Trip Report - 4 wonderful days! Thanks to all!

Trip Report ~ Oct 19 - Oct 22 (not enough time)

Thursday

Flew in on the red eye Wed night and arrived at our room on the UES on E 80th around 10:00 am. Luckily we were able to get into our room right away. The first room that we were taken to on the first floor was SOOOO small. I said no way, I was offered a small room and a bigger room and paid for the bigger room. She took us up to the third floor that was still really small (the small one on the website). I still was not happy and told her that I expected a room like the one on their website since I had paid for the most expensive room offered to me. She told me that the larger room was even more and wasn%26#39;t offered to me at all. We were not very impressed with the tiny room with paint peeling and bathroom that was so small that you couldn%26#39;t stand in there and get dressed. It wasn%26#39;t very clean, either. I realize that it%26#39;s an old building, but floors still should be swept and bathtubs cleaned. Enough on my rant.

After we checked in and dropped our bags off we went a block away to Nectar Cafe. We didn%26#39;t realize it at the time, but there are two cafe%26#39;s a block away from each other with the same name. The smaller of the two turned out to be the best one of the two. We didn%26#39;t go to EAT at all after hearing that it%26#39;s more expensive than Nectar. The waiter at the small Nectar was so helpful and friendly we were happy to have him as our first contact with New Yorker%26#39;s friendliness. We went and got our 7 day unlimited Metrocards which we just about wore out.

Thursday afternoon we had tickets to Jon Stewart Daily Show taping. The show itself was great, but I had a hard time waiting to get in for three hours after getting no sleep at all the night before. But since it was the only taping during our time there, we stuck it out. We felt bad, though that Nathan was left all alone in the room while we went to the show, as nobody under 18 is allowed in. Found out later that the kid sitting next to us was only 16, but nobody was checking ID%26#39;s. We made it back to the room and the guys went out scouting for pizza to bring back to the room. As we were eating our pizza, we got a call from Big Apple Greeters. Yippee, we got a greeter and he will be at the room at 10am!

Friday

What a whirlwind day. I have never walked so many miles in my life. Ray took us all over on the subway, to Grand Central, Times Square, Staten Island and Ground Zero. He was working in the building next door to tower 1 on 911, so listening to his story of that day was very moving. It really made it much more real than we could ever see on television.

He was a huge hit with my son after taking him to some guitar and drum stores. He also brought a newspaper with him showing the events going on. Well Nathan noticed that there was a concert that he wanted to see in Brooklyn. No problem, Ray said. I%26#39;ll tell you how to get there. So after we parted from Ray at 4pm, we headed to Brooklyn and Nathan went to a concert. While he was there, we took the subway back to Manhattan and wandered around. Then went back to Brooklyn at midnight to pick him up. By then we were getting to be experts on the subway. It seemed like kind of a rough neighborhood when we picked him up, so I%26#39;m glad it turned out ok. That made his trip, so he was a much happier kid after that.

This was the only day that we had rain and boy did the wind blow! Electricity was out in several places and the wind made it seem much colder.

Saturday

Mary Poppins Day!

We went back to Nectar cafe again, what a mistake! The first waiter we had wasn%26#39;t working and the service was terrible. There are only six tables and the waiter was awful. We had to ask for coffee and menus several times. The waiter never once said anything to us, never once even looked at us. What a difference a good waiter makes.

Mary Poppins was at 2pm and I went by myself. My husband and son didn%26#39;t want to go and I was hesitant to go alone. But I%26#39;m so glad I did. That is what really made the trip for me. I was in awe, it was soooo good. I laughed and I cried. I want to go back to NYC again just to go to shows. I had no idea how wonderful it would be.

After my show, we headed down 42nd St to get to Circle Line Cruise. Thank you GWB for great directions. I felt so smart being able to lead us around. The Harbor Light cruise was fun, but one of those touristy things that I would only want to do once. The man running the tour, Dave, did a great job. He really knows a lot about NY and educates everyone on what they are looking at. We took lots of pictures, but it was so dark that none of them turned out. There was a little girl about four years old on the boat right next to me that was just screaming most of the time. I named her Damiette, since she really was a devil of a child. Dave the tour guide called her %26#39;Princess Purple Coat%26#39; and tried to get her to quit screamming. Her parents kept feeding her candy and pop and not doing a thing about her screamming. What a ride! After the cruise it was our first experience with a bus going up 42nd St. Not a fun ride on a Saturday night. It was so crowded and so slow. Traffic was so bad we took 20 minutes to go about 5 blocks. We probably could have walked faster. I said let%26#39;s get the heck out of this crowd and we headed back up to the room, where it was nice and peaceful. Grey%26#39;s Papaya in the room for dinner was really good.

