ANY IDEAS TO END OUR NYC TRIP - 3/4 HOURS?
 

This is a outline of my itinerary and we have 3-4 hours before we have to return to the hotel and grab a cab to JFK - any ideas how to make the end of our trip special?

1. 1st day: Brooklyn Bridge/Jacque Torres, City Hall, Little Italy, (Lombardi's) Greenwich Village/NYU area, St. Mark's Place, Union Square, Loehmann's, Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Ctr. etc.

2.Zabar's, H&H Bagels, Loeb Boathouse - rowboats, Central Park walk (2hrs+), MET, Street vendor lunch while sitting on MET steps, Fifth Avenue Stroll (FAO, etc.), Broadway Play, Times Square
(Carnegie Deli)

3.Ellen's Stardust Diner, Staten Island Ferry, Battery Park, Macy's, Bryant Park, NYC Library, Grand Central, Yankee Stadium.....????

After we go up to take pictures by Yankee Stadium (go to the store)....we have 3-4 hours before we have to return to the hotel.....Any ideas to make it a special ending?

- Attraction, somewhere to eat...?

Thanks so much for all your help!

(It's a mother/daughter trip - my daughter is 14)

Nothing I like better than to wander around Central Park. Based on your schedule, I'm not sure you'll have as much time as you think. In addition, I would be way exhausted. You need to take a little time to savor. You can't see the entire city in 3 years, let alone 3 days. Slow down.

Yankee Stadium is awful out of the way just to get a picture in front of it, especially since you are beginning the day on the Staten Island Ferry.

I think just relaxing in the park, watching the people, would be a great way to end the trip.

I'm also betting you aren't going to complete your itinerary because it is just too jammed with no room for spontanaity, so you can probably use those last few hours to do stuff you didn't get to.

I totally agree with the other posters. You'll scheduled much too much each day, leaving little time to enjoy few if any of your destinations.
Further, I am confused about day 3. Exactly how much time do have for the activities listed before those 3 or 4 hours of "free time you are asking about? Just the activities you've mentioned are more than enough to fill a day.

My itinerary is just an outline...we are not going to spend time in all in the spots unless we want to (example, just walking by NYC Library, City Hall)

I have been to NYC a few times, however, I am trying to show my daughter the NYC she will appreciate - so if she loves Union Square, we will "savour" that area, etc.

We are lucky because our flight arrives at 7 am in the morning on the Monday and doesn't leave until midnight the Wednesday.....

Thanks for the advice and I think we will just walk the north part of Central Park (Conservatory, Shakespeare Garden, grab a bite somewhere and head back home!

Thanks again!

What time is your flight on day 3? As a NYer, I estimate you'd get to Yankee Stadium at about 5pm, and that's if you really rushed through the rest of your plan for the day.

Flight on Wed. is midnight....but my itinerary is just an outline of spots to see in our travels, but not definite....

On the last day, we will eat breakfast at Ellens for 7:30 am, Staten Island Ferry for 9:00 am, subway back up to Macy's - just an hour there, walk towards Grand Central and "see" NYC Library, Bryant Park but not spend anytime there....Grand Central we will eat, do Whispering Gallery and take subway somewhere....I think we will skip Yankee Statdium....

I know that I cannot do everything on our itinerary, it's just a guideline to help us in our travels for the day and we will spend more time in areas she loves and forgo others....But she has her favs that we will definitely attend - Shopping in St. Mark's, Top of the Rock, 2 exhibits at MET, Fifth Ave Stroll and Union Square....

Thanks.

I would save the west village for the last day...your first day is too jam packed and you will not get to enjoy the beauty of this area. Stroll down bleeker street and do your own "food tour" of greenwhich village...stop by Joe's pizza for a slice of the best pizza in the city, then go to the famous Magnolia Bakery for a cupcake, or get a canoli at Roccos, some cheese at Murrays, or cookies at "Milk and Cookies". You can walk around the NYU area in between snacks and see washington square park, or just explore the beautiful cobblestone streets of the west village. Not too far from there is Chelsea market, where the food network is located, also has many gourmet markets and little shops to browse.
Given that the rest of your trip seems quite hectic, this would be a relaxing and fun way to spend a beautiful Spring day...but that's just me...I love food and the village is my favorite part of the city.

Thanks posters....I love all the advice and in particular: mcwedding - you made the last day strolling around West Village sound perfect....we cannot wait!

Thanks again!

Skip H&H bagels .. ! Not so great .. really .. I get them at Hot & Crusty .. and personally think they are better .. and loaded with cream cheese .. The cream cheese at H&H is nothing great and you can't just buy a bagel and cream cheese .. you have to buy a tub of the cream cheese they sell there even if you are just buying one bagel .. Not so good ! !