A Weekend City Break In New York

So, we decided to have a long week-end in New York. It's a place neither of us had visited before, so we were very excited but knew very little about where to stay, how to find our way around and a host of other things too.

We started by going into Barnes and Noble and buying a couple of books. There were dozens to choose from. We plumped for map and information books. One being 'The Little Black Book Of New York' and the other 'The New York Map Guide'. Both were used regularly.

Debbie is a wonderful planner, so it made a lot of sense to let her handle most of the planning as far as what we were going to do while we were in New York and how we were going to get around. The books and maps that she picked really did the job, especially the LITTLE BLACK BOOK NEW YORK.

We began our quest for a hotel at Hotels.com. But where to stay? We didn't have a massive budget so this was an important factor for us.

After looking at several options, we came down to two deciding factors.

Did we want swish and modern facilities, but way outside of Manhattan? This was cheaper, but would involve travelling into the centre every day, and then back again. Some of these hotels also were away from restaurants, so we had to consider where we were going to eat at night.

The second option was a hotel slap bang in the middle of the action, right by Broadway and Times Square. Although more expensive and more dated, this option would save us travelling time and costs and also we'd be in the heart of things and have several restaurants nearby.

So we picked two or three possible from both options, and then compared them, looked at the pros and cons of both and decided to go to central Manhattan.

We compared hotels, read reviews and then decided on The Milford Plaza on 8th Ave. An older hotel, but it had everything we needed. So, I was the one who made the booking and kept my fingers crossed that it was as I'd hoped.

I have to admit that Debbie did an amazing job of finding a hotel for us. We were wanting to stay in Manhattan to be closer to the sights, but with prices ranging from $200-$400 or more per night and being on a tight budget we were aware that we had to draw the line somewhere. Hotels.com has not only a lot of search options, it also has a lot of visitor feedback on each hotel. We were therefore able to check which hotels were far away from any restaurants, in a bad area, noisy, dirty etc and to avoid them.

We did find some reasonably priced hotels outside of Manhattan, but realised that the time required to get into Manhattan and back each day, plus the cost of travel, was going to have an impact on the time we would have to enjoy the sights. We therefore agreed to settle on a Manhattan hotel.

Prices of hotel rooms in Manhattan, like many other cities, depends on whether there are conferences or other special events going on at the time, so in planning your New York City Break you need to research both flights as well as hotel prices to see if the date you are thinking to visit will end up costing you a lot more than a weekend before or after, assuming that your travel dates are flexible.

One of the options when we booked our hotel was to upgrade to the Concierge service. This (if available) gave us an upgraded room, but also buffet breakfast included, free internet in the room, and snacks and drinks available throughout the day. Being able to grab plenty of food quickly before we left the hotel definitely saved us a lot of time and also money. We were able to eat enough to keep us going until the evening, and when we returned from a day out we had access to cold water and sodas plus 8 computers in the lounge. We definitely recommend this option.

We usually start off using Sidestep.com when searching for flights. Sidestep is a wonderful site that brings together the flight schedules from most airlines, optionally includes all airports close to your departure and destination cities, and best of all it shows the prices for booking through the airline or other sources. You don't book your flight with Sidestep directly, but they have links that take you directly to the airline web site, or to travel companies like
Expedia and Travelocity

Several airlines have cheap flights going into New York, Jet Blue and Air Tran. Neither of us had used Jet Blue before, but they had a good reputation, and we weren't disappointed. The standard legroom was 2 inches more than a British Airways transatlantic flight and the seats were very comfortable. Whereas many airlines have stopped providing snacks and entertainment on domestic flights, Jet Blue not only give you a selection of snacks and will offer multiple bags if you want, they also have television screens in the seat backs with 30+ channels and pay-per-view movies too. We definitely both recommend Jet Blue to anyone.

Other than price or schedule, it's important to consider where you are going to stay in New York, since there are 3 major airports, JFK, La Guardia and Newark. If staying in Manhattan like we did, the nearest airport is La Guardia. This can help reduce the cost of a taxi to your hotel.

After we had booked our trip, we began planning how we'd spend our time in New York.

We would be arriving late Thursday evening, and leaving Monday afternoon. So we wanted to make the most of every minute.

