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US Holiday

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nicky said:
The view from the Empire State Building is amazing but I queued for over three hours. Apparently 'Top of the Rock' (ie. top of the Rockerfeller Building) is almost as good, so it might even be worth skipping Empire State and going there instead, particularly as it's in the heart of 5th avenue too.
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Top of the Rock is a must because the view of Central Park is incredible. It is true that if you can only do one, you should do this. We stayed 32nd St & Broadway though so were one block away from Empire State. We went there about midnight and used our New York Pass, and while it was still busy, the Pass allowed us to bypass much of the line. I can't believe how packed it was out on the observation deck at that time of night. I loved the foyer of the Empire State Building though. Just felt a sense of history.

Walk the length of Bleecker Street from the point where it almost reaches Hudson Street, through Greenwich Village and beyond. Greenwich Village itself is overrated but I liked the little neighbourhood cross streets where Bleecker is much closer to Hudson, where you will find red brick apartment buildings with bottle green fire escapes that look like they are in Sesame Street.
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We got off a hop on hop off bus and did pretty much the same, but went to Perry Street as my wife is a made Sex & The City fan and had to see the exterior of Carrie Bradshaw's apartment building. Was very much at peace in Greenwich Village. Loved the little parks and the tree lined streets. Could have just hung out all day.

Next trip, this is the sort of thing I will do more off. Travelling in a group, first time in the city, everyone wants to see the more mainstream attractions. Personally, I wanted to go into delis and diners and talk to locals.
 

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We went up to the Empire State building quite late at night / early in the morning. It was still busy but there wasn't much waiting with the NY Pass. Had to shuffle past people outside to get a good view but it was great of an evening.

Top of the Rock we did in the morning and I felt that was a better view of NYC, mostly because of the photo you can get of Central Park but I reckon you see a few different elements of the city there.
 
XFactor1979 said:
New York's got a hurricane at the moment...
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Downgraded to tropical storm. My ny stay has effectively been cut from 6 days to 4.. Ever seen times square deserted at 9pm on a saturday? All public transport and shops shut for 48 hrs. Got 2 days stuck in the hotel to prioritise the itinarary.
 
The Old Dark Navy's said:
Top of the Rock is a must because the view of Central Park is incredible. It is true that if you can only do one, you should do this. We stayed 32nd St & Broadway though so were one block away from Empire State. We went there about midnight and used our New York Pass, and while it was still busy, the Pass allowed us to bypass much of the line. I can't believe how packed it was out on the observation deck at that time of night. I loved the foyer of the Empire State Building though. Just felt a sense of history.

We got off a hop on hop off bus and did pretty much the same, but went to Perry Street as my wife is a made Sex & The City fan and had to see the exterior of Carrie Bradshaw's apartment building. Was very much at peace in Greenwich Village. Loved the little parks and the tree lined streets. Could have just hung out all day.
Next trip, this is the sort of thing I will do more off. Travelling in a group, first time in the city, everyone wants to see the more mainstream attractions. Personally, I wanted to go into delis and diners and talk to locals.
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ODN'S - all carlton hate and aggro aside i would gladly help you with any suggests for this idea. You are right - this is the type of experience that makes NYC great. At this satge i will be back doing it again next May - this time for 6 weeks instead of 4 months.

If and when you go back please do not hestitate to ask for info on this area. The love of NYC can transend footy rivalry (well at least until we finally make the finals :))
 
This is the point I was trying to make earlier. Spend 4 days, 5 nights in NYC with others, and you are going to inevitably go check out Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Central Park, Times Square, Statue of Liberty etc etc. These things for the most part cost money so for a short tourist stay, the New York Pass is good value.

I on the other hand, got excited by just walking the streets, looking at buildings, feeling a sense of history, feeling completely overwhelmed, amazed and intimidated by the city. After returning home, I have a desire to go back and spend some real time, to walk into the delis, to meet locals, to feel like a New Yorker feels. It will probably never happen as there are so many other parts of the US we missed out on as well, and our next trip (if we ever make it) may be RTW so there is a lot to pack in to what may be a 7-8 week holiday. I was determined that NYC had to be at least 2 weeks and it had to be an apartment, not a hotel. The fact that we don't have to redo the main touristy bits gives us more time. In my original planning we were going to spend a month but the cost just blows out so much.

I mean how do we spend 4 days in NYC and only spend about 30 minutes at one end of Central Park? Or go past Wall Street but never along it? How do we only make it over to Brooklyn to see the Manhattan skyline at night, and see Queens on the way to the airport, but never spend any time in the other boroughs? There is just too much to see if you don't spend a long time there, and for a first timer the sheer scale of the city is incredible and popular culture has made everything iconic so you do want to see it all.

Every car horn, every New York accent, every pothole, every cab, every time I was caught up in a rush of people, every newstand, peanut vendor .... I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. In LA we were told we would either love or hate NYC. I was already pretty sure we would love it, but wasn't prepared for how much.
 
On arrival I've booked 2 nights at the excelsior, it's across the road from central park http://www.excelsiorhotelny.com/. I'm very happy with my decision to recover from jet lag in a nice hotel.

The rest of my tiime will be in Greenwich village and the lower east side!!!
 
Just realised I'll be in the US for thanksgiving. What's the deal with stuff being open? I'm assuming it's like a public holiday but is it total shut down or can I expect to find bars/pubs that will be open? I'd like to watch football and have turkey somewhere!
 
Rory said:
Just realised I'll be in the US for thanksgiving. What's the deal with stuff being open? I'm assuming it's like a public holiday but is it total shut down or can I expect to find bars/pubs that will be open? I'd like to watch football and have turkey somewhere!
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I was in NYC for Thanksgiving. It was pretty difficult getting in anywhere for lunch / dinner. Ended up being brave and trying something from the street vans. We went to the Statue of Liberty and a walk downtown though which was great because things were a bit more quiet. The Thanksgiving Parade was immense, pandemonium from about midnight the previous day as barriers and seating went up along the parade route.

Of the evening we went to the NFL, so my Thanksgiving dinner was nachos, beer and hotdogs. No queues for food at the game as everyone was looking pretty bloated from a huge family lunch, bloke next to me complaining his mate was doing 'turkey farts' all through the first qtr.
 

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Donstuie said:
Having just had a look at the website for Top of the Rock, I'm already inclined to agree with you guys. That looks bloody spectacular.
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Absolutely breathtaking view. That's why we did that by day and Empire State Building by night. Empire State is more for the iconic and historic nature of it. Love the marble interior in the foyer and the trimmings just have this classy aura about them. It also have a simulator ride on the 2nd floor that takes you throughout NYC in a very fun way. Costs a lot by itself but free on the card so might as well do both. We had no wait because we did it late.
 
nicky said:
On arrival I've booked 2 nights at the excelsior, it's across the road from central park http://www.excelsiorhotelny.com/. I'm very happy with my decision to recover from jet lag in a nice hotel.

The rest of my tiime will be in Greenwich village and the lower east side!!!
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Nicky - here is the info you asked about on the other thread.

Its a three hour train trip from Penn station in NYC (34th street) to the town of Lancaster. Trains rum very regularly - check the amtrak website. In Lancaster you will have to hire a car - Avis will pick u up at the station and take you back there when you have finished the rental, or if it is after hours its about a 10 buck cab fare.

In the info centre which is in the town square they give out driving maps to the covered bridges and the main amish areas. There are over 29 000 amish living in the area so you will encouter then almost right away. It eeally is an amazing sight. The covered bridges are also in the area so technically it could be done in one day - with say a 7am depart from NYC and a 7pm depart from lancaster but that is a long day - much better to stay the night there - Motel 6 is approx $35 and very clean and safe.

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Stay two nights and you could include a trip to Falling Water ( if you are into Frank Lloyd Wright architecture) its about three hours drive from Lancaster. Here are two pics from an angle rarely seen.

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- on the way you pass by the crash site of the sept 11 plane that went down in pennslyvanisa ( Shanksville) but that would add to your time by about an hour driving time plus viewing time.

But for the Amish and covered bridges two days one night would be very comfortable.

Train is $US50 one way car hire you cab get for around $40 per day and petrol is around 85 cents a litre ( when you covert their dollars per US gallon to our dollars per litre)
 
The Old Dark Navy's said:
Absolutely breathtaking view. That's why we did that by day and Empire State Building by night. Empire State is more for the iconic and historic nature of it. Love the marble interior in the foyer and the trimmings just have this classy aura about them. It also have a simulator ride on the 2nd floor that takes you throughout NYC in a very fun way. Costs a lot by itself but free on the card so might as well do both. We had no wait because we did it late.
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I read reviews online and most were negative so I passed on that (didn't have the NYC pass). We did have a guy try and sell us tickets outside though, but was put off by the bad reviews.
 
The American accent is the hardest accent to understand, I mean the Brits can talk a load of bollocks, but youre on their level when youre having a drinking contest against them!

Anyway with regards to that accent, we were RAISED on that accent with so much American television spoonfed in our childhoods! Just listening to the US Open Tennis radio...

The Americans are ok as individuals, but as a pack its disgraceful!

The Americans like the Australian accent, we dont believe we're speaking with an accent but we are :rolleyes: they have no idea how we talk like that
 

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camsmith said:
I read reviews online and most were negative so I passed on that (didn't have the NYC pass). We did have a guy try and sell us tickets outside though, but was put off by the bad reviews.
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I'd imagine the bad reviews would come from the ridiculous standalone price. Free on the card though, it was pretty cool. Not a theme park quality simulator, a bit old but the footage and the general idea of was awesome.
 
XFactor1979 said:
The American accent is the hardest accent to understand, I mean the Brits can talk a load of bollocks, but youre on their level when youre having a drinking contest against them!
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I completely disagree with you there. Scottish and Welsh would be the hardest accents to understand- sometimes. No most of the time! :D

XFactor1979 said:
The Americans like the Australian accent, we dont believe we're speaking with an accent but we are :rolleyes: they have no idea how we talk like that
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Wtf. Who says that? Of course we have an accent...
 
Shell said:
Wtf. Who says that? Of course we have an accent...
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Insulated types of course, ones that think where their from is normal

Anyway Ipod shuffle time, this is a song which will get you motivated to going to America:

[youtube]Zmgjwog4dI0[/youtube]
 
Strange thing is I posted all those video postcards of places I went to, but I think->


The Joshua Tree
[youtube]ulrk-O2DVL0[/youtube]

Is the one which indicates the most of exactly what I was feeling that day that I was on the bus at the Joshua Tree national park

It was announced that day that Osama bin Laden was killed, I have made a video, albeit with primitive editing skills, but theres just a sense of resonance about what I created. I think I went in with the intention of telling the world of a post 9/11 America, how they got bin Laden. And also how life goes on, and how music (the song featured is a cover of U2's Running to Stand Still by Elbow) goes on
 
With the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 obviously a lot is being said and written, and for the first time I've had a look at the memorial/museum they've built. I love what they've done with it. I've always wanted to visit Ground Zero before I died (I was there as a kid 20 years ago in awe of those buildings), so this is definitely on my list.
 
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