1st Trip Report for 1st Time in NYC!
May 23rd, 2007, 05:15 PM
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1st Trip Report for 1st Time in NYC!
Now I know why everyone loves NYC!
We recently got back from our first visit and couldn't have had a better time. Thanks to all the advice we received here, our trip was great!
Before we left I had a pretty detailed itinerary planned. However, we scratched it on our second day! We were making goo dtime, seeing things along the way that I hadn't counted on and because we were tired--we needed some naps I hadn't thought about. Overall, I think it worked well for us.
So, here's my first trip report. Sorry, it's so long!
*Saturday*
- We arrived at LaGuardia on time (2:30pm), grabbed out luggage, and caught a taxi (the taxi line was quick and easy). We arrived at our hotel, the Washington Jefferson about 30-40 and $45 later. The hotel http://www.wjhotel.com/ was fine, nothing fancy, but it was clean and we ended up loving the location. The average price was $240/night (including tax), so we definitely got a great deal compared to other "3-star" options in the area.
- We unpacked a little, washed up, and then took off to explore. We ended up in Times Square. It was PACKED! WE just walked around up and down taking it all in. Eventually we would up going north and came to Columbus Circle on the SW end of Central Park. Very pretty.
- It was around dinner time so we walked back towardsour hotel and came across a cute little restaurant/bar, McGee's Pub and Restaurant http://www.mcgeespub.com/ We loved the atmosphere--casual, yet nice with plenty of screens to catch the last few innings of the Yankees game. Our meal was great. My husband had a burger and two beers and I had the chicken kiev and two cosmos. I think the total bill was only $65. Not bad!
*Sunday*
- We woke up early and got ready for the Yankees/Red Sox game at 1:05pm. We bought our tickets on StubHub http://www.stubhub.com/tix11-ticketc...tkw=stub%20hub and were very pleased with their service. Since we had plenty of time we walked to Grand Central Station. On the way we went through Time Square (just as packed as the night before!) and then walked by Bryant Park and the NY Library. Very cool. Grand Central Station was beautiful! We were intimidated by the subway system at first, but we figured it out (it's really not that hard at all!).
- We arrived at Yankee Stadium early (around 10am) and most businesses were still setting up. We wandered around and grabbed a piece of pizza (our breakfast) from a street stand. The gates opened around 11am. The line for Memorial Park was already very crowded, so we just glanced in from the first level seating and then grabbed empty seast to watch some of the batting practice before we made our way to our seats. We were in the top tier, but only the sixth row and we were right between 3rd and home. In my opinion the seats were great (of course they could have been better, but that would have cost a lot more than ours already did).
- We ended up having a hot dog and $9 beer and enjoyed the game (despite the score--Red Sox 7, Yankees 4).
- The subway back was very crowded, but we expected that and were in no hurry. We got off at Grand Central Station again and then walked up 5th Ave.
*Monday*
- We had intentions of waking up early to get on the first bus tour of the day, but that didn't happen. Instead we slept in and leisurely made our way to the Greyline Office (not far from our hotel...if I remember correctly it was around W 45th St on 8th Ave). We opted for the 48-hour All Loops tour https://www.coachusa.com/newyorksigh...productId=1053
- We made our way to Broadway to meet the next bus for the downtown loop. We ended up enjoying the ride, but decided to get off at the City Hall stop. From there we walked around the Wall Street area, Ground Zero, and then to Battery Park for a view of the Statue of Liberty.
- Next we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge--awesome! I highly recommend that. Great views and just plain fun. We got to the other side and walked around Brooklyn Heights (cute and quiet). We stopped at a random restaurant (I know, I'm bummed we missed Grimaldi's Pizza, but we were hungry and decided to just stop at the first place we came to).
- After lunch we caught the Greyline bus tour for the Brooklyn Loop.
- We switched buses at the South Street Seaport. Up to this point, I'd enjoyed the bus tour, but by this time (around 3pm) we had to wait over 30 minutes for the next bus and then had to stand on the lower level. The rest of the tour was pointless--couldn't see anything. I'd recommend taking the full loop once before stopping so you can see everything.