We began by making a list of places we'd both like to see. Obviously, this included the Statue Of Liberty, The Empire State Building and Ground Zero amongst others.

We had the map books and were able to see where these places were...but how would we get to them from the hotel?

That's when I found the Gray Line New York Sightseeing Tour Company online. This was also recommended by friends who's used the service earlier in the year.

Gray line have a whole variety of tour packages available to suit all needs and budgets.

We settled on the 3 Day Super Saver Combo tickets. This gave unlimited 'hop on, hop off' access to the Downtown and Uptown loops, plus other tours and tickets to a variety of places.

I searched around online and the price was $117 each generally, but I managed to find a site offering it at $110. Only $14 cheaper in total, but it was $14 we could use elsewhere. We bought the tickets online and this gave us a print out to take into the Gray Line office to exchange for tickets. The 72 hours starts when you hand over the print out.

As well as entrance tickets, we were given a very useful map showing where all the tour stops were and where the tours went as well as where all the main sightseeing attractions were.

TIP!! Pick up two or three maps, as one will wear thin very quickly.

Of course, you can purchase tickets at any time whilst you're in New York, either from the office, or from one of the many official street sellers. You'll find them - or rather, they'll find you- around the bus stops dotted around and the sellers will be in uniform.

Of course, there are other bus/tour companies, but as I do not have experience of their services, I can't comment on them.

As Debbie said, the Gray Line 3-Day Pass includes tickets to a number of attractions, including a Boat Ride around the Statue Of Liberty, The South Street Seaport Museum, the Empire State Building and the Tribute NYC Visitor Center. Since we were going to most of these places anyhow, this saved us money on admission, and also eliminated the need to queue up and get tickets. It really did work to our advantage.

We stepped outside La Guardia airport at around 9.30pm. It was like stepping into another world.

The first thing we saw was the queue for the taxis. There must have been 50-60 people waiting in that line. So we joined them.

Standing there waiting, my eyes were everywhere, watching the cabs bustling for position to board passengers and then watching them as they tried to make their way back into the traffic. Horns were sounding, lights flashing and the heat was almost overpowering.

We didn't wait too long for our cab. Soon we were driving through the streets, over bridges, seeing the lights of Manhattan and wondering how everyone kept from driving into each other!

As we approached Times Square, an array of coloured lights hit us and I just didn't know where to look first. It was magical.

At the same time, I began to notice just how busy the roads and pavements were. There was so much traffic. Horns sounding, sirens squealing, voices shouting. Yellow cabs were everywhere and in this hectic mix, were rickshaws carrying passengers!

The pavements were so full of people I began to wonder if I'd done the right thing. I don't always cope too well in crowds and began to feel a little overwhelmed.

As we pulled up to our hotel, I gripped Tony's hand as hard as I could whilst we stepped out of the cab and into the hustle and bustle that is New York.

The cab journey cost around $31 plus tip.

On our first day we decided to first take the Downtown Loop on the tour bus.

Armed with our map which showed all the hot sightseeing spots and bus stops, we were able to easily plan where our first 'hop off' would be.

The bus took us through Times Square, past Madison Square Gardens, Penn Station, Macys, The Empire State Building, The Flat Iron Building, and through Greenwich Village. We didn't know which way to look, there was so much to see.

We stopped at South Street Seaport, Pier 17. Here we were able to use our tickets for the hour long guided boat trip.

This took us around the bay and showed us everything you'd expect to see, including Ellis Island and The Statue Of Liberty.

We also went under The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.

This trip was included in the bus tour ticket price, so it was excellent value. You could of course purchase a ticket at the pier for the trip which was $25 per person. (from memory)

From there, we walked back along the harbour, past the ferry terminal for Statten Island before reaching Battery Park.

Eventually, we hopped back on the tour bus which took us through China Town and 5th Ave amongst other places, before 'hopping off' again at Central Park.

We were very tired by this time and just wandered, taking in the atmosphere that is uniquely Central Park.

Taking the tour bus was a great idea, helping us to get acclimatised to being in New York as well as to help us get our bearings. We thought it would be good to get to know where everything was, to get an idea of distances, and of course to see the famous buildings and historic architecture.

