Cath's big trip report

Hi guys! Well I鈥檝e been back from New York for a week, and its only now that I鈥檝e recovered and sorted myself out enough to sit down and write a report. Me and my boyfriend, Colin, went for five nights from Tue 29th November to Sun 4th December. Since booking the trip in March 2005, I鈥檝e been totally addicted to trip advisor 鈥?although I haven鈥檛 posted a lot, I鈥檓 one of the many quiet addicts, who goes online about twice a day and reads every post, and if I ask a question, I check about every 10 minutes for a response! Everything I ever wanted to know about New York was answered over that time 鈥?I wrote so many notes, and it just made our trip amazing. There are so many things that were tourist musts, but we did lots that I felt were real New York experiences too, so I鈥檓 really grateful to everyone 鈥?I don鈥檛 think you realise that when you respond to a question, there are probably about a hundred people all over the world writing down the answer.

Anyway, the night before our 10am departure from Manchester with BA, we stayed at the Radisson SAS in Manchester Airport. This has become a must for my boyfriend and I before we go away, and I鈥檇 recommend it to anyone 鈥?you can just shop in the airport, and then relax in your room watching the planes take off from the massive runway (with a bit of room service). We were so excited, as Colin is 47 and had never been to America. Anyway, after just 1 hour of sleep, we were off to New York. We were a bit disappointed with BA to be honest 鈥?the plane was quite shabby. We sat on the left though, hoping for a view of the city as we approached JFK. We didn鈥檛 see that, but I鈥檓 pretty sure we flew over the Hamptons 鈥?there were massive houses, all with pools. After getting through immigration some guys tried to hustle us into an unmarked vehicle to JFK (which Col was keen to take 鈥?he鈥檚 so not streetwise!), but I insisted on a cab. We were straining to see the city and it seemed like for ages 鈥?I think Col thought it would be crap, but then we came over a hill and just got this amazing view of The Chrysler and the ESB rising up out of the mist 鈥?it was just a classic moment, and something that will be forever imprinted in my memory. We pulled up at our hotel around 3pm. We stayed at the Renaissance Times Square and it was absolutely brilliant. The reviews on here are good but not really positive, but I thought it was amazing and I鈥檓 really picky 鈥?we couldn鈥檛 fault it. Before we went, I鈥檇 made a really good itinerary, but Col鈥檚 more of a fly by the seat of your pants kind of guy, so I had to relax my minute by minute approach slightly (much to my quiet distress). That afternoon we just walked through Times Square and down Broadway to Herald Square and Macy鈥檚. Then we walked up 5th to The Public Library. It was really oddly warm 鈥?we were just wearing light sweaters, and there were some chairs outside the library, so we just sat outside and watched the world go by. It was really surreal 鈥?stuff like that you couldn鈥檛 plan or pay for. We spent the first few days, just constantly saying 鈥楲ook at that..look at that...look, theres a subway鈥n oreo biscuit鈥 McDonalds鈥? We walked past the Rockefeller Centre and SAKS, at which point it began pumping out Christmas music along with its light display 鈥?brilliant. I felt a bit moved! We had a cold beer on the way back in a kitsch Irish bar called the Pig and Whistle (hey, I鈥檓 a classy girl)! After going back to our room and changing we went to Virgil鈥檚 for dinner, and had two massive steaks and then we collapsed into the comfiest bed in the world.

We woke up at eight, and went to the Olympic Diner on Eighth Avenue for breakfast. It was okay 鈥?a classic diner, and we got to sit at the counter 鈥?woohoo!. They give you glasses of water as soon as you arrive in every place you go into in NY, which they never do at home. I liked that. After that we strolled down Eighth Avenue to 34th street and launched our attack on Macy鈥檚 where we picked up some great bargains. We spent about five hours in there without realising. By then it was lunchtime and we decided to do the Grayline Downtown Loop in the afternoon, so we walked up to the Red Flame Diner for lunch. Wednesday was really warm, but by the evening some cold weather was setting in, so the bus got pretty cold, but the commentary was great and it鈥檚 a great way to get your bearings 鈥?I鈥檇 definitely do it at the start of a trip. That night was the lighting of the Rockefeller Centre , but we couldn鈥檛 face the crowds (and I needed to defrost) so we watched it on TV as we were getting ready for dinner. We went to Carmines, and whilst we were expecting big portions, you don鈥檛 expect ten passive slabs of bread for a garlic bread side order 鈥?just hilarious. Carmine鈥檚 is a great space, and a really lively restaurant. However, we didn鈥檛 know what most of the dishes were and there weren鈥檛 any descriptions, and we didn鈥檛 want the waiter to have to explain it all (as we are quite shy Brits I suppose, so I felt like we probably never got the best out of it 鈥?which was our fault.

