Samsaf

We just returned early yesterday morning from our trip to NYC. The city is all lit up with Christmas lights and most people we saw were definitely in the Christmas spirit!

We flew on Delta (using frequent flier miles!!!) from Atlanta to NYC, arriving at the LaGuardia airport at 9 a.m. on Friday. We got a taxi (cost was $39) to our hotel, the new Hampton Inn on 35th Street. This Hampton Inn opened on October 16, so everything is new and clean and modern. From our room on the 20th floor we had a great view of the Empire State Building (which is one block away).

The taxi ride was a scary experience -- I told my husband that I just kept pretending it was like some sort of Disney World ride -- surely we wouldn't crash! (And we didn't!)

Our room was ready when we arrived around 10 a.m. By 10:30, we were out the door and ready to explore.

Sights we saw on Friday:

New York Library - very impressive building

The crowds on 5th Ave. - there were SO many people walking along. We never felt unsafe anywhere during our time in NYC.

St. Patrick's - very beautiful church.

Rockefeller Center area and tree - again, there were SO many people in that area. It looked like it would be difficult to skate because of the amount of people.

Central Park - we walked along the southern edge as we made our way west on 59th Street.

Times Square area - well, we just THOUGHT the crowds on 5th Ave., were large, but they weren't nearly as large as the crowds in Times Square. My husband and I were wondering how on earth a million people could crowd in that area on New Year's Eve.

We had tickets for 4:55 p.m. at the Top of the Rock. There had been a security issue right before we arrived, so even people with timed tickets had to wait a little, but it wasn't too bad. And the views were so amazing! It was dark by the time we got to the top, and the 360-views of the city were great. We got some good pictures.

Radio City Music Hall Rockettes Show - We decided that because this was the Christmas season we'd see this instead of a Broadway show. And it was so good. The technical aspects of the show are incredible. And the part where they have the living nativity is also incredible and very moving.

Junior's on 45th - we had a great dinner there, but no room for cheesecake!

Bryant Park Christmas Market - lots of market stalls; they also have a skating rink and beautiful Christmas tree.

More to follow...

Samsaf

Saturday, we figured out how to use the subway (really easy) and went to Battery Park. We had 9:00 tickets to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We decided to go ahead and get off at Statute of Liberty, and we were so glad we did! We probably spent almost 2 hours there, and we walked up to the top of the base. From there, there are great views of the city.

Then we went to Ellis Island and enjoyed that very much, too.

Grand Central Station - Saturday evening we went there and enjoyed people watching. Then we went walking around Manhattan and ended up at Robert Emmett's Restaurant and Bar for dinner. We had tried to go to Hard Rock, but there was a 2 to 3 hour wait!! After dinner, it started snowing outside, and it was so cool to walk around with snow falling all around us.

Sunday morning, we took the subway to 72nd street (west side of Central Park). My husband wanted to see the apartment where Yoko Ono still lives and where John was shot. We then went to Strawberry Fields. After that, we meandered through Central Park, which was much different than I had imagined. I was thinking it was like the mall at Washington, D.C., big and flat, but it's nothing like that. We walked through the "Ramble" area and ended up at 72nd Street on the east side of the park.

We then walked up to 82nd street to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wow, that's a big place. I'm sure we didn't do it justice, but we enjoyed it.

After that, we just walked and walked and walked and walked. We went to Junior's for cheesecake and hot chocolate. It was bitterly cold that day with winds up to 40 miles per hour, so we were glad to get out of the cold for a few minutes at a time to visit the shops, etc.

Car picked us up at hotel at 6 p.m.,and then we went to airport.

It was a great trip, and thanks to so many of you for your advice, information, tips, etc.

bmw732002

Glad to hear you had a great time!

And yes, Central Park is a pleasant surprise to most newbee's!

You followed the best advice on NYC.....walk....walk...walk

Sunday was one damn cold and windy day!

tambennett

Samsaf-Was the new Hampton Inn in Soho?

Samsaf

Thanks, bmw -- yeah, it was SO VERY cold and windy; the sidewalk sellers were losing their merchandise to the wind. But it was lots of fun!

tambennett, the Hampton Inn was on 35th Street, which I guess is lower Manhattan? Almost right in front of the Empire State Building one block away.

starrs

Enjoyed your trip report.
I stayed at the LaQuinta on W 32nd on the last trip and enjoyed the area. I'll check out this Hampton Inn next time.

Sorry it was so cold on your trip. We had one really cold day, but the rest weren't too bad.

Centralparkgirl

Samsaf - enjoyed reading your report very much and I'm glad it was a good trip for you. Come back again when we're not having such frigid weather. About the taxi ride - my friends laugh because I demand that the drivers slow down and I always wear a seat belt!!!

sharonslickis

New York is fabulous during
Christmas time. You keep
warm by popping in and out
of stores. The sites and sounds
are electric!
Sharon Slickis

sharonslickis

Next time you go to New York see
Bergdorf Goodmans next to the
Plaza. Fabulous. No other words
can describe their famous window
decor. The fashions, the service
and the merchandise is out of
this world!
Sharon Slickis

ellenem

Glad you had a good trip. It's nice to read a report after watching all your planning.

(35th St is midtown Manhattan.)

Samsaf

Even though it was very cold, we really, really enjoyed our trip. We had tried to prepare for the cold by wearing long silk underwear and several layers of clothing under our coats. We also both wore scarves and hats. But for this born-and-bred Southern girl, I don't think anything would have kept us warm that day! But we were so cold that we kept laughing about it, and it was a game to run into the stores and take off our hats and scarves for a minute to warm up, and then head back out into the cold again.

Thanks for the clarification on where our hotel was, ellenem. You were one of the ones who had given us so much help before our trip.

ellenem

And hearing your report makes sharing our tips worthwhile.

IRabbit

Samsaf, hats off to you. You came up from Atlanta, and managed to walk around on Sunday! We were in NYC Sunday and I whined every time we had to set foot outside. And I'm from NY. Glad you had a good time!

texasjo

Enjoyed your report, Samsaf. We're going in May for first time so gathering all the tips from this forum. Was this Hampton a good location for a newby? Close to subway? Thanks.

Oaktown9

Enjoyable report!

Thank you. Brought back great memories.

Samsaf

texas, we thought it was an excellent location for a newbie. It's very close to 2 subway stations, just about a 10-minute walk to Times Square. All the staff we encountered went out of their way to help us. The hotel was very clean and modern (rooms are TINY but that is typical of NYC), breakfast was fine.

Our initial thought was to stay in Times Square, but there was availability using Hilton points for that weekend, so that is why we chose this hotel. But we've both agreed that next time we'd probably go back to this same hotel, even if we had the choice to stay in Times Square, because it's nice to walk a few minutes and get ouf of the "madness" to get back home for the night. We were on the 20th (top) floor, and we occasionally had to wait a little bit for an elevator, but not very long. There is a workout center and a business center.