Starting in Times Square with all the lights was almost an optic overload on the brain, with so many different signs and videos flashing at you at all heights and in all directions. It was very impressive to see. From there we headed south through the Garment District, past Madison Square Garden, the flagship Macys which takes up a whole block and is claimed to be the largest department store in the world, then the Empire State Building, the Flatiron Building, and on to the South Street Pier.

The Flatiron Building is the sharp angled building that is so easily recognizable. It's currently featured on a television commercial for Sprint, and was used as the Daily Bugle building in the Spiderman films. You may also recognize it as the location of Kirstie Alley's offices in the sitcom Veronicas Closet.

The boat trip around part of Manhattan, the Statue Of Liberty and Ellis Island was excellent. Our trip just took us around the island, which was perfect for us given our limited time. There are boat trips that take you onto the island so you can walk around, and also trips to Ellis Island, which is a MUST if you have ancestors who entered the USA through there.

Tip!! The Statten Island Ferry is FREE and also passes close to both the Statue Of Liberty and Ellis Island, so if you don't want the expense of a boat ticket, this is a good option.

After the hustle and bustle of the city streets, deciding to stop off at Central Park was a wonderful idea. Central Park is where Manhattan comes to relax, and with it being a wonderfully sunny Friday afternoon with temperatures in the 80's it was lovely to take a stroll through the park. Central Park is huge and is recommended for a visit. There are so many parts to it, lakes and ponds, woods, bridges, statues etc. Places to play games (like the Ball-fields), places to take a stroll, and places to lie out on the grass and just relax and do nothing. We really enjoyed walking around parts of the park, but then the long day, sensory overload, and the heat overtook us, and we headed back to the hotel to recover in time for the night tour.

After a well earned rest in the hotel, we headed out to take the Night Tour bus trip, which takes you along Broadway, through Times Square, past The Empire State Building and eventually over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn.

We had a very knowledgeable, entertaining guide, who even gave a rendition of 'New York, New York' at one point and very good he was too!

The trip lasted about two hours. Although it covered a lot of the same ground as the downtown loop, it's well worth taking just to see how different everything looks at night.

Seeing Manhattan at night is a must. Everything looks different at night with all the lights, and so many of the buildings are well lit. We were disappointed to not drive over the famous Brooklyn Bridge but it's not open to commercial traffic (so be warned). However the Manhattan Bridge is close to it and you get a good view of the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan skyline in the background. It was emotional thinking of how it must have looked when the Twin Towers formed part of the view.

Getting off the bus close to Times Square at the end of the tour, we had to walk a few blocks back to the hotel. A crowd had gathered outside the theatre where the evening performance of Grease had just ended. We asked who they were waiting for, and found it was Taylor Hicks, the American Idol winner.

Well, we waited for about 20 minutes while the rest of the cast came out, signed autographs and met the crowd. Meantime, Taylor's minder who looked like a broken down version of Vin Diesel got really stroppy because I had our camcorder out ready to start filming. I got warned in no uncertain terms about using it. So, Debbie took the camcorder and got ready to film discreetly, while I grabbed the digital camera and set it to video mode (hee-hee).

Taylor Hicks finally came out, and I think his minder was a little annoyed because Taylor took plenty of time to pose for photographs, sign autographs, and to shake people's hands. Yes, I got a handshake too!

We'd been watching the weather forecasts as we knew Hurricane Hanna was on her way up the coast and would be affecting the weather in New York later in the day.

Therefore, we carefully planned some indoor activities in case of the threatened downpours.

Again, we started off on the Downtown Loop and headed for Ground Zero.

I'm not going to dwell on this but will say if you go there, take time to go to The Tribute NYC Visitor Centre on Liberty St. Entrance tickets for this were included with our tour tickets.

Make sure you also go into St. Pauls Chapel, which you'll find opposite the Ground Zero site.

From there, we hopped back on the tour bus and went round to South Street Seaport. This time we went across the road, away from the pier.

Here I got to have my very first New York hot dog from a street stall... yummy!

As the dark clouds gathered, we headed into The Bodies exhibition in Fulton St. This is not for the faint hearted! But if you're interested in how the human body works... and fails, then you may be inclined to pay a visit.

