My marvellous first trip to the US - NYC, Boston and Hawaii
Sep 7th, 2011, 01:37 PM
#21
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Susan coffee was an ongoing problem. I didn't ever manage to find what I would call a good cappuccino, and in the end gave up and switched to tea.
Yk we certainly did our best to boost the US economy!
Owl woman I think we made a great decision when we decided to stay 10 nights in NYC. I already have a list of things we didn't get to see on this trip. One thing that doesn't really come through so far in the trip report is that we walked and walked and walked which we feel is the best way to see a place.
Yk we certainly did our best to boost the US economy!
Owl woman I think we made a great decision when we decided to stay 10 nights in NYC. I already have a list of things we didn't get to see on this trip. One thing that doesn't really come through so far in the trip report is that we walked and walked and walked which we feel is the best way to see a place.
Sep 7th, 2011, 05:11 PM
#22
I'm enjoying the report and have to chime in on the coffee. I visit Australia every year and it took me a few visits to sort out the coffee -- with your short blacks, tall blacks, and flat whites, etc. The Aussie coffee drinks are all espresso-based, whereas the typical American coffee is brewed coffee -- and not nearly as strong.
I, too, love Lincoln Center -- but that Sydney Opera house is very special. So glad you had such a good visit. I adore Sydney -- but NYC is still my favorite
.
I, too, love Lincoln Center -- but that Sydney Opera house is very special. So glad you had such a good visit. I adore Sydney -- but NYC is still my favorite
.
Sep 7th, 2011, 05:32 PM
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Songdoc I think that was the problem, I am used to coffee that has a real kick to it. I used to wonder how Americans could drink those huge mugs off coffee that we see in the movies etc, as the equivalent size here would have me bouncing off the walls.
Sep 7th, 2011, 06:18 PM
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It is wonderful how you and your friends took advantage of so much of NYC. It is also wonderful that you have such positive attitudes. Few complaints...many pleasures. Congratulations! If you liked NYC so much, Hawaii must have been wow!
Sep 7th, 2011, 06:39 PM
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Actually just as I hit the submit button I thought of one other thing we didn't like and that was our airport hotel in Toronto. But that was my fault for not following the advice I was given here on fodor's. I'll get to that later in the story, but suffice it to say one of the girls found a pubic hair in her bed and it wasn't the same color as hers!!! Ewwwwww
Sep 8th, 2011, 09:11 AM
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Yes, walking is the way to see this city. I walk everyday to work from Grand Central to Lincoln Center, I see something new everyday!! Hope to come to your country to explore one day, it's on my "list".
Looking forward to reading more of your adventures.
Looking forward to reading more of your adventures.
Sep 10th, 2011, 04:34 AM
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cathies:
I laughed when you said you switched to tea in NYC. I finally gave up on tea and switched to coffee. Anyway as you said it was almost all good except for coffee and a hotel problem in Toronto.
I like your style of trip reporting. More please.
Sandy
I laughed when you said you switched to tea in NYC. I finally gave up on tea and switched to coffee. Anyway as you said it was almost all good except for coffee and a hotel problem in Toronto.
I like your style of trip reporting. More please.
Sandy
Sep 11th, 2011, 03:59 PM
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Hi Cathies, I've just come across this - what a great read. We have just booked a cruise for next year, Venice to Fort Lauderdale and will finish with a few days each in Washington and New York before flying back to Perth. Just starting research so your report is super helpful.
I had been looking at the Inn on 23rd so it was good to get your feedback, you sound very happy with your choice. I am finding accommodation there to be very expensive.
I can relate to your coffee needs, I too usually switch to tea when overseas, nothing beats a decent flat white when in need of a fix.
Looking forward to reading more when you get the chance to post.
I had been looking at the Inn on 23rd so it was good to get your feedback, you sound very happy with your choice. I am finding accommodation there to be very expensive.
I can relate to your coffee needs, I too usually switch to tea when overseas, nothing beats a decent flat white when in need of a fix.
Looking forward to reading more when you get the chance to post.
Sep 11th, 2011, 04:11 PM
#34
I'll chime in about the Inn ;-). Personally, I prefer staying in the Times Square/Theater District. I love being able to easily walk back to the hotel after the theater (which I usually go to every night). I also love being close to the 1/2 price TIX booth at Times Square and the Discovery Center--and being able to walk (it's a long walk) to the Metropolitan Museum.
I usually use Priceline and have always been happy with the hotels I've gotten either Midtown West; Times Square; or Central Park South.