On Thursday we got up really early and headed down to the WTC site. The subway there is now open, and looks great. We went to a small caf茅 right on the edge of the site, which served as a medical outpost during the atrocities, using its fridges for medical supplies etc. The way everyone pulled together was just amazing. Everything鈥檚 so quiet round there 鈥?even the cars don鈥檛 seem to beep their horns. It was just so surreal that something like that could have ever happened and I hate it.

After a while we crossed to Century 21 for some good designer pieces, and then walked through the financial area to the Staten Island ferry. Then we subwayed across to Brooklyn where we got lost due to Colin鈥檚 鈥榮ixth sense鈥?鈥?鈥榟onestly babe鈥he bridge is this way, I know it鈥? After doubling back on ourselves, we went to Grimaldi鈥檚 for lunch. This was a classic New York experience, and I just kept laughing 鈥?like we were in a movie. Afterwards we walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge and the view was great. That night we went to The River Caf茅 for dinner which I had pre-booked through Opentable.com. We sat next to a Hollywood star 鈥?but I don鈥檛 remember his name. He鈥檚 always a bad guy anyway! This was such a lovely meal, and it was nice to dress up. For my starter though I ordered the tuna, and didn鈥檛 read the menu properly, I was quite looking forward to it but when it came it was just seared slightly on the outside. Ooops. I felt really rude not eating it. The steak was divine though and I couldn鈥檛 fit in The Brooklyn Bridge for dessert! Then we cabbed over to The Beekman Tower Hotel Bar for another great view of the city and a few cocktails. We were looking into other peoples apartments as they watched TV, made a meal in the kitchen and got ready for bed 鈥?that鈥檚 terrible to say, but it was lots of fun. Then an NY guy started a fight with a regular customer and my Colin had to step in and sort it out (I鈥檓 telling you, scousers just find trouble). The waiter was really grateful and thanked him! How embarrassing!

Anyway, that鈥檚 all I鈥檒l write for now 鈥?do you think I鈥檝e wrote too much? I don鈥檛 want to bore everyone, its just I loved all the trip reports I read before my trip.

From Cath xxx

Cath's big trip report

Wrote too much? Not at all - it is delightful.

So what happened next?

Cath's big trip report

Yes, what happened next?

Congrats on a great trip! LOL, some of it was very funny - ';Oh look an Oreo biscuit!'; How adorable! Glad you had nice weather for some of it. Can%26#39;t wait for part 2.

Sounds like you were having a great time and I enjoyed your telling of it.

Keep it coming Cath. How could it possibly be too long or boring?

Just one thing - How did you know the bread at Carmines was passive? Did it just let you eat it?

Joke Joke

lol

Helen

Too much? You%26#39;ve given a really interesting report and I for one loved reading it.Will there be more..?

Glad to hear you liked the Renaissance. We%26#39;ve stayed there twice and would gladly stay again. Many restaurants are now serving tuna either seared on the outside or cooked medium rare--usually the server tells you this, whether or not the menu mentions it. I%26#39;m surprised that the server at the River Cafe didn%26#39;t speak up. Personally, I like it that way-- if it%26#39;s well done, IMO, it can come out dry and tasteless.

People often ask if the Grayline tours are worth it. Your experience shows that it is.

No--you haven%26#39;t written too much! Do finish the report!

I%26#39;m with the other%26#39;s Cath - definately not too much and want more!!! The way your write is great and a lot of what you felt/did was how we were/are - esp the bit about pointing American things out (although mine was %26#39;oooh oooh steam from drain - wow!!%26#39; lol!)

LOL what a brilliant report Cath, just how I would be, 10 slabs of garlic bread sound awesome, I could just imagine our faces though, no need for a main course!

Really good read, looking forward to the next installment. :-)

I%26#39;m looking forward to the next installment, too. Sounds like Colin and I are both navigationally challenged. When traveling through Italy with friends, I always ';knew'; the directions. My friends would ask how sure I was, then we%26#39;d go the opposite direction -- I was wrong 100% of the time!

Next trip you%26#39;ll need to spend time with a New Yorker, who can help you get past your reticence about asking for help or returning raw-ish food to the kitchen for some extra oven time. And I%26#39;ll be happy to help you make your way through the menu at Carmine%26#39;s!!!!