Trip report - rather late and a bit long!

Hi

Although I have tried desperately to keep this short it%26#39;s impossible - so apologies. Thanks to all who put so much info into this forum - we picked up on a lot of which helped make the trip special.

Day 1 we were up around half six so decided to take advantage of the early start to go up the ESB - got there around eight so didn%26#39;t really queue at all and had a gorgeous view at the top as it was a sunny clear morning. Headed back to the hotel to meet Helen, our Big Apple Greeter. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip - she took us down to Greenwich Village and we saw the Meatpacking District, Little Italy, China Town, the World Trade Centre, Wall Street, NYU taking in parks and Doggy Spas not to mention Magnolia%26#39;s for cupcakes where the smell of the sugar is enough to give you a high! It was fabulous to see all this with someone who was so knowledgeable - she really personalised New York for us and gave us so many good tips.

For the remainder of that day stayed in the Wall Street / World Trade area wandering around. Did try Century 21 but it was so busy and confusing had to leave - definitely for the more dedicated shopper. That night back to China Town for dinner. Had a lovely meal in a place called East Village then went home via Times Square for an early night (so much fresh air in one day was a shock to us office worker types!!)

Monday did a bit of shopping - went to BH and round Macy%26#39;s - a few hours in Macy%26#39;s was barely long enough to scratch the surface! Had to pull ourselves away as although we could have stayed for a day it seemed like a waste when there was so much to see going on outside. So back to the hotel to drop the shopping off then went to the United Nations buildings. The tour was really interesting being able to see inside the actual chambers and the guide was really helpful. After the tour went to Grand Central Station which was stunning then decided we deserved a few drinks at the Oyster Bar (plus couldn%26#39;t face going back into the rain) so we spent a couple of hours people-watching and sampled some Long Island and Brooklyn beer (befor deciding I really do prefer wine). Decided we were too wet to go out for dinner and too late to go back to the hotel to get dry only to go out again so we got a salad and went back to the hotel and ate in the room in order to be bright and fresh for .....

RAIN! The Tuesday was wet again however we persevered despite spending a little time getting out of the hotel due to being stuck in the elevator for a while. We paid a visit to Filene%26#39;s Basement which someone had rightly recommended as a shopping treasure - smaller scale than Century 21. Went down to Pier 83 and got the Circle Line Cruise. Inside the boat was packed but as a true Scot I decided a little rain never hurt anyone so wiped down a couple of seats outside and had the best seats on the boat - we found a beer and hot dog helped guard against the cold and anyway the chattering teeth and soaked through clothes were worth it for the sights! Anyway there%26#39;s no such thing as bad weather - just bad clothes. The Cruise was great - our guide had lots of little gems of information over and above the sights. When the cruise was over we went back to Times Square and got tickets for Mama Mia that night. Got rid of our %26#39;wet chicken%26#39; look at the hotel then went to Da Nico%26#39;s in Little Italy for some fabulous pizza before heading back up to Broadway for the show. Which was brilliant!! Thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

Wednesday was a beautiful clear crisp day so headed early to the Rockefeller building and went to Top of the Rock for a magnificent view. If I were to choose between the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Top of the Rock I%26#39;d probably say Top of the Rock was my favourite because for one thing you get a great view of the Empire State Building and a closer view of Central Park. But also because the staff there were so friendly and welcoming - you almost felt like a guest in their home (paying guest of course) - they had a much more polite way of organising the tourists to get them to the top. We then paid homage to Saks, Bloomingdales and Tiffany%26#39;s although didn%26#39;t put off too much time in any of them as time was running out. Went to St Patrick%26#39;s which was beautiful and then went to Central Park where we put our feet up on a horse-and-carriage ride. We meandered through the park over to the Dakota Building and then, as it was reaching the end of the afternoon and was such a beautiful day, took the subway to Brooklyn then walked back across the bridge for the sunset. The view was spectacular even though it was freezing by this point - worth the numbness. Remembered we needed a post office so ran around the area until we found the massive one near J and Rs which is a lovely building in itself. As it was our last night we treated ourselves to a Martini in the hotel bar and some champagne to round off the holiday which combined with the fresh freezing air to paint our cheeks a shocking shade of pink!

Thursday was last day so went out to find the best spot for Macy%26#39;s parade - we took a couple of subways and tried various spots before ending up on 40th round the corner from the hotel which turned out to be an ideal place to stop and view as the crowds weren%26#39;t too bad. Had lunch in a diner then reluctantly got the subway down to Howard Beach to get to JFK. Interesting journey down - we had a dancer, a magician, a slightly mad man and a dvd seller all going up and down the carriages so were glad we%26#39;d taken the train.

Short summary - brilliant trip, early trips to ESB and TOR recommended to avoid crowds, Circle Line Cruise definitely worthwhile, Mama Mia great for feel good sing-a-long, Big Apple Greeter FANTASTIC idea if you can, Hilton at Times Square was great for view from the room but every time you leave the hotel be prepared to hit chaos, Metro 7 day pass paid for itself over and over again and the people we met were friendly and helpful everywhere we went.

Thanks again to the contributors at this forum which I scanned daily for about a month before going and who provided help in the planning of our trip!

Trip report - rather late and a bit long!

Great trip report!

I am very jealous of you trying out the cult cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery. I dragged my boyfriend along Bleecker Street only to get there and find that they were shut for the holidays!

I could have cried!!! :(

Trip report - rather late and a bit long!

Enjoyed your report,sounds brilliant. Have to agree with you about Top of the Rock, lovely staff, much nicer experience than the ESB, but both are worthwhile and I do honestly think the ESB view is better, but the Top overall is better. I would do both!

I fondly remember my trip to Scotland a few years ago, I think the sun shone only one day. And I didn%26#39;t mind a bit. I like the way you put it though -- ';no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.'; Absolutely right!

I also agree totally about Top of the Rock vs. ESB. I wish the folks at ESB would take note. It would be so easy for them to make the experience nicer from start to finish.

And congratulations on your stamina and hardiness. The Brooklyn Bridge walk is worth a bit of a chill, isn%26#39;t it?!

This is a great report. Sounds like you packed plenty into your trip :)

Sorry you had so much rain but didn%26#39;t seem to stop you. ';there%26#39;s no such thing as bad weather - just bad clothes';--love it!

Thank you so much for posting this...I%26#39;m in the midst of planning our first trip to NYC in June and your account gave me some great information!