The Big New York Thread

[arab_joe]

On 09/01/2023 at 20:19, Rugster said:

Yass going back in February. Sixth time. Can't wait.

Enjoy!

I've also just booked another trip, for 10 days December.  I cannot wait!

On 20/01/2023 at 23:24, Jeff Venom said:

I'm guessing somewhere in Manhattan for first visit would be best but we also lived in London for nearly ten years and I'm curious about other areas that feel 'local' with its own cafes and bars and stuff, with Manhattan and the main attractions being a train ride away. Or something. Might not be as simple as that of course.

Talking of the subway, one major difference that I have noticed from London (and note that my wife's house in London is right next to the notoriously dodgy District Line so I may have a skewed view of the tube) is that the New York subway has both local (that stop everywhere) and express (that only stop at major stations) trains so it is much easier to travel quickly across NYC - you can be quite a distance from Times Square but, if you're near a station that express trains stop at, then you're only 10 minutes away...

On 21/01/2023 at 16:45, stevieKTID said:

You'll have a great time, the first time I went It was clear I was a tourist - I kept getting in folks way ( hey I'm walking here ) my brain was struggling to take it all in.

I love when you get the first glimpse of the skyline from the taxi as you're passing through Queens/ Brooklyn.

I'm still like that - and I still do loads of "touristy" things like the Top of the Rock, Statue of Liberty etc. even though I've done them all 5 or 6 times.

Definitely agree, re the taxi ride - that journey from JFK is brilliant!  

[KD1711]

On 23/01/2023 at 07:15, arab_joe said:

Enjoy!

I've also just booked another trip, for 10 days December.  I cannot wait!

Talking of the subway, one major difference that I have noticed from London (and note that my wife's house in London is right next to the notoriously dodgy District Line so I may have a skewed view of the tube) is that the New York subway has both local (that stop everywhere) and express (that only stop at major stations) trains so it is much easier to travel quickly across NYC - you can be quite a distance from Times Square but, if you're near a station that express trains stop at, then you're only 10 minutes away...

I'm still like that - and I still do loads of "touristy" things like the Top of the Rock, Statue of Liberty etc. even though I've done them all 5 or 6 times.

Definitely agree, re the taxi ride - that journey from JFK is brilliant!  

Love the ride from JFK but when I went in September it was a nightmare for traffic as it was on at the same time as a bunch of politicians staying in Manhattan, took around 2 hours the taxi journey which was hellish. 

[Richey Edwards]

5 minutes ago, KD1711 said:

Love the ride from JFK but when I went in September it was a nightmare for traffic as it was on at the same time as a bunch of politicians staying in Manhattan, took around 2 hours the taxi journey which was hellish. 

Is that you Marilyn?

[19QOS19]

Nice wee shooting a street over from our hotel. 9 days until we go. It could be me etc. 

[Honest Saints Fan]

10 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

Nice wee shooting a street over from our hotel. 9 days until we go. It could be me etc. 

Last time I was there this happened https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_New_York_City_Subway_bombing Ruggy was frantically messaging me to make sure I was okay. I was still in bed... 

Can't wait to get back next week.

[19QOS19]

1 hour ago, Honest Saints Fan said:

Last time I was there this happened https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_New_York_City_Subway_bombing Ruggy was frantically messaging me to make sure I was okay. I was still in bed... 

Can't wait to get back next week.

When are you heading? We're off for our first trip on Sunday morning

[Michael W]

On 10/02/2023 at 10:22, 19QOS19 said:

Nice wee shooting a street over from our hotel. 9 days until we go. It could be me etc. 

This happened the day I arrived in May 2017. - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Times_Square_car_attack

Our hotel was, of course, just off Times Square. 2017 was a bad year, seemingly. 

 

[19QOS19]

55 minutes ago, Michael W said:

This happened the day I arrived in May 2017. - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Times_Square_car_attack

Our hotel was, of course, just off Times Square. 2017 was a bad year, seemingly. 

 

Eesh. You didn't die, did you? 

[Honest Saints Fan]

On 10/02/2023 at 22:01, 19QOS19 said:

When are you heading? We're off for our first trip on Sunday morning

Friday!

[KD1711]

On 10/02/2023 at 09:22, 19QOS19 said:

Nice wee shooting a street over from our hotel. 9 days until we go. It could be me etc. 