That said, it's certainly easy to get a subway ... but I prefer being in Times Square.
I usually use Priceline and have always been happy with the hotels I've gotten either Midtown West; Times Square; or Central Park South.
That said, it's certainly easy to get a subway ... but I prefer being in Times Square.
Sep 12th, 2011, 01:30 AM
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Thanks Songdoc, yes that is an good point. I have never used Priceline so maybe I should look into this.
By the way, we stayed in Coopers Cottage in Bisley this June, it was from your English trip report that I found it. JuliaT also gave it the thumbs up. We had a wonderful time and very much enjoyed Liz & Michaels company. What a stunning garden! So a big thank you from me to you.
By the way, we stayed in Coopers Cottage in Bisley this June, it was from your English trip report that I found it. JuliaT also gave it the thumbs up. We had a wonderful time and very much enjoyed Liz & Michaels company. What a stunning garden! So a big thank you from me to you.
Sep 16th, 2011, 02:16 PM
#38
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Day 7 – Wednesday May 26 – we visit the Top of the Rock, the Financial District, World Trade Centre memorial and rode the Staten Island Ferry.
We set off after breakfast to visit the Rockefeller Centre. After reading lots of tips here on Fodor’s that this is an easier option than the Empire State Building we decided to follow that advice. Well, we were at the building by about 9.30am and there were no queues. I was amazed at the very orderly way in which we were processed and I enjoyed the video presentations that we watched while we waited for the lifts. We took advantage of the obligatory photo shoot and that reminds me that Erin has the original and I must get a copy of it. The photo is a representation of the very famous shot of construction workers eating their lunch while sitting on a girder that is suspended way up in the air. I suspect there would have been many deaths while the building was being constructed. It was interesting to learn about the volume of employment that the construction of this building provided during the depression years.
The views were fabulous and we spent quite a bit of time up there enjoying the different views over Manhattan. It was a glorious sunny day and the park was sparkling. The fleet was in the week we were in NYC and we watched several ships making their way up the Hudson.
From there we walked to Grand Central Station. Julie was on a mission to have lunch in the Oyster Bar and Karen joined her. I don’t mind oysters, but not enough to make a lunch of them so we left them to it and grabbed a quick wrap from a nearby sandwich bar and then indulged in a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery. I chose a red velvet one because I’m not familiar with that flavour. To be honest it was just a chocolate cake, a very delicious chocolate cake, which I think contained about a billion calories although I did scrape off about 70% of the frosting. Thank goodness for all the walking we are doing.
Next we were back in the subway and made our way to the Financial District and World Trade Centre area and memorial. The memorial was very moving and I’m sorry that the new memorial wasn’t open at that stage, as I’ve since seen it on tv and looks beautiful. Then we visited St Paul’s church which is just nearby, and somehow survived the attacks without even a broken window. At the time it provided a place of refuge for the rescue workers who were sent to assist at the World Trade Centre. Physiotherapists and other health professionals set up here and provided assistance by way of massages, chiropractic treatments, counseling, meals and a place to sleep etc for those poor exhausted men and women. It was as moving as the official memorial site.
The church itself it quite beautiful and unusually is a very pretty church, painted in pale colours and no heavy timber work that you see in most churches. It was interesting to read the history of it and to see the enclosed pews which we don’t have in Australian churches. We were to encounter them again in a church on the Freedom Trial in Boston.
From there we made our way to the Financial District which to be honest was a bit lost on us. I guess if you are a trader it would be thrilling!!
Next stop was a walk across The Brooklyn Bridge. It was a very hot day and we were starting to feel it by this stage. Erin and Karen joined us for a little of the walk, but then decided to head back to a little park and wait in the shade. Julie, Sandra and I made our way approx half way across to the viewing platform area and then decided to leave it at that and rejoin the other girls. I did get a couple of great photos of the Manhattan skyline from the bridge which I was pleased about.
Then off to the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry was packed as lots of city workers were starting to head home to Staten Island. We had originally planned to explore Staten Island a little but we were tired and it was hot, so I’m ashamed to say that we did the typical tourist thing and got straight back on the next ferry back to Manhattan! Plus we had great dinner plans and needed to get back to the Inn for showers etc.
