Project NYC 2006

In article , Jim says...
On 2005-10-17 06:47:42 -0400, DD (Rox) said:

I've reached a point in my life where the day-to-day drone of sub-urban
living is taking its toll on my mental health! I need something to look
forward to, so after discussing it with the wife on the weekend, we
have decided that we will take our first real holiday next year, and
instead of the typical suburbanite's annual trip to the mountains we
want to go big and visit The Big Apple - New York City!!!

Anyway, we're planning this trip for mid-way through next year -
sometime between May and August, which I am told is summer-time in NYC.
I'm hoping for a 2 week stay, which will give us enough time to shake
out the cobwebs and experience something truly mind-blowing. It'll be
me, the wife and the two boys (15 & 8) making the journey half-way
around the world.
So I need information. LOADS of it!! Where to go, what to see, where to
stay, what not to miss, what shows to see, where to eat, what to
bring...
I've never travelled internationally and I have dreamed of visiting NYC
ever since I was a little boy. Most people I know who have visited
there tell me it is the ultimate excitement destination, with so much
to see and do that if you don't find what you're looking for, you're
just as likely to be dead!
It'll cost me a ****load of money to bring the whole family over, but I
look at it as being something that is totally worth saving for.
Any input you kind folks are able to provide as we commence the
planning would be most appreciated!

I don't know what your budget is. but, really to experience NYC you
need to stay in it yes you can save money and stay outside of the city,
but the travel time will eat into your total time and the some of the
best of NYC happens after sunset. . I live in CT and visit often.
Look around, try Priceline etc to find hotels in the city but do stay
in Manhattan. If you are not comfortable searching on line, find a
travel agent.... deals can be had, but there are some real dumps for
hotels in NYC as well as some of the best in the world with prices to
match. Plan far enough a ahead and you should be able to find decent
hotels for 200+/- per night, and even some good ones in the lower
100's. Beware of real bargains. Don't stay at the Radisson
Lexington for example, or the Pennsylvania outside of of MSG. Some
times you can find good Weekend deals at the Marriots etc which are
located in the Business districts (i.e. they do booming business M-F,
but a quieter on weekends).. as opposed to Marriot Marquis in Times
Sq... Personally for pleasure trips I find hotels on 3rd to 5th
avenue above 42nd street to be nice, sometimes expensive, but if you
look ahead, you might find a deal. I once found a nice King size room
at the Omni Berkshire on Madison and 52nd(?) for 189 bucks a night.. a
little piece of luxury. The further east you go (i.e. toward 3rd),
the quieter life gets... but I find that preferable to the living in
the insanity of Times Sq.

For families, you might want to look at something like one of the Suite
Hotels. Embassy Suites outside of the World Financial Center for
example. I have stayed there on business, and for a "normal" NYC
hotel rate, I get two rooms (bedroom has a king size bed) the sitting
room has a pull-out sofa, a dining table, sofas. chairs etc and there
is a mall kitchenette like thing with a refrigerator, Microwave,
coffeepot, sink etc. which means you can deal with breakfast in the
room. There is room in this room for a couple more cots as well ( I
have no clue as to the number of people per room but there is
certainly room for a family of five here as long as the kids can stay
in the one room with out causing a major kid war ) .

check out Frommers and Fodor's travel Websites for hotel
recommendations and traveler feedback.

Often the Marriot Financial district (yes, it is near the site of
WTC) has good weekend deals.

Have fun, plan ahead, and saved you will enjoy it. Do try to get
tick's to a Broadway show. BUT start looking now!

Photo Ops? There are tons, but the best pictures of NYC are its
people. Just make sure you get permission.

Don't be afraid to do some of the touristy things. A Carriage ride
or a walk through Central Park, the Circle Line around the island,
even just a ferry ride to Staten Island and back, and elevator ride to
the observation deck of the Empire State Building... a walk through
the financial district (i.e. Wall Street, lower Broadway), Times Sq.
the subway, any of the museums and galleries. Walk across the
Brooklyn bridge, eat in China Town. Grab a bagel with lox and cream
cheese... forget the street pretzels years ago, these were great;
hot crispy on the outside warm and chewy on the inside, fresh off a
charcoal grill. Now most are soggy, cold and flavorless. ah Well.. Go
up to Yankee stadium, take a stroll through Monument Park and let your
imagination run with the history. People watch!

Leave your car at home and take the subway, bus or taxi or walk!