- We ended up back at Time Square and figure, what the heck--let's go check out what the TKTS booth http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56 was like. It was around 5:30pm and there was no line! So, we walked up and asked how much for 2 'Chicago' tickets--the price was around $70/person. The seats looked good, but we were hoping to keep it around $50/person, so we passed.
- Instead of a show, we took the Night Tour on the double decker bus. We were disappointed considering we left around 6pm and it wasn't even dark yet and we went through Brooklyn again (one time was enough, in my opinion).
...to be continued...
We recently got back from our first visit and couldn't have had a better time. Thanks to all the advice we received here, our trip was great!
Before we left I had a pretty detailed itinerary planned. However, we scratched it on our second day! We were making goo dtime, seeing things along the way that I hadn't counted on and because we were tired--we needed some naps I hadn't thought about. Overall, I think it worked well for us.
So, here's my first trip report. Sorry, it's so long!
*Saturday*
- We arrived at LaGuardia on time (2:30pm), grabbed out luggage, and caught a taxi (the taxi line was quick and easy). We arrived at our hotel, the Washington Jefferson about 30-40 and $45 later. The hotel http://www.wjhotel.com/ was fine, nothing fancy, but it was clean and we ended up loving the location. The average price was $240/night (including tax), so we definitely got a great deal compared to other "3-star" options in the area.
- We unpacked a little, washed up, and then took off to explore. We ended up in Times Square. It was PACKED! WE just walked around up and down taking it all in. Eventually we would up going north and came to Columbus Circle on the SW end of Central Park. Very pretty.
- It was around dinner time so we walked back towardsour hotel and came across a cute little restaurant/bar, McGee's Pub and Restaurant http://www.mcgeespub.com/ We loved the atmosphere--casual, yet nice with plenty of screens to catch the last few innings of the Yankees game. Our meal was great. My husband had a burger and two beers and I had the chicken kiev and two cosmos. I think the total bill was only $65. Not bad!
*Sunday*
- We woke up early and got ready for the Yankees/Red Sox game at 1:05pm. We bought our tickets on StubHub http://www.stubhub.com/tix11-ticketc...tkw=stub%20hub and were very pleased with their service. Since we had plenty of time we walked to Grand Central Station. On the way we went through Time Square (just as packed as the night before!) and then walked by Bryant Park and the NY Library. Very cool. Grand Central Station was beautiful! We were intimidated by the subway system at first, but we figured it out (it's really not that hard at all!).
- We arrived at Yankee Stadium early (around 10am) and most businesses were still setting up. We wandered around and grabbed a piece of pizza (our breakfast) from a street stand. The gates opened around 11am. The line for Memorial Park was already very crowded, so we just glanced in from the first level seating and then grabbed empty seast to watch some of the batting practice before we made our way to our seats. We were in the top tier, but only the sixth row and we were right between 3rd and home. In my opinion the seats were great (of course they could have been better, but that would have cost a lot more than ours already did).
- We ended up having a hot dog and $9 beer and enjoyed the game (despite the score--Red Sox 7, Yankees 4).
- The subway back was very crowded, but we expected that and were in no hurry. We got off at Grand Central Station again and then walked up 5th Ave.
*Monday*
- We had intentions of waking up early to get on the first bus tour of the day, but that didn't happen. Instead we slept in and leisurely made our way to the Greyline Office (not far from our hotel...if I remember correctly it was around W 45th St on 8th Ave). We opted for the 48-hour All Loops tour https://www.coachusa.com/newyorksigh...productId=1053
- We made our way to Broadway to meet the next bus for the downtown loop. We ended up enjoying the ride, but decided to get off at the City Hall stop. From there we walked around the Wall Street area, Ground Zero, and then to Battery Park for a view of the Statue of Liberty.
- Next we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge--awesome! I highly recommend that. Great views and just plain fun. We got to the other side and walked around Brooklyn Heights (cute and quiet). We stopped at a random restaurant (I know, I'm bummed we missed Grimaldi's Pizza, but we were hungry and decided to just stop at the first place we came to).
- After lunch we caught the Greyline bus tour for the Brooklyn Loop.
- We switched buses at the South Street Seaport. Up to this point, I'd enjoyed the bus tour, but by this time (around 3pm) we had to wait over 30 minutes for the next bus and then had to stand on the lower level. The rest of the tour was pointless--couldn't see anything. I'd recommend taking the full loop once before stopping so you can see everything.