Dinner tonight was at Buddakan in the Meat Packing District. We first saw it earlier in the week when we were on the Sex and The City Tour. Fans of the tv show and then the first movie, may recall that this is the restaurant where Carrie has her wedding rehearsal dinner. The food was fabulous and I wish I could have squeezed in a return visit. It is modern Asian food and every mouthful was beautiful. We had a great waitress who helped us work through the menu as there were lots of things on it that we weren’t familiar with. Our usual problem of trying to choose a bottle of wine reared its head again, but she gave us good advice and we had a great dining experience. The restaurant itself is amazing. The interior is very dark with subdued lighting and we were surrounded by beautiful Botticelli style paintings. It was my favourite meal of the holiday.
We strolled back to The Inn after dinner and again fell into bed and slept soundly.
Next we explore the East and West villages and Soho and attend a Broadway show.
We set off after breakfast to visit the Rockefeller Centre. After reading lots of tips here on Fodor’s that this is an easier option than the Empire State Building we decided to follow that advice. Well, we were at the building by about 9.30am and there were no queues. I was amazed at the very orderly way in which we were processed and I enjoyed the video presentations that we watched while we waited for the lifts. We took advantage of the obligatory photo shoot and that reminds me that Erin has the original and I must get a copy of it. The photo is a representation of the very famous shot of construction workers eating their lunch while sitting on a girder that is suspended way up in the air. I suspect there would have been many deaths while the building was being constructed. It was interesting to learn about the volume of employment that the construction of this building provided during the depression years.
The views were fabulous and we spent quite a bit of time up there enjoying the different views over Manhattan. It was a glorious sunny day and the park was sparkling. The fleet was in the week we were in NYC and we watched several ships making their way up the Hudson.
From there we walked to Grand Central Station. Julie was on a mission to have lunch in the Oyster Bar and Karen joined her. I don’t mind oysters, but not enough to make a lunch of them so we left them to it and grabbed a quick wrap from a nearby sandwich bar and then indulged in a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery. I chose a red velvet one because I’m not familiar with that flavour. To be honest it was just a chocolate cake, a very delicious chocolate cake, which I think contained about a billion calories although I did scrape off about 70% of the frosting. Thank goodness for all the walking we are doing.
Next we were back in the subway and made our way to the Financial District and World Trade Centre area and memorial. The memorial was very moving and I’m sorry that the new memorial wasn’t open at that stage, as I’ve since seen it on tv and looks beautiful. Then we visited St Paul’s church which is just nearby, and somehow survived the attacks without even a broken window. At the time it provided a place of refuge for the rescue workers who were sent to assist at the World Trade Centre. Physiotherapists and other health professionals set up here and provided assistance by way of massages, chiropractic treatments, counseling, meals and a place to sleep etc for those poor exhausted men and women. It was as moving as the official memorial site.
The church itself it quite beautiful and unusually is a very pretty church, painted in pale colours and no heavy timber work that you see in most churches. It was interesting to read the history of it and to see the enclosed pews which we don’t have in Australian churches. We were to encounter them again in a church on the Freedom Trial in Boston.
From there we made our way to the Financial District which to be honest was a bit lost on us. I guess if you are a trader it would be thrilling!!
Next stop was a walk across The Brooklyn Bridge. It was a very hot day and we were starting to feel it by this stage. Erin and Karen joined us for a little of the walk, but then decided to head back to a little park and wait in the shade. Julie, Sandra and I made our way approx half way across to the viewing platform area and then decided to leave it at that and rejoin the other girls. I did get a couple of great photos of the Manhattan skyline from the bridge which I was pleased about.
Then off to the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry was packed as lots of city workers were starting to head home to Staten Island. We had originally planned to explore Staten Island a little but we were tired and it was hot, so I’m ashamed to say that we did the typical tourist thing and got straight back on the next ferry back to Manhattan! Plus we had great dinner plans and needed to get back to the Inn for showers etc.
Dinner tonight was at Buddakan in the Meat Packing District. We first saw it earlier in the week when we were on the Sex and The City Tour. Fans of the tv show and then the first movie, may recall that this is the restaurant where Carrie has her wedding rehearsal dinner. The food was fabulous and I wish I could have squeezed in a return visit. It is modern Asian food and every mouthful was beautiful. We had a great waitress who helped us work through the menu as there were lots of things on it that we weren’t familiar with. Our usual problem of trying to choose a bottle of wine reared its head again, but she gave us good advice and we had a great dining experience. The restaurant itself is amazing. The interior is very dark with subdued lighting and we were surrounded by beautiful Botticelli style paintings. It was my favourite meal of the holiday.
We strolled back to The Inn after dinner and again fell into bed and slept soundly.
Next we explore the East and West villages and Soho and attend a Broadway show.
