Snippets from our NYC trip!
 

We're back home after two wonderful weeks in NYC
its such a long flight from Sydney, Australia and I cant seem to handle jet lag anymore haha - I feel like every ounce of energy has been completely zapped out of me!
its our own fault as we were on the go go go for 2wks...walking and catching subways upto 10-12hrs during the day....eating late late, probably not having enough water (it was really hot!) or snacks (lots of Starbuck cappucinos) during the day....most nights were were sitting down for dinner at 11pm once! crazy people that we are......hey others were sitting down and ordering as we were midway through our meal! it definetely is the city that never sleeps

Our first 4 nights we stayed at The Excelsior Hotel (UWS) Great location, lovely staff - they upgraded us to a junior suite that had a lovely skyline view - the suite was extremely roomy with two huge TVs, a couch, writing desk, comfortable king size bed, great shower head and the nights were so peaceful and quiet!
a perfect start to our trip! The hotel was a bargain at $181 per night (found online)
The Hotel was very close to Central Park, to the subway and some great restaurants a stroll away....
we ate at 'Kefi' (Columbus Ave) on a Saturday night - delicious Greek food, one of our best meals!!!
i loved the Upper West Side, it was great to be amongst locals (not just tourists) and it was fun seeing all the dog walkers out and about each evening....

NYC Subway - SO easy to get around, we bought 14 day passes and used the subway every day...we only caught a yellow cab three times during the 2weeks so definetely recommed the subway - i loved being amongst the locals and never felt unsafe...OK its not the cleanest place but its so convenient and very easy to work out and use! we tried to catch a bus but our metrocard kept getting rejected as we'd always stumble on express buses - very confusing so we gave up....

Walking Shoes - very important!!! i bought 3 pairs of worn in shoes with me and all were still SO uncomfortable!!! my feet were killing me every single day so forget trying to look good by wearing shoes that match every outfit (silly me!) - just stick with supportive walking/running shoes

apartment in Midtown - booked through homeaway.com....we were a little worried as not many people here recommend renting an apartment (illegal, scams etc) but we had lots of contact with Carlos the owner beforehand and once we arrived in the city - he is a photographer so even offered to store our luggage at his studio in the Garment district whilst we were in Washington DC for two days -- didnt need to as The Excelsior hotel were happy to store it for us for $2 per bag per day (a bargain!)
We met with Carlos at the apt, paid him ($175 per night) and got the keys - the apartment was as described...only thing bad about it was the thin towels but all worked out well for us!
The apartment was situated on 47th St between 8th and 9th avenue so right in the middle of MidTown (crazy busy!!!!) but around the corner was 'Amy's breadshop', a Starbucks across the road, and Restaurant Row on 9th avenue around the corner with lots of great choices, Times Square and Theatres a short stroll away

Top Of The Rock - we went first thing on a Monday morning - pefect timing, no lines at all....there was probably about 50 people up there so lots of room to move - gorgeous views!!

Central Park - the Park took my breath away, its such a beautiful part of the city, an oasis amongst what can be a chaotic city, the squirrels were adorable and we also saw a raccoon - very exciting as we dont have animals like that in Australia! i loved it and we went a few times...i actually enjoyed most of the Parks scattered around the island...Riverside park (along UWS) is really pretty and watching the dogs play in their own fenced park within a park was cute to see too! i also loved Washington Square Park - we strolled there late at night and people were sitting around playing their guitars, others chatting, there was some sort of filming happening so lots of things on....

Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island - we went down early but missed the first ferry but even then we didnt come across any ques or heavy lines, Ellis Island Museum was very interesting and I really enjoyed the time we spent there, definete must see as its such an important part of American history.

The Met/Cloisters - Wow! what a fantastic group of collections in one beautiful museum!
So much to see - we got there early - no crowds at all and we spent 4hrs there - covered quite a bit, we then went down to Tennament so I can book my ticket for the following week and ate at Katz Deli nearby - it was an intersting sandwich which Andrew and I shared ...the pastrami very tasty but extremely filling...its a little odd there is no 'fresh' salad or other sandwich fillings but I guess its the Pastrami is what the Deli is all about - it was really busy but the service was really fast! a place to definetely visit if in NYC
after our late lunch we caught the subway to The Cloisters - a lovely walk up the hill, breathtaking views of the Hudson River and a wonderful collection at The Cloisters - you defn dont feel like you're in NYC!!
what suburb is near The Cloisters? we decided to catch the subway from a different spot and walked along the main street - everyone was staring at us so guess we must have stood out as Tourists!