NYC can be windy the long avenues and streets and tall buildings can
create a wind tunnel effect. May and June are crap shoots. You can
have absolutely great days and some cool rainy windy ones are also
quite possible. July and August can be miserable. (heat...). As far
as dress, it depends what you want to do. Certainly you can dress
to the nines and fit right in but dressing like a slob is out. Only
the tourists wear sweats and ill fitting clothes. Here is my NYC
dress code. I am a 48+ male, a little overweight 6'3, 235 lb.) ..
While I live in my jeans around home, in NYC I don't ... Just doesn't
seem quite acceptable. I leave that attire to the younger or more trim
crowd. I just feel more at home and comfortable in decent casual in
NYC.


You name it, it is here.
Enjoy it.


Jim, that's a ton of very useful information. Thanks so much. I'm
assuming you mean Cape Town by CT? If so, how does the NY summer compare
to Durban's? Sounds similar, but we're used to it, so it might be an
option for us to go there about that time.

--
DD (everything is temporary)
www.dallasdahms.com

In article T8%4f.6439$Lb1.6003@trndny03,
says...
NYC?

You must mean SanFranciso its much nicer out there.

Go west my boy, And stop off in Arizona on the way there, where that big hole(s) in the ground is.

Cheers

I'd love to but time and money are constraints. I'm wondering if maybe
it wouldn't be a bad idea to spend a week in NYC and maybe a week out
west?
--
DD (everything is temporary)
www.dallasdahms.com

Jim wrote in message .. .
On 2005-10-17 06:47:42 -0400, DD (Rox) said:

I've reached a point in my life where the day-to-day drone of sub-urban
living is taking its toll on my mental health! I need something to look
forward to, so after discussing it with the wife on the weekend, we have
decided that we will take our first real holiday next year, and instead
of the typical suburbanite's annual trip to the mountains we want to go
big and visit The Big Apple - New York City!!!

Anyway, we're planning this trip for mid-way through next year - sometime
between May and August, which I am told is summer-time in NYC. I'm hoping
for a 2 week stay, which will give us enough time to shake out the
cobwebs and experience something truly mind-blowing. It'll be me, the
wife and the two boys (15 & 8) making the journey half-way around the
world.
So I need information. LOADS of it!! Where to go, what to see, where to
stay, what not to miss, what shows to see, where to eat, what to bring...
I've never travelled internationally and I have dreamed of visiting NYC
ever since I was a little boy. Most people I know who have visited there
tell me it is the ultimate excitement destination, with so much to see
and do that if you don't find what you're looking for, you're just as
likely to be dead!
It'll cost me a ****load of money to bring the whole family over, but I
look at it as being something that is totally worth saving for.
Any input you kind folks are able to provide as we commence the planning
would be most appreciated!

I don't know what your budget is. but, really to experience NYC you need
to stay in it yes you can save money and stay outside of the city, but the
travel time will eat into your total time and the some of the best of NYC
happens after sunset. . I live in CT and visit often. Look around, try
Priceline etc to find hotels in the city but do stay in Manhattan. If you
are not comfortable searching on line, find a travel agent.... deals can
be had, but there are some real dumps for hotels in NYC as well as some
of the best in the world with prices to match. Plan far enough a ahead
and you should be able to find decent hotels for 200+/- per night, and
even some good ones in the lower 100's. Beware of real bargains. Don't
stay at the Radisson Lexington for example, or the Pennsylvania outside
of of MSG. Some times you can find good Weekend deals at the Marriots
etc which are located in the Business districts (i.e. they do booming
business M-F, but a quieter on weekends).. as opposed to Marriot Marquis
in Times Sq... Personally for pleasure trips I find hotels on 3rd to 5th
avenue above 42nd street to be nice, sometimes expensive, but if you look
ahead, you might find a deal. I once found a nice King size room at the
Omni Berkshire on Madison and 52nd(?) for 189 bucks a night.. a little
piece of luxury. The further east you go (i.e. toward 3rd), the quieter
life gets... but I find that preferable to the living in the insanity of
Times Sq.

For families, you might want to look at something like one of the Suite
Hotels. Embassy Suites outside of the World Financial Center for example.
I have stayed there on business, and for a "normal" NYC hotel rate, I
get two rooms (bedroom has a king size bed) the sitting room has a
pull-out sofa, a dining table, sofas. chairs etc and there is a mall
kitchenette like thing with a refrigerator, Microwave, coffeepot, sink
etc. which means you can deal with breakfast in the room. There is room
in this room for a couple more cots as well ( I have no clue as to the
number of people per room but there is certainly room for a family of
five here as long as the kids can stay in the one room with out causing a
major kid war ) .

check out Frommers and Fodor's travel Websites for hotel recommendations
and traveler feedback.

