Recent Trip to New York City
Jun 2nd, 2004 | 05:02 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
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Recent Trip to New York City
We took our first trip to New York City over the Memorial Day Weekend to celebrate our twenty-first anniversary. Here?s a narrative of the trip. The prices are only posted to help fellow travelers. I will also preface the report with that we currently live in Denver, but have traveled the US extensively, along with most of Western Europe.
Day 1: We arrived at Newark Airport about 3:00PM. We took Tel Aviv car service from Airport to Marriott East Side hotel ($179/night). Fare with tip ran $55 ? for two people, 3 bags, Lincoln Town Car. Walked around East Side and went to Grand Central Station and purchased two 7 day MetroCards ($21/ea) for use on the buses and subways. Grand Central was busy, but reminded me of other terminals like a Union Station that was probably modeled on Grand Central. Walked over to the Empire State Building and purchased a CityPass ($48/ea), but didn?t go up to the Observation Deck that evening. We walked on to Times Square and wandered around into the Theater District. Times Square was all it seemed to be in pictures. We really aren?t theater people, and elected to see more sights in the evening. But we did stroll by the theaters and looked at the shows that were playing. We ate dinner at Carmine?s Italian Restaurant and had a nice meal, about $65 with tip and drinks. It reminded us very much of a Bucca DeBeppo ? large family style Italian food with menus on the walls.
Day 2: We headed over to Rockefeller Center and saw the filming of the Today show from outside the windows. Matt Lauer and Ann Curry were there. You can?t get a long look at them from outside, as guards move the crowd from behind them. The plaza was full and Counting Crows was performing a concert. We went over to the NBC Experience store, bought some souvenirs and saw some kids having a great time with interactive exhibits ? being a guest on the Tonight Show and hosting the weather with Al Roker. We grabbed some breakfast at a Café Metro (about $20), which are located throughout Manhattan. Expect prices for everything items to be high in Manhattan ? higher than prices I have seen in London. We took the purchases back to the hotel and took the bus to the U.N and took the one hour tour ($11.50/ea). We got to view the General Assembly Room along with the Trustees Room. The Security Council was in session, so no viewing was allowed. The flags that are normally flying were down because of rain. After the tour and the purchase of a few more souvenirs, we went on to the the Museum of Natural History via the bus. The dioramas of animals, birds, and different items from all different peoples of the world were interesting. But, the highlight for us was the dinosaur exhibits. It was raining on and off that day and extremely humid, so we thought we would again head back to the hotel via the subway to air-conditioning. We were supposed to dine at Bolo that night, but we were so sticky from the humidity that we elected to go casual and dined at Katz?s Deli. We both had a Ruben and a knish. The Ruben was good, but most the sandwiches are pretty steep ($13/ea) for just a sandwich. We strolled around the lower east side a bit and took the subway back to the hotel.
The subway and bus systems are very clear and usable. The cleanliness is better uptown than downtown and into the lower east side, and on into Brooklyn. I?ve used the Underground in London, and the Metro in Washington DC, and these were all much cleaner. The cars are actually pretty clean and well kept (except for graffiti scratched into windows). The stations can get pretty rank (just my opinion). The buses were all clean and prompt, but they take longer to get across town. How these vehicles and all vehicles get through traffic to me is amazing.
