Travel The Hangar Travel Thread

I'm going to spend 3, max 4 days in NY early December. What are some things that I should not miss?
So much to do, you'll have to prioritise. The High Line is a good walk as is Central Park and walking back to the city across the Brooklyn bridge. Also, loved MOMA and the Frick and Guggenheim recommended by a (former New Yorker) friend. The New York public library is beautiful. If you're into shows, it'd be worth booking a Broadway show now. As any of the major sports which are on when you visit will be worth experiencing (NHL, NBA, baseball - think season's over now), NFL). Also, check out live music venues.

Here are my friend's food recommendations:

There is a cafe (precious) on about the 6th floor of Bergdorf Goodman's overlooking the park and the plaza. Indulge yourself with a tea or a glass of champagne around 6 (maybe 5 due to the light...)when not too many people are there. It is one of the best seats in NY. Definitely walk across the Brooklyn bridge. If you time it right, you can have pizza at Grimaldis in DUMBO (down under the manhattan bridge overdrive), great pizza and then walk back toward Manhattan at sundown. Wonderful.

Food: try momofuku in the east village--there are a couple casual ones (noodle bar, ssam bar) and a sinful baker, the milk bar which has some of the stranger, yummier confections in NYC....LOTS of sugar involved. We love casa mono and most things battali--casa m. might be small for your family but it is DELISH. catty corner from that is yama sushi some of the best in ny and a good deal. in the neighborhood is also Eataly, a huge indoor italian food fest also thanks to Mario Battali (and if you can score Babbo, try!!) Also, blue smoke would probably be good--bbq. If you think you'll venture to Brooklyn let me know...that's a whole 'nother thing. He (Danny Meyers) also does some food carts in the park at the tip of the Flatiron (can't remember the name) that are supposed to be fab and affordable. In ABC Carpet bottom floor (separate entrance) is ABC Kitchen, which is excellent. Union Square market just down from ABC is a fun half hour or so as well. To the southeast of Union Square is a great burrito/mexican DIVE--Dos Toros Tacqueria. Cheap and yummy like california style.
 
That would be awesome mate. Thanks. It's a country I'd love to explore one day.
Well un_eggs, I have been back a few weeks now so my view. It was great for my GF's two girls (10 and 12) but not sure how your 5 year old would handle it, there is a lot of walking and it can be hot. I think your 9 year old would love it. Crossing streets can be daunting at first. The place is awesome and it has so much 'texture'. I've been to Thailand, Bali, Singapore and Sri Lanka in Asia but for me it was most like India in that no matter where you looked you saw something amazing/ hilarious/ beautiful/ colourful and there was this endearing chaos. The food was incredible and all mainly on the street. It's pretty safe and not too many tourists where we went - even in Hanoi's old quarter. Hanoi is now one of my favourite cities. For kids there was a big water park that was cheap and great fun but something that OH&S would shut down in 20 seconds in Australia, so you need to be a little careful. There is a lot of ugly insensitive development in the countryside but also lots of beauty. The coral under Halong bay was sad and devoid of much life. I wish I had gone there 20 odd years ago when they first opened their borders but it was still enormous fun. The history, politics, architecture, way of life are all fascinating. The big highlight for me was the wholesale food and flower markets of Hanoi which open at around 3 or 4 am and from these all the food and flowers make their way all over Hanoi on bikes and scooters and end up sort of tumbling out onto the streets, where everything happens. It was fascinating for me but maybe not so special for some. Your 5 year old is probably not going to remember much whether it's Timbuktu or Disneyland so maybe it doesn't matter.

PS the coffee and coffee shops are wonderful. The coffee is nothing like our coffee but it really works in that climate for some reason.
 
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Well un_eggs, I have been back a few weeks now so my view. It was great for my GF's two girls (10 and 12) but not sure how your 5 year old would handle it, there is a lot of walking and it can be hot. I think your 9 year old would love it. Crossing streets can be daunting at first. The place is awesome and it has so much 'texture'. I've been to Thailand, Bali, Singapore and Sri Lanka in Asia but for me it was most like India in that no matter where you looked you saw something amazing/ hilarious/ beautiful/ colourful and there was this endearing chaos. The food was incredible and all mainly on the street. It's pretty safe and not too many tourists where we went - even in Hanoi's old quarter. Hanoi is now one of my favourite cities. For kids there was a big water park that was cheap and great fun but something that OH&S would shut down in 20 seconds in Australia, so you need to be a little careful. There is a lot of ugly insensitive development in the countryside but also lots of beauty. The coral under Halong bay was sad and devoid of much life. I wish I had gone there 20 odd years ago when they first opened their borders but it was still enormous fun. The history, politics, architecture, way of life are all fascinating. The big highlight for me was the wholesale food and flower markets of Hanoi which open at around 3 or 4 am and from these all the food and flowers make their way all over Hanoi on bikes and scooters and end up sort of tumbling out onto the streets, where everything happens. It was fascinating for me but maybe not so special for some. Your 5 year old is probably not going to remember much whether it's Timbuktu or Disneyland so maybe it doesn't matter.

