NYC for a long week
 

Thursday, 1-12-12
Our plane was delayed two hours from Houston Hobby to Newark Liberty Airport due to the weather up north so we didn’t leave until 7:20pm. Needless to say this gave us a very late night but everything went smoothly, just two hours later!
We took the AirTrain to the NJ Transit station and waited about 40 minutes (remember it was later at night now and less trains were running) to catch the train to Penn Station in NYC (the rats were out eating!). Then we took an A-Train connection to the Station at 42nd/8th Ave and walked the two blocks over to our hotel, The Yotel, located at 10th Ave and 42nd St. We checked in at 2:35 am after grabbing some food from the Halal Stand at the corner. It is open from 7 pm-5 am. I got a falafel sandwich and my son got a gyro. I fell asleep at 3:15 am!

Friday, 1-13-12
We woke around 8:30, checked out of the hotel after storing our luggage with the Yobot at the hotel. This is a new concept hotel which we enjoyed the short time we were there. It is not for all, but we liked it. It was very cold out and windy. We took the A-train to 125th St in Harlem and walked down to tour Grant’s Tomb and then walked down past the Riverside Church. We were hungry so we found Havanna Central where we had a delicious Cuban meal. I had vegetarian food on a puffed yucca, black beans, and maduros. My son ate chicken and rice, pinto beans, and maduros.
We walked around Columbia University campus, then inside St John the Devine (we ran out of time for a tour), and then caught the subway train(s) down and across town to Grand Central Station, then walked east to 1st Ave for a tour at the United Nations (we checked out the Daily News lobby on the way and saw protestors for Tibet across from the UN). We enjoyed the informative tour.
After the tour we walked back across 42nd St and stopped at Battery Park to watch the ice skaters. Then we walked through Times Sq back to the Yotel to pick up our luggage. We met up with my niece, JV, there and we took a taxi to the Saravanaa Bhavan Indian Vegetarian Restaurant at the corner of Lexington and 26th St. where we met up with PJ, her husband. We shared 2 Masala Dosa, one Poori, a South Indian Thali, and Bisibelabath. After dinner we took a taxi back to the WTC PATH station, on to NJ, and we picked up the car and drove to their townhouse in Jersey City.

Saturday, 1-14-12
We ate half of a fried egg sandwich and drank some coffee, then drove the car and parked in Tribeca before walking across to Chinatown to eat dim sum at Nom Wah Tea Parlor at 13 Doyers St. We then had coconut ice cream at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. After eating we walked to the LES to check into taking a tour at the Tenement Museum and signed up for one at 4:15. We had time in the afternoon to walk around so we walked to Jennifer’s office in downtown which is located right next to the World Trade Center area. After admiring the views from her building and stopping in for a quick shopping trip to Century 21, we walked back to the LES for the Tenement Museum tour- Irish Outsiders (we all really enjoyed it). We walked around before eating dinner at The Garage in Greenwich Village, a restaurant where Jazz music was playing. I had mixed a green salad with pears, gorgonzola cheese, and nuts, and a lentil soup. JV and PJ shared oysters, Chilean sea bass, beet salad; my son got roasted garlic crusted chicken . We then took a taxi up to the play at the Longacre Theater. We saw Chinglish. It was a nice, small theater, but there was very little leg room! What a funny play! We enjoyed ourselves! We then took a taxi to where we had parked the car in Tribeca and drove back to Jersey City for the night.

Sunday, 1-15-12
We drove back into the city and parked the car in Nolita. We were right near a bakery so we bought croissants at the Ceci Cela Patisserie before walking to the New Museum. Since we were so early and the temperature was around 16 degrees we decided to find a place to eat breakfast and warm up! We ate at a Whole Foods and then we stood in line at the museum until it opened. We rode the slide first before the line got too long. We also rode the carousel and enjoyed the exhibits. Afterwards we drove the car up along the FDR Dr to 59th and Lexington where PJ’s office is located. We visited his office and admired the great view from the windows of the city and Central Park.
We then drove to Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. We walked around the park, enjoying the freezing temperatures and clear day! We saw the USTA National Tennis Center, the City Field Stadium, the skate park, and the globe. We then drove to Astoria and ate a delicious Greek meal at Taverna Kyclades. We ate grilled octopus, Greek salad, tzatziki, and stuffed grape leaves for appetizers. JV and I had broiled scallops and roasted lemon potatoes, My son had a swordfish kabob with lemon potatoes, and PJ had red snapper and fried rice. We all had the complimentary custard for dessert. Delicious! We had a fun day!
We drove past La Guardia Airport, Yankee Stadium, and through Edgewater, NJ and saw great views of NYC. We spent a nice evening watching the Golden Globe awards.

