This much I thought I knew about New York City, it's expensive, it's expensive, it's expensive. We've traveled all over the world, yet we have never visited NYC. My grandparents on my dad's side lived in upstate New York and whenever we would visit we would never get the chance to go to NYC, maybe because my dad hated it with a passion. He's not a big city kind of guy. So it's taken me all these years to make it there, namely because my daughter arranged a family reunion in Boston, but that's another post.
Back to my first statement, well when I was first researching NYC hotels, it was hard to find a reasonable hotel within Time Square, but I happened upon a Priceline deal, New York Sheraton Towers on 7th and 53rd for only $218.00. I was a bit hesitant since my friend booked through Priceline for a hotel in Chicago and was greeted upon arrival with a curt "Oh you're the Priceline people!" (and not in a complimentary way). Not to worry. We fly in from DC on Jet Blue. I had asked the hotel if they had a shuttle from JFK and was informed that there are no shuttles for any of the hotels. Any hotel? Yes, any hotel. After you collect your luggage from baggage claim, there is an information stand where all you have to do is tell them your hotel and they will tell you the best way to get there. In our case, it was to take the Airtrain to Jamaica Station and then the E train to 7th. It was easy and inexpensive and took about 40 minutes which I'm guessing is probably a lot quicker than taking a cab what with all the traffic. We get out of the subway, drag our heavy luggage up the stairs to the street where we now have to find our hotel, when my daughter says there it is, right across the street. How nice! We check in. No mention that it is a Priceline, third party reservation. We are given a room on the 44th. One word, wow, the view is amazing, the room tho is ok. The hotel is a little careworn and needs some refurbishing, not to mention that there is a distinct odor of urine coming from the bathroom. As I go to pick up the phone to complain, my daughter and husband says to suck it up
, a little bleach will take care of that. So we stay. We also have 44th floor club privileges, continental breakfast and hor d'ourves (is that the way you spell that? my daughter asks), not available on weekends, but during the week, a great bonus. Nice expansive continental, with cheeses, cereal, bagels, pastries, fruit, and best of all, my favorite self serve espresso machine. The cocktail hour brings, cheeses, meats, mini sliders, egg rolls and fruits. Really great and right down the hall from our room. The club also is equipped with computers and comfy chairs. Do I really need to leave my hotel at all?
, a little bleach will take care of that. So we stay. We also have 44th floor club privileges, continental breakfast and hor d'ourves (is that the way you spell that? my daughter asks), not available on weekends, but during the week, a great bonus. Nice expansive continental, with cheeses, cereal, bagels, pastries, fruit, and best of all, my favorite self serve espresso machine. The cocktail hour brings, cheeses, meats, mini sliders, egg rolls and fruits. Really great and right down the hall from our room. The club also is equipped with computers and comfy chairs. Do I really need to leave my hotel at all?Well, this is New York and New Yor
k is calling and I'm all about finding the deals. Our first night there, we came in kind of late, which for NYC nothing is really too late. We find a Japanese noodle restaurant, Sapporo, on 7th at 49th (152 W. 49th). The place is small with clean tables and crowded with Asians, a good sign! The menu is not complicated serving up noodle soup bowls laden with ramen noodles and veggies for around 8-9 dollars. Comforting, delicious and cheap!
k is calling and I'm all about finding the deals. Our first night there, we came in kind of late, which for NYC nothing is really too late. We find a Japanese noodle restaurant, Sapporo, on 7th at 49th (152 W. 49th). The place is small with clean tables and crowded with Asians, a good sign! The menu is not complicated serving up noodle soup bowls laden with ramen noodles and veggies for around 8-9 dollars. Comforting, delicious and cheap!Another great find is a restaurant called Bella Vita, right off 7th, 211 W. 43rd on the right side if you are walking do
wn from 53. A tiny unassuming Italian eatery where I can spy from the doorway the chef hand throwing the pizza dough. There is a small wait and the restaurant is packed, another good sign. There is a deli case to the left where walk-ins can order food to go. We are ushered to a small table wedged in the middle. The menu is your typical Italian menu, but the food is anything typical. My daughter orders the eggplant parmigiana, Andy orders the pesto and I get the pasta Bolognese. A true test of a good Italian restaurant is how good their Bolognese is. They don't give bread, which was kind of disappointing, so we order the garlic knots, similar to the ones they make at Sabarro. Our pasta plates come out, hot and plentiful. Two words, crazy delicious! Everything was absolute perfection, but I must say the dinner prize was the pesto. Andy ordered it with spaghetti as it was over corkscrew pasta on the menu, but when he got it, it was over the corkscrew anyway. Needless to say, after one taste, all was forgiven. It was one of the best pesto I have ever eaten. Bright green, creamy, rich and nutty. The sauce would have made strips of shoe leather taste wonderful. My Bolognese was just as rich and meaty to rival anything I have ever eaten in Italy and my daughter's eggplant was sheer heaven. The pasta plates were around 12-16 dollars, a small price to pay for perfection. The pizza's looked amazing and delicious as well. The table next to us ordered the calamari appetizer which looked so crispy I had to restrain myself from reaching over and helping myself. Ah excuse me....
