moby125
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I just thought some of you might like too read this. My wife & I went too New York in April, for our honeymoon.
These are our thoughts on the attractions and places we visited.
Please don't hesitate too ask any questions, or post your own thoughts, especially if you have visited the same attractions.
Moby125 & Mrs Moby125.
Firstly, we flew to New York from Manchester, with Continental Airlines, perfectly ok.
Secondly we stayed at the Novotel, Times Square on West 52nd St & Broadway. (Hotel Novotel New York Times Square: travel, stay or vacation, holiday at NEW YORK)
A fantastic view of Times Square from the terrace provided the hotel with an excellent location. The foyer and bar of the hotel were very clean and concierge was helpful as well. The rooms in my opinion were large, clean and tidy, but were now due a new coat of paint, wallpaper and carpet, too freshen the look up. From our room, on the 28th floor, we looked down on to Broadway, with a bit of craning of the neck; you could see Times Square as well. By the lift there was an excellent view westward toward Union City, North Bergen, West New York & beyond with excellent sunsets!! The wife had visited before with the mother in law and did have a view from their standard room of Times Square!
So what was our itinerary for our 9 night stay?
Day 1 Monday - Was obviously the flight over & check-in to the hotel. That evening we ate at Ellen's Stardust Diner, (Ellen's Stardust Diner) just across the road from the hotel. Food was excellent, but the big attraction was that all the waitresses/waiters sang hit songs from the 50‘s, which led too a great atmosphere! We then walked down to Times Square too savour the atmosphere and constant din of NY.
Day 2 Tuesday - The next morning up early and off to breakfast at Lindy's World Famous Cheesecake diner, (http://www.lindysnyc.com/) again only a short walk from the hotel, a superb omelette for the wife and for me, pancakes with apples, delicious and of course copious amounts of coffee!!!
Then onto the subway and northwards, too the American Museum of Natural History. (American Museum of Natural History)
What can I say, this place is fantastic, not just for the 2 of us, but especially if you have children. Fantastic displays of dinosaurs look out for the huge turtle, dioramas of all different animals, and fantastic models of ancient communities. We also went to the Hayden Planetarium which is attached to the museum and watched the visually stunning Cosmic Collisions film.
Then a short walk across Central Park, past the Swedish Cottage and Belvedere Castle, you can really relax through here, people watch, especially all the dog walkers, only in NY!! (The Complete Guide to Central Park and Central Park Zoo)
Next stop The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: metmuseum.org)
Again this museum is absolutely breathtaking; you really need a whole day for this museum. Outstanding exhibits are Arms & Armour, Egyptian Art and the interior set-ups of French Chateaux's. If you want too visit any museums, and then these two are by far the best!!
Then walked down 5th Avenue pass Tiffany's to St Patrick's Cathedral, well worth a visit inside, as the architecture is outstanding, also just to get a little peace from all the hustle and bustle of NY! (Saint Patrick's Cathedral - The Catholic Church of New York City- Catholic Store)
Anyway back to the hotel for a short rest & too freshen up!
For tea this evening we ate at the Dallas BBQ. (Dallas BBQ - NYC's best!) Oh my lord, the portions are huge and certainly value for money. I had ribs and chips and no joke it was spilling over the plate! It was huge; needless to say I struggled to finish it off. Many other customers were the same; the amount asking for doggy bags was unreal.
Finished off with another walk around Times Square / Theatre District.
Day 3 Wednesday - Again up early and caught the subway southwards on the Red 2, 3 line down into Clark Street, Brooklyn. We ate breakfast at Clark's Restaurant, right on the corner of Clark St, Henry St as you come out of the subway station. Really nice little diner, food was excellent and the prices a lot cheaper than in Manhattan.
(Clark's Restaurant - NYC Restaurant & Menu Guide. Menus, Ratings, Reviews. New York City, NY)
Then a short stroll northwards on Henry St to the Brooklyn Bridge, as we walked across the bridge you have fantastic views of Manhattan island and Brooklyn. Look out for the brass plaques mounted on the walkway, telling you about the construction of the bridge.
From the Brooklyn Bridge we ventured into Little Italy and Chinatown. We had a guide book which featured half day tours through both districts; to be honest we had covered both in about 45 minutes.
Then late morning brought some shopping time, so off to B&H Photo. (B&H Photo Video | Digital Cameras, Camcorders)
Lunch at a diner along West 34 st; think it was called Andrews Coffee Shop.
Just a short walk then to Macy's, some bargains to be had, check out the old wooden escalators on the lower floors, if I remember correctly. (Macy's - Clothing, Shoes, Bed & Bath, Kitchen, Beauty Brands & Sunglasses)
From Macy's we then went Century 21, near to Ground Zero. Plenty of bargains again here, though you do have to rummage around, the women's dept is more like a rugby scrum!!! For every $50 spent you get a $10 voucher return to spend on something else. The wife got a Nine West Handbag for £5!
(Century 21 Department Store)
Across the road is Ground Zero, here they were showing off the new plans on what they are redeveloping. Not exactly a lot too look at the moment; it really is a big hole in the ground with construction workers. I do not mean to be disrespectful. Although on the corner of Liberty St / Greenwich St, there is a long brass memorial plaque to all the fire fighters who died on 9/11. An emotional place to visit. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsB9s8En_SQ)
Back to the hotel for a quick freshen up, then out again.
We decided to go for a horse and carriage ride in Central Park; you pick up a ride from Central Park South. All of the Carriages are licensed, be prepared to barter on the price and certainly keep on eye on the time of the journey. We paid $40 for a 30 minute journey, which seemed all over after about 20 minutes, so be careful of being ripped off. Although saying that the actual ride was relaxing as dusk descended and the carriage driver did point out points of interest and famous landmarks.
We then went to Applebee's on 50th & Broadway again food is excellent, good portions and the staff are helpful and friendly. (Welcome to Applebee's®)
Day 4 Thursday - Breakfast at Pax this morning, the diners were getting a little expensive!! Plenty of these around Manhattan, food good, service ok too. My favourite was porridge or yoghurt, with granola, brown sugar and strawberries for less than $4. (http://www.paxfood.com/home.action)
Then off to the Statue of Liberty, caught the subway southwards on the Red 1 line. Make sure you sit in the first six carriages as you won't be able to get off at South Ferry. When we got there it was really foggy, couldn't even see her.
So decided to walk along Wall St. We saw the NYSE, Trinity Church and the Merrill Lynch bull.
As it was still foggy around Battery Park, we decided to go on the subway to Grand Central Station, what a lovely building, saved by Jackie Onassis, no doubt. There are some interesting secrets about the building, so well worth checking out. (Secrets of Grand Central Terminal Train Station)
Outside on 5th Avenue is the New York Public Library, which you may walk past on the way down to the Empire State Building.
We had brought special tickets which entitled us to the Observatory Audio Tour.
The high point (no pun intended) of every visit to New York is the Observatory, of course, the spectacular 360-degree view of the Big Apple and the metropolitan area.
Luckily the skies had now cleared, leaving us with perfect views of all New York and its boroughs. I wouldn't bother going up to the 102nd floor, as the view is no better.
Narrating the tour is Tony, a fictional, but nonetheless authentic, native New Yorker born 50 years ago in Chelsea, an area of Manhattan not yet the hot, trendy neighbourhood it is today. The tour is written from Tony's point of view and is filled with his colourful, amusing and informative observations about his favourite city . . . and his favourite building. The audio tour is actually quite good, it points out a lot of landmarks and stories, and you would normally miss.
Later that evening we went to Lucille's Bar & Grill for tea at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Again food is excellent, in a nice relaxed atmosphere, along with a little blues to wash over you!! (B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, Lucille's Grill)
Day 5 Friday - Off to Pax for breakfast, then off to the Skechers store to buy some new trainers. One thing for sure, you'll need a real comfy pair of shoes for NY. You'll be doing a lot of walking, as there's so much to see!!!