Monday, Martin Luther King Day-
Last day….
We stopped at a Dunkin Doughnuts on the way into the city and we each got a couple doughnuts to eat. We drove into the city and parked the car in the Tribeca area. We walked up to the Union Sq area, around the Flat Iron District, and then walked a part of the High Line. It was another beautiful, cold day. We ate lunch at Patsy’s Pizza. On the way back to the car we got some cupcakes from Billy’s Bakery to take home. JV and PJ then drove us to Newark Airport to make our flight home.
Our return flight was uneventful and we arrived early into Hobby.
We had a wonderful trip! It was our third time to NYC and we enjoyed just walking the city, seeing the different sections of the city, going to a couple of museums, seeing the play, and as my son says “eating our way across New York City!”

Wow...you certainly accomplished alot in such a short time.
Glad that it was so enjoyable.

This has to be one of the best trip reports about NYC ever written on this forum.

I appreciate that you drove into, out of, through and around the city therefore getting out of midtown, you didn't eat Italian, you didn't see a Broadway production and the weather didn't adversely affect your trip at all. You experienced New York like a local. Good for you!

Obviously, you're not 'tourists' at all, but rather 'travelers'. Thanks for the great report.

Agree with Bowspirit -- except -- like a local with a car -- but NOTE you did take the A train at 2AM and you are here to tell the story -- newcomers take note! GREAT report.

You got to see many many wonderful things far away from Times Square. Come back soon.

thestarryeye.typepad.com/explorenyc

Oops, I made the mistake in my title saying "NYC for a long week", because as you can see, it was a long weekend!

Thank you for your kind comments. I love to travel and see the places we visit like a local so I take what you have said as a big compliment! We did buy the week subway pass but my niece and her husband find it easier to drive into and around the city on their days off. They use the public transportation during the work week and prefer to drive around at all other times. So, it helped a lot to be going around with them. New York City sure has a lot to offer everyone! We have been to NYC in the fall, during the heat of July, and now in the cold of winter. Next time we will have to come during the spring!

Spring is one of the nicest times to visit. Central Park is really beautiful when it starts to green up.

Obviously, your family is very comfortable living in NYC. Where do they park their car when they're not using it?

My niece and her husband live in Jersey City in a townhouse community, so they park their car at home. They have lived in the city and/or Jersey City for the past 12-13 years, I think. They moved to Jersey City and bought a large 3-bedroom townhouse so they would have room for relatives and friends to stay with them while visiting the city.

I used the Fodor's NYC book to help plan the layout of our trip so we wouldn't waste time in the city. She was pleasantly surprised to see places that, as she says, "the locals go to too"!

Fabulous!

I, too, commend you for getting off the beaten path.

I hope that visitors to NYC will realize that Taverna Kyclades, and other area Greek and Italian restaurants, is no more remote from midtown Manhattan, and in some instances closer, than many restaurants that are IN Manhattan..just a few stops on the train. And the subway runs above ground for part of the distance, so you get an interesting view.


The area on Ditmars Blvd near the restaurant and the nearby side streets near the would make a very interesting way to spend a few hours, especially for anyone interested in ethnic foods.
This morning I went there for Greek yogurt, pastries, and other items, then traveled a few blocks east to the Arab stretch of Steinway Street, lined with cafes, bakeries, hookah sellers, etc etc.

http://www.tavernakyclades.com/

For dessert, a few steps from the subway station and the Taverna; they have a seating area and a wide range of Greek sweet and savory treats and European pastries:

http://www.artopolis.net/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/ny...-pastries.html




Just down the street, this place has many fans although I am not sure I agree with all the praise:

http://www.trattorialincontro.com/

I found your trip report searching for comments on the UN tour. Enjoyed reading it and will use some of your ideas on my trip next month.

I just saw that you had written in July. I spent the summer working in Stuttgart, Germany and missed your response. I hope you had a great time in NYC!