Yooooohooooo Music City Missy!!!!!! You asked about NYC in Sept.....

C

colleenmomof2

Well-known member
Sorry I missed your post - so very busy moving smileys/wink.gif

Marilyn did an excellent review of key places to visit. All that depends on your interests, what's available when you go - and the weather. We try to be outside as much as possible - dipping into the subway over taxi/bus to criss-cross town with our 7-day Metro Pass - but love a great museum on a rainy day. And a tasty cookie, always smileys/wink.gif We have "fine dined" but usually eat-on-the-run, spending on events, activities, theater and visiting NYC more often smileys/smile.gif

The UWS is wonderful! You'll have so much available to you with Central Park right out your door and wonderful restaurants on every corner! We are big urban hikers - love the big cities - so I would suggest walking west from Central Park to the Hudson River and along the Hudson River Greenway. We had an tasty lunch at Indian Tanpura - Amsterdam/10th Ave@87th St.

Definitely walk around and enjoy Central Park - check to see what events are taking place. There are wonderful garden tours! Cross through Central Park into the UES (or take subway) and have breakfast at the First on First Deli (at 91st St and 1st Ave) for Egg on a Kaiser Roll - we like ours with mayo, S&P but you can have them add bacon, ham or cheese. Grab a beverage from the cooler and carry your sandwich to Ruppert Park (90th and 2nd Ave) to enjoy the sounds of the city and children at play smileys/wink.gif Walk east towards the East River and follow John Finely Walk. We love the view of Queens/Astoria from there - at nighttime, too. You can ride the 90th St. Ferry to 34th St or stay uptown and grab a Black and White cookie from H&H (on 2nd Ave, S of 81st St), although we have been known to get an ice cream cookie-wich at Insomnia (on 2nd Ave at 82nd St) instead. Back at the south tip of Central Park we loved the Cadillac Burger at PJ Clarks (3rd Ave and 55th St) on a very busy Sunday at noon seated at the bar.

We always make a point to walk the Highline and visit Chelsea Marketplace (the area around 8th Ave at 28th St). The Highline is expanding north into Hudson Yards and beyond.

We have had excellent luck using Goldstar (https://www.goldstar.com/new-york#) for cheaper event/theater tickets - scored free tickets at Carnegie Hall on our last visit! We usually see 3 performances over the 4 days we generally visit but we have been to the Auto Show and the FIRST Robotics Regional Tournament.

If you are over on the east side after a performance, we love our after-theater Greek salad at Morning Star Cafe (949 2nd Ave. btwn 50th-51st St) but they are closed Monday night. We are also fond of Daniela Trattoria for Italian (8th Ave. at 45th St) and Ollie's Sichuan (9th Ave and 42nd St) for before-theater dinners around Times Square.

Our absolute "NYC must-have" is the Italian sub with roasted peppers at Parisi Bakery (Mott St south of Spring) - go early, they close when they sell out of bread ~3. We haven't tried it (yet) but everyone raves about the "Dennis" chicken sandwich - just make sure they put the roasted peppers on it. And we usually get rice pudding at Rice to Riches just up the street (on Spring St). We carry these for a picnic lunch to eat in Washington Square Park (5th Ave and 4th St), Battery Park (waaay downtown @State and South Streets), Madison Sq (Broadway and 23rd St), Herald Square (Broadway and 34th St) or Columbus Park (@Mulberry and Baxter Streets) - once when we were hanging around ChinaTown which is located in a large area just south of Parisi Bakery (off Mott, south of Broome). That time we bought 1/2 of a rotisserie duck to carry back to the hotel for dinner smileys/smile.gif If you are downtown on Sunday when Parisi is closed, we loved Fish (Bleeker@Jones).

We try to visit the Union Square Farmers GreenMarket (14th St and Broadway) and often walk from there back to Midtown, including a stop at Eataly to browse and for a big chocolate chip cookie, which we enjoy in Madison Square Park (23rd St @ 5th Ave) or peeking into the locked Gramercy Park (20th St, east of Park/4th Ave).

We are fans of Sophie's Cuban (many locations - we go to Lexington Ave at 41st St) and share their Cuban sandwich w/sweet plantain, yucca and black beans on the side. Go to the sandwich carryout line at the back of the restaurant. Their empanadas and Cuban coffee are very good - get them both when you go to the front to pay.