- We ended up back at Time Square and figure, what the heck--let's go check out what the TKTS booth http://www.tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56 was like. It was around 5:30pm and there was no line! So, we walked up and asked how much for 2 'Chicago' tickets--the price was around $70/person. The seats looked good, but we were hoping to keep it around $50/person, so we passed.
- Instead of a show, we took the Night Tour on the double decker bus. We were disappointed considering we left around 6pm and it wasn't even dark yet and we went through Brooklyn again (one time was enough, in my opinion).
...to be continued...
May 23rd, 2007, 05:19 PM
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*Tuesday*
- We woke up early (around 5:30am) to get ready to go to 'Live with Regis and Kelly.' I sent in for tickets with a postcard only about 2.5 months before our trip and we received our confirmation letter two weeks before the show. We walked straight up 9th Ave until we got to their studios (W 57th St). Our letter said to arrive by 7:45am, but we got there by 7am and there was already a line. We waited and waited and waited, but finally got in and picked our seats. It was first come first serve, but we ended up with great seats, but the studio was pretty small--so it appeared everyone had a decent view. The guests were Toby McGuire, Carmen Electra, and a doctor promoting her book on healthy eating. They also recorded Ne-Yo that they aired the next day. We love the show!
- Once we were done with that, we opted to grab the Uptown Greyline bus tour to complete our 48-hour pass. It was fine--we were stuck below again, but at least we had seats this time. We didn't get off, just rode through the entire loop.
- We got back and ended up at the TKTS booth again. This time we waited for about 30 minutes and ended up with 2 tickets to 'Chicago' for $59/person.
- We had time so we grabbed some cheesecake at Junior's http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/jun...estaurants.php
It was fabulous!
- We thought the show was wonderful and our seats were pretty good (orchestra level near the back, but on a row, which is always nice).
- After that we ended up at House of Brews http://www.houseofbrewsny.com/ near our hotel. It was pretty good, although we only had a few drinks and some appetizers.
*Wednesday*
- We slept in and then went to Carneige Deli for breakfast, which probably was not the best idea. The menu was very expensive (in my opinion) and we ended p only having coffee and a bagel. Oh well, it was a cute place and I'm sure the deli sandwiches are amazing--we just picked the wrong time of day to try them.
- We then leisurely made our way up through Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History http://www.amnh.org/home/. It was a hard decision to select only one museum in NYC to tour, but we only wanted to do one so we picked the one that interested us the most. We were not disappointed! Great displays, nice layout, etc. Although it was very crowded, so we skipped out a little earlier than we would have liked.
- We ended up walking back through Central Park and went to our hotel for a short nap. We had intentions of waking up in time for the Circle Line Harbor Lights Cruise, but when the alarm sounded, we shut it off and kept sleeping!
- We woke up to late for the cruise, so we decided to walk to the Empire State Building. I know, I know: I'd read all your reviews here--we should have either bought our tickets ahead of time or done Top Of The Rock, but, we had time and it sounded like a nice walk anyway.
- We ended up arriving around 7:15pm and the sign out front read that that wait was "only" 20-45 minutes, so we went inside. The line moved quickly (and we were pretty much the only ones without advanced tickets, so that part was quick, too!) and we were at the top by 8pm, just missing the actual sunset. It was still a great view and the lights were just starting to turn on with the sky still orange. It was packed (forgive me for mentioning this so often--I'm from a small town; I like my space!), but we were really glad we did it, especially for our first time in NYC.
...to be continued...
- We woke up early (around 5:30am) to get ready to go to 'Live with Regis and Kelly.' I sent in for tickets with a postcard only about 2.5 months before our trip and we received our confirmation letter two weeks before the show. We walked straight up 9th Ave until we got to their studios (W 57th St). Our letter said to arrive by 7:45am, but we got there by 7am and there was already a line. We waited and waited and waited, but finally got in and picked our seats. It was first come first serve, but we ended up with great seats, but the studio was pretty small--so it appeared everyone had a decent view. The guests were Toby McGuire, Carmen Electra, and a doctor promoting her book on healthy eating. They also recorded Ne-Yo that they aired the next day. We love the show!