I stayed on the Hilton on 42nd near Times Square in September there and it was honestly crackhead central, other times I have stayed in 32nd st, Wall St and Stone St. 

It is only a place to get changed and stay at night as you will be out all day so I wouldn't worry about it.

[An Eejit Abroad]

On 20/01/2023 at 14:24, Jeff Venom said:

Hoping to go for the first time at end of April with my other half. Been looking through the last 10 pages or so, and wondering what people's experiences with areas they've stayed have been? 

I'm guessing somewhere in Manhattan for first visit would be best but we also lived in London for nearly ten years and I'm curious about other areas that feel 'local' with its own cafes and bars and stuff, with Manhattan and the main attractions being a train ride away. Or something. Might not be as simple as that of course.

I saw @stevieKTID stayed in Williamsburg a few years back, how did you find staying around there? 

Was wondering even what Dutch Kills or Hunters Point would be like, facing Roosevelt Island and east Manhattan.

Long Island City (Hunters Point and essentially Dutch Kills nowadays too is an interesting area so if you get a good deal then it's not a bad place to stay but I wouldn't say there's anything particularly special about it. Most of it is new development/redevelopment and a lot of the buildings have been built or renovated recently so there's not too much of a community thing going on really. Some interesting bars and Court Square Diner is a cracker if you're into the whole old school Yank imagery but I'd say that tourists are always better staying in Manhattan just because you have more easy access to transport. Queens in particular can be a bit of a nuisance if you're trying to get anywhere easily.

I'd say the same thing about Williamsburg though a lot of it is gentrification central so there's a lot more to do in a small area, particularly when it comes to bars and restaurants. A lot of decent music venues in Williamsburg and Bushwick too. 

I'd recommend people try out the ferry as a public transport option if they're staying somewhere along either side of the East River, including in LIC or Williamsburg. A great way to see the city and you can get your tickets easily on the NYC Ferry phone app. They've just put the price up to $4, which is a shame, but still decent value and only $1.25 more than the Subway. 

In terms of "local" areas to visit outside of Manhattan, Astoria in Queens is quite an interesting place to grab lunch or dinner at one of the Greek places. Anywhere between Flatbush Avenue and the BQE north of Prospect Park in Brooklyn is pretty tourist-friendly for wandering about nowadays too. A lot of people wander around Brooklyn Heights, which is a posh area of town with a lot of the old brownstones. 

Edited February 17, 2023 by An Eejit Abroad

[19QOS19]

Just back. Absolutely incredible place. Loved every minute. Refuse to believe there are folk who take no joy from visiting. I'll put most of my trip in spoiler tags for any first time visitors wanting some ideas. My first time there and we're happy with what we got done in 4 days. 

 

Spoiler

Travel:- 

 

 

As a lot of folk have said, the train is a breeze to get from Newark. Just buy your ticket before you head to the shuttle (NJ Transit but I think Amtrak does the same job). It's $15.50 single and doesn't take too long. Mind it's Penn St and not Newark Penn you get off. OMNY seems to be the new thing being pushed in the Subway but we just opted for a weekly ticket. $33 for unlimited travel was great value IMO. It seems to be $2.75 per single so it pays for itself in no time (especially if you make an arse of it and travel in the wrong direction on occasion...). Would highly recommend downloading the CityMapper app before you go. Free and very simple to navigate. Would probably have struggled a wee bit had I not downloaded it. 

 

 

Food:- 

 

 

Katz Deli - pastrami on rye with cheese and mustard was incredible. We had to share one sandwich between us as it was massive. We arrived about 10am, ate the sandwich and never had anything else to eat until early evening. Was around $35 with drinks but literally filled us for the entire day with half a sandwich. Great value. 

 

 

99¢ Pizza - there's still a few of these around and it was pretty much our staple. The size of slice you get for about 80p was mental, especially when you compare it to how much you pay for a whole pizza over here. They were surprisingly filling as well and much like Katz's, after a slice we were full for hours. 

 

 

We only went to one restaurant and it was in Little Italy. We wanted to see as much as we could so found dollar slice the way to go rather than sitting for an hour or so each time we were hungry. I will take in a nice restaurant next time though and did plan on going to Club A Steakhouse. It was the only thing we hoped to do that we failed to. 

