Travel Tuesday - New York City
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Hello, New York!
Did I tell you what I did last week? Where I went?
That's right! I was on the road again, this time to New York City with my daughter and two of her friends.
Doesn't everyone go to New York City for Spring Break?
We spent four days in the Big Apple, arriving on Monday around noon and leaving Thursday afternoon. Today I'll report on Days 1 and 2 and tomorrow I'll tell you about Days 3 and 4. Sound good? Good!
Like I said, we arrived on Monday around noon, headed straight to our hotel in Chelsea (Fairfield Inn by Marriott on 28th street--got it for $129/night on Travel Zoo. Pretty good, huh?), dropped off our bags, and immediately headed out. We were just a few blocks from Macys, so that was our first stop--for lunch. They had a great food court in the basement (Oh, sorry, in New York they call it the cellar) where we enjoyed our first meal.
Finally refreshed and fully fueled, we set out for Times Square. It was a beautiful day, as you can see.
After a quick stop at the Hershey Store for a few goodies to take home . . .
Did I tell you what I did last week? Where I went?
That's right! I was on the road again, this time to New York City with my daughter and two of her friends.
Doesn't everyone go to New York City for Spring Break?
We spent four days in the Big Apple, arriving on Monday around noon and leaving Thursday afternoon. Today I'll report on Days 1 and 2 and tomorrow I'll tell you about Days 3 and 4. Sound good? Good!
Like I said, we arrived on Monday around noon, headed straight to our hotel in Chelsea (Fairfield Inn by Marriott on 28th street--got it for $129/night on Travel Zoo. Pretty good, huh?), dropped off our bags, and immediately headed out. We were just a few blocks from Macys, so that was our first stop--for lunch. They had a great food court in the basement (Oh, sorry, in New York they call it the cellar) where we enjoyed our first meal.
Finally refreshed and fully fueled, we set out for Times Square. It was a beautiful day, as you can see.
After a quick stop at the Hershey Store for a few goodies to take home . . .
. . . we hopped across the street to the M&Ms store.
I'm not a big M&Ms fan--they just aren't my favorite candy. But the colors sure are pretty!
Now this guy . . . he's another story.
Hey, Buddy! Watch your hands!! (And if you think I'm kidding, just ask the girls.)
Moving on . . .
Next stop, Rockefeller Plaza where we headed to the Top of the Rock because the day was so lovely and we knew there were views to be had up there.
We were right.
Have I mentioned that my daughter is a goofball?
She may be goofy, but the views sure weren't. Loved it up there!
We ended our first day (is it still really only Day 1?) at a place called Burger Joint.
This little dive is in the corner of a fancy hotel. You'd never know it was there, and you'd never know that the burgers in this little corner of the hotel have been named the best burgers in NYC. Truly! It has!
This place, in the Le Parker Meridian Hotel, is so cool that celebrities sign the walls (and other people do too). You just have to check it out. And it's not just about the atmosphere . . . the burgers really are good too!
After this long day full of sightseeing and walking miles and miles, we practically fell into bed and slept like babies.
DAY 2 - Uptown
We decided to split our time in the city between Uptown and Downtown. Today was Uptown, and where else does one start but The Plaza Hotel.
Isn't it lovely?
We found the cutest doorman EVER!
And Eloise. Kate's favorite!
Next stop, FAO Schwarz where you can find very nice doormen (smiles are free!) . . .
. . . or a Barbie foosball table (a mere $25,000).
After nearly an hour in FAO Schwarz, playing with everything!, we stopped briefly in Central Park.
We all agreed that next time we'd like to spend more time exploring Central Park.
But we had more shopping to do. Next stop . . . Tiffany!
We explored every floor of that place and found every sales person and elevator operator to be so NICE! Move over, Audrey Hepburn! We'll all happily have breakfast here.
While the girls shopped 5th Avenue, I ran over to Times Square to the TKTS booth to get tickets for a show that night. We had decided to see Billy Elliot, and, thankfully, tickets were still available.
But prior to the show, we wanted to have dinner. Unfortunately, there were no reservations available, so we decided to just show up at a New York classic and see what happened.
This is Carmine's.
Where, despite not having reservations, we were able to eat this amazing meal.
Basically, we showed up early (around 4:40 p.m.) and asked if they might possibly have a table for four and unbelievably they did! The only "catch" was that the table was reserved at 6, so we kind of had to eat fast. No problem there. We were well treated and had a wonderful meal. All-in-all, a great experience at Carmine's.
Next stop, Billy Elliot. I'm not going to tell you about the show, other than to say that we all loved it and had a great time. After a quick dessert at Junior's, a diner near the theater, we fell into bed once again and slept like babies.
Tomorrow, Days 3 and 4--Downtown and a surprise!!!
Hey, Buddy! Watch your hands!! (And if you think I'm kidding, just ask the girls.)
Moving on . . .
Next stop, Rockefeller Plaza where we headed to the Top of the Rock because the day was so lovely and we knew there were views to be had up there.
We were right.
Have I mentioned that my daughter is a goofball?
She may be goofy, but the views sure weren't. Loved it up there!
We ended our first day (is it still really only Day 1?) at a place called Burger Joint.
This little dive is in the corner of a fancy hotel. You'd never know it was there, and you'd never know that the burgers in this little corner of the hotel have been named the best burgers in NYC. Truly! It has!
This place, in the Le Parker Meridian Hotel, is so cool that celebrities sign the walls (and other people do too). You just have to check it out. And it's not just about the atmosphere . . . the burgers really are good too!
After this long day full of sightseeing and walking miles and miles, we practically fell into bed and slept like babies.
DAY 2 - Uptown
We decided to split our time in the city between Uptown and Downtown. Today was Uptown, and where else does one start but The Plaza Hotel.
Isn't it lovely?
We found the cutest doorman EVER!
And Eloise. Kate's favorite!
Next stop, FAO Schwarz where you can find very nice doormen (smiles are free!) . . .
. . . or a Barbie foosball table (a mere $25,000).
After nearly an hour in FAO Schwarz, playing with everything!, we stopped briefly in Central Park.
We all agreed that next time we'd like to spend more time exploring Central Park.
But we had more shopping to do. Next stop . . . Tiffany!
We explored every floor of that place and found every sales person and elevator operator to be so NICE! Move over, Audrey Hepburn! We'll all happily have breakfast here.
While the girls shopped 5th Avenue, I ran over to Times Square to the TKTS booth to get tickets for a show that night. We had decided to see Billy Elliot, and, thankfully, tickets were still available.
But prior to the show, we wanted to have dinner. Unfortunately, there were no reservations available, so we decided to just show up at a New York classic and see what happened.
This is Carmine's.
Where, despite not having reservations, we were able to eat this amazing meal.
Basically, we showed up early (around 4:40 p.m.) and asked if they might possibly have a table for four and unbelievably they did! The only "catch" was that the table was reserved at 6, so we kind of had to eat fast. No problem there. We were well treated and had a wonderful meal. All-in-all, a great experience at Carmine's.
Next stop, Billy Elliot. I'm not going to tell you about the show, other than to say that we all loved it and had a great time. After a quick dessert at Junior's, a diner near the theater, we fell into bed once again and slept like babies.
Tomorrow, Days 3 and 4--Downtown and a surprise!!!
