Well, I'm back from my NYC trip and as promised I will tell you all how things went. Thanks again for the feedback in helping me plan things a bit.

As I mentioned, I kind of like to figure out exactly what I want to do as I go along rather than a strict agenda...so yes of course I did end up doing some backtracking and I was sort of all over manhattan each day, which could be why I'm sore and tired sitting here typing this but that's O.K.

The one thing we did stick to, was going to the WTC site first thing after checking in. It was such a strange feeling to actually walk down the street towards it, after seeing so much of the t.v. footage. Everything was so completely recognizable, and so fresh in my mind from over three years ago. The steel cross was very moving, and a street musician was playing "America the Beautiful" on his flute as we stood there.

My husband was absolutely thrilled with times square...I could take it or leave it but he's never even been to Vegas so it was pretty cool to him. We ate cheap at the Majestic Deli and had the most wonderful charcoal chicken panini...we returned for the same sandwich our last day!

Monday I went to the battery park area, and took the circle line ferry tour past the statue of liberty (decided to conserve time and go straight to the immigration musuem due to the storm coming in). The museum was wonderful, with amazing artifacts and displays that told the opposing viewpoints about the experiences of the immigrants as well as those who didn't want them here. I almost left the area when thank goodness I realized the Jewish Heritage Museum was just down the street. This was one of the most memorable things about my trip, and probably the most memorable museum I've been to. I was in awe of some of the artifacts they displayed, especially those of the children. It was truely moving, and I noticed a few other patrons in tears walking through the display. It was laid out in a timeline fashion, as well as "pockets" designated to specific topics. Very well designed. On my way back uptown, I stopped in Greenwich Village and did a little vintage shopping, but the snow was really coming down so I had to seek refuge at one of the hundreds of Starbucks for some hot coffee!

Monday evening we saw Spamalot! This was another definite highlight of the trip...hysterical! David Hyde Pierce was absolutely the star of the show in my eyes.

Tuesday was dreary outside, so I stayed closer to the hotel and explored rockefeller center/plaza, and stumbled upon some good shopping on Fifth ave. of course (I know, I said I wasn't there to shop). In the afternoon, I explored Grand Central Station - another one of my favorite spots. I loved it so much I brought DH there in the evening, before going up to Comic Strip Live which we really enjoyed.

Wednesay I was dragging a bit, but made it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This was one of the best museums I have ever visited, on the same level as the Louvre in Paris. My only complaint...I got lost and frustrated! The map wasn't all that great, and there are so many little pockets and side rooms, it was like navigating a labrynth. I only saw about half the museum, way too much to take in on one day. Made my way down to Chinatown, which was a real pleasure. I searched for some beautiful chopsticks and bought up all the pocky I could carry. Tuesday evening we tried to find Little Italy...somehow our little map wasn't quite right and we ended up lost for a bit. By then DH was so hungry we ate at the first restaurant we came upon (which I was leery of doing) and it was so mediocre (sorry I don't remember the name even). I've honestly had better tasting food at Olive Garden and in my own kitchen. It wasn't bad, just not very good.

Thursday, I went back to Rockefeller plaza to see Jennifer Lopez preform her new song, which was kind of neat to see and I got some good pictures of her and the today show crew. Even got on camera when it swept across the audience right after Al did the weather. DH joined me in the afternoon and we finally went to the Empire State building. I can't believe how many opportunities they take at trying to make a quick buck off of you. It was disgusting, and the workers there had major attitude. Aside from that and the frigid cold, it was a perfectly clear and sunny day so we had a wonderful amazing view of the city. Tired and weary, we made our way back to the hotel and decided to leave early to get to Laguardia on time, which was good since rush hour is no comparison to what we're used to. Unfortunately our plane was delayed a bit, but we finally made it home to our animals and comfortable home and to bed by midnight.

OK...more specifics.

The subway system: Much like any big city I've been to in Europe, pretty easy to navigate, although the changes at night were confusing and we ended up in Queens once at 1 a.m., and got on the wrong "direction" a few times on the E trying to cross town (is cross town "uptown or downtown"?) finally figured that out...

The hotel: Sheraton Manhattan...I'm typing that while making a gagging gesture. If DH's company hadn't paid for this hotel, I would have been more unhappy. It just wasn't all that nice...really needed renovations. The toilet was all but broken, and we had to ask someone to plunge it every other time we used it...quite embarassing. They didn't offer to switch rooms until wednesday, and by then I didn't feel like packing up and moving to another room. The tried to give us free breakfast, even though we already had free breakfast tickets. In the end, they gave DH's boss's account 7000 extra rewards points, which I guess is O.K. I just didn't like the place though. OH and the housekeeper tried to barge in my room at 8:30 a.m. (EARLY, HELLO!)... I was asleep so it really scared me, didn't realize the privacy lever disabled their entry cards, used the remaining time there.

In general, I found things to be pretty expensive but I also expected that I guess. I'm sure we went over what we thought we'd spend, but all in all we had a good time. I think as far as big cities go, I have figured out that my general threshhold is about three days. Enough time to take in some great sites, but before you get too overwhelmed by the crowds and smells and "rush". I loved NYC, and its my new favorite big city over my long time favorite Chicago, but I was definitely ready to get to my peaceful, relaxing, familiar home. ( :

One reason that you had trouble finding Little Italy is that it gets littler every year. It's down to about two square blocks.

I thought it was pretty darn small!!

Also, I forgot to post about the Gates exhibit...I'll probably get bashed for this but I liked it! I mean it was mixed feelings really, if it had been summer with the trees in bloom and green grass I think it would have been disruptive, but with the bare trees and white snow on the ground, it was actually quite nice.

Thank you for posting.

silverblue - enjoyed your report. NYC is one of my favorite places.

Curious where is home for you?

Sandy

Glad you had a nice trip, Silverblue. The REAL little Italy can be found in the Bronx - not as good as it once was, but still larger than in NYC.

I would love to do this trip soon!

ttt

ttt

Nice post, thanks!

silverblue, I found your report to be quite interesting. Thank you.

Little Italy sounds a bit like Little Italy in North Beach in SF. It became less and less. In a way it has come back. But not the way it was say even 15 years ago.

Again, thanks for the report.

My home is in Indianapolis...for now ( :

I think I'm going to plan a return trip with my sister, the world traveler who has never been to NYC either. Now I can show her around a bit! (At least I got the subway figured out)

Thanks for the report! It really is too bad that Little Italy has been allowed to just about disappear. I realize that neighborhoods change and people move into and out of an area, but it was a neat part of Manhattan . . .