 

 

Attractions:-

 

 

Central Park - First day we went a wander in here. Spent about an hour and a half walking around and barely scratched the surface. Entered at the Plaza and got as far as Alice in Wonderland. When I looked later it was about a quarter of the way we made it. You could spend a whole day here quite easily. Definitely takes the pace of the City out somewhat and a great place to chill. Would be magic in the summer. 

 

 

Top of The Rock - Opted for this one and ended up going about 6pm. Great time IMO as we saw it lit up with the sun just setting. Got some brilliant photos with the one posted probably the highlight. Only gripe was the fucking bitch at the entrance who was particularly rude when I tried to ask her for advice. If I wasn't arsed about which skyline tour I wanted to do I'd have left for the Empire State. Great views though and would recommend. Getting down wasn't the most smooth process though, not sure if there was a lift out or what. 

 

 

9/11 Museum - This was 'brilliant' but very heavy. We spent 4 hours here and it could have been a lot longer tbh. We opted to get the headphone guide as well for an extra $10 and felt it was well worth it as you did get extra info. not posted around the place. Was a variety of emotions throughout from anger, sadness to huge levels of respect to the people who did so much good. There's a section where they honoured the dogs where I was about crying from 'pride'. Incredible creatures and a lovely part of the tour. I won't give anything else away but highly recommend you give this a visit. 

 

 

Circle Line Boat Tour - We opted for the City Lights night tour. 7pm-9pm. This was excellent. We actually upgraded which gave you FastTrack and comfier seats. It guaranteed you an indoor seat as well, though we were free to go where we wanted if we chose to. Really enjoyed this. Incredible views with a very informative and funny tour guide who spoke for most of the journey. That sounds like it should be awful but he was that good that I was more disappointed when he wasn't speaking. They touched on 9/11 here again as well as some of the harsh realities of Ellis Island as well. That part made for quite an emotional journey as well. But well worth it. It's the closest you can get to the Statue of Liberty without being on the island as well. Found the SoL quite breathtaking, I have to say. Something that I've never really appreciated until this trip. A gorgeous statue and a very touching symbol. 

 

 

Book of Mormon - So much to choose from but we booked this before we travelled. Had no intention of standing in a queue for hours so paid full price. This was brilliant. Laughed throughout and it was a ridiculously quick 2 hours. Probably the best show I've ever seen. 

 

 

Brooklyn Bridge - Did this in about half an hour and was great for views. You get amazing shots of (IMO the much nicer) Manhattan Bridge as well. The folk at either end of the bridge were selling magnets and keychains for pennies as well. Far cheaper than around Times Square so I'd recommend holding off until there to load up. 

 

 

Brooklyn - Didn't get as much time here as I'd have liked but loved the experience nonetheless. Pretty much the same for Harlem/Chelsea/Lower East side/Meat Packing District. It's amazing how different these places are yet they're so close to the heart of Manhatten. It was far more chilled and more my scene. When I go back I think I'd feel confident looking for hotels here rather than in the centre of Manhatten. Next time I'll venture further out for sure, in particular Queens. But content with what we got to see. 

 

 

To summarise, this is as good as folk make out. A fantastic City and probably my new favourite place in the world. The negatives for me are the people can be quite brash at times but I think that comes with living in a big City. But it's not as bad the further out from Manhattan where it's more chilled. You have to visit Times Square but once you've seen it for an hour or so go away and experience the City for real without all the tourist traps. I have to admit that Times Square and slightly surrounding areas were my least favourite part of the trip (as much as I did enjoy visiting though). The smell of weed was actually becoming annoying tbh. I think it's now legal to buy it for medicinal purposes now which probably doesn't help but if there's an argument to be made for not legalising it here then NYC is a great example. Absolutely fucking stinking. A lot of folk have said not to take the Subway everywhere as you can miss a lot. I do understand that but would have to say, don't underappreciate the Subway. You do a helluva walking so take the chance to use Subway if you have a few blocks to travel to give yourself a rest. I'm 33 and pretty healthy but my calves and feet are in absolute agony still today. I thought 3 nights might not be enough but I think it's a great number. I could have easily filled another day but given how sore I am today, I'm happy we were heading home. 3 nights is a decent amount of time IMO. 

 

Really can't wait to go back when my girls are of an age where they can do the walking required. A great place. 

 

 

 

[Mark Connolly]

1 hour ago, 19QOS19 said:

Just back. Absolutely incredible place. Loved every minute. Refuse to believe there are folk who take no joy from visiting. I'll put most of my trip in spoiler tags for any first time visitors wanting some ideas. My first time there and we're happy with what we got done in 4 days. 

