Tony
and I went on a 3-day weekend trip to NYC first weekend in January
2003. It's a 4-hour drive to NYC, which is easier to do than to drive to
D.C., and then take a flight to LGA.
I
figured hotels would be inexpensive after the New Year. We stayed at the
Milford Plaza, which is on the corner of 44th Street and 8th Avenue perfect
Midtown West location. Tony, an airline pilot, has stayed there several times
with his crew. Although I read several negative postings about the M.P., we
picked it because Tony had positive comments. I got a rate of $99/night through
Expedia.com. We were in room #552, a corner room. It was very nice: Queen bed
with table and t.v., closet and a very small bathroom. I peeked in a couple of
other rooms as we passed by and saw 2 double beds in them., but no floor
area/space. Our room had more floor area being a corner room. The M.P. is
an old hotel (like many in NYC), but looks like it was renovated recently. The
carpeting was quite new. The wallpaper was probably years old but in good
condition. Firm bed!!
I'm
sure there are other hotels along the same line, but we liked it. The M.P. is
in a very good location in the theatre district. The subway was right on the
corner and two great restaurants we enjoyed are nearby: John's Pizzeria and
Carmine's. Another positive note with the M.P. is that they charge $20
for parking. That's very inexpensive for NYC.
We
had arrived at our hotel around 1:30pm, but our room wasn't quite ready.
The lobby was buzzing with activity. Many people were checking in and
out. It seems like a popular hotel. I saw a couple of airline
crews. There is an entertainment desk where one can purchase Broadway
tickets.
Since
we didn't have any breakfast, we were starving for food. Just around the
corner was John's Pizzeria. On the Food TV channel, there was an episode,
"The Best of: Pizza." John's Pizzeria was featured and
the pizza looked great. So, we had to try it. It was excellent!
Thin crust with sauce, cheese and topped with Italian sausage and black
olives. This place takes reservations for over 6, but it wasn't crowded
when we got there. Although we didn't sit in the main area, I did take a
peek at the stained glass ceiling (the building was once a church).
We've
been to NYC several times before and just wanted to walk around the area.
Our afternoon was spent in the cold weather. It rained all day, but not
too heavy that we couldn't be outdoors. We were bundled in coats, hat,
gloves, scarves and an umbrella. One man leaving the hotel gave Tony his
umbrella. He said he didn't need it since he was leaving town.
I
had read about a photography museum in the area, so we walked to the
International Center of Photography. It was $9 to get in. Tony wasn't
interested, so he disappeared while I checked out their 2 exhibits. Both
were very interesting. The first one was Weegee's Trick Photography
a strange and unusual exhibit of photographs by Arthur Fellig. He took
famous photos and turned them into weird distortions (famous actors, monuments,
animals, etc). He used a variety of lenses to come up with unusual
photographs.
The
second one was entitled, William Henry Fox Talbot and the Birth of
Photography. His works were from the mid 1800's, where he experimented
with photography. He was the first in this field. I appreciated
this exhibit more than the other one. (1133 Avenue of the Americas @ 43rd
St).
After,
we headed to 47th Street
where all the diamond stores are located. I wanted to buy a jeweler's
loupe for my upcoming trip to China.
Charlie, my brother, bought me a book on shopping for gems and learning how to
distinguish between real and fake. I want to be a little more informed
for when I go to China.
Don't know if I'll buy anything, but at least I'll know what I'm looking for.
We
headed slowly towards Macy's. We walked around Macy's for a while.
It was very cold outside and I needed to warm up for a while. So did the
rest of NYC, or so it seemed. The store was packed with shoppers.
There were many sales, but we didn't buy anything. I didn't see anything
that I couldn't get at home.
Being
a little too early for dinner, we headed back to the room and freshened
up. Then we went to a nearby Irish pub for a couple of drinks. The
place was busy and crowded, but we were able to get a table. It was nice
to just sit and relax after all the walking in the cold weather.
For
dinner, we headed back towards the Macy's area to a great Korean
restaurant. We had their barbeque, cooking our own pork and beef.