On the agenda today was Soho and Tribeca. So from our hotel we headed for the subway down to Broadway & Lafayette St on the N, R, and W line.
On Broadway you get all the big department stores, Banana Republic, Zara as well as the more designer boutique stores. Look out for Dean & Deluca deli. A deli with brass knobs on. (Dean & DeLuca - New York)
Across Canal St, into Tribeca head for Greenwich St to find the Tribeca Grill which of course is co owned by Robert De Niro. (Myriad Restaurant Group : Tribeca Grill)
We really enjoyed walking around Soho and Tribeca; you really do get a feel for the real NY, away from all the tourist spots. We may even consider staying in Tribeca next time we go.
This evening went to Tkts, to see which shows were available, although none took our fancy.
So off toward 6th/7th Avenue to find somewhere to eat, settled on Maison, on the corner of 7th Avenue / 53rd St. Again food was good, although watch out for the service tax charged at 18%. (..::: Maison :::...)
Day 6 Saturday - Off to Pax again. Then we went to MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). (MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art)
Well the 2 best exhibitions are a helicopter and a desk fan swinging from ceiling!! There are works of art by Picasso, Van Gogh, Pollock, Kandinski, Mark Roth and Andy Warhol. The sculpture garden is good. The rest I found incredibly uninteresting and very dull. Unless you are an art buff, then I would certainly consider giving this museum a miss. (MoMA.org | The Collection | Arthur Young. Bell-47D1 Helicopter. 1945)
Next stop Teany. I bet you're all wondering what this? Well it's a tea shop owned by Moby and his wife!!! Located in the lower east side we took the subway to Delancey St on the F line, then a short walk to 90 Rivington St. I had a chicken salad and a Raspberry Lime Ricky to a drink. Nicola had soup of the day and a Red Cooler. Both were absolutely superb, the drinks the most refreshing I have tasted! (https://www.teany.com/)
That afternoon we went back to the Statue of Liberty. Both Nicola and I had been before separately, but it's always worth a visit again. You get great views of Lower Manhattan from the ferry. As the ferry circles around her, you also get great views of the Statue of Liberty
Disembark onto Liberty Island, really nice to stroll around the island and take numerous photographs of the statue and lower Manhattan.
Check out the gift shop for really brash gifts and some very good books on the history of the statue. Although one worth buying is a New York Digital Picture Postcard (250 photos of New York on a disk). (Statue of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service))
Never been to Ellis Island so cannot comment. Although people say it is very interesting.
Back to the hotel too freshen up. Then of to Applebee's for tea again, we haven't got the energy to look for any other restaurants. We then returned to the hotel.
Day 7 Sunday - Pax again for breakfast, so cheap! We then walked around the Rockefeller Centre. Nearly persuaded Nicola to ice skate with me. Although she wasn't tempted. We didn't go to the Top of the Rock, so again cannot comment. Across the road is Sak's and not to far away is Radio City Music Hall. (http://www.rockefellercenter.com/)
That afternoon back to B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. For the world famous, Harlem Gospel Choir.
Really well organised and the food is excellent. Basically a gospel brunch buffet, so eat as much as you want, pile that plate up high, then go back for seconds. Once everybody has eaten the gospel choir come on stage and sing their hearts out. The audience get going; people are standing up singing along and clapping away. A really great atmosphere, praise the lord!!! Hallelujah!! (B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, Gospel Brunch, Harlem Gospel Choir)
We then returned back to the hotel, to chill out. For tea we went to La Bonne Soupe. Not too far to walk as it's on West 55th Street. Really nice little restaurant tucked away, great atmosphere and the food is excellent as well. (La Bonne Soupe)
Day 8 Monday - The helicopter ride!!!! Really looking forward too this, first time in a helicopter. Anyway, Pax for breakfast. Then onto the subway to, 34th St & Penn station, on the red line. Then a walk westwards, towards the VIP Heliport located at 12th Avenue at West 30th St, on the Hudson River. Our journey was with Liberty Helicopters.
We had booked the Big Apple tour, which takes in sights of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State, Chrysler, Woolworth, Met Life buildings. You also get a good view of Jersey City and Ellis Island.
You take off over the water and as I was sat on the starboard side of the helicopter, initially I was taking photographs of New Jersey, much to the disgust of my wife. Anyway as you circle around the Statue of Liberty, I was now sat nearest to Manhattan, so I could get some really good photographs of Manhattan and the buildings mentioned earlier. My advice is keep snapping away, especially if you have a digital camera, you can always delete later!! (Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours)
After the tour, we headed back to B&H Photo, Macy's and Andrew's Diner again, all on West 34th St.
That afternoon we went to the Guggenheim Museum (Guggenheim Museum - New York).
Only the one artist called, Cai Guo-Qiang on display. Apart from the car explosion display, there were many paintings incorporating gun powder and also what appeared to be stuffed animals.
(Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe)
(cai_exhibition) (cai_exhibition)
It would have been more interesting if there had been more than one artist displaying their work. Again it got a little boring.
The best feature about the Guggenheim is the actual building itself.
For tea tonight we went to Pain au Bonne, a little bit like Pax.
We then walked up 5th Avenue to the bottom of Central Park then along to Columbus Circle, where there is a new shopping plaza and hotel, then back to the hotel.
Day 9 Tuesday - Shopping!!! So back to the Soho, for some excellent shopping.
That evening we had a table book at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant. Anyway we'd booked a table for 9pm, after 50 mins of waiting, enquiring to see how much longer we had to wait, even with free tables behind the maitre d‘, I told him they could compliment us for the drinks and promptly walked out of the restaurant. Our last night in NY spoilt!! (Maze The London NYC - New York)
Anyway we made the best of a bad situation and went to Rosie O'Gradys, on the corner of 52nd St / 7th Avenue. Once again food is excellent and the atmosphere lively. (Rosie O'Grady's)
Day 10 Wednesday - Time for some shopping, so to 5th Avenue and Tiffany & Co.
A little out of our price league to say the least, anyway head for the 5th floor, where items are more reasonable. (http://www.tiffany.com/Locations/Store.aspx?StoreId=682&CountryId=-1&RegionId=1&)
Look out for the M&M's store at Times Square, all sorts of colours available. Now got a hankering for peanut M&M's. (SHOP.MMS.COM > MERCHANDISE)
Also Hershey's for those all important chocolates to give to relatives. (HERSHEY'S Chocolate: Home)
Come dinner time it was time to make our way to Newark, for our return flight home.
So our Top 5 attractions of New York would be;
1 Statue of Liberty
2 Empire State Building
3 Central Park
4 American Museum of Natural History
5 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Best to do would be;
1 Walk across Brooklyn Bridge
2 BB King
3 Horse Carriage Ride
4 Shopping in Soho
5 Teany
Helpful links;
New York City Pass. A booklet containing vouchers for the following attractions; Empire State Building Observatory and audio tour
Guggenheim Museum
American Museum of Natural History
Museum Of Modern Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
2 Hour trip on the Circle Line Harbour Cruise, Harbour Lights or the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Certainly worth purchasing as you manage to fast track a lot of the queues for the attractions and save money!! The link doesn't want to work, but if you goto Expedia, click on attractions, type in New York and scroll down, you will see the City Pass.
New York Subway Pass. We purchased a 7 day Unlimited Ride Metrocard from the New York Visitor Information Centre. (Ny Visitor Information Center - Google Maps)
Some pictures;
Empire State Building from the helicopter.
Statue of Liberty from the helicopter.
Teany.
Times Square.
French Chateaux interiors.
Brooklyn Bridge.
Wall St.
View from Empire State Building.
Belvedere Castle.
2 dioramas from the American Museum of Natural History.
Brownstone buildings.
These are our thoughts on the attractions and places we visited.
Please don't hesitate too ask any questions, or post your own thoughts, especially if you have visited the same attractions.
Moby125 & Mrs Moby125.
Firstly, we flew to New York from Manchester, with Continental Airlines, perfectly ok.
Secondly we stayed at the Novotel, Times Square on West 52nd St & Broadway. (Hotel Novotel New York Times Square: travel, stay or vacation, holiday at NEW YORK)
A fantastic view of Times Square from the terrace provided the hotel with an excellent location. The foyer and bar of the hotel were very clean and concierge was helpful as well. The rooms in my opinion were large, clean and tidy, but were now due a new coat of paint, wallpaper and carpet, too freshen the look up. From our room, on the 28th floor, we looked down on to Broadway, with a bit of craning of the neck; you could see Times Square as well. By the lift there was an excellent view westward toward Union City, North Bergen, West New York & beyond with excellent sunsets!! The wife had visited before with the mother in law and did have a view from their standard room of Times Square!
So what was our itinerary for our 9 night stay?
Day 1 Monday - Was obviously the flight over & check-in to the hotel. That evening we ate at Ellen's Stardust Diner, (Ellen's Stardust Diner) just across the road from the hotel. Food was excellent, but the big attraction was that all the waitresses/waiters sang hit songs from the 50‘s, which led too a great atmosphere! We then walked down to Times Square too savour the atmosphere and constant din of NY.
Day 2 Tuesday - The next morning up early and off to breakfast at Lindy's World Famous Cheesecake diner, (http://www.lindysnyc.com/) again only a short walk from the hotel, a superb omelette for the wife and for me, pancakes with apples, delicious and of course copious amounts of coffee!!!
Then onto the subway and northwards, too the American Museum of Natural History. (American Museum of Natural History)
What can I say, this place is fantastic, not just for the 2 of us, but especially if you have children. Fantastic displays of dinosaurs look out for the huge turtle, dioramas of all different animals, and fantastic models of ancient communities. We also went to the Hayden Planetarium which is attached to the museum and watched the visually stunning Cosmic Collisions film.
Then a short walk across Central Park, past the Swedish Cottage and Belvedere Castle, you can really relax through here, people watch, especially all the dog walkers, only in NY!! (The Complete Guide to Central Park and Central Park Zoo)
Next stop The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: metmuseum.org)
Again this museum is absolutely breathtaking; you really need a whole day for this museum. Outstanding exhibits are Arms & Armour, Egyptian Art and the interior set-ups of French Chateaux's. If you want too visit any museums, and then these two are by far the best!!
Then walked down 5th Avenue pass Tiffany's to St Patrick's Cathedral, well worth a visit inside, as the architecture is outstanding, also just to get a little peace from all the hustle and bustle of NY! (Saint Patrick's Cathedral - The Catholic Church of New York City- Catholic Store)
Anyway back to the hotel for a short rest & too freshen up!
For tea this evening we ate at the Dallas BBQ. (Dallas BBQ - NYC's best!) Oh my lord, the portions are huge and certainly value for money. I had ribs and chips and no joke it was spilling over the plate! It was huge; needless to say I struggled to finish it off. Many other customers were the same; the amount asking for doggy bags was unreal.
Finished off with another walk around Times Square / Theatre District.
Day 3 Wednesday - Again up early and caught the subway southwards on the Red 2, 3 line down into Clark Street, Brooklyn. We ate breakfast at Clark's Restaurant, right on the corner of Clark St, Henry St as you come out of the subway station. Really nice little diner, food was excellent and the prices a lot cheaper than in Manhattan.
(Clark's Restaurant - NYC Restaurant & Menu Guide. Menus, Ratings, Reviews. New York City, NY)
Then a short stroll northwards on Henry St to the Brooklyn Bridge, as we walked across the bridge you have fantastic views of Manhattan island and Brooklyn. Look out for the brass plaques mounted on the walkway, telling you about the construction of the bridge.
