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At the risk of a raised eye brow or two, my quitessential nyc experience involved Jackie O. on a teeny tiny elevator, multiple times. Since she lived in the same building where I was, I often found myself sharing an up or down trip, just the two of us. She was a lovely person, very kind, and not at all hard to talk to. We had a few laughs over an extended period of months, and even the two guys working the lobby always smiled after her appearances in mid afternoon when she came home from her editor job. Nice lady, and she is missed.
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I was just going to say, "I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge last Nov." but now I feel like it is lame. LOL.
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While living in NYC attending grad school in 1979, my friend and I had just spent a long evening in The Village and then hopped on the subway back home. The only other people in our car was a young man who was smoking, playing his boom box pretty loud, and smiling at us, and a "bag lady" sleeping on the seat near us. This man kept eyeing us, and we huddled closer together. He started walking towards us, and I had my mace in my pocket, ready to go.
He got right near us and put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out a $5 bill and put it in the hand of the sleeping bag lady. |
I grew up in Queens and now live near Boston. As a kid, I remember going into "the city" in the fall and winter with my parents, getting out of the subway at Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, and smelling the chestnuts and pretzels from the street vendors. I can still close my eyes and remember that smell. Last January, I was in Manhattan on a freezing cold Saturday with my husband just walking around midtown, stopping into a store every few blocks to defrost, and having a wonderful time! What a great city!!
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kalmia, not lame at all. I have lived here a loooong time and I have never Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge! |
It was really excellent though slightly sad without the twin towers.
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Austin - Love it! VERY NY.
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I'm a Virginia girl, born and bred, but love New York, and try to spend at least a weekend there every year. The stories I tell about my New York visits don't involve the tourist sites, but real "New York-y" things, like these: Having breakfast at a coffee shop near Columbus Circle. My husband asking the waiter, "Can I have a cup of coffee?" The waiter replying, "IT'S A COFFEE SHOP, AIN'T IT??" The same waiter greeting "Hey Maestro!" to a conductor in a tux with his booth table covered with sheet music. Young working girls dressed entirely in black, every accessory, black. Our turbaned cab driver, having no idea where the Metropolitan Museum of Art was. And not quite quintessential, but a fond memory -- my mother's horrified face as she turned around to see her 8-year old Virginia daughter (me) holding the subway doors open for the departing passengers.
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Awww, what a good Virginia girl you are!! LOL, thank you for keeping this going, these stories are all so fine!
Fodors should publish some of these ! |
My quintessential NYC experience was my very first trip to NYC in the summer of 1982 as a teenager with my mother and 2 brothers. We stayed with Jewish friends who were pretty well to do, they lived in a penthouse in the West End Avenue/Riverside Dr area. Ed Bradley lived in the same building on the same floor and being young and oh so giddy headed at the time, I remember being in awe as he rode the elevator with us on a few occassions. Lovely area with Broadway, Riverside Park and the Hudson River close by. We would go biking or roller blading in the park - such fun. I also recall getting up some mornings and walking to nearby Zabars for fresh bagels and cream cheese - yum! Definetly a true NY experience in and of itself. It was also on this trip that we did the Statue of Liberty, climbing all the way up into the crown...I still have pictures of us taken on the ferry going over. I have been back to NYC numerous times since then but I always recall that first trip with very fond memories as being my quintessential NY experience.
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Enya - you should have left off the other "irrelevant" details too such as the "fresh" "young" "giddy". Why be descriptive at all? Why not just post - "I went to NY once." Skip all the details. You can be assured of being completely relevant.
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Well, now, hang on a second, folks. I can see why some of us (me included) might tend to bristle a little bit. Enya refers to "Jewish friends who were well-to-do." Those of you who are not anti-Semitic probably don't realize that we often hear things like "Well, you're Jewish so you must have money." I've heard stuff like that all my life and maybe we can become overly sensitized. I'm sure Enya didn't mean anything by her comment but that's where I assume the reaction comes from.
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Wonderful thread, Scarlett, making me terribly nostalgic. I grew up in the midwest and first visited New York when I was about 8 years old. It was love at first sight, and 10 years later I returned to attend college there.