Sunday

Our last day :(

We wanted to do as much as possible for the last day. We realized that there were so many things we didn%26#39;t get to do. We hadn%26#39;t been to the UWS yet, so we went to 79th and caught a bus to the other side of CP to see Strawberry Fields and the Dakota. From there we got on the subway to Rockefeller Center and went to the TOTR, which was amazing but another thing I would only do once. Then we had shopping to do and packing to do, so we split up. The guys went to Little Italy and Chinatown and came back with goodies from Gertyl%26#39;s Deli to take home, while I packed and checked out and went over to buy some artwork in front of the MET. I just love the watercolor paintings that they sell in front of the MET. I bought several to bring home.

We used Carmel for our transportation to and from JFK and they were wonderful. We got coupons off the internet, so we saved over using a taxi. The driver that took us back to the airport had never heard of Oregon. We thought that was kind of funny. At the airport I gave our Metrocards to the agent and he assured me that he would find someone who could use the last three days. I hated to waste the time and wanted to give back just a little.

All in all we had a wonderful time. I now know what I will do next time. I want to have a trip for nothing but museums and plays. We didn%26#39;t get a chance to see a museum at all and now that I%26#39;ve seen one play, I%26#39;m hooked.

Thanks everyone for all the advice and help planning. I know I drove everyone crazy with my questions.

Trip Report - 4 wonderful days! Thanks to all!

Sounds like a great first trip. So do I take it you stil wound up in a very small room? That%26#39;s disappointing. Do I gather this is not a place you%26#39;d recommend?

What was the watercolor you bought?

Trip Report - 4 wonderful days! Thanks to all!

As much as we loved the area, we felt like Anco Studios deceived us by telling us that we were getting a big room and then putting us in such a small room. There was barely enough room for the two beds. We woudn%26#39;t stay there again, although they were very nice to let us in early and let us store our luggage after check out.

I bought watercolor paintings of Central Park. I thought they were quite a bargain at $10 each.

My favorite thing that I bought was a Mary Poppins parrot head umbrella at the theatre. It is so cool. An umbrella is a very good thing to have in Portland and I doubt if I%26#39;ll see anyone else with one like it.

LOL - love the story of Damiette! Sometimes parents seem to be oblivious that their child is disturbing everyone around them. I%26#39;m sure it didn%26#39;t help that she was all sugared up, either. Anyway, your fabulous experience with Ray more than made up for that.

I%26#39;m disappointed that you didn%26#39;t have a great stay at Anco. A friend stayed there and just loved it. She was in an enormous room facing the back. It was shabby but very clean, and the bathroom was small even by New York standards. Still, she loved feeling like she lived on that fabulous block.

I have a few favorite artists who sell just outside the Met. I%26#39;m wondering if you bought any of theirs. There are lots of tourist oriented works, but then there are some excellent artists as well.

I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get lots of comments on your Mary Poppins umbrella!

Thanks for the great report! Glad you all had a good time.

I loved all your descriptions of the traffic, the food, the people, etc.

';I said let%26#39;s get the heck out of this crowd'; - spoken like a true New Yorker!

Do you or your son remember where he went in Brooklyn? Many folks ask about Brooklyn. What kind of show? Just curious.

Glad you had a good time :o) Pity about the hotel room. Thanks for sharing and when are you going back ;o)

Bettina, that%26#39;s the room that I was hoping to get and thought since we supposedly paid top dollar that we would get that one. The shabby woudn%26#39;t have bothered me as much if it had been larger. I do agree, though that the area is beautiful and especially that block.

Queensb ~ we took my son to a club in Brooklyn that was on 6th off of Beford. I don%26#39;t remember the name of it, but it%26#39;s on 6th and has a 6 in the name of it. He listens to Heavy Metal music, so I couldn%26#39;t tell you any of the names. I woudn%26#39;t ever have let him stay there, but Ray assured me that he would be ok and he was.

Ray had lived half of his life in Brooklyn and now lives in Staten Island, so I figured he knew the area well.

I liked taking the subway to Brooklyn. My ears popped every trip. How far underground does it go?

Wow, he went to NorthSix in uber-trendy Williamsburg!

http://www.northsix.com/

Can you believe that Williamsburg is one of the most desirable areas for young, artsy, edgy, new transplants to NYC? (Although many say it is ';so over';.) You are way cooler than you realize.

LOL. That%26#39;s funny. Yep, that%26#39;s the place. He has been very smiley since he went, and he said his neck is hurting from headbanging and he had everyone in the place copying him. Funny, huh? They gave out lots of free CD%26#39;s and he bought a t-shirt. I can%26#39;t wait to tell him that I%26#39;m cool (hee hee).

Bettina - my favorite painting that I bought was signed by Dennis Boileau. Do you know that name? The painting is called ';Light %26amp; Shadow, NYC';.