Often the Marriot Financial district (yes, it is near the site of WTC)
has good weekend deals.

Have fun, plan ahead, and saved you will enjoy it. Do try to get tick's
to a Broadway show. BUT start looking now!

Photo Ops? There are tons, but the best pictures of NYC are its people.
Just make sure you get permission.

Don't be afraid to do some of the touristy things. A Carriage ride or
a walk through Central Park, the Circle Line around the island, even just
a ferry ride to Staten Island and back, and elevator ride to the
observation deck of the Empire State Building... a walk through the
financial district (i.e. Wall Street, lower Broadway), Times Sq. the
subway, any of the museums and galleries. Walk across the Brooklyn
bridge, eat in China Town. Grab a bagel with lox and cream cheese...
forget the street pretzels years ago, these were great; hot crispy on the
outside warm and chewy on the inside, fresh off a charcoal grill. Now
most are soggy, cold and flavorless. ah Well.. Go up to Yankee stadium,
take a stroll through Monument Park and let your imagination run with the
history. People watch!

Leave your car at home and take the subway, bus or taxi or walk!

NYC can be windy the long avenues and streets and tall buildings can
create a wind tunnel effect. May and June are crap shoots. You can have
absolutely great days and some cool rainy windy ones are also quite
possible. July and August can be miserable. (heat...). As far as
dress, it depends what you want to do. Certainly you can dress to the
nines and fit right in but dressing like a slob is out. Only the tourists
wear sweats and ill fitting clothes. Here is my NYC dress code. I am a
48+ male, a little overweight 6'3, 235 lb.) .. While I live in my jeans
around home, in NYC I don't ... Just doesn't seem quite acceptable. I
leave that attire to the younger or more trim crowd. I just feel more at
home and comfortable in decent casual in NYC.


You name it, it is here.
Enjoy it.

And don't forget the Ice Skaters at Rockefeller Center...
And the Guggenheim, and Museum of Modern Art......

"DD (Rox)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

"DD (Rox)" wrote in message
...
I've reached a point in my life where the day-to-day drone of sub-urban
living is taking its toll on my mental health! I need something to look
forward to, so after discussing it with the wife on the weekend, we
have
decided that we will take our first real holiday next year, and instead
of the typical suburbanite's annual trip to the mountains we want to go
big and visit The Big Apple - New York City!!!

Anyway, we're planning this trip for mid-way through next year -
sometime between May and August, which I am told is summer-time in NYC.
I'm hoping for a 2 week stay, which will give us enough time to shake
out the cobwebs and experience something truly mind-blowing. It'll be
me, the wife and the two boys (15 & 8) making the journey half-way
around the world.

So I need information. LOADS of it!! Where to go, what to see, where to
stay, what not to miss, what shows to see, where to eat, what to
bring...

I've never travelled internationally and I have dreamed of visiting NYC
ever since I was a little boy. Most people I know who have visited
there
tell me it is the ultimate excitement destination, with so much to see
and do that if you don't find what you're looking for, you're just as
likely to be dead!

It'll cost me a ****load of money to bring the whole family over, but I
look at it as being something that is totally worth saving for.

Any input you kind folks are able to provide as we commence the
planning
would be most appreciated!

The first thing I will advise is to go there in the Fall or Spring, and
stay
away during the mid Winter, and mid Summer. New York is absolutely
miserable
hot and humid during July and August, and freezing cold and wet during
January and February.......

It can't be any worse than where I live. Our summers average around 38C
(100F) with a discomfort index of about another 6-10 degrees on top of
that.

But point taken. I am just looking at the prices for hotels and they all
seem to be cheaper from July through August. How's the weather in
September/October? Our kids get a week off school round about that time.

New York, and the whole East coast, for that matter, is most beautiful
during the Fall. And, the weather is great during that season also. If I
were going there to visit, I think I would pick September-October.

In message ,
"William Graham" wrote:

And don't forget the Ice Skaters at Rockefeller Center...
And the Guggenheim, and Museum of Modern Art......

Sometimes I wish that I could wash my brain, and experience the city
again for the first time.
--


John P Sheehy

In article , Jim says...

I don't know what your budget is. but, really to experience NYC you
need to stay in it yes you can save money and stay outside of the city,
but the travel time will eat into your total time and the some of the
best of NYC happens after sunset. . I live in CT and visit often.