wn from 53. A tiny unassuming Italian eatery where I can spy from the doorway the chef hand throwing the pizza dough. There is a small wait and the restaurant is packed, another good sign. There is a deli case to the left where walk-ins can order food to go. We are ushered to a small table wedged in the middle. The menu is your typical Italian menu, but the food is anything typical. My daughter orders the eggplant parmigiana, Andy orders the pesto and I get the pasta Bolognese. A true test of a good Italian restaurant is how good their Bolognese is. They don't give bread, which was kind of disappointing, so we order the garlic knots, similar to the ones they make at Sabarro. Our pasta plates come out, hot and plentiful. Two words, crazy delicious! Everything was absolute perfection, but I must say the dinner prize was the pesto. Andy ordered it with spaghetti as it was over corkscrew pasta on the menu, but when he got it, it was over the corkscrew anyway. Needless to say, after one taste, all was forgiven. It was one of the best pesto I have ever eaten. Bright green, creamy, rich and nutty. The sauce would have made strips of shoe leather taste wonderful. My Bolognese was just as rich and meaty to rival anything I have ever eaten in Italy and my daughter's eggplant was sheer heaven. The pasta plates were around 12-16 dollars, a small price to pay for perfection. The pizza's looked amazing and delicious as well. The table next to us ordered the calamari appetizer which looked so crispy I had to restrain myself from reaching over and helping myself. Ah excuse me....
The best buys on the street are of course the independent vendors selling all those "pashmina" scarves for only $5.00. Make sure you open the package since some of them do have runs or flaws in the fabric, but a good deal none the less. I wish I had bought one in every color! I bought my daughter a splatter NY hoodie for about $20.00 (at Time Square) but those can be found on the way to the ferry for the statue of Liberty for $15.00! If you are lucky you might be there for the street fair, which is one of my all time favorite things to do when going shopping anywhere in the world. This one was on Broadway and then on Lexington Ave the following day. The best deals were the Murano necklace pendants with a colored ribbon. Cheaper than going to Venice, Italy! Another good bargain, leather belts for $4.00 and knockoff sunglasses 2 for $10.00. Speaking of knockoffs, I was excited to shop Canal Street to find some knock off purses. I had heard such fantastic stories. When we got there, it was basically the same unrecognizable purses that were in the shops at Time Square. The only knock off I could barely recognize were the terrible Coach knock offs, who would buy one that had the logo CE? Believe me I learned my lesson from Venice, Italy, where we ignorantly bought knock offs that had the initials of LX and FL (Louis Vittion and Fendi). Sorry no refunds. The purses sold for around 25-35 dollars and when you have to ask the salesperson what knockoff is it supposed to be, then that's pretty bad. Stick to buying at the outlet store ladies. You can buy a real Coach purse for $75.00! My suggestion for cheap buys is sticking with the "pashimas" and leather belts and watches. I
got a very good buy on a white enamel watch for only $15.00.
got a very good buy on a white enamel watch for only $15.00. I absolutely love New York and can't wait to go back. A foodies paradise and a shopper's dream. Not to mention, Phantom of the Opera was utterly beautiful, I wept. Did I feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, when she went to the SF Opera and wept during Carmen? not quite, but I still felt like weeping at the sheer beauty and grandeur of it all!
