Start spreading the News…..we are back from New York!
Holiday Greetings to all of you, we wanted to share our New York Trip with each of you. It was wonderful, absolutely one of the most fun vacations we’ve ever had. We left Denver Thursday Morning, had a bit of a last minute change of plans/planes, but we arrived safe and sound at 5:30 Thursday. We hailed a cab and got a wonderful cab driver who gave us a tour on the way to the hotel. It took about an hour due to rush hour traffic, but it wasn’t nearly the “white knuckle” cab ride we were anticipating (that was to come later). We arrived at our Hotel the Red Roof Inn, in Mid-town Manhattan about 7pm. GREAT location for us on 32nd and 5th. We had a room on the third floor facing the street and right next to the elevators, which concerned me a bit, as I am a very light sleeper, but the room was very quiet and we had no complaints, in fact, quite the opposite. Out our bedroom window, we could see the Empire State Building all the way to the green top, which was very cool. We immediately took off on foot down 32nd to Broadway, every street vendor we passed, we sampled. The first one had fresh roasted Almonds. As we walked away from the vendor, he called out to us, telling us we over-paid him and handing us back money. What a great start to our trip and it only got better! Our second vendor stop was to sample a hot Pretzel. When they say pretzels (and bagels for that matter) are different in New York, boy are they right. So chewy and full of flavor, nothing like the stale ones we eat here, lol. We made our way to Times Square, the billboards are even bigger than they appear on TV. It wasn’t too crowded and we spent time window shopping and looking at the Christmas window displays at the Department stores. We didn’t do any shopping, neither one of us are the shopping type and personally I avoid department stores at all costs. About then our tummies began to growl and we had spotted an Italian Restaurant while walking up Broadway so we circled back. Oh-my is all I can say, it was probably one of the best dinners I’ve ever had. If you ever get the chance to eat at Angelo’s in Manhattan, don’t pass it up. Matt had penne pasta with sweet sausage and a garlic white wine sauce. The sausage literally got better with every passing second. I had the Gnocchi special and it was the first time I’ve ever had Gnocchi served in a cheesecake type manner, cute in pie slices. It was so light and fluffy it melted in your mouth, it was incredible. It was only after dinner that we Matt reminded me that we had seen Rachel Ray (of Food Network) recommend this very restaurant. So after our refueling stop, we headed to Rockefeller Center. Saw the huge Christmas Tree, skating ring and got some cool photos of the lights. We sampled some roasted chestnuts as well. It wasn’t crowded at all, in fact we went back several times and it was never really crowded even on the weekend. It was fun to spend time around the Center, it was exactly how we’d imagined it. We headed back to the hotel around 1am after stopping at Sweets for a Cannoli and Peanut Butter tart. The next morning, was a bit snowy and cold, well they called it cold (we had just left –20 degrees in Denver, so anything above zero was warm to us). We took off to the Chelsea Market area via cab. Had breakfast there and did a bit of shopping. While it was fun and we are glad we saw it that was the one destination that didn’t knock our socks off. I love food shops and what not and maybe it’s because we’ve both lived in Southern California which has it’s share of gourmet food stores and what not, but it just wasn’t as impressing as we expected. Still we had a great fresh Croissant breakfast and enjoyed our time there. We jumped back in the cab and headed to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. I think it was a good think we were headed to church, as we said Hail Mary’s the entire taxi ride, holy cow, was that an “E” ticket. Our Taxi cab driver was sure he was in the Indy 500! Beautiful is an understatement, we were able to stay and attend Mass there and did some shopping and it was one of the highlights for me. From there we walked to Rockefeller Center and back to Broadway in Times Square, had a great Pizza lunch, I’ve decided that the Mozzarella and fresh Ricotta pizza is my all time favorite flavor. We did some shopping, got some great glass ornaments and headed back to the hotel to get dressed up for the Theatre. That night (Friday) we saw the Rockettes. They were fantastic, with a live Nativity scene at the end complete with Camels, donkeys and sheep. The previous night we had spotted two places that looked interesting, the Top of the Rock observation deck was one, it’s a 70 Story high building with a 3 tiered deck on 65th, at the same time we also spotted a new restaurant it’s on the 65th floor of the same building, with sweeping views. We decided on the restaurant, but they didn’t have any open tables, so instead we went up for drinks only, Matt has his first Martini. We figured when it NYC, you have to have a Martini. His second drink was the house specialty, we asked the bar tender what he suggested and although I don’t remember the name of the drink, it tasted a lot like a Pina Colada. But best of all, he gave Matt the drink for free. I am telling you, the