- Once we were done with that, we opted to grab the Uptown Greyline bus tour to complete our 48-hour pass. It was fine--we were stuck below again, but at least we had seats this time. We didn't get off, just rode through the entire loop.
- We got back and ended up at the TKTS booth again. This time we waited for about 30 minutes and ended up with 2 tickets to 'Chicago' for $59/person.
- We had time so we grabbed some cheesecake at Junior's http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/jun...estaurants.php
It was fabulous!
- We thought the show was wonderful and our seats were pretty good (orchestra level near the back, but on a row, which is always nice).
- After that we ended up at House of Brews http://www.houseofbrewsny.com/ near our hotel. It was pretty good, although we only had a few drinks and some appetizers.
*Wednesday*
- We slept in and then went to Carneige Deli for breakfast, which probably was not the best idea. The menu was very expensive (in my opinion) and we ended p only having coffee and a bagel. Oh well, it was a cute place and I'm sure the deli sandwiches are amazing--we just picked the wrong time of day to try them.
- We then leisurely made our way up through Central Park to the American Museum of Natural History http://www.amnh.org/home/. It was a hard decision to select only one museum in NYC to tour, but we only wanted to do one so we picked the one that interested us the most. We were not disappointed! Great displays, nice layout, etc. Although it was very crowded, so we skipped out a little earlier than we would have liked.
- We ended up walking back through Central Park and went to our hotel for a short nap. We had intentions of waking up in time for the Circle Line Harbor Lights Cruise, but when the alarm sounded, we shut it off and kept sleeping!
- We woke up to late for the cruise, so we decided to walk to the Empire State Building. I know, I know: I'd read all your reviews here--we should have either bought our tickets ahead of time or done Top Of The Rock, but, we had time and it sounded like a nice walk anyway.
- We ended up arriving around 7:15pm and the sign out front read that that wait was "only" 20-45 minutes, so we went inside. The line moved quickly (and we were pretty much the only ones without advanced tickets, so that part was quick, too!) and we were at the top by 8pm, just missing the actual sunset. It was still a great view and the lights were just starting to turn on with the sky still orange. It was packed (forgive me for mentioning this so often--I'm from a small town; I like my space!), but we were really glad we did it, especially for our first time in NYC.
...to be continued...
May 23rd, 2007, 05:32 PM
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*Thursday*
- We slept in again and then caught the subway to Chinatown for an early lunch (since we skipped breakfast again). Our lunch ended up being horrible! I knew we should have gone with a place recommended in my Fodor's book, but my husband insisted on the first place we came to.
- Chinatown and Canal Street were interesting, but nothing I'd have to go through again. (No, I didn't buy a knock-off.)
- Since we weren't having too much luck around there we hopped on the subway and went to Battery Park to see how the line was for the boat to the Statue of Liberty. Again, our original plan was to only do the Harbor Lights Night Cruise and skip the visit to Liberty Island, but since we'd already changed plans so many times already, why not attempt this?! Plus, the tickets to the island were cheaper than the cruse, so we figured we had nothing to lose. And we were loving how quick, cheap, and easy the subway was.
- We arrived around 2pm and the line only about 10 minutes long! So we grabbed tickets and were off (it took a while for the boat to actually take off, but it was a beautiful day so we didn't mind). We got off at Liberty Island and walked around taking pictures of both the statue and the great views back at Manhattan. The lien for the boat back took a lot longer, but all in all, the visit was nice.
- We ended up back at the TKTS booth (we just couldn't resist the good deals!) and bought tickets to 'Legally Blonde' for around $25/person! Great price, although the seats were not great, but how could we complain for such an amazing price?! I personally thought the show was adorable and my husband even enjoyed it.
*Friday*
- Since it was our last day, we decided to relax and then do some shopping!
- We walked back up to Central Park and rented a row boat from Loeb Boathouse http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.c...ions/boats.htm Yes, cheesy, but fun nonetheless. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the quiet time together (for once--no jackhammering!).
- After that we walked around 5th and Madison Ave. We ended up catching the subway to SoHo for some more shopping (I love Kate Spade!)
- We walked through Tribeca and Greenwich Village. We LOVED Greenwich Village! This time we followed my books advice and ate at John's Pizzeria--good call! Great pizz and great service!