Pizza - we had a slice of Joe's pizza as part of our Greenwich Village food Tour - very crispy, simple - delicious! We then tried Lombardi's one night - really great Pizza, it came out a little burnt on the edges and they said if we wanted another one they'd be more than happy to make us one but we were fine and really enjoyed it! Their house salad was delicious too!! a few nights later we tried John's Pizza in the village - it was nice but not as good as Lombardi's

will add more as I go along........

oops sorry for the spelling mistakes!

I am enjoying your report very much and am so glad you had a wonderful time here. But your report of a raccoon is unnerving me. Raccoons are nocturnal and seeing one daytime is NOT a good thing......just one more thing for me to worry about while I trek through the park!

really?? I didnt know that!
it peeked out really quickly from the bushes near the turtle pond...a lady walking her dog noticed and she quickly steered the dog away
when my mum saw my photos she thought it was a baby fox haha
i thought the squirrels were darling!!

So glad you had a great time. DH and I fell in love with NYC not too long ago so I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Great report, NYC is a great city.

LOL @ "very exciting as we dont have animals like that in Australia" as I always associated Australia with exotic animals.

I've been waiting for this report. Glad to hear you had such a good time.

Glas you enjoyed the city.

NYC is BIG. It sounds like you saw a bunch of Manhattan, but not the outer boroughs - where most people live. The Cloisters is actually just upper Manhattan - a newly trendy area due to it's (relatively) reasonable rents. North of that (across the river) is the Bronx - one of the city's primarily residential boroughs. So - you were nowhere near the suburbs - they're another half hour out of Manhattan.

Yes we stuck mainly to Manhattan but ventured to Astoria, Queens to visit my Great Aunt who lives in a gorgeous 100year old townhouse...
i guess the boroughs have more room and plenty of homes instead of apartments
Astoria is a cute neighbourhood and it was nice to hear some of the older locals speaking Greek as it was mainly where the Greek immigrants settled but my aunt said the neighbourhood is changing. There was some great restaurant choices too - we stayed in the area for dinner and went to a local Cypriot tavern called 'Zenon' it was completely full so a suprise for a Sunday evening

i thought the neighbourhood around the Cloisters looked very run down actually - not trendy at all!
guess I dont know much about the area....i didnt feel unsafe but there was all these clusters of men on the main street just hanging out...staring at us!

Australia does have many exotic animals and birds and many poisonous snakes/spiders but we dont have cute squirrels or racoons - i was hoping to see a skunk but guess they arent roaming freely in NYC! haha
oh and the dogs are SO well behaved over there as are the children that I saw....very impressive! I actually didnt see many kids - only in the parks and a few on the subway....which was usually very very late - kids awake at 11pm....thats unheard of where we live in Sydney!

Well Manhattan is not the place to see toms of kids since it's much more expensive to live there than in the outer boroughs - and the schools are an issue. (In my building everyone sends their kids to private schools - also a big expense).

And that area is still somewhat rundown - that's why it's less expensive - but in the process of being "gentrified" - since many of the buildings are basically sound and of solid prewar construction.

The outer boroughs have many areas with large apartment complexes, some smaller buildings and a lot of one and two family houses. As well as some great sights - but not as concentrated as Manhattan. Astoria is one of the rendier areas for yong people coming to the city who can;t afford Manhattan or Brooklyn Heights.

The city itself has a pop of about 9 million (including an estimated 1 million illegal) but if you add in the commuting distance suburbs the total is about 22 million.

will write more when i get the chance
here are some of pics...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anastas...7622365262863/
adding more as i go....

Great photos! What kind of camera do you have?

Wonderful shots! Yes, what kind of camera?

its just a small Canon Digital IXus75
nothing fancy!