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Hi folks, I'd be grateful if you could give me your thoughts on this itinerary. 26/12/02 Arrive JFK (18.00). I'm estimating a 19.30 check-in at the hotel (Metropolitan on Lexington Ave.) Walk to Rockefeller Center to see the tree. Subway down 5th Ave to ESB (want to see the city lit up at night). Head over to Times Square (walk?), then back to hotel. 27/12/02 Grand Central for breakfast. Spend all day shopping on 5th Ave etc. PM - freshen up and head out for a meal followed by a movie. 28/12/02 Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Walk the Brooklyn Bridge (pizza at Grimaldi's). Central Park (skating). PM - freshen up and go for a meal. 29/12/02 Times Square Church ESB (view by day) Intrepid Museum PM (18.30) Broadway show Post-theatre meal. 30/12/02 Visit WTC/Chinatown/Little Italy late lunch at Katz's Check-out and depart for JFK* *our flight is at 18.30 - what time should we leave doe JFK? Thanks, Neale

"what time should we leave doe JFK?" Should be... "what time should we leave FOR JFK?" I need sleep!!

Neal go to the ESB when it first opens for a daylight view. We got there at 8:30AM and had already bought our tickets (Citypass). Only had to wait a few minutes in security. Got the first elevator so the viewing platform wasn't crowded. When we left about 1/2hr later, the viewing platform was extremely crowded and there was a huge line to go to the top. We went in October. Have fun!

Arriving at 18.00, check in at 19:30 - not likely. 20:00 would be more realistic. Walk to see tree will take less than 10 minutes. No subway line runs down 5th - walk or take a bus to ESB. Walk is less than one mile - 15 to 20 minutes. You would need exact fare in change to get on the bus ($1.50). Consider getting a Metro Card - there is a subway station on the corner where the hotel is located where a Metro card can be purchased. Yes, walk to TImes Square and back to tthr hotel. Suggest you purchase the $17 Unlimited use Metro card accepted on all buses and subway lines

For church on Sunday, instead of Times Square, walk over to 5th Avenue and pick one. I like St. Patricks but there are lots of gorgeous ones within a few blocks of each other. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge at night. Gorgeous city views!

You should switch around a couple of things. First, do NOT go skating at the rink on Saturday. It will be sheer madness and you may have to wait on line for hours. Instead, visit the WTC site on Saturday since you will be downtown anyway, and there won't be commuters clogging the downtown streets like they do on weekdays. The WTC site is close to the Brooklyn Bridge...much closer than it is to Chinatown and Katz's. Go skating on Monday morning instead and you'll beat the crowds. (Of course, make sure it will be open then...I suspect it will.) Also, if you choose to cross the Brooklyn Bridge be aware that it will be cold and windy. You have unfortunately picked the coldest time of year to visit! I live near the BB and cross it often, but I wouldn't do it in late December unless the temperature was above 40 and I was seriously bundled up. Gloves, a long coat, a hat and scarf are essential.

If your flight is at 6:30 pm, you should be at JFK by 3:30 - 4, the very very latest. Remeber it is holiday, the day before New Year's Eve and the airport will be jammed as well as the roads. It is a work day, not everyone is off on vacation. The trip to JFK can take 1 or 1-1/2 or even 2 hours. The traffic on the Cross Island Pkwy or the tunnels can be at a complete standstill. Give your self plenty of time. Get there, check in and then relax.

To follow-up on Gracie you should leave your hotel by 2pm. You just never know what the traffic is going to be like.

Thanks everyone. I making a few changes to my itinerary, thanks to your suggestions. Neale.

I don't know where people come up with travel time City to JFK. Took my first flight out of JFK in 1954 and have used that airport repeatedly over the years and I still use it. The longest it ever took from the upper west side was 1 hour and 15 minutes. If there is total traffic gridlock it could, of course, take forever. Under the usual normal lousy traffic conditions the trip will take upwards of a hour.

Neale, skip the movie entirely and do something else in keeping with being in the greatest city in the world. I also wanted to give you some tips about Katz's Deli on Houston St. I was there on a nice Sunday afternoon very recently and it was very crowded. The tables that line the left wall are the only ones that offer waitstaff service. You usually have to wait awhile for one of these. All the others are self serve. When you enter you will be given a ticket and you will in turn give it to the person behind the counter that takes your order and that person will mark off your selection and return the ticket to you. The counter is divided into sections by the foods you want. To the extreme right by the window you order burgers, hot dogs, soup, and knishes. Knishes add to your time because they nuke them for about 3 minutes. As you move left down the length of the counter, the middle area is for their famous sandwiches. Stick to the corned beef or pastrami and you won't be disappointed. Matzoh ball soup was also good. The chicken noodle soup was very salty. All you can eat pickles. Don't forget to order a Dr. Brown's soda to wash it all down with. Try the celery soda. It's a very fast paced environment with lots of noise coming from the clanking of plates and flatware, and people talking in many different languages. You pay up front to the right by turning in the ticket you were given when you entered. Another tip if you are traveling with ladies: the 2 stalls in the ladies room are so very small that even a child would be space challenged in one. I personally think that 2nd Avenue Deli and Carnegie Deli make a better and larger sandwich, but it's worth the visit for the experience. On the same side of the street about a block up is a wonderful little shop named (I think) Jacob and Daughters where you can buy delicous dried fruit, cheeses and other delicacies. A little bit more on that same side is Yonah Schimmel's Knishes, which I thought were very good. I had sweet potato.

Wow! I never banked on so many responses! To Marisol: What would you suggest we do instead of a movie? We're all in our twenties (although, we don't go to clubs/bars etc). Thanks, Neale

Neale, a few suggestions for Friday evening, December 27th: Chelsea Piers is a huge sports and entertainment complex right on the Hudson River. It's where the Titanic was headed before it sank. Anyway, you could go rock climbing, bowl, skate, you name it. Check out their website for complete info. Another suggestion is to see what's going on at Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall that night. Although you mentioned not being interested in clubs, would that include comedy clubs, too? The city has a few good comedy clubs where you could catch a fun show. You could also catch an off Broadway or off off Broadway production of something different than traditonal theater. And finally, you could look into maybe catching an ice hockey game at Madison Square Garden if the Rangers are in town. I don't know how difficult tickets are to come by though, which is why I also hesitate to suggest a Knicks basketball game because they're difficult to acquire. If you need more details post back. I just think you should be out and about enjoying this fabulous city!

Marisol, thanks for the suggestions. The Chelsea Piers complex sounds fun. I'll post back and let you know what we decide. Thanks again, Neale

I really don't think that you will have enough time in one morning to do Chinatown, Little Italy, and WTC followed by Katz deli. Katz deli is on the Lower East Side which is worthy of some time in itself. Also, try to make it down to SOHO and Greenwich Village. These would be good areas to go in the evening for dinner and a little exploring if nothing else.

One note re: Statue of Liberty -- you cannot visit the Statue inside, but you can take the ferry to Ellis Island. Keep in mind that it will be VERY cold walking around outside there.