From the Brooklyn Bridge we ventured into Little Italy and Chinatown. We had a guide book which featured half day tours through both districts; to be honest we had covered both in about 45 minutes.
Then late morning brought some shopping time, so off to B&H Photo. (B&H Photo Video | Digital Cameras, Camcorders)
Lunch at a diner along West 34 st; think it was called Andrews Coffee Shop.
Just a short walk then to Macy's, some bargains to be had, check out the old wooden escalators on the lower floors, if I remember correctly. (Macy's - Clothing, Shoes, Bed & Bath, Kitchen, Beauty Brands & Sunglasses)
From Macy's we then went Century 21, near to Ground Zero. Plenty of bargains again here, though you do have to rummage around, the women's dept is more like a rugby scrum!!! For every $50 spent you get a $10 voucher return to spend on something else. The wife got a Nine West Handbag for £5!
(Century 21 Department Store)
Across the road is Ground Zero, here they were showing off the new plans on what they are redeveloping. Not exactly a lot too look at the moment; it really is a big hole in the ground with construction workers. I do not mean to be disrespectful. Although on the corner of Liberty St / Greenwich St, there is a long brass memorial plaque to all the fire fighters who died on 9/11. An emotional place to visit. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsB9s8En_SQ)
Back to the hotel for a quick freshen up, then out again.
We decided to go for a horse and carriage ride in Central Park; you pick up a ride from Central Park South. All of the Carriages are licensed, be prepared to barter on the price and certainly keep on eye on the time of the journey. We paid $40 for a 30 minute journey, which seemed all over after about 20 minutes, so be careful of being ripped off. Although saying that the actual ride was relaxing as dusk descended and the carriage driver did point out points of interest and famous landmarks.
We then went to Applebee's on 50th & Broadway again food is excellent, good portions and the staff are helpful and friendly. (Welcome to Applebee's®)
Day 4 Thursday - Breakfast at Pax this morning, the diners were getting a little expensive!! Plenty of these around Manhattan, food good, service ok too. My favourite was porridge or yoghurt, with granola, brown sugar and strawberries for less than $4. (http://www.paxfood.com/home.action)
Then off to the Statue of Liberty, caught the subway southwards on the Red 1 line. Make sure you sit in the first six carriages as you won't be able to get off at South Ferry. When we got there it was really foggy, couldn't even see her.
So decided to walk along Wall St. We saw the NYSE, Trinity Church and the Merrill Lynch bull.
As it was still foggy around Battery Park, we decided to go on the subway to Grand Central Station, what a lovely building, saved by Jackie Onassis, no doubt. There are some interesting secrets about the building, so well worth checking out. (Secrets of Grand Central Terminal Train Station)
Outside on 5th Avenue is the New York Public Library, which you may walk past on the way down to the Empire State Building.
We had brought special tickets which entitled us to the Observatory Audio Tour.
The high point (no pun intended) of every visit to New York is the Observatory, of course, the spectacular 360-degree view of the Big Apple and the metropolitan area.
Luckily the skies had now cleared, leaving us with perfect views of all New York and its boroughs. I wouldn't bother going up to the 102nd floor, as the view is no better.
Narrating the tour is Tony, a fictional, but nonetheless authentic, native New Yorker born 50 years ago in Chelsea, an area of Manhattan not yet the hot, trendy neighbourhood it is today. The tour is written from Tony's point of view and is filled with his colourful, amusing and informative observations about his favourite city . . . and his favourite building. The audio tour is actually quite good, it points out a lot of landmarks and stories, and you would normally miss.
Later that evening we went to Lucille's Bar & Grill for tea at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Again food is excellent, in a nice relaxed atmosphere, along with a little blues to wash over you!! (B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, Lucille's Grill)
Day 5 Friday - Off to Pax for breakfast, then off to the Skechers store to buy some new trainers. One thing for sure, you'll need a real comfy pair of shoes for NY. You'll be doing a lot of walking, as there's so much to see!!!