Day 3: We started a little late and had breakfast at a coffee shop ? Raffles ? across the street from the Marriott. One breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast, along with an omelet, hash browns, and toast, and two OJs ran $30 before tip. Expect very little personal space in NY. From there, we traveled by bus over to the Circle Line 2 hours cruise. Expect a lot of people on the cruises, but everyone will find a seat. The cruise sailed down the Hudson, pointing out interesting sites on both Manhattan and across in New Jersey. The boat seems to tilt toward the Manhattan side throughout the trip due to the picture takers rushing to get shots. Both sides get a good view, on the way back the other side of the boat faces the island. The boat rounds the southern tip of Manhattan island and travels up the East River, pointing out Wall Street, Ground Zero, and various sites along the island, as well as Governor?s Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge. The boat turns around and heads for Liberty Island and Ellis Island for great picture opportunities. Then the boat heads back to Pier 83 (42nd St. & 12th Ave.), where it started. It was nice that Fleet Week was happening when we were visiting, as many of the Navy?s ships were docked just beyond the USS Intrepid Exhibit and the town was full of sailors and Marines on leave. The Intrepid is included with the CityPass, as was the cruise, but we passed on it in favor of lunch and a trip via the subway down to Greenwich Village. We used the DK Eyewitness Guide?s walking tour of Greenwich Village and Soho and had a great time. We saw where Mark Twain lived, where the Raven was first read, where Poe was treated at an infirmary (a very old one), and so forth. We stopped for a cold Margarita at the Caliente Cab Co ? excellent. We continued on to Washington square and saw an excellent busker and people enjoying the day at the park and fountain. We walked into Soho and saw artists displaying their works on the sidewalks ? some were very good. We continued on to Canal Street were you could buy about anything from the merchants on the street, including the $8 Movado and Rolex watches. Canal Street was very packed, and we had to almost push to get through. We had a great time that day looking around and loved Greenwich Village and Soho. We went back down that night and had dinner at Suzie?s (Chinese - $44 with drinks and tip) on Bleecker Street ? there were tons of places to choose from, all pretty reasonable
Day 4: We started off looking for breakfast and stumbled by Rockefeller center and found Lester Holt of the Today show out shaking hands and taking pictures of tourists. He seemed like a nice guy. After a quick bite at McDonalds (yes, McDonalds) we headed up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was fabulous, especially if you like impressionist paintings as we do. Seeing the original Monets, Manets, Degas, and the Van Goghs were fantastic. The collection of European art was staggering. The Egyptian collection was large, rivaling that of the British Museum. We were trying to see as much as possible as fast as we could. You should take much longer to enjoy the works. The Museum shop had plenty more souvenirs to buy and we did. A New Yorker stopped and talked with us and gave us a great overview of what to see in next door Central Park. We left the Met and headed into the park and walked to Belvedere Castle, where you can get a great view of the Great Lawn. It was a sunny Sunday and people were out all over the park. We walked on towards the Lake and Strawberry fields. A guitar playing singer was entertaining the crowd with James Taylor and Jim Croce songs, so we stopped for a moment, had a hot dog and some sodas ? and excellent break during the walk. From there we walked over to Strawberry Fields, saw the Dakota, and then took in a frozen treat as we continued on to Bethesda Fountain. We then headed to the boat pond and found people sailing the RC boats ? just as I had read about in Stuart Little as a child. We saw the Alice in Wonderland statue, along with some people with telescopes aimed at a hawk?s nest on top of an apartment building bordering the park. One of the people even let me use his telescope to take a long distance shot (1/4 mile) of the father hawk standing on a TV antenna on an adjacent building. After a great time in the park, we went back to the hotel for a break. We had decided to go to Coney Island just to see it. We had always heard about it. So we took the subway all the way down to Coney Island from Rockefeller Center. There were a lot of rougher looking areas as we closed in on Coney Island. The beach was great, as was the boardwalk. Nice and clean, but crowded due to the Memorial Day weekend. We walked the area, saw the sites, and decided to stop in Nathan?s for a hot dog. It took over 45 minutes to get two hot dogs, one order or fries, and two cokes. It was a mad house. It made wait times at In-N-Out burger in California look like short moments in time. No offense intended, and I know a lot of people love Nathan?s, but the all beef hot dogs at Costco taste better to me and are a heck of a better deal ? and no long wait. Overall, we did not like the trip to Coney Island and the long subway rides. Time might have been better spent at the Guggenheim. But, we had to experience it. After a short stop to clean up at the hotel, we decided to try to go up the Empire State Building. The lines were wrapping around the block, so we decided to go find the Ed Sullivan Theater and get some pictures. We went up and found it, along with a closed CBS gift store and decided to come back again in the morning for souvenirs.
