We flew out from Seattle on Delta’s afternoon nonstop to JFK airport, arriving around 9pm. Delta is not our favorite airline but the price was quite a bit less than Alaska Air (which flies to Newark) and Ray wanted to be a good steward of his company’s money. The flight actually was fine, Delta arrived on time and even served a snack pack with crackers and cookies to go along with soda pop. One bonus: Delta had little TV sets in each seat and (for free) we could watch satellite TV CNN, ESPN, Food Channel, MSNBC, etc making the flight go fast. Because of the late hour and uncertainty about traffic, we decided to take a car service for airport transportation. Limos.com allows travelers to find both inexpensive and quality car services, but a Google search found an article in a New York newspaper which recommended First Corporate Sedans (fcsny.com) – they charged $88 from JFK to Times Square and $68 from Times Square to JFK (difference due to parking & waiting fee at JFK). Our ride from JFK to Times Square was fairly uneventful ~ 45 minutes and we arrived at the Sheraton Manhattan. Last December we paid an outrageous rate and stayed in a small closet at the Sheraton New York Towers which was across the street. This time by committing ahead and using 1000 Starwood points (which was less than half the points we earned from the December visit) we got a great room for 50% off. The room was certainly spacious by New York standards, and had a wonderful balcony over 7th Avenue looking at Times Square. I’m not sure why we lucked into such a choice room – only the 5th floor had balconies and ours was the corner room looking down toward Times Square. I guess the Sheraton figured they owed us one.
Excited about the room, we went out looking for dinner. We went 1 ½ blocks to the Park Café where Ray ordered a delicious Steak and Eggs meal with fries and Traci had a great Turkey Club sandwich. After dinner we went back to our spacious room and watched the Mets lose game 7 to St. Louis in the 9th inning.
On Friday, we awoke (late) to find rain in Manhattan. We decided to buy Grey Line bus tickets and ride the only loop (Downtown, Uptown, Brooklyn and Night) that we hadn’t previously ridden – the Brooklyn. The traffic was absolutely awful – despite being on an “express” bus it took 1 hour just to get to the starting point of the Brooklyn tour. We learned some interesting things about Brooklyn – it was until recently the 4th largest US city with 2.4 million people, it has the 1st pizza parlor in the US, it has a great Sushi restaurant that flies in sushi daily from Tokyo and it merged with New York City when they ran out of water. The tour was somewhat interesting but not something I’d suggest to most tourists. After the tour we hopped on the subway and traveled (much quicker) to the Guggenheim Museum near Central Park. The Guggenheim had 2 rooms with a permanent collection of art but most of the space was occupied by a rotating exhibition – currently the artistry and architecture of Zaha Hadid. She had quite a few futuristic designs and colorful works but we (like many observers) had questions about their practicality. After leaving the Guggenheim, we went back to the Sheraton to pick a place to eat. We decided to eat at a well known pizza place – Ray’s Pizza which was very close to the Sheraton. Various pizzas are available by the slice and were quite good – we highly recommend the restaurant.
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to watch the show Avenue Q – by purchasing tickets months early, we got to sit in the center near the front. Ray wasn’t sure what the show was about – just that it had some muppets in it and won many awards. He was wondering why there weren’t any kids standing in line outside the theatre. Well, suffice to say, the show is an R rated show focusing on the transition from college age to young adulthood using both humans and muppets to bring humor and entertainment around a quite serious theme. We both enjoyed the show and highly recommend it. We’ve had the chance to see several “Broadway” shows now – Lion King, Movin Out, Mamma Mia, Producers, Wicked and Avenue Q – and would highly recommend them all.
On Saturday, the weather cleared up for a beautiful fall day. Ray (who was nursing a bad cold) went up to the Columbia University Medical Center for his conference while Traci met up with Ray’s cousin David to explore the neighborhoods of New York City.