It was a very good meal and quite filling. We were glad to have a long
walk back to the hotel.
On
Saturday (cold, sunny, but no rain), we took the subway to the lower east side
and had lunch at Kat's Delicatessen (205
E. Houston St). We were given menus and a
bowl of deli pickles. We got there around 11am, which was perfect.
Only about a third of the tables were filled. By the time we left, the
place was busy with hungry customers. Tony asked our waitress, Terri,
which sandwich was better, "the Corned Beef or Ruben?" She gave
a firm, motherly reply, "Pastrami!" With that answer, we
listened! Knowing how large they were, I had ½ sandwich with their
delicious chicken noodle soup. Terri was great. We chatted with her
throughout our lunch as she stopped by to make sure we were enjoying her
"suggestion." We even squeezed in a slice (big slice!) of
cheesecake. It was the best we had in ages!!
Nearby
we found a street (didn't get the name but it's near Houston and the 2nd avenue F subway stop) filled with
leather shops hats, coats, jackets, purses, etc. I bought a faux Gucci
bag for $20. Maybe I should have negotiated down, but thought $20 was a very
good price. I wasn't looking for a knock-off, but had brought too small a
purse. I needed something bigger.
We
wandered through Chinatown and Little
Italy. We always enjoy these two neighborhoods, although Chinatown is slowly taking over Little Italy. I
love seeing all the great little food stands and markets. We found a Chinese
store filled with Ginseng roots, priced from a few dollars to several hundred
dollars. I need to read up on Ginseng and maybe purchase some in China.
We
took the subway back to our hotel, and then headed out to tour the Intrepid
($14 per person, $10 for military). It was about a 15-minute walk from
the hotel. Inside the Intrepid was a display about 9/11 along with their
regular things to see: various military aircraft, flight simulators (extra
fee), videos to watch, etc. By the time we left the Intrepid, the city
skyline was beginning to light up. Looking southwards, I could see an
empty space where the TradeCenter towers once stood.
On
the way back, we stopped at O'Flaherty's (on Restaurant Row). I liked
this place better than the pub from the night before. It wasn't as
crowded or noisy. But then, it was early and many people were out having
their pre-fix meal before going to a Broadway show.
Prior
to dinner at Carmine's, we walked around Broadway and checked out some of the
stores. I bought a couple of CD's, but nothing else. We got to the
restaurant about 8:10pm and we were told to come back in an hour. We
should have stopped by to make our reservations before walking around
Broadway. We went back to the room - it was just too cold outside and I
had enough of it. And it was only a 4-5 minute walk from the hotel to the
restaurant. We returned to the restaurant 50 minutes later and only
waited 3 minutes before we were seated. This restaurant is definitely a
place where there should be at least 3-4 in a group. The portions are
family style and are quite large! We had their Veal Parmesan and Penne
Alla Vodka. We finished the veal, but not the pasta. We were very
full, but did split a delicious cannoli. It was all very good. It
was interesting to see what other's ordered. One table had a salad, which
was piled high and could have fed 6-8 people easily! Another plate consisted
of fried zucchini. The portions were amazing. The restaurant was
completely filled and when we left, there were lots of people waiting to get
in.
We
had hoped to see a Broadway show, but not at the prices we saw. We really
wanted to see the Producers, but they wanted $200! Not at those prices,
especially since Nathan Lane
and Matthew Broderick were no longer performing. Maybe on another visit
when prices have gone down.
Sunday:
I was hoping to leave New York
around 2-3pm for some morning sightseeing, but we knew that a snowstorm was
heading our way. After breakfast at the deli restaurant at hour hotel
(there is a street side entrance), we left NYC around 12:30. It took us 6
hours to get home, which wasn't too bad considering the snow we encountered.
New York City is always a great
for a long weekend trip. There is so much to see and do and eat! I
plan to return over the holiday in February. I haven't really seen SoHo,
nor have I wandered around Greenwich Village
during the day. There are other restaurants I'd love to try and maybe do
a little shopping. No, I better wait for that for China!
Monica
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