Day 5: We grabbed breakfast at a deli caddy corner to the hotel which was delicious and inexpensive ($17 for two, and they had fresh fruit) and headed on to the ESB. The line to get in wasn?t too bad, but the wait for the elevator up to the Observation deck was packed. After about an hour, we got to the top and got some great pictures from up high. The elevator down is a little less crowded, but not much. Also be prepared for no air conditioning while waiting in the lines. From the ESB, we went over to Macy?s on 34th for a few last minute views and a purchase of a souvenir bag. We took the bus neat the Ed Sullivan Theater and bought a few t-shirts and a cup at the CBS Store. The CBS Store is so much smaller than the NBC Experience store. We took some more pictures, saw the Hello Deli (closed for Memorial Day), and had some pizza at Pizza Pasta, right next to Flash Dancers (Letterman show viewers will know the place). After that, we returned to the hotel for late checkout and we were picked up by the car service and went to the Newark Airport to return home.
I know we didn?t see everything, and many things that we had intended to see, but we squeezed in as much as we could. We walked considerable distances daily and we felt it in our feet and legs. I know that I may sound like a naïve Midwesterner, but while I was there, I missed vistas and personal space. We really enjoyed seeing the things that we had only read about or seen on TV, as well as soaking in the experience of it all.
Thanks for your time, sorry it was so long.
Day 1: We arrived at Newark Airport about 3:00PM. We took Tel Aviv car service from Airport to Marriott East Side hotel ($179/night). Fare with tip ran $55 ? for two people, 3 bags, Lincoln Town Car. Walked around East Side and went to Grand Central Station and purchased two 7 day MetroCards ($21/ea) for use on the buses and subways. Grand Central was busy, but reminded me of other terminals like a Union Station that was probably modeled on Grand Central. Walked over to the Empire State Building and purchased a CityPass ($48/ea), but didn?t go up to the Observation Deck that evening. We walked on to Times Square and wandered around into the Theater District. Times Square was all it seemed to be in pictures. We really aren?t theater people, and elected to see more sights in the evening. But we did stroll by the theaters and looked at the shows that were playing. We ate dinner at Carmine?s Italian Restaurant and had a nice meal, about $65 with tip and drinks. It reminded us very much of a Bucca DeBeppo ? large family style Italian food with menus on the walls.
Day 2: We headed over to Rockefeller Center and saw the filming of the Today show from outside the windows. Matt Lauer and Ann Curry were there. You can?t get a long look at them from outside, as guards move the crowd from behind them. The plaza was full and Counting Crows was performing a concert. We went over to the NBC Experience store, bought some souvenirs and saw some kids having a great time with interactive exhibits ? being a guest on the Tonight Show and hosting the weather with Al Roker. We grabbed some breakfast at a Café Metro (about $20), which are located throughout Manhattan. Expect prices for everything items to be high in Manhattan ? higher than prices I have seen in London. We took the purchases back to the hotel and took the bus to the U.N and took the one hour tour ($11.50/ea). We got to view the General Assembly Room along with the Trustees Room. The Security Council was in session, so no viewing was allowed. The flags that are normally flying were down because of rain. After the tour and the purchase of a few more souvenirs, we went on to the the Museum of Natural History via the bus. The dioramas of animals, birds, and different items from all different peoples of the world were interesting. But, the highlight for us was the dinosaur exhibits. It was raining on and off that day and extremely humid, so we thought we would again head back to the hotel via the subway to air-conditioning. We were supposed to dine at Bolo that night, but we were so sticky from the humidity that we elected to go casual and dined at Katz?s Deli. We both had a Ruben and a knish. The Ruben was good, but most the sandwiches are pretty steep ($13/ea) for just a sandwich. We strolled around the lower east side a bit and took the subway back to the hotel.
The subway and bus systems are very clear and usable. The cleanliness is better uptown than downtown and into the lower east side, and on into Brooklyn. I?ve used the Underground in London, and the Metro in Washington DC, and these were all much cleaner. The cars are actually pretty clean and well kept (except for graffiti scratched into windows). The stations can get pretty rank (just my opinion). The buses were all clean and prompt, but they take longer to get across town. How these vehicles and all vehicles get through traffic to me is amazing.