We travel with backpacks on Spirit Airlines and stay all over the city, including lately in Astoria. You CAN go to Astoria and back very quickly/easily on the subway. We loved the Astoria Bell-Aire Diner (31-91 21st St, Astoria) for their amazing corned beef hash and eggs, home fries, rye toast, fresh squeezed oj, and fresh baked bran muffins (in the breadbasket placed on the table). But our favorite hotel is The Lexington (on Lexington/4th Ave at 48th St) - where Marilyn has stayed - and after a long day roaming around, we often grab soup and a tuna melt (or other diner-type carry out) at Ashley's (on Lexington) across from the Lex. Not fancy but yummy! Speaking of a real New York diner-food, we loved Waverly Diner - home-cooked daily specials w/lots of locals eating dinner (6th Ave@Waverly). Planning to get back there next time smileys/wink.gif

We had an excellent early dinner at Noodle Pudding (38 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11201) after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge on a beautiful fall evening at twilight. We highly recommend the view smileys/wink.gif Colleen

 
Marilyn mentioned the 7-day Metrocard

Oh, bagels! I forgot to mark post NFR smileys/frown.gif

I don't know if you have someone meeting you with a car, but if you love a long walk/can climb steps/don't have a lot of luggage (wear your fancy clothes, tie your coats at your waist/neck, pack very light), I strongly suggest traveling to the UWS on the subway - under all of the traffic.

Assuming that you are flying into NYC (LaGuardia, maybe), you can purchase a 7-day MetroCard (http://web.mta.info/metrocard/) at machines right outside the airport - ask or follow the crowd of arriving passengers out smileys/wink.gif We generally take the SBS-M60 bus (Select Bus Service) from the airport to the "N" or "W" Subway lines, getting off at Astoria Boulevard / 31 Street and climbing the stairs to subway (which is elevated). In addition to the Metrocard, you will/may need a paper ticket for the SBS-M60 available at the bus stop at the airport and going back to the airport at Astoria Boulevard / 31 Street. We have been refused entry to the bus w/o the paper ticket but usually driver doesn't check.

The link for the subway lines is http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/index.html
The link for the maps is
http://web.mta.info/maps/
And I keep the complete map on my phone
http://web.mta.info/maps/submap.html
There is cell service on the subway. And as Marilyn said, Google Maps is very helpful in identifying which route is best, but I'm an old school map person smileys/smile.gif If you are, too, stop at Subway booth(s) and ask for a paper subway map.

If you take SBS-M60 and N or W Subway to reach the UWS, you will want to switch subways at Times Square/42nd Street and get on the 1,2,3 Subway to get to 86th Street - maybe switch again at 59th/Columbus Circle if your accommodations are along Central Park. Alternate subway lines are within the same underground terminal and signage is excellent. Look twice and walk once smileys/wink.gif Also study the map before you head out.

The subway is easy and safe and sooo very much fun! Very, very cheap and quick - the way Real New Yorkers go. Always an adventure! The first time is the hardest because there is so much activity everywhere in NYC. Give yourself extra time, look twice and move once, don't get on just any train when the doors open in front of you - yes, we did end up going east into Brooklyn when we were supposed to head west across Manhattan, - and forgive yourself if you mess up. So very easy to get off the subway and head in the opposite direction smileys/wink.gif You will be able to travel everywhere for 7-days for the same $$s that first cab ride from the airport will cost you! Colleen

 
An alternative view...

Having travelled that very route many times as a student when I lived in NYC for three years, I now have a smug satisfaction of getting my bag at La Guardia, going outside to the Taxi queue, and plopping my rearend into the backseat of a Taxi (no Uber) and watch the wonderful skyline of NYC as I'm driven to the front door of my NYC residence.

No fuss. No muss. No schlepping my bags on mass transit. And it really isn't that bad. Our taxi in May from La Guardia into Midtown was $35. And you can always grab someone in the Taxi queue to share a Taxi with you if you have the space. Just announce: "Going to Midtown 50's (for example), anyone want to share? Someone will. Just pay half the fare when you get out of the taxi if you get out first and visa versa.)

Afterall, Living Well is the best revenge, as THEY say.

Then I take to the subway (unless its under 30 blocks; then I walk) when my hands are free.

But lately we've been getting flights in/out of JFK, so that is a different animal all together. JFK shuttle (subway) right into Manhattan (3 stops in lower, mid, and upper) for $7.75.

 
I am just getting caught up on posts. MCM, please reach out when you know your dates. I would

love to catch up live, but our schedule during the school year is a bit challenging. I live in NJ; on the train line. LOVE meeting up with our eat.at friends!
Regards,
Barb

 
Absolutely! Great insight, Richard!

We have traveled from the airport into Manhattan by taxi and now choose to "go fast." But the taxi ride my son and I took on our first NYC trip - and this is MCM's first trip - was unforgettable. Colleen

 
An alternative alternative view re: getting into town. smileys/wink.gif)))

If you are pretty spry and have relatively little luggage (i.e., mostly hand luggage), you can take the M60 Express (SBS) bus that runs from LGA, through Harlem, to about Broadway and 100th. From there, take the 1 Train (or the B/C/D) according to where you need to go on the UWS. Cheap and easy, and I think you can buy a MetroCard inside the terminals. Just make sure, for an express bus, you need to get the paper ticket *first* from the MTA kiosk near the bus before getting on the bus, because there are frequently ICE-looking MTA control people at the other end, intent on busting unsuspecting tourists.

I've done this with a preschooler and two roll-ons, so it can be done. smileys/smile.gif

 
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