After leaving the exhibition, we went back across to Pier 17 and spent some time wandering around the shops and treated ourselves to an ice cream. Whilst we were there, the heavens opened... and I mean OPENED!!

I knew that visiting Ground Zero would be a very unique experience, a very emotional one, but neither of us really knew what to expect. The tour bus dropped us off 1 block from where the Twin Towers used to stand. We walked down past the side of St. Pauls Church towards the construction area, and it's useful to know where that the construction site is boarded up, making it hard to see in from here. A number of people were trying to see in and trying to take pictures, however the best thing is to head over the bridge towards the re-built Winter Garden, where you can clearly see the construction in progress.

It is hard to imagine that the Twin Towers stood twice as high as the remaining towers of the World Trade Center, and it's horrible to think of the tragedies that unfolded on that awful day on 2001.

The WTC Tribute Center stands in a line of shops next to FDNY Ladder Company #10. Inside, there are transcripts of phone calls between people in the towers after the planes hit, records of calls between the emergency services and photos of the tragedy. There were also photos left by people who were looking for their missing family and friends and personal items that were recovered from the wreckage. Not only did this cover the Twin Towers, it also covered the attack on the Pentagon and flight UA93 that went down in Pennsylvania. We were in total silence, neither one of us could talk for fear of choking on our words. Both here and in St. Pauls Church up the road there were regularly placed boxes of tissues for those that needed them.

St. Pauls Church was lucky to survive when the towers toppled.

It's a very nice old church and is full of tributes to the dedication of those people in the rescue and emergency services who practically lived there during the weeks when they were still looking for survivors.

The churchyard is very interesting to wander around, very tranquil, and it has many old gravestones etc. It's a good place to end your tour of Ground Zero, before heading back to Broadway and the hustle and bustle of Manhattan.

When we went back for the bus, there was a huge queue and people were refusing to ride the top of the bus - because it's open - consequently there wasn't room downstairs for everybody.

So the adventurous part of me kicked into overdrive and I volunteered us both for open top seats. We were duly handed our ponchos and up we went.

There were about six other idiots, whoops, I mean brave souls, upstairs with us and in no time at all we were wetter than you can ever imagine.

There was a stream running through the top of the bus and the water sloshed around my toes and I was so pleased I had crocs on that wouldn't be ruined.

If you dared to look up, it was like having a bucket of water thrown at your face!

All the while, the tour guide bravely pointed out all the sights, despite the fact he too was upstairs getting drenched :)

Very soon, hysterical laughter hit us. Everyone was screeching with belly aching laughter as the rain pounded down on us.

When it comes to rain there are two types of people. There are those who make the sensible choice, and then there are idiots who choose to get wet! We are definitely in the latter group...

Yes we could have tried to wait for ages to get a taxi. Yes we could have waited to ride downstairs in the bus, most likely standing for the next hour, and probably getting sweaty and frustrated. But being us we didn't do either of those...

At first the bus was parked under an overpass and then drove under it for a mile, so we thought "It's not so bad". But then when we came into the open the rain just came down in buckets.

The tour guide was busy telling us what was to our left and right, but we were too busy looking forward and keeping our heads down to prevent the hoods of our ponchos from blowing off. Should the hood come off your head and you have to let go of the poncho to try and pull it back on, the wind would catch the poncho and try to lift it over your head, and of course the water that had puddled up on it would go everywhere. We were in hysterics every time this happened.

When we did manage to keep things under control, our hands inside our ponchos holding them down, we could see little pools of water building up on each other's laps, and knew it was only a matter of time before they overflowed and went between us and onto the seats. It really was very funny, we haven't laughed so much in ages.

The picture of us back in Times Square really doesn't show how heavy the rain was. It was almost impossible to take a photo without drenching the camera and ourselves.

After drying off in the hotel, we bravely ventured back out into the rain. The sidewalks were flooded, the roads were flooded and still the rain came down.

We found our way to an Indian restaurant that the tour guide had recommended and luckily for us, it was just a short, but wet, walk along from the hotel.

We dripped into the entrance and stood there like two drowned rats as the staff helped us out of our wet raincoats.

