I'm at a loss! Really, I am. All I know is that I haven't seen my husband for a while and so Sunday we are going into Manhattan for "some fun". What's your idea of a fun Sunday in NYC?

I figure that we'll arrive at Grand Central around noon (maybe earlier), but then what? Shopping, museums? I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for either (although it's been a while since we've been to the Museum of Natural History). Geesh.

I don't want to see a show -- I don't think I could sit long enough to enjoy (if that makes any sense -- I want to keep moving).

What about the Village? Anything there to explore if you are over 30?

Is there a place for brunch that we could actually get into on such short notice?

So, if you could string together an itinarary of your ideal day in the City for me that would be wonderful.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

STW who is slightly "fun" impaired at the moment...

There are hundreds of places for brunch that wouldn't require a reservation at all. All the places we mention here tend to be the "it" destination places like Balthazar, but you don't need that sort of place.

What about going to someplace that has some live music? I took a friend from out of town to the Garage not long ago. $9.95 brunch includes 1 drink and live music with singer. Was the food memorable? No. Was it good? Yes. Music nice.

Garage
99 7th ave
Phone: 212-645-0600
Jazz Brunch $13.95
Sat-Sun: 12pm-4pm

Another place I had considered was

Jules (east village)
65 St. Marks Btwn 1st & 2nd Ave
212-477-5560
10:30am-4:30pm music 1:00pm-3:00pm

OR, if you feel like moving, what about combining eating and exploring with a walking tour? Both Big Onion and Foods of NY do Village (and/or Chelsea) walking/eating tours. There's also a lower eastside walking/eating tour on Sundays.

There are tons of museums that you've probably never been to? Have you been to the Rubin? What about the Neue? The Frick? 'The Cloisters?

OR>>>>what about some gospel to get you revived? Whether you go up to Harlem or try BB King's or Iridium.

Am I getting warm?

There's always the relatively new Museum of Sex - then maybe it could be a really fun Sunday.

mclaurie, you are getting very warm! So, if we went to Garage, what could we do afterwards? We are not familar with the Village at all -- any shops or bookstores to meander through?

nytraveler, your idea of visiting MoSex, would certainly be interesting . I'll mention it to the DH as see what he thinks, lol.

Any other thoughts?

If you want to consider some other options, here's a list from nycvisit.com of all the things going on this Sunday.

http://www.nycvisit.com/calendar/eve...cfm?pagePkey=9

If you're thinking of staying in for the evening, I thought the flamenco dancing at Suba sounded like a fun dinner.

I found a great shopping map from NY Mag at

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/visitors...ping/index.htm

(go to downtown and under pdf maps, click on west village)

The Garage is at the intersection of 7th ave. & Morton St. (near the bus icon for the 1,9)
As you'll see, this area is great for small shops. There are a number of small bookshops on the map, the Biography Bookshop at the north end of Bleecker St., 3 Lives & Co. on West 10th and Partners & Crime on Greenwich Ave. near west 10th st.

But the largest bookstore in Manhattan (and maybe the world) is not far. The Strand is at Broadway and 12th st. Here's a website that lists all the bookstores near the Strand

http://www.metro.org/ab_neighbor.html

If you're into literature, the village has lots of literary history. Here's a self guided literary tour I found online

http://media.wiley.com/product_data/...0764567446.pdf

mclaurie, thanks so much for all of your great suggestions! I appreciate it very much.

While the food/walking tours look great (and definitely will consider for the future), the DH and I need some time to actually talk, lol. So long walks and a funky place to eat sounds good right about now. Suba looks fabulous -- it looks like a place my son and GF would love as well (he's always recommending places to go, but it would be great if we could return the favor every now and again).


You're the best!

Thought I would just share the "fun" we had today...

It was a really great day to be walking around in the Village. We met up with our oldest son, which added to the "fun" of the day

Well, we headed to Garage and found out that it was closed for a private party Unfortunately I didn't have a "back up" plan, lol. So my DH and I wondered around a bit, and then settled on a little cafe between Garage and Jekyl and Hyde called Penny Feathers.

The service was horrible at Penny Feathers! They said they were down a cook, but what I think really happened is that they became busy because Garage was closed. Anyway, they offered a limited brunch menu with okay food, but I probably wouldn't go there again.

Afterwards we went to Magnolia for cupcakes. My husband couldn't believe that people would actually wait in line for a cupcake -- and at $1.75 each, he was even more astounded Anyway, I didn't get him one -- only me and the son indulged. I know, I know, it's not on the healthy food list, but hey a girl has got to have some fun every now and again too!

Then we headed to a terrific cheese shop -- Murray's on Bleecker Street. Heaven on earth! I picked up (only a tiny bit) of cheese - a young Manchego and a small wedge of Asiago to go along with some fresh pasta. I sent the son back to Hoboken with their fresh mac and cheese and some spinach gnoche (he is easily bribed with gourmet food, the youngest...not so much

Right across the street is O & Co, another one of my favorites. I stopped in to pick up some of their olive oil from Portugese -- I love it for its mild flavor, great for cooking. To round things out, we popped into Barnes and Noble to pick up travel books for our trip to Portugal -- "DK Top 10 Algarve" and "Fodor's Exploring Portugal" (with pink and blue on the cover -- I'm not sure what to make of that, but I'm noticing lots more pictures in the book than in the past).

Thanks mclaurie for your suggestions. We'll be sure to try Garage another time, Suba too.

Glad you had fun anyway! Had I known you were heading for Portugal, I might have suggested Alfama!! I haven't tried it yet but hear it's great.

http://www.alfamarestaurant.com/

LOL! Alfama would certainly get us in the mood for our trip. However, looking over the menu, I just realized that my youngest son will be challenged by the food in Portugal(heeheehee)! I guess he'll be eating lots of bread, since he's not a big fan of the octopus

That brings back such memories of my own childhood. My very first trip to Europe was to Spain and Portugal. The first night in Portugal, we were dining in a Pousada. They brought out the first course (fish). It came whole with the head, tail, gills, the whole 9 yds. I covered the poor fish with my napkin and excused myself to the ladies' room.

Hmmm mclaurie, now you have me thinking. Although at some point I will post my questions on the Europe forum, I'm wondering about vegetarian meals in restaurants in Portugal.

I'm noticing that many of the restaurants listed in my guides have notated that there are "no vegetarian" meals offered. My son's GF will most likely be traveling with us and she doesn't eat fish or meat. I know this may be a stretch, but do you recall if meatless salads are available? Is pasta even an option? Yikes!

My trip was was too long ago to matter, but I don't think you will have an easy time finding veggie food. Found this old post on the Europe board

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...=2&tid=1309365

Thanks for the link. It doesn't look too promising, huh? Well then it's a good thing that we are staying in an apartment -- at least she won't starve. Hopefully we'll be able to find a place that has something for her to enjoy so that we can go out together.