On the agenda today was Soho and Tribeca. So from our hotel we headed for the subway down to Broadway & Lafayette St on the N, R, and W line.
On Broadway you get all the big department stores, Banana Republic, Zara as well as the more designer boutique stores. Look out for Dean & Deluca deli. A deli with brass knobs on. (Dean & DeLuca - New York)
Across Canal St, into Tribeca head for Greenwich St to find the Tribeca Grill which of course is co owned by Robert De Niro. (Myriad Restaurant Group : Tribeca Grill)
We really enjoyed walking around Soho and Tribeca; you really do get a feel for the real NY, away from all the tourist spots. We may even consider staying in Tribeca next time we go.
This evening went to Tkts, to see which shows were available, although none took our fancy.
So off toward 6th/7th Avenue to find somewhere to eat, settled on Maison, on the corner of 7th Avenue / 53rd St. Again food was good, although watch out for the service tax charged at 18%. (..::: Maison :::...)
Day 6 Saturday - Off to Pax again. Then we went to MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). (MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art)
Well the 2 best exhibitions are a helicopter and a desk fan swinging from ceiling!! There are works of art by Picasso, Van Gogh, Pollock, Kandinski, Mark Roth and Andy Warhol. The sculpture garden is good. The rest I found incredibly uninteresting and very dull. Unless you are an art buff, then I would certainly consider giving this museum a miss. (MoMA.org | The Collection | Arthur Young. Bell-47D1 Helicopter. 1945)
Next stop Teany. I bet you're all wondering what this? Well it's a tea shop owned by Moby and his wife!!! Located in the lower east side we took the subway to Delancey St on the F line, then a short walk to 90 Rivington St. I had a chicken salad and a Raspberry Lime Ricky to a drink. Nicola had soup of the day and a Red Cooler. Both were absolutely superb, the drinks the most refreshing I have tasted! (https://www.teany.com/)
That afternoon we went back to the Statue of Liberty. Both Nicola and I had been before separately, but it's always worth a visit again. You get great views of Lower Manhattan from the ferry. As the ferry circles around her, you also get great views of the Statue of Liberty
Disembark onto Liberty Island, really nice to stroll around the island and take numerous photographs of the statue and lower Manhattan.
Check out the gift shop for really brash gifts and some very good books on the history of the statue. Although one worth buying is a New York Digital Picture Postcard (250 photos of New York on a disk). (Statue of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service))
Never been to Ellis Island so cannot comment. Although people say it is very interesting.
Back to the hotel too freshen up. Then of to Applebee's for tea again, we haven't got the energy to look for any other restaurants. We then returned to the hotel.
Day 7 Sunday - Pax again for breakfast, so cheap! We then walked around the Rockefeller Centre. Nearly persuaded Nicola to ice skate with me. Although she wasn't tempted. We didn't go to the Top of the Rock, so again cannot comment. Across the road is Sak's and not to far away is Radio City Music Hall. (http://www.rockefellercenter.com/)
That afternoon back to B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. For the world famous, Harlem Gospel Choir.
Really well organised and the food is excellent. Basically a gospel brunch buffet, so eat as much as you want, pile that plate up high, then go back for seconds. Once everybody has eaten the gospel choir come on stage and sing their hearts out. The audience get going; people are standing up singing along and clapping away. A really great atmosphere, praise the lord!!! Hallelujah!! (B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, Gospel Brunch, Harlem Gospel Choir)
We then returned back to the hotel, to chill out. For tea we went to La Bonne Soupe. Not too far to walk as it's on West 55th Street. Really nice little restaurant tucked away, great atmosphere and the food is excellent as well. (La Bonne Soupe)
Day 8 Monday - The helicopter ride!!!! Really looking forward too this, first time in a helicopter. Anyway, Pax for breakfast. Then onto the subway to, 34th St & Penn station, on the red line. Then a walk westwards, towards the VIP Heliport located at 12th Avenue at West 30th St, on the Hudson River. Our journey was with Liberty Helicopters.
