retrospect this was a three-hour walk we probably could have done on our own in about two hours. The walk across the bridge was great - the views of the city were good (but not as good as those from the Staten Island Ferry the day before). We learned a lot (A LOT) about Robert Moses, who was a force behind many of the parks and buildings in NYC over 100 years ago, and a little about Brooklyn today. I think I would really have liked to take the subway and walk around Williamsburg (I've been a big fan of Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" since I was about 12 years old), but time ran out, as we had tickets for a Broadway show later that evening, and I had come to accept the realization that getting from any one point to another always took longer than I anticipated.

We finished up the tour in DUMBO - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbo,_Brooklyn - but that part of the tour was so brief, almost like an afterthought walk-through, we didn't really get much of an idea of the area. Had a quick burger at Shake Shack, which we had heard good things about - and it certainly rivals our own In-N-Out Burger in California. I'm not even a french fry person, and ended up fighting my husband for the last crumbs. Great burgers, too!

Jumped on the subway back to Murray Hill, then took a side trip, hoofing it to the Flat Iron Building and a diagonal walk through Madison Park (where - wow- the original Shake Shack stands) to get to a Bed, Bath & Beyond nearby to get a small coffee carafe and filters, so we could have some decent coffee in our hotel room. Stopped in Eataly on the way home to gawk and buy a pound of ground Guatemalan beans, and we were in business.

We had tickets for "An American in Paris" at the Palace Theater - my birthday gift to myself - and since the Tuesday show is at 7 p.m. we figured we would find a place for dinner afterwards. I wasn't thinking anything too special - we're not big on really late dinners, and also because we had tickets to the opera for Thursday and planned a nice earlier dinner that night. Thinking we would be able to make it to a restaurant in our neck of the woods by 10 p.m. we used Open Table to make a reservation at Bhatti Indian Grill http://www.bhattinyc.com/ We love Indian food and this seemed like a good idea.

Made our way by subway to Times Square and literally had to push our way through the massive crowds of people milling about. What is the attraction here? I don't get it. Just a lot of purpose-less tourists geeking at the lights and not looking where they are going. Not my thing, I guess.

We had great seats for the show - front row aisle center on the mezzanine, so we had the best overview of all the dancers and the intricacies of the choreography. Really enjoyed this show - I wasn't sure my husband would be as enamored as I was, but I think he liked it even more. It's got a lot of ballet and modern dance, thin plot, but some great dancers (who happen to be able singers, too!) and enough laughs to keep you entertained.

Once the show was out, we attempted to retrace our steps back to the subway in a fine drizzle to get the shuttle over to "our" line ... we walked and walked, and with all the other people (and my dismal sense of direction) couldn't seem to find the subway again. Finally I saw a guy with a day-glo vest that said "security" on it, and walked over to ask him how to get to the subway. I think he may have been related in some way to yesterday's police officer at Battery Park, because he looked at me in that same incredulous (yet polite) way, and said, "The subway? Lady, this IS the subway." and that was when I realized we were standing right under a really HUGE lit-up sign that said SUBWAY. Seriously, we were about 20 feet from the stairs.

(I hate to even admit this, but later both my husband and I sheepishly agreed that we had seen that giant SUBWAY sign, but dismissed it out-of-hand as a sandwich shop marquee. Yeah, we're those people. Idiots.)

Tried our best to get to Bhatti by ten o'clock, but it was closer to ten thirty when we found it. Doesn't seem to matter which way we walk a long block on our way to somewhere - it's always the wrong way. Kind of went along with our later discovery that we could control the NY weather by not bringing along our umbrellas any time we left the hotel.

The restaurant kitchen was only open for fifteen minutes more, so we didn't have much time to peruse the menu. Ordered chicken korma and a mushroom curry. We were happy to be inside out of the rain, and the restaurant staff was kind and didn't rush us once our order was placed. A satisfying dinner after a great show. can't ask for much more than that ...

More to come -
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 11:29 AM
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Leenie - The Dumont prices varied from day to day of the week. We booked it a few months before we arrived, and I did notice the prices had gone up when I looked at their website just before we left - apparently booking early is the key to the better rates? So - that said, our bill for a Skyline Suite (a higher floor very large room with corner windows and a full kitchen) totaled about $2250 including tax for six nights - from Saturday to Friday.
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Old Oct 19th, 2015, 04:34 PM
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I have so enjoyed your trip report so far, thank you, and looking forward to more.
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Old May 29th, 2016, 08:07 AM
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Terrific report. Thank you. Wish you'd written more!
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Old May 31st, 2016, 07:31 AM
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As a native NYer, I totally agree with your assessment. Love the part when the NYer was giving you directions...
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