CT = Conneticut? If so apologies for the earlier error in thinking you
meant Cape Town.
--
DD (everything is temporary)
www.dallasdahms.com

In article ,
William Graham wrote:

"DD (Rox)" wrote in message
. ..
In article ,
says...

"DD (Rox)" wrote in message
...
I've reached a point in my life where the day-to-day drone of sub-urban
living is taking its toll on my mental health! I need something to look
forward to, so after discussing it with the wife on the weekend, we
have
decided that we will take our first real holiday next year, and instead
of the typical suburbanite's annual trip to the mountains we want to go
big and visit The Big Apple - New York City!!!

Anyway, we're planning this trip for mid-way through next year -
sometime between May and August, which I am told is summer-time in NYC.
I'm hoping for a 2 week stay, which will give us enough time to shake
out the cobwebs and experience something truly mind-blowing. It'll be
me, the wife and the two boys (15 & 8) making the journey half-way
around the world.

So I need information. LOADS of it!! Where to go, what to see, where to
stay, what not to miss, what shows to see, where to eat, what to
bring...

I've never travelled internationally and I have dreamed of visiting NYC
ever since I was a little boy. Most people I know who have visited
there
tell me it is the ultimate excitement destination, with so much to see
and do that if you don't find what you're looking for, you're just as
likely to be dead!

It'll cost me a ****load of money to bring the whole family over, but I
look at it as being something that is totally worth saving for.

Any input you kind folks are able to provide as we commence the
planning
would be most appreciated!

The first thing I will advise is to go there in the Fall or Spring, and
stay
away during the mid Winter, and mid Summer. New York is absolutely
miserable
hot and humid during July and August, and freezing cold and wet during
January and February.......

It can't be any worse than where I live. Our summers average around 38C
(100F) with a discomfort index of about another 6-10 degrees on top of
that.

But point taken. I am just looking at the prices for hotels and they all
seem to be cheaper from July through August. How's the weather in
September/October? Our kids get a week off school round about that time.

New York, and the whole East coast, for that matter, is most beautiful
during the Fall. And, the weather is great during that season also. If I
were going there to visit, I think I would pick September-October.




Agreed. Fall is my favorite season here but watch out for the Jewish
holidays which can close our favorte camera stores exectly when I get
the urge to buy some gadget. Here's B&H's holiday closing schedule for
Oct (there were closings in Sept, too.) The dates change from year to
year. B&H represents the *most* conservative practice and lots of
places may just close for one or two days.

http://tinyurl.com/4tbnh

Asside from the camera business and maybe a couple other specific
industries the religious holidays have no effect on a visitor. Since
the public schools are closed for a couple of those days you may find
some of the tourist venues filled with kids.



--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

In article .com,
Annika1980 wrote:
Day 1:

You can save some money by staying at the Bed-Stuy Bed & Breakfast,
right in the heart of Brooklyn.
Walk in, flash them a big wad of money, and tell em you want the South
African Discount. Wear lotsa jewelry as that always impresses them.
You might even wanna show them your M6.

Day 2:
There ain't no Day 2.


I'm not offended by the attempt at humor but for the record NYC is
very safe and just went up on this years FBI ranking of crime rates
for major cities to #6 (I think the radio news said).

It seems that the OP is from South Africa and we hear news stories
about the horrible crimne rate there. I'm sure that if you visit with
friends that know what to do, or not, it's fine there.

For the OP, Bed-Sty (Bedford-Stuyvesant) is a part of town that had
riots in the 60s and a serious crime rate into the 80s but

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/abo...king-tour.html

After being away for 20 years I recently did a business job in Bed-Sty
and it's turned into a nice blue-color area. I'd buy a brown-stone
there if I could afford it, and live there.

NYC is *huge*, almost 60 miles from tip to top. Most of it is boring
residential neighborhoods. There are a couple places I wouldn't go at
night but I'd walk, solo, *anywhere* in NYC during the day.

I lived and worked in the South Bronx in the 70's. Things have gotten
*much* better.

OTOH, you *can* get your pocket picked in Manhattan. Take the usual
precautions.

--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

"Ken Rosenbaum" wrote in message
...

"Ken Rosenbaum" wrote in message
...

"William Graham" wrote in message
...

"G.T." wrote in message
...

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
...


And be sure to get a potato knish with it.

And wash it all down with an authentic egg cream.

Knish, for sure, but us old guys only drink
"Dr. Browns Cel-Ray" soda. Only Gems Spa for egg creams.

vehicle! Everyone drives on the wrong side of the road over there!
DD (everything is temporary)
www.dallasdahms.com Not
necesarily. Bob Hickey