Day 3: We started a little late and had breakfast at a coffee shop ? Raffles ? across the street from the Marriott. One breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast, along with an omelet, hash browns, and toast, and two OJs ran $30 before tip. Expect very little personal space in NY. From there, we traveled by bus over to the Circle Line 2 hours cruise. Expect a lot of people on the cruises, but everyone will find a seat. The cruise sailed down the Hudson, pointing out interesting sites on both Manhattan and across in New Jersey. The boat seems to tilt toward the Manhattan side throughout the trip due to the picture takers rushing to get shots. Both sides get a good view, on the way back the other side of the boat faces the island. The boat rounds the southern tip of Manhattan island and travels up the East River, pointing out Wall Street, Ground Zero, and various sites along the island, as well as Governor?s Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge. The boat turns around and heads for Liberty Island and Ellis Island for great picture opportunities. Then the boat heads back to Pier 83 (42nd St. & 12th Ave.), where it started. It was nice that Fleet Week was happening when we were visiting, as many of the Navy?s ships were docked just beyond the USS Intrepid Exhibit and the town was full of sailors and Marines on leave. The Intrepid is included with the CityPass, as was the cruise, but we passed on it in favor of lunch and a trip via the subway down to Greenwich Village. We used the DK Eyewitness Guide?s walking tour of Greenwich Village and Soho and had a great time. We saw where Mark Twain lived, where the Raven was first read, where Poe was treated at an infirmary (a very old one), and so forth. We stopped for a cold Margarita at the Caliente Cab Co ? excellent. We continued on to Washington square and saw an excellent busker and people enjoying the day at the park and fountain. We walked into Soho and saw artists displaying their works on the sidewalks ? some were very good. We continued on to Canal Street were you could buy about anything from the merchants on the street, including the $8 Movado and Rolex watches. Canal Street was very packed, and we had to almost push to get through. We had a great time that day looking around and loved Greenwich Village and Soho. We went back down that night and had dinner at Suzie?s (Chinese - $44 with drinks and tip) on Bleecker Street ? there were tons of places to choose from, all pretty reasonable
Day 4: We started off looking for breakfast and stumbled by Rockefeller center and found Lester Holt of the Today show out shaking hands and taking pictures of tourists. He seemed like a nice guy. After a quick bite at McDonalds (yes, McDonalds) we headed up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was fabulous, especially if you like impressionist paintings as we do. Seeing the original Monets, Manets, Degas, and the Van Goghs were fantastic. The collection of European art was staggering. The Egyptian collection was large, rivaling that of the British Museum. We were trying to see as much as possible as fast as we could. You should take much longer to enjoy the works. The Museum shop had plenty more souvenirs to buy and we did. A New Yorker stopped and talked with us and gave us a great overview of what to see in next door Central Park. We left the Met and headed into the park and walked to Belvedere Castle, where you can get a great view of the Great Lawn. It was a sunny Sunday and people were out all over the park. We walked on towards the Lake and Strawberry fields. A guitar playing singer was entertaining the crowd with James Taylor and Jim Croce songs, so we stopped for a moment, had a hot dog and some sodas ? and excellent break during the walk. From there we walked over to Strawberry Fields, saw the Dakota, and then took in a frozen treat as we continued on to Bethesda Fountain. We then headed to the boat pond and found people sailing the RC boats ? just as I had read about in Stuart Little as a child. We saw the Alice in Wonderland statue, along with some people with telescopes aimed at a hawk?s nest on top of an apartment building bordering the park. One of the people even let me use his telescope to take a long distance shot (1/4 mile) of the father hawk standing on a TV antenna on an adjacent building. After a great time in the park, we went back to the hotel for a break. We had decided to go to Coney Island just to see it. We had always heard about it. So we took the subway all the way down to Coney Island from Rockefeller Center. There were a lot of rougher looking areas as we closed in on Coney Island. The beach was great, as was the boardwalk. Nice and clean, but crowded due to the Memorial Day weekend. We walked the area, saw the sites, and decided to stop in Nathan?s for a hot dog. It took over 45 minutes to get two hot dogs, one order or fries, and two cokes. It was a mad house. It made wait times at In-N-Out burger in California look like short moments in time. No offense intended, and I know a lot of people love Nathan?s, but the all beef hot dogs at Costco taste better to me and are a heck of a better deal ? and no long wait. Overall, we did not like the trip to Coney Island and the long subway rides. Time might have been better spent at the Guggenheim. But, we had to experience it. After a short stop to clean up at the hotel, we decided to try to go up the Empire State Building. The lines were wrapping around the block, so we decided to go find the Ed Sullivan Theater and get some pictures. We went up and found it, along with a closed CBS gift store and decided to come back again in the morning for souvenirs.