people in New York are so nice and helpful, it’s unreal, even the cab drivers were helpful and courteous. We left there and walked back towards Time’s Square and ended up eating dinner at Maxie’s Restaurant. We had Calamari as an appetizer and Matt ordered Shrimp Parmesan as an entrée and I had a pastrami sandwich (yes I really did eat it too, well okay only 1/3 of it, it was huge!). Both were good, but HUGE servings. We headed back to the hotel, singing. Yes, we really were singing New York New York on the walk to the hotel). Saturday morning (we had done all this in less than 36 hours) we headed to the Empire State Building, we were lucky as it was almost across the street from our hotel. We had no line and almost walked right in. It was a bit of a hazy day, but still the views are unreal from all sides. After that we left for Grand Central Station. Stopped for Breakfast at the Grand Central Café, had great waffles and French Toast and then we strolled through Grand Central Station. What a huge place with fancy shops, oh my. On a spontaneous note we jumped on the subway and headed towards Central park. Well we “thought” we were headed towards Central park, we had the right train number headed the wrong direction. So after an hour detour, we jumped off, got on the right train and landed at 59th in the lower level of Bloomingdales. It was Department store jail, we were stuck in the Armani section of the store and could not find the street, I am not kidding you, we were something like 4 stories below the street, it was awful, lol…..thankfully we made it to fresh air and were able to escape. (have I mentioned that I truly dislike department stores, lol). We then headed to Central Park. Where we made my childhood dream come true we took a carriage ride through Central park in the Winter. It was great! Our driver pointed out all the attractions and steered us to the Boathouse for lunch. We had Crab Cakes and Seafood soup for lunch and then did some photo taking and strolled though the park. It was beautiful, not crowded at all. We hailed a cab and went back to the room to change. Later that night (still Saturday) we headed to Greenwich Village. Originally Planned on dining at Mario Batagoli’s restaurant, but the 2 hour wait was too much, so we ended up snacking on Sushi. We had read about a club called Zinc and as we were walking down the street, Matt happened to catch the people behind us talking about it, so we got directions and after dinner headed there. Saw a really good Brazilian Group (Mariani) and enjoyed a very quaint club. Then around 11:30 we headed to Terra Blues Club and listened to the live Blues of the SaRon Censhaw Blues Band. WOW, is all I can say, they are great, one of the best blue’s bands I’ve ever heard. Matt tracked down the lead singer and had him sign a CD for me. We drug ourselves out of there around 1am and tracked down a local pizza place for a snack. Greenwich has the college town feel, but we both felt very at home and again the people were wonderful. We crawled back to the hotel about 2 am. Sunday morning we rose bright and early to get to the Statue of Liberty before the crowds. Took the Ferry to the Island and spent the morning at the Statue and at Ellis Island. You can’t go to the top of the Statue since 911 however, the tour is still very moving and just being there and learning the history is touching. The view towards the city minus the twin towers is un-nerving at best, the skyline is so changed, it’s spooky. We stopped at Ellis Island on the way back and spent a bit of time there before heading back to the city. After we hit land, we made a stop at Wall Street, course Wall street and the Stock Exchange on Sunday isn’t all that bustling, lol, but it was fun to see it. From there we hailed a taxi through china town and stopped in little Italy. Had a great lunch at Café Sorrento (another Rachel Ray suggestion). I had an exquisite Chicken Sorentina and Matt had Chicken Parmesan. From there we toured Little Italy, ending up at La Bella Ferrara Pastry shop. Let me tell ya, there is a reason the line was literally out the door and down the street, there had to have been over 75 types of goodies and they were all good (we should know we got about a dozen to try). Matt tried Gelato for the first time and we both enjoyed sharing that on the way back. We hailed a cab back to the hotel, changed and went to see the theatre show Rent. Great show and there isn’t a bad seat in the house. After that we wanted to do one last nice dinner and we ended up at St. Andrews, the only Scottish Restaurant in Times Square. We had the Theatre Special, appetizer of fried Oysters, Salads, Matt had the Honey Thistle Chicken and I had the Rib Eye (yes, I actually ordered steak) with Chocolate ice cream and Crème Brulee for dessert. We spent our last few hours walking around the city. We literally walked 10-13 miles each day, but for us it was great, we could stop and eat, shop, gawk, etc., and never met a person who wasn’t helpful or nice. We ended up back at the hotel at about 2am Sunday and crashed, as we had to be up at 5am to head back to the airport L. We were both sad to leave and both of us agree, we could live in Manhattan quite easily. Great “vibe”, tons of things to do and just a great feeling. Needless to say we can’t wait to go back.