 

  Hide contents

Travel:- 

 

 

As a lot of folk have said, the train is a breeze to get from Newark. Just buy your ticket before you head to the shuttle (NJ Transit but I think Amtrak does the same job). It's $15.50 single and doesn't take too long. Mind it's Penn St and not Newark Penn you get off. OMNY seems to be the new thing being pushed in the Subway but we just opted for a weekly ticket. $33 for unlimited travel was great value IMO. It seems to be $2.75 per single so it pays for itself in no time (especially if you make an arse of it and travel in the wrong direction on occasion...). Would highly recommend downloading the CityMapper app before you go. Free and very simple to navigate. Would probably have struggled a wee bit had I not downloaded it. 

 

 

Food:- 

 

 

Katz Deli - pastrami on rye with cheese and mustard was incredible. We had to share one sandwich between us as it was massive. We arrived about 10am, ate the sandwich and never had anything else to eat until early evening. Was around $35 with drinks but literally filled us for the entire day with half a sandwich. Great value. 

 

 

99¢ Pizza - there's still a few of these around and it was pretty much our staple. The size of slice you get for about 80p was mental, especially when you compare it to how much you pay for a whole pizza over here. They were surprisingly filling as well and much like Katz's, after a slice we were full for hours. 

 

 

We only went to one restaurant and it was in Little Italy. We wanted to see as much as we could so found dollar slice the way to go rather than sitting for an hour or so each time we were hungry. I will take in a nice restaurant next time though and did plan on going to Club A Steakhouse. It was the only thing we hoped to do that we failed to. 

 

 

Attractions:-

 

 

Central Park - First day we went a wander in here. Spent about an hour and a half walking around and barely scratched the surface. Entered at the Plaza and got as far as Alice in Wonderland. When I looked later it was about a quarter of the way we made it. You could spend a whole day here quite easily. Definitely takes the pace of the City out somewhat and a great place to chill. Would be magic in the summer. 

 

 

Top of The Rock - Opted for this one and ended up going about 6pm. Great time IMO as we saw it lit up with the sun just setting. Got some brilliant photos with the one posted probably the highlight. Only gripe was the fucking bitch at the entrance who was particularly rude when I tried to ask her for advice. If I wasn't arsed about which skyline tour I wanted to do I'd have left for the Empire State. Great views though and would recommend. Getting down wasn't the most smooth process though, not sure if there was a lift out or what. 

 

 

9/11 Museum - This was 'brilliant' but very heavy. We spent 4 hours here and it could have been a lot longer tbh. We opted to get the headphone guide as well for an extra $10 and felt it was well worth it as you did get extra info. not posted around the place. Was a variety of emotions throughout from anger, sadness to huge levels of respect to the people who did so much good. There's a section where they honoured the dogs where I was about crying from 'pride'. Incredible creatures and a lovely part of the tour. I won't give anything else away but highly recommend you give this a visit. 

 

 

Circle Line Boat Tour - We opted for the City Lights night tour. 7pm-9pm. This was excellent. We actually upgraded which gave you FastTrack and comfier seats. It guaranteed you an indoor seat as well, though we were free to go where we wanted if we chose to. Really enjoyed this. Incredible views with a very informative and funny tour guide who spoke for most of the journey. That sounds like it should be awful but he was that good that I was more disappointed when he wasn't speaking. They touched on 9/11 here again as well as some of the harsh realities of Ellis Island as well. That part made for quite an emotional journey as well. But well worth it. It's the closest you can get to the Statue of Liberty without being on the island as well. Found the SoL quite breathtaking, I have to say. Something that I've never really appreciated until this trip. A gorgeous statue and a very touching symbol. 

 

 

Book of Mormon - So much to choose from but we booked this before we travelled. Had no intention of standing in a queue for hours so paid full price. This was brilliant. Laughed throughout and it was a ridiculously quick 2 hours. Probably the best show I've ever seen. 

 

 

Brooklyn Bridge - Did this in about half an hour and was great for views. You get amazing shots of (IMO the much nicer) Manhattan Bridge as well. The folk at either end of the bridge were selling magnets and keychains for pennies as well. Far cheaper than around Times Square so I'd recommend holding off until there to load up. 