We had booked the Big Apple tour, which takes in sights of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State, Chrysler, Woolworth, Met Life buildings. You also get a good view of Jersey City and Ellis Island.
You take off over the water and as I was sat on the starboard side of the helicopter, initially I was taking photographs of New Jersey, much to the disgust of my wife. Anyway as you circle around the Statue of Liberty, I was now sat nearest to Manhattan, so I could get some really good photographs of Manhattan and the buildings mentioned earlier. My advice is keep snapping away, especially if you have a digital camera, you can always delete later!! (Liberty Helicopter Sightseeing Tours)
After the tour, we headed back to B&H Photo, Macy's and Andrew's Diner again, all on West 34th St.
That afternoon we went to the Guggenheim Museum (Guggenheim Museum - New York).
Only the one artist called, Cai Guo-Qiang on display. Apart from the car explosion display, there were many paintings incorporating gun powder and also what appeared to be stuffed animals.
(Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe)
(cai_exhibition) (cai_exhibition)
It would have been more interesting if there had been more than one artist displaying their work. Again it got a little boring.
The best feature about the Guggenheim is the actual building itself.
For tea tonight we went to Pain au Bonne, a little bit like Pax.
We then walked up 5th Avenue to the bottom of Central Park then along to Columbus Circle, where there is a new shopping plaza and hotel, then back to the hotel.
Day 9 Tuesday - Shopping!!! So back to the Soho, for some excellent shopping.
That evening we had a table book at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant. Anyway we'd booked a table for 9pm, after 50 mins of waiting, enquiring to see how much longer we had to wait, even with free tables behind the maitre d‘, I told him they could compliment us for the drinks and promptly walked out of the restaurant. Our last night in NY spoilt!! (Maze The London NYC - New York)
Anyway we made the best of a bad situation and went to Rosie O'Gradys, on the corner of 52nd St / 7th Avenue. Once again food is excellent and the atmosphere lively. (Rosie O'Grady's)
Day 10 Wednesday - Time for some shopping, so to 5th Avenue and Tiffany & Co.
A little out of our price league to say the least, anyway head for the 5th floor, where items are more reasonable. (http://www.tiffany.com/Locations/Store.aspx?StoreId=682&CountryId=-1&RegionId=1&)
Look out for the M&M's store at Times Square, all sorts of colours available. Now got a hankering for peanut M&M's. (SHOP.MMS.COM > MERCHANDISE)
Also Hershey's for those all important chocolates to give to relatives. (HERSHEY'S Chocolate: Home)
Come dinner time it was time to make our way to Newark, for our return flight home.
So our Top 5 attractions of New York would be;
1 Statue of Liberty
2 Empire State Building
3 Central Park
4 American Museum of Natural History
5 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Best to do would be;
1 Walk across Brooklyn Bridge
2 BB King
3 Horse Carriage Ride
4 Shopping in Soho
5 Teany
Helpful links;
New York City Pass. A booklet containing vouchers for the following attractions; Empire State Building Observatory and audio tour
Guggenheim Museum
American Museum of Natural History
Museum Of Modern Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
2 Hour trip on the Circle Line Harbour Cruise, Harbour Lights or the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Certainly worth purchasing as you manage to fast track a lot of the queues for the attractions and save money!! The link doesn't want to work, but if you goto Expedia, click on attractions, type in New York and scroll down, you will see the City Pass.
New York Subway Pass. We purchased a 7 day Unlimited Ride Metrocard from the New York Visitor Information Centre. (Ny Visitor Information Center - Google Maps)
Some pictures;
Empire State Building from the helicopter.
Statue of Liberty from the helicopter.
Teany.
Times Square.
French Chateaux interiors.
Brooklyn Bridge.
Wall St.
View from Empire State Building.
Belvedere Castle.
2 dioramas from the American Museum of Natural History.
Brownstone buildings.
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