Day 5: We grabbed breakfast at a deli caddy corner to the hotel which was delicious and inexpensive ($17 for two, and they had fresh fruit) and headed on to the ESB. The line to get in wasn?t too bad, but the wait for the elevator up to the Observation deck was packed. After about an hour, we got to the top and got some great pictures from up high. The elevator down is a little less crowded, but not much. Also be prepared for no air conditioning while waiting in the lines. From the ESB, we went over to Macy?s on 34th for a few last minute views and a purchase of a souvenir bag. We took the bus neat the Ed Sullivan Theater and bought a few t-shirts and a cup at the CBS Store. The CBS Store is so much smaller than the NBC Experience store. We took some more pictures, saw the Hello Deli (closed for Memorial Day), and had some pizza at Pizza Pasta, right next to Flash Dancers (Letterman show viewers will know the place). After that, we returned to the hotel for late checkout and we were picked up by the car service and went to the Newark Airport to return home.
I know we didn?t see everything, and many things that we had intended to see, but we squeezed in as much as we could. We walked considerable distances daily and we felt it in our feet and legs. I know that I may sound like a naïve Midwesterner, but while I was there, I missed vistas and personal space. We really enjoyed seeing the things that we had only read about or seen on TV, as well as soaking in the experience of it all.
Thanks for your time, sorry it was so long.
Jun 6th, 2004 | 09:42 AM
#5
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,886
Likes: 0
One thing you pointed out several times is the lack of personal space. This is absolutely true. Land costs and real estate taxes are both very high - so space alloted to anyone in a restaurant, shop, office etc is way less than in most places - to try to keep costs within control. If you had as much room in New York coffee shops and cafes as you do in most places the prices would have to be twice as high as they are.
(I'm alsways surprised when I go to shops/stores in other places - they look empty to me - way too little merchandise for the space they have available. - Nordstrom's is the classic example of this - IMO their sales would be much higher if they would bring in a normal amount of merchandise - I'm shopping for clothes - not space.)
(I'm alsways surprised when I go to shops/stores in other places - they look empty to me - way too little merchandise for the space they have available. - Nordstrom's is the classic example of this - IMO their sales would be much higher if they would bring in a normal amount of merchandise - I'm shopping for clothes - not space.)
Jun 6th, 2004 | 10:08 AM
#6
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 611
Likes: 0
I do a lot of business in NY,(I live 30 minutes from Manhattan) I drive in 2-3 times a week and spend lots of time there. I love reading your trip reports because it makes me see things differently. There are some things I take for granted and some things I just cannot stand about NY. It's is very strange to read about people going on vacation to NY city, when all I think about is getting away from it 
I am very happy to come home to my house and my large yard and peace and quiet.
I have to tell you about one of my favorite places for lunch - Via Quadronno - it's a must do. It's on 73rd between Madison & 5th, it's a small space but the food is unbelieveable. The service is quick so you don't have to wait long for a table. (I think they have a website too) The food is wonderful and the Iced Cappucino is to die for
I am very happy to come home to my house and my large yard and peace and quiet.
I have to tell you about one of my favorite places for lunch - Via Quadronno - it's a must do. It's on 73rd between Madison & 5th, it's a small space but the food is unbelieveable. The service is quick so you don't have to wait long for a table. (I think they have a website too) The food is wonderful and the Iced Cappucino is to die for
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