We had the most fabulous meal which was at a very good price. This was probably the most authentic Indian meal I've had during my time in America. My Spice Fusion is a MUST if you find yourself in Manhattan.

If you like Indian food and are in Manhattan, then hunt out this great restaurant. The staff are friendly, the prices are very reasonable, and the colour, presentation and taste of the food is second to none. Being English we both know Indian food, and this was excellent.

Sunday morning was upon us already, and the sun was shining down.

We planned to go to The Empire State Building and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day.

We got there via the tour bus, which only took about ten minutes. You can hop off the bus right outside the entrance to The Empire State Building.

As we entered and joined the queue, our entrance tickets (included in the tour price) were checked and we found ourselves being fast tracked past the main line to the security check point. Once through there, we were again fast tracked. We calculated that this saved us about 90 minutes in waiting time :)

After two elevator rides, we were at the observatory on the 86th floor. I was slightly worried about this as I'm not good with heights, but I needn't have worried. It's well enclosed so you can't possible fall over the edge and therefore I didn't get that horrible dizzy feeling.

You can buy tickets to go to the 102nd floor if you wanted to.

The views are absolutely spectacular.

After spending some time taking hundreds of photo's, we made our way back down and out onto the streets of Manhattan.

I'd suggested we walk back through Broadway and up to Times Square. Tony thought it was too far to walk but with some smart talking and a confident wave of the map, I persuaded him we were closer than he thought... so off we went.

Navigating through New York is simple. It must be if I can do it! The streets are numbered and you just count the blocks. Now I know Americans are used to this system, but Europeans aren't and it seems quite daunting at first but it's so easy. Much better than trying to find your way around London.

So we walked. We saw a live production of 'Prayer In The Square' by a gospel choir which was taking place slap bang in the centre of Times square. We wandered in and out of souvenir shops and just breathed in the atmosphere that is unique to Times Square.

Eventually, after another hot dog, we went to get the Uptown bus tour. We'd decided to just stay on the bus and not hop off until we were around the other side of Central park.

The tour took us past The Trump Building, museums, through Harlem and back around Central Park.

We hopped off along 5th Ave and wandered through the park. We couldn't understand why there were so many joggers and rollerbladers coming towards us as we walked past the Jackie Kennedy Onassis resevoir. It wasn't until we stopped and checked the map we found that we'd been walking the wrong way around a jogging track!!

In The Little Black Book Of New York, there is a map of Central Park. However, in the New York MapGuide, there are several more detailed maps which I didn't find until afterwards. If you want to make the most of your time in Central Park, check the maps, see what's there and plan it. We just wandered and I think we'd both agree that we missed a lot.

It didn't help that we went at the end of the day, when we were already tired. You could spend days in Central Park and still not see everything.

We did lay on the grass at one point and just relaxed. We could hear music drifting in the air from one of the many musicians that play throughout the park, and we watched maybe a hundred balloons floating through the sky... magical memories.

When we were approached by a rickshaw driver - or should that be rider? - I jumped at the chance of putting my feet up and having a rest. We were soon being driven around the park in style!

The driver took us to the John Lennon memorial in Strawberry Fields and nearby there was a tribute Beatles band playing. We didn't have much time to listen though as our driver was waiting for us.

Eventually we found ourselves right in the middle of the traffic, riding through Broadway, towards Times Square, on the back of a Rickshaw. What an experience! The driver took us right back to the hotel. Total cost $35. I think we could've haggled it down, but that included a tour of Central Park and being taken back to the hotel on 8th Ave, so we were happy to pay it.

Well, we fancied a Chinese meal, but weren't sure where to go. We were tempted to go into China Town and take pot luck but didn't want to risk going to somewhere not so good.

We asked at the Hotel but they didn't seem sure of anywhere but they doid give us a magzine which advertised various restaurants.

We picked an Italian restaurant, Maria Pia, (319 W 51st St) in the end, only a few blocks up and one across from where we were.

Again, I had to wave the map and say 'follow me' in my best Girls Scout voice before Poddys could be convinced I knew where I was going.

We enjoyed a lovely meal in very nice surroundings and it was resonably priced too.

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