 

 

Brooklyn - Didn't get as much time here as I'd have liked but loved the experience nonetheless. Pretty much the same for Harlem/Chelsea/Lower East side/Meat Packing District. It's amazing how different these places are yet they're so close to the heart of Manhatten. It was far more chilled and more my scene. When I go back I think I'd feel confident looking for hotels here rather than in the centre of Manhatten. Next time I'll venture further out for sure, in particular Queens. But content with what we got to see. 

 

 

To summarise, this is as good as folk make out. A fantastic City and probably my new favourite place in the world. The negatives for me are the people can be quite brash at times but I think that comes with living in a big City. But it's not as bad the further out from Manhattan where it's more chilled. You have to visit Times Square but once you've seen it for an hour or so go away and experience the City for real without all the tourist traps. I have to admit that Times Square and slightly surrounding areas were my least favourite part of the trip (as much as I did enjoy visiting though). The smell of weed was actually becoming annoying tbh. I think it's now legal to buy it for medicinal purposes now which probably doesn't help but if there's an argument to be made for not legalising it here then NYC is a great example. Absolutely fucking stinking. A lot of folk have said not to take the Subway everywhere as you can miss a lot. I do understand that but would have to say, don't underappreciate the Subway. You do a helluva walking so take the chance to use Subway if you have a few blocks to travel to give yourself a rest. I'm 33 and pretty healthy but my calves and feet are in absolute agony still today. I thought 3 nights might not be enough but I think it's a great number. I could have easily filled another day but given how sore I am today, I'm happy we were heading home. 3 nights is a decent amount of time IMO. 

 

Really can't wait to go back when my girls are of an age where they can do the walking required. A great place. 

 

 

 

Glad you enjoyed it.

Totally agree about the smell of weed, there are bits of 8th Ave that fucking stink

[Honest Saints Fan]

Great report @19QOS19

We got back yesterday afternoon. This time we did;

Flew Inverness - Heathrow - Newark with BA.

Stayed at Hotel Indigo in the Lower East Side. Great location and really nice hotel. Would definitely recommend.

We also saw Book of Mormon and it was absolutely fantastic. Really funny.

We did viewing observatory at One World Trade Centre. It was fine not value for money imo.

We ate at Lombardi's (pizza), Quality Meats (steak), Taverna Di Bacco (Italian) Boucherie (French) Katz Deli (breakfast) North Dumplings (Chinese dumplings) Eileen's Special Cheesecake (cheesecakes) Yonah Shimmel (Knish Bakery) Sarabeths (breakfast) Magnolia Bakery (cupcakes)

Loved all the food.

We did lots of walking and just enjoying the surroundings. Spent a lot of time in the Lower East Side. My favourite area. We also walked the Highline again. Used the subway a lot too. 

5th visit and can't wait to get back.

@Rugster hated the weed smell too. Didn't bother me.

[19QOS19]

Do Inverness only do indirect flights, out of interest? Overheard a lassie behind us on the way home saying she was to drive back to Aberdeen when we landed (Embra). Couldn't believe she never went from Inverness. 

[Honest Saints Fan]

5 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

Do Inverness only do indirect flights, out of interest? Overheard a lassie behind us on the way home saying she was to drive back to Aberdeen when we landed (Embra). Couldn't believe she never went from Inverness. 

Yep! 

We flew back JFK-Manchester-Inverness with Aer Lingus and Loganair. 6 hour layover in Manchester Airport after no sleep = never again! 

Don't like doing Glasgow/Edinburgh as it either involves a very tired drive home up A9 or a night in a hotel down the road.

[Rugster]

57 minutes ago, 19QOS19 said:

Do Inverness only do indirect flights, out of interest? Overheard a lassie behind us on the way home saying she was to drive back to Aberdeen when we landed (Embra). Couldn't believe she never went from Inverness. 

To be fair Edinburgh to Aberdeen is probably a preferable drive than Inverness to Aberdeen. Don’t let the distance fool you, it’s about the same drive time and a far better road from Edinburgh. 

[Jamie_B]

On 23/02/2023 at 20:54, 19QOS19 said:

Do Inverness only do indirect flights, out of interest? Overheard a lassie behind us on the way home saying she was to drive back to Aberdeen when we landed (Embra). Couldn't believe she never went from Inverness. 

It seems very odd not to have just gone from Aberdeen surely? