NY vacation next week

Whatever airport you get out from if you're flying...do not take a towncar. Take a yellow cab. The luggage pickup rack goes really fast so be prepared. Mine went around 3 times and someone finally grabbed it for me. LOL!

Also keep your valuables at home and stash your money where it can't be stolen. I put mine in my shoes. If you carry a big purse you could get mugged. All tips from my friend who lives there that I spent a week with. Also being in at night is a good idea.
 
IrisSenior said:
I have never been so any wise words of wisdom?
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If you join one of the free tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, be prepared to walk very very fast, the place is huge and the tour guide covers a lot of ground quickly.

If you are going to ride the subway I'd recommend watching some YouTubes about it and also the subway's website's video. My first trip to NYC I got confused by all of it -- took the wrong train, took the right train in the wrong direction, didn't understand the difference between local and express trains, thought I was on the subway train but turned out to be on a real train and I didn't have a ticket and had to desperately look for cash, etc. But when I went back again I got so good at riding the subway (i.e., had figured out the Google maps app was telling me exactly the sign wordage to look for) I helped another person find the right train!

If you have enough time before you go, you can apply for the senior fare, and then you can electronically attach that to your method of payment to get the senior rate when you tap to get into the subway station.

The "Tenement Museum" has some interesting tours.

The NY Public Library docent led tour was really interesting.

I took a walking tour on the High Line which was okay but only did a portion of the park trail.

The Morgan Library and Museum tour was nice.

The lighthouse museum on Staten Island was not really worth the effort, but I wanted the experience of riding the Staten Island Ferry so I was glad I went.

Walking across (or partly across like I did) the Brooklyn Bridge made a good memory.

I enjoyed taking the tram to Roosevelt Island to look at the small pox ruins, though I wouldn't recommend it unless you like contemplative experiences (mostly I wanted to ride the tram, but contemplating the ruins has stuck in my memory).

In some areas of NYC, it was faster to walk places than to take the buses (due to the traffic congestion).

I'd heard good things about the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, but I accidentally went to the NY Bronx Botanical Gardens instead, which involved way too much walking (the place is huge) but I was there in the spring when the lilacs were blooming and there was a whole area full of various kinds of lilacs and that was awesome.

I very highly recommend trying the "hand rolled" "kettle boiled" bagels that you can find in NYC.
 
New Yorkers have the reputation of being rude and unfriendly. And it's true that a lot of them have developed a stand-offish attitude but that's because of the environment. Fast, crowded, watch-out-for-yourself is the order of the day.

The last time I was in NY, it was with my cousin and her toddler daughter. Her daughter had reached the "smile at everyone, hug their legs, introduce herself and tell everyone she loves them" stage. It was a hit, for sure. We'd be walking down the street, she'd be doing her schtick, and the smiles that broke out on people's faces were fabulous. They'd often stop and talk to her.

At one point, we were standing on the curb and there was a taxi sitting there. The driver was the meanest-looking guy you'd never hope to run into, scowling and muttering. She looked up at him, cried out "HI! I ZOE! I LOVE YOU!" He looked at her for a moment like thunder and then broke out in the biggest grin I've ever seen. "Hi Zoe! I'm Joe and I love you, too!" He leaned out the window and shook her hand.

As the Bible says, Isaiah 11:6: "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them."
 
jujube said:
New Yorkers have the reputation of being rude and unfriendly. And it's true that a lot of them have developed a stand-offish attitude but that's because of the environment. Fast, crowded, watch-out-for-yourself is the order of the day.

The last time I was in NY, it was with my cousin and her toddler daughter. Her daughter had reached the "smile at everyone, hug their legs, introduce herself and tell everyone she loves them" stage. It was a hit, for sure. We'd be walking down the street, she'd be doing her schtick, and the smiles that broke out on people's faces were fabulous. They'd often stop and talk to her.

At one point, we were standing on the curb and there was a taxi sitting there. The driver was the meanest-looking guy you'd never hope to run into, scowling and muttering. She looked up at him, cried out "HI! I ZOE! I LOVE YOU!" He looked at her for a moment like thunder and then broke out in the biggest grin I've ever seen. "Hi Zoe! I'm Joe and I love you, too!" He leaned out the window and shook her hand.

As the Bible says, Isaiah 11:6: "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them."
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What a heartwarming anecdote, @jujube; you just made my day! 🥰🥰🥰

I hope you have a wonderful trip to NYC, @IrisSenior. I've been there twice—well, once was just a drive-through, really; the other was for a wedding—but both were whirlwind trips, and I didn't really get to see anything.
 
I like the Edison. It’s close to the train station, Times Square and of course the theaters. The Lincoln Center is also worth visiting.
The rooms in the hotels are also nice and clean. It’s a good hotel. I also liked the Roosevelt. It had a lot of old New York Americana style about it, but it’s been closed.

You should enjoy being there. There was always plenty of cops in that area when I visited.
 
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As someone born and raised in NY, and who misses it madly, IMO the best things to do are to walk, walk, walk the streets, stopping here and there for a drink in some dive=y bar or a coffee and...

Also, everyone here recommended some good stuff to see. I would add that not only is the Staten Island ferry the best deal in NYC (it's free!) but on SI there's a restaurant called Nonna's where all cooking is done by grandmas from around the world. Every day they have an Italian and rotate the rest, so 2 great cooks daily. Delicious! And prestigious--Netflix did a movie on the place last year, starring Susan Sarandon and other lovelies.

DO NOT FORGET TO EAT PIZZA!! But caveat emptor, you will never be able to eat it anywhere else once you've tasted NY Pizza!
 
I ended up in the wrong place a couple of times because I didn’t take care to notice the difference between “express” and “local”. Live and learn. Most of the things I would suggest have already been mentioned. I still have Ellis Island on my list. My grandmother came through there in 1912. Union Square on a Sunday afternoon is fun. I saw a couple of celebrities - my son said I probably would.
 
Marcy Sheiner said:
As someone born and raised in NY, and who misses it madly, IMO the best things to do are to walk, walk, walk the streets, stopping here and there for a drink in some dive=y bar or a coffee and...

Also, everyone here recommended some good stuff to see. I would add that not only is the Staten Island ferry the best deal in NYC (it's free!) but on SI there's a restaurant called Nonna's where all cooking is done by grandmas from around the world. Every day they have an Italian and rotate the rest, so 2 great cooks daily. Delicious! And prestigious--Netflix did a movie on the place last year, starring Susan Sarandon and other lovelies.

DO NOT FORGET TO EAT PIZZA!! But caveat emptor, you will never be able to eat it anywhere else once you've tasted NY Pizza!
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There are a few cardboard pizza places there but their Pizza Hut was amazing compared to KS.
 
When I was there in 2013 I think a show cost $100 for cheap seats. I wanted to see Phantom of the Opera but didn't have enough money with me.
Also their Chinese take out is loaded with MSG and will give you a major headache.
The tap water is hideous in some places. I was in Hartsdale and the water was terrible!
 
I lived in NYC for 4 years. Take in the city, walk around. No, you're not going to be knifed or shot. New Yorkers are not some mutant citified humans, they are the same people you find everywhere. New Yorkers are always "late", so the pace of life is faster.
 
Just because the crowd is crossing at the intersection, check and make sure the walk signal is on. They know how to go with the flow; we didn’t.

You may be able to get free tickets for filming of tv shows, if there are any you like.

Wear great walking shoes and travel light.
 
Marcy Sheiner said:
DO NOT FORGET TO EAT PIZZA!! But caveat emptor, you will never be able to eat it anywhere else once you've tasted NY Pizza!
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My kids and I love NY pizza! We used to have it shipped, flash-frozen, out to us. Now I have only a regular freezer that will not hold the quantity of pizza one needs to order.

A NYC native moved here a few years ago and opened a NYC-style pizza restaurant. YUM! Someone in a local review complained and said the crust was too thin. 🤦‍♀️
 
The best pizza I ever had was in New York City. Every place that I ate at, had different tasting pizza than the last place I ate at. I lived there for 15 years. The Broadway shows (especially the musicals), Central Park, Baseball in the summer, the concerts, Empire State Building, Liberty Island.

But once the Twin Towers fell, I swore that I would never go back to New York City. The New York skyline just wouldn't be the same without being able to see my two old friends standing there tall. To this day, I just can't watch anything that shows the planes crashing into the Twin Towers. It's just as painful as watching the old film taken when President Kennedy was assassinated.
 
Marcy Sheiner said:
@KSav The crust too thin!? Some people don't know what they're talking about!

No, no, NO! on Pizza Hut! Any independent or Ray's Pizza is the best. Forget chains, in NYC for goodness sake.
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I noticed that when I was living there. I don't recall seeing any pizza chains. They weren't needed in New York City. We had our own pizza places, and they were much better.
 

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