I recall a winter Sunday when it was snowing lightly and we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Lower Manhattan was deserted -- this was long before Tribeca or even Soho were fashionable places to live and shop. The snow had just begun falling that morning and was softly building up a clean white quilt on the dark buildings and streets. Everything was white and still and perfect. I was 18 and living in New York and my best friend and I sang silly songs all the way across the bridge. |
What a great thread... I guess mine is from 1969 when I had just graduated high school and went with my "cool"cousin and her hip friends to NYC for the first time. We stayed at the Americana Hotel and ate at Sardi's where I had my first drink.. a wild Sloe Gin Fizz ( hey, we were good girls). One day we were walking down the street when I spotted "Steven Frame" a character on Days of Our Lives Soap Opera. We chased him down and begged him to tell us whether he was the father of Rachel's baby. I said I was going to college and wouldn't be able to watch any TV. He looked a bit scared and walked away, insisting that he didn't know ... only the writers knew. I was so impressed with myself for recognizing this guy just walking along.
I also recall a few dirty old men encounters which freaked us out at the time. More recent memory was hubby taking me to The Rainbow Room for our anniversary... food stunck but oh, that atmosphere! |
My quintessential NYC experience was my very first trip to NYC in the summer of 1978 as a newlywed with my husband. We stayed with WASP relatives who were pretty well to do, they lived in a large house in the Stanford, Connecticut area.
Sound SOMEWHAT familiar? No, I do not think that would be the way I would choose to start my description of that event. It does lead into stereotyping, which can be hurtful to some members of the group being stereotyped and then they can "bristle." I also think it's OK etiquette for whoever has bristled to say that he/she has not liked the stereotyping. Then we can see that, take better care next time, and then move on. Just my two cents' worth. |
Correction. Make that Stamford, Connecticut.
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<b><i><font color=red> Thank you very kindly, kk </font></i></b> |
De nada, Scarlett, de nada.
You started a lovely thread. |
Please people, without distracting from this otherwise wonderful post, understand that I meant nothing out of the ordinary by my reference to my friends in my earlier posting and I am truly surprised at the reactions. The trip was really a coming together of cultures, my family hailing from the Caribbean (how we became friends with this special family is a whole other story), but we were treated to NYC through their eyes which only added to the intrigue of the city and overall experience for us. It was a brilliant first exposure - even at that age, I could appreciate it all. Sorry if I offended anyone.
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Enya, that was a very gracious response and helped explain your first reference. Well done!
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Ok~it was in Woodstock but that is NY. It was a mid August night. We were sitting on the front porch of an old farm house. You could hear both the cicaidas and the foxes. We had some very cold budweisers and a cheese pizza with extra garlic.
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Now as a kid and I wish I could find something like this for the children in my life..every year my grandmother would take me to the first show of the morning (christmas show) at Radio City. We'd then walk around NY..and eat lunch at the automat. I loved it!
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Enya, it was indeed a gracious apology. As the person who voiced the initial criticism of your comment, I am delighted that your remarks were indeed not intended the way they initially appeared. I thank you.
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I just thought of another one which is kind of funny and a little gross. One year on Valentine's day, I went out with another friend of mine who was single. We went to eat at the French Roast Cafe and the bartender send over a red rose for each of us. That was nice but here's the funny part...
We went on to drink at the Red Lion on Bleecker Street. I made the mistake of trying to keep up with my friend and I ended up getting sick (this has never happened to me before or since). Feeling that awful sensation coming on, I threw some bills down on the bar and ran out the door and unloaded on the corner. The funny part? A very helpful homeless guy with a limp and a huge bag over his shoulder approached me offering some napkins. :) Then my friend came out with napkins and dealt with the homeless guy (he was very nice but I couldn't deal with him at that moment. :) I ended up taking the subway home to Queens because I didn't feel up to giving directions to a cabbie, and I knew no one would yell at me if I lost it again on the subway (although I didn't.) |
I'm from Hong Kong and plan to stay at NY for a few days this Dec, after a ski trip at Vermont. The reason I visited the site was trying to look for more info re accommodation. Incidentally clicked into the forum and delightfully got into this thread. I spent the last hour reviewing every single response. It's amazing. Almost like watching a movie, or many short dramas to be exact. Thanks for starting the thread and it seemingly contributes much more to my trip than telling where can I find a budget hotel.
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Enya, may I add my voice to those who are thanking you for your response? It has definitely cleared the air. There's a good atmosphere here when we can repair misunderstandings so quickly and pleasantly.
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The holidays are one of the best times to visit New York for the "quintessential NY experience." We went one time during the week after Christmas and stayed at the Mariott Marquis in one of the rooms overlooking Time Square for New Years eve. We did it up ... saw a musical and a play (we even saw Dick Clark in the audience who was there for Times Sq NY eve), Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, the Rockefellar Center tree ... NY is a great destination over the holidays.
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One more wonderful NY experience from me! Taking the Staten Island ferry and climbing inside the Statue of Liberty (absolutely boneshaking scary spiral staircase--best feeling of fear I ever paid for, better than any rollercoaster ride!) and later, going to Ellis Island and seeing the names of my grandparents, immigrants in the 1920s, etched on the low wall outside.
Most poignant? The photos of my two children and husband on the ferry deck, with the Twin Towers standing tall in the background. |
Planning to see the taping of the Today show, waking up late and missing it, and seeing Ann Curry browse through books at the flagship Barnes & Noble store a couple of hours later.
Okay, maybe it's not "quintessential", but indicative that anything's possible in NYC. |
Just reading this thread happily during lunch. It seems I waited half my life to finally get to NY, having had two planned excursions canceled. Last year, my wife and daughter went along with me for a fabulous week. And what do you know but I am getting to return again for business (along with three days of vacation) in a couple of weeks. My daughter fell in love with NY; she is a real traveler. My quintessential moment so far came when talking to her about the upcoming trip. I told her I plan to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge this time, and she said she wanted to go along. I said, "but what will you do while I am in my class (going for a seminar)?" She replied "I'll be at the bridge." She is only 4 1/2. I will also always remember heading from Penn Station to our hotel through thick traffic and her responding to a car cutting in front of us by saying "what an idiot!" We told her she would fit right in.
I already have great opera tickets, plenty of film and plans to create many more memories soon (I will miss my daughter tremenously [and 2-month old son] when I pass the ferris wheel at Toys R Us and the Lion King marquis at the New Amsterdam Theater. |
I've been born and raised here so I have too many memories to list, but here are a few...
1. Going for the first time to Windows on The World to see a swing band perform. It was our first "fancy and posh" experience and that memory of the view will forever be etched in my mind. 2. Going to Canal St. when I was about 8 with my grandmother and buying something in all the shops. (My crafty grandmother would buy all these cheap trinkets and such wholesale, then resell them to the neighborhood kids for about $1 a piece!) 3. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge with my brother, and some of his friends on a 4th of Juky about 15 years ago. I had my first taste of Jolt Cola. Was hyper for about than an hour, then crashed and burned and fell asleep in the car. 4. Walking down by Times Square and seeing a guy dressed in a complete Leprachaun outfit....and it wasn't Halloween or St. Patrick's Day, and there was no film crew. He did, however look very drunk at 3pm in the afternoon. I thought Only In NY would I see something like this.....LOL ;;) |
Hi Dan! Good to see you here :)
Glad you will be back in the big city soon. I will have plenty of Quintessential NY stories by the end of this apartment hunt! |
This is fun to read about - thanks, Scarlett!
Reading all of your stories reminds me of my only NYC experience. My sister and I went in Feb 1999 as chaperones with my daughter's high school dance team. There were more chaperone's than students so we ended up on our own for most of the trip and the whole trip was Quintessential New York! The museums - Met, MoMa, Frick The Statue of Liberty Ellis Island The ride to the top and the view from the top of the Twin Towers Beauty and the Beast The subway (it was so scary to me because I am one of those people who can't find my way out of a wet paper sack) Tavern on the Green Walking, walking, walking everywhere The tiny restaurants FAO Schwartz (sp?) Taxi cabs and drivers The things that surprised me - So many people were nice (expected less) We expected to be cold (we're from south Texas). The weather was cold but the buildings were so overheated we just about died All the buildings that appeared to be vacant Central Park being so big It was just a great experience. We crammed alot into a few short days and I would love to go back. My daughters were just talking last night and saying we need to plan a trip! |
I always include a few hours browsing in the shops of Greenwich Village everytime I'm in New York; a few years ago on a saturday morning, we spotted Timothy Robbins rollerblading and carrying a hockey stick, he looked like a kid going to join his friends for a street hockey game.
Just being in New York and walking around is a quintessential experience; I never tire of it. A few weeks ago, it was unexpectedly warm in New York and we walked for hours on madison avenue, my daughter and I; then we stopped at a small bar for a drink. Once we decided to get back to our Union Square hotel and started to look for a cab, we realized how far we had walked..... |
I forgot about my early morning experience in Union Square; my flight from Mtl got in at 8 a.m., so by 9:15 I was checked in and wandered off to get a coffee; I was astounded at how beautiful the farmer's market is across from hotel W; I sipped my coffee while strolling through the stalls, then I walked a few more streets and came across the dismantling of a taping of Sex in the City episode; all I got to see was the director chairs they were folding up, too bad I did not get there sooner....
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What a neat thread! We have been to New York only once so far, and are born and bread Virginians, too. ( hi Misha!) I had a hard time narrowing down all of our memories to try to come up with the most quintessential experience for our small town family, but I think these two will fit the bill. The first was the look on my kids' faces when we got into our first taxi after arriving at Penn Station and seeing the sheer excitement/fear of going so fast and so close to all of the other cars! The grip my 12 year old son had on my arm was like one on a rollercoaster! Secondly, the look on their faces (OK I am into my kids!) when they saw the processional of all of the actors at the opening scene of The Lion King on Broadway. I will never forget it. We love your city and cannot wait to come back at Christmas time. My daughter brings up New York about once a week- it is beautiful, she says and I agree.
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Living and working here adds up to everyday being the quintessential experience. However, several come to mind -
Back in the 80s, on a packed rush hour E train pulling into 34th St (Penn Station). The Knicks had just lost in the finals to ??????. The conductor coming on and saying 'next stop 34th St., Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden - home of the almost champion NY Knicks'. The Naked Cowboy - only in NY The fun and camraderie of total strangers during the blackout of 03 Lastly, my best friend got married last year at Tavern on the Green. We were all staying at the NY Hilton. After the wedding was over, we all hopped cabs to get back to the Hilton. When my friend and new husband still in full wedding attire got out of the cab at the Hilton, all these people started to clap and 3 girls asked to have their picture taken with them. |
So many great experiences-
Visiting from Minnesota with my parents as a kid and ice skating at Rockefeller Center and Central Park. Staying up all night and bar hopping with my brother and his friends as a college student. Minnesota bars all closed at 1 AM. Drinking champagne on the Staten Island Ferry on our honeymoon. Visiting the Degas exhibit at the Met on a beautiful November day, then walking down to the Plaza to the Oak Bar as dusk was falling. Arriving a few months after 9/11 and touched by all the New Yorkers who thanked us for coming. I'm tearing up just thinking of all these great times. Thanks Scarlett! |
What lovely lovely stories, heartwarming and full of fun ideas for those of us who live here or visit!
Someone recently criticised me for posting "silly" threads on Fodors. If this is silly, <b>I like<b> it </b></b> |
My mom taking me every Saturday for 3 years when I was a little girl to my dance classes at June Taylor's Dancing School on West 56th Street and Broadway. From there we walked across the street and one block down to if I remember correctly, Bickford's Coffee Shop where I dined on my usual tuna on white toast dripping in mayonnaise, a side of chips, and a glass of milk. Mom never allowed her children to drink soda. After that we hit the bookstores on 57th Street and she always bought me a new Nancy Drew book. I sure wish I had saved those. I guess my best memories are with my mom because she's gone now. I also remember her taking me to the Paris Theater to see Divorce Italian Style with Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastrioanni. Actually, I saw quite a few foreign movies there with her when I was a little girl. Needless to say, it made me a very quirky, kooky kid.
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