- Guess what? That night we went back to the TKTS booth and bought tickets to 'Curtains' for around $30/person. The theather was probably my favorite (Al Hirschfeld), but that show was my least favorite. It was good, I just didn't personally enjoy it as much as the other two.
*Saturday*
- We woke up early, walked to a deli for a quick breakfast and then taxied back to the airport to return home.
We'll definitely visit again! Next time we want to stay in Greenwich Village, use the subway even more, visit Ellis Island and another museum or two, and, OF COURSE, catch more great deals at the TKTS booth. Oh, and we'll bring more than one comfortable pair of walking shoes (mine were worn out by the third day!).
- We slept in again and then caught the subway to Chinatown for an early lunch (since we skipped breakfast again). Our lunch ended up being horrible! I knew we should have gone with a place recommended in my Fodor's book, but my husband insisted on the first place we came to.
- Chinatown and Canal Street were interesting, but nothing I'd have to go through again. (No, I didn't buy a knock-off.)
- Since we weren't having too much luck around there we hopped on the subway and went to Battery Park to see how the line was for the boat to the Statue of Liberty. Again, our original plan was to only do the Harbor Lights Night Cruise and skip the visit to Liberty Island, but since we'd already changed plans so many times already, why not attempt this?! Plus, the tickets to the island were cheaper than the cruse, so we figured we had nothing to lose. And we were loving how quick, cheap, and easy the subway was.
- We arrived around 2pm and the line only about 10 minutes long! So we grabbed tickets and were off (it took a while for the boat to actually take off, but it was a beautiful day so we didn't mind). We got off at Liberty Island and walked around taking pictures of both the statue and the great views back at Manhattan. The lien for the boat back took a lot longer, but all in all, the visit was nice.
- We ended up back at the TKTS booth (we just couldn't resist the good deals!) and bought tickets to 'Legally Blonde' for around $25/person! Great price, although the seats were not great, but how could we complain for such an amazing price?! I personally thought the show was adorable and my husband even enjoyed it.
*Friday*
- Since it was our last day, we decided to relax and then do some shopping!
- We walked back up to Central Park and rented a row boat from Loeb Boathouse http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.c...ions/boats.htm Yes, cheesy, but fun nonetheless. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the quiet time together (for once--no jackhammering!).
- After that we walked around 5th and Madison Ave. We ended up catching the subway to SoHo for some more shopping (I love Kate Spade!)
- We walked through Tribeca and Greenwich Village. We LOVED Greenwich Village! This time we followed my books advice and ate at John's Pizzeria--good call! Great pizz and great service!
- Guess what? That night we went back to the TKTS booth and bought tickets to 'Curtains' for around $30/person. The theather was probably my favorite (Al Hirschfeld), but that show was my least favorite. It was good, I just didn't personally enjoy it as much as the other two.
*Saturday*
- We woke up early, walked to a deli for a quick breakfast and then taxied back to the airport to return home.
We'll definitely visit again! Next time we want to stay in Greenwich Village, use the subway even more, visit Ellis Island and another museum or two, and, OF COURSE, catch more great deals at the TKTS booth. Oh, and we'll bring more than one comfortable pair of walking shoes (mine were worn out by the third day!).
May 23rd, 2007, 07:19 PM
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I really enjoyed reading your trip report. I felt the same way after my first visit -- "now I know why everyone loves NYC". What great luck you had not having to wait in line for the ESB and SOL. Thanks for posting it.
May 23rd, 2007, 07:45 PM
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Thanks for the report, we are leaving to New York tomorrow..U are so lucky u got Regis and Kelly tickets...I sent a card about 2 and a half months ago, and never heard back anything!!
Oh well...i am sure we will find a million other things to do!!
Oh well...i am sure we will find a million other things to do!!
May 24th, 2007, 05:50 AM
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Can I just say that I love that you slept in a lot? NY is a great late-night place. It sounds like you had the perfect trip, aside from the tour buses. I always wonder why people wait in those long lines when you can just hop on and off the subway. Haha. Wasn’t Brooklyn cozy? Next time you have to get to Coney Island. The Museum of Natural History has always been my favorite too. I liked your comment about the jackhammering too. That and the endless scaffolding can really drive you to the edge.