PS the coffee and coffee shops are wonderful. The coffee is nothing like our coffee but it really works in that climate for some reason.
That's a ******* awesome write up tesla1962. Cheers man. Sounds like I'd be right into that sort of holiday. The markets would be right up my alley (so to speak). Makes me a little envious TBH. Might need to wait for the youngest to get a bit older to get something out of it perhaps.

We've made things a little more complicated by getting ourselves a puppy bullmasador. Gorgeous dog but unlikely to be easily left here whilst we travel foreign countries. How the * did I become this middle aged man with a life partner, 2 kids, a steady job and now a dog. I'm sure I used to be free to roam...
 
So, I have a wedding in Wanaka in April next year. As long as plans get approved, I'm hoping to spend a week and a bit around there, Queenstown and Te Anau- and then the next trip will be to Chile and Argentina for the honeymoon, in December 2017/January 2018. :)
 
Maybe Peru; but we'll only have three-ish weeks and we don't want to spread ourselves too thin. Colombia isn't really under consideration, especially as we want to spend a good deal of time in Patagonia and even Tierra Del Fuego, which is as far south as it is.
 
Dec 14, 2008
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Maybe Peru; but we'll only have three-ish weeks and we don't want to spread ourselves too thin. Colombia isn't really under consideration, especially as we want to spend a good deal of time in Patagonia and even Tierra Del Fuego, which is as far south as it is.

good call! , dont spread to thin.... maybe even omit chile.

could really just do Argentina in three weeks, its really an epic destination.

if you think about Igazu falls in the north, colonial towns as you go south like rosario, salta, wine country at the foot of the andes like mendoza, BA for city life, classy food and culture, south to the volcaoes and alps in bariloce, further south into patagonia... three weeks is no time!
 
Dec 14, 2008
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We would definitely go to both Buenos Aires and Santiago too, so there's that to factor in. My feeling is that in 21-24 days we'd want to stay at no more than six, maybe seven places.

well, your flight will more than likley go via santiago anyway... so you can use it as a stop over. Just personally i didnt think much of chiles south, or Santaigo at all. Argentian is well inside my top 3 - such a varied country, has everything a visitor could want geographicaly, culturally. I love it.

I reckon you would kick yourself if you didnt see Igazu falls though, after going all that way.
 
We would definitely go to both Buenos Aires and Santiago too, so there's that to factor in. My feeling is that in 21-24 days we'd want to stay at no more than six, maybe seven places.
I am jealous Doss - Torres del Paine is #1 on my list of places to go.
 
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Maybe Peru; but we'll only have three-ish weeks and we don't want to spread ourselves too thin. Colombia isn't really under consideration, especially as we want to spend a good deal of time in Patagonia and even Tierra Del Fuego, which is as far south as it is.
Bolivia is the most interesting of the Sth Am. countries I went to. You obviously can't do it this time though. Salar de Uyuni is possibly the most spectacular landscape I've seen in my varied travels.

Torres del Paine is a beautiful spot and a solid days walking. Patagonia is a sparse wilderness with amazing turquoise lakes. You need luck with the weather even in summer. I went in Feb and it had regular wet squalls sweep through and it was cold. You must go to Petito Moreno Glacier on the Argentinian side of the Andes - truly awesome spectacles as giant shards of ice shear off every few minutes.
 
Bolivia is the most interesting of the Sth Am. countries I went to. You obviously can't do it this time though. Salar de Uyuni is possibly the most spectacular landscape I've seen in my varied travels.

Torres del Paine is a beautiful spot and a solid days walking. Patagonia is a sparse wilderness with amazing turquoise lakes. You need luck with the weather even in summer. I went in Feb and it had regular wet squalls sweep through and it was cold. You must go to Petito Moreno Glacier on the Argentinian side of the Andes - truly awesome spectacles as giant shards of ice shear off every few minutes.
For some reason these images evoke a landscape I imagined when reading about Nostromo and his trip over the mountains in Josef Conrad's masterpiece. I read the book when i was about 17 and always imagined it was set in a country like Chile. I just googled Nostromo and see it was likely based on Colombia, a much different place. I think I need to read that book again LOL
 
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