Traci and David started the day in the Meatpacking District, an ultra-hip & lively area – at night. Since it was the afternoon, the area was quiet and calm, a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Times Square. They found a Belgian restaurant called “markt” which served breakfast all day so Traci ordered French Toast, which turned out to be the best she’s ever had – thick pieces of crispy grilled bread with fresh fruit and maple syrup. David had a cheeseburger that was also very good. After lunch, they took the subway to Brooklyn and walked back to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge. This is one of the best free things to do in New York. The views are spectacular and the walk only takes about a half hour.
After crossing the bridge, Traci and David walked around Greenwich Village, SoHo, NoHo, and Union Square. There are a lot of great shops and restaurants in these areas. SoHo has a Prada store that rivals many museums. A lot of celebrities are spotted eating at the restaurants in these areas. Unfortunately, no celebrities were seen but David did show Traci where Richard Gere lived. After miles of walking, Traci and David were ready for a snack so they went to Pommes Frites, a hole in the wall eatery that serves fries with about 30 different sauces to choose from. The fries are double cooked so they’re really crunchy on the outside. They tried the curry ketchup and parmesan peppercorn sauces which were good but even better mixed together. Pommes Frites is definitely a can’t miss place for fries.
For Dinner, Ray and Traci ate at a Japanese Restaurant called Haru in the heart of Times Square. We both shared some sushi and Ray had Beef Teriyaki and Traci had Chicken Teriyaki – the food was average but the restaurant was nice and very conveniently located. On the way back we stopped in the Times Square Toys R Us to see the famous indoor Ferris wheel. The store was much less crowded than our last December visit, but a line with many childless adults still filled the area in front of the Ferris wheel.
The weather cooperated again on Sunday, but Ray needed to attend his conference in the morning again. Traci walked to Amy’s Bread in the Hell’s Kitchen area. Drooling over all the breads, muffins, scones, cakes, and cookies, Traci decided on an oatmeal banana pecan scone that was delicious and crunchy. She then walked to 5th Avenue to do some shopping and found the sidewalks full of people watching a movie being filmed. Traci decided to watch as well and was thrilled to see Will Smith in the scene. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a camera so didn’t get any pictures of him.
After leaving the conference at lunch time, we got on the subway and headed toward the Manhattan terminal of the Staten Island Ferry. Of all the free tourist attractions, the Staten Island Ferry has to rank up at the top with the Las Vegas Fountains of Bellagio. You hop on a passenger ferry for a 20 minute ride that passes in front of the Statue of Liberty and then ride it back to Manhattan. It is a 20 minute ride (each way) that is worth infinitely more than its price.
After leaving the ferry terminal, we passed by Ground Zero where construction on the new Freedom Tower appears to be stalled. Before reaching New York’s most sacred grounds we paused to take pictures with the “Charging Bull,” a statue inspired by “Black Monday,” the 1987 stock market crash.
We then walked to Chinatown where merchants sold everything from T shirts to replica purses. Next, we walked to Little Italy where we sampled some Strawberry Gelato. It appears that Chinatown is encroaching on Little Italy as Asian shopkeepers surround Italian eateries. If you are looking for cheap New York souvenirs, Chinatown/Little Italy is your place for bargains! Just don’t expect to be buying a real Gucci purse or a real Rolex for $25. After our walk thru southern Manhattan, we hopped on the subway and got off in Times Square where we met Ray’s cousin David at the ESPN Zone restaurant. We arrived in time to watch Seattle’s quarterback Matt Hasselbeck get injured and the Seahawks lose big while eating burgers, wings, salads and sandwiches. Ray tried to raise his spirits by eating a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream but got a stale waffle dish after waiting in a long line.
We had to awaken early for our car service to pick us up and bring us to JFK. Surprisingly there was no congestion either on the roads at 6:30 on Monday morning or even at JFK. Our flight to Seattle again went fast thanks to free TV and we actually arrived home early after another exciting adventure in New York.
