NYC trip report from a european
 

Great holiday for a european who loves the USA ( one week in NYC...).<BR>Hotel: Best Western Woodward ( 55 st/ Broadway): small room, hotel construction, litle service (zero service ?), door man sold special taxi to JFK for $45 ( when the rate is 35...)but the location ant the rate ( $117)were decent... Next time I 'll try another hotel but the experience was not thatr bad;<BR>Food: followed fodors site, the only bad experience was Normas for breakfast ( it looked like a zoo or Kmart with super sales...)After waiting one hour I quit...<BR>The best restaurants are the ones that you just find with no guides... <BR>Theatre: Went to see Burn This with Edward Norton...Not very good ( almost 3 hours), but the show inside the show ( real New Yorkers...)was great...<BR>Lots of good bookshops, desert places, coffe shops (Lanterna di Vittorio - 129 Macdougal St was magical, best desert in NYC...).<BR>NYC subway: safe and cheap.<BR>But the best, in NYC, was just walking around, with no plans, just walking ( oh the Papaya Hot Dogs are the best- I tried the recession special: 2,95 for tho franks and Pina Colada...). The Metropolitan is a great Museum ( after Lovre and Prado is the best in the world...). Frick collection is also fine.<BR>Great city, I am to go back...Maybe in 2003...<BR>

Anthony I totally agree with you that the best sightseeing is by foot and without a real plan. I have discovered so many wonderful places this way in all the places I've been.

Anthony,<BR>Its nice to read a trip report on our city from a foreign visitor. You're right, just walking around with no plans is one of the best ways to experience NYC. I'm glad that you had a good time in spite of a few problems!

The $35 taxi rate is from JFK to the city. Fare, city to JFK, is the meter rate if you take a Yellow cab. With tip and toll the cost would be around $45. If you used a car service the charge would have been around $38, tip and toll not included.

BRETT:<BR>How does sombody as (obviously)ignorant as yourself find your way to a travel website?

There is no city in the world with as much to offer as New York. I mean, I love London, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam, etc. But nothing even comes close to New York in overall array of things to see and do. <BR><BR>And yes, the best way to enjoy New York is to walk and explore. There are so many fabulous neighborhoods that have much more of interest than just seeing the typical sites. I'm always so happy to hear that people do find things outside of Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Statue of Liberty, WTC site and Central Park. <BR><BR>Was there anything special that you found while exploring? We'd LOVE to hear all the little things you saw :-) Give us all some ideas for future trips. <BR>

Totally agree with your comment that the best restaurants are the ones you find with no guides... This has been true for me not only in the U.S. but also in every city I have visited in Europe and Asia. In fact, in the few times that I have used guides, I have generally been disappointed.

We like to do the same thing when in Europe. We just go out and walk and discover things on our own. <BR>I am so glad that you enjoyed your stay and would also like to hear more about what you liked about NYC.

Well, the people in NYC are great.<BR>Just litle things: I was at Sullivan St in a restaurant ( Green Papaya - Thai food)and I was more or less lost. Well, they just offer meal, after the meal, a map and very funny post cards ( that's nice).<BR>In Queen's I found the best Indian restaurant row in the world ( only 15 minutes from 55St/Broadway).<BR>Central Park is very safe, even after 10 pm ( had no problems, lots of NYC police around).<BR>East Village is very trendy. Good shopping with no name brands ( just walk around).<BR>Well, it is a great city...But the real Estate anda renting prices are crazy... 5.000 USD a month for a 2br apart. in SOHO ...? <BR> Well,I am want to go back...

How on Earth did you find the Indian neighborhood in Queens? Most tourists to NYC never even leave Manhattan. Had you heard about it? Anyway, I LOVE exploring many of the areas of NYC, including the outer boroughs. I wish more tourists would venture beyond midtown and Soho/Greenwich. <BR><BR>P.S. You didn't just wander around Queens did you? You must have read about the Indian area (Jacksons Heights), right?