Okay, a few of you asked for some tips and suggestions from our trip. So here goes:
1.Hotel, if you don’t mind walking a few miles each day, we were very pleased with the Red Roof Inn on 32nd. Quiet, very larger room including desk, chair, king sized beds, full bathroom, gym, restaurant and bar for a very reasonable price. One note, the concierge isn’t all the helpful and it’s in the middle of mostly Korean restaurants. But literally one block away starts a wide variety of restaurants, not to mention that you are across from the Empire State Building.
2.Food, snack, snack, snack, most things are Mammoth (or should I say New York sized) and could be shared, we enjoyed sampling lots of foods, so stuck to smaller more frequent meals. Don’t be shy about asking for house specialties, we did that and not only got great meals, but free drinks as well. We found that most New Yorkers really want to share their city and food with you and are very willing to share. Value wise, we didn’t spend even half as much money on food as we anticipated, granted there are pricey places, but we didn’t encounter any break the bank at $100 a plate restaurants (although I am sure they are out there). And be sure to go to Angelo’s!
3.Rainbow room, skip the deck, prepare to pay $20 a drink, but go! It’s classy, swank, yet has very generous bartenders. The view and ambiance is nothing but first class, do be sure to dress up, coats are required.
4.Taxis add up, so bring comfy shoes or boots, like I did. If you pace yourself and don’t mind walking, you’ll save tons of money. And from our location we could hit Rockefeller Center, Times Square, St. Patrick’s, Central Park South, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden and Grand Central Station without needing a cab. It’s really something to consider, as I don’t think you can even go 3 blocks in a cab without it being $10 or more.
5.Ask for suggestions, be it for food, locations, shopping, tickets, etc., we never encountered anyone who didn’t want to help and nothing beats a native for advice.
Enjoy, Jen
Back from New York, LONG update and Review
Jen - you did loads and it all sounds fab (well apart from the stuck Armani bit lol!) :)
Can I suggest you copy and paste this trip report into the New York City Forum as that%26#39;s where most people go to have a look at these :)
Louise
Back from New York, LONG update and Review
Jen, although I live in NJ now I grew up in a borough of NYC called Queens and as a kid always found the city exciting. I couldn%26#39;t wait to get my first job there and until about 5 yrs ago had worked in Manhattan since I was 16. I spent close to 20+ yrs going to NYC eveyday, and then looked forward to spending weekends partying in the city. Your description of a short vacation in the city was fabulous and so true. I am amazed at how many people I meet in my NJ neighborhood which is about 30 miles SW of the city who have never been there. I always tell them you don%26#39;t know what you are missing. I remember my first time walking thru Times Sq as a kid, and those billboards even back then in the 60%26#39;s were incredible. Today, whenever I%26#39;m in the city I still make a point to walk thru that area. Your description of the Cathedral, and the Rainbow room in Rockerfeller Ctr was on the mark. Glad you enjoyed your visit and cab rides. Next time take the Lex Ave #4, or 5 subway train downtown from Grand Central to City Hall for a real ride of a lifetime. Local paper once described the ride as similiar to bull riding. Or ride the #7 train from Grand Central, elevated out toward Flushing Shea Stadium and back. The Staten Island ferry is a great r/t ride for less then a $1. Walking thru the upper east side area (61st-72st east of 5th ave) of brownstones and townhouse gives a glimpse of some spectacular homes/decorating, and galleries. Further up along 2nd or 3rd ave are the singles bar scenes popular from the show S_x in the City. In the East Village Thompson/McDougal St area is always alive in the evening and allows for bar/club (jazz/rock) hopping door to door. Next time try the off-off Bdwy shows, much cheaper, closer seats, and can be very enjoyable. West Village more serene. Great walking park from Southern tip north along west side along Hudson river. I%26#39;ve made sure my kids get into the city every yr to enjoy what it has to offer. Your post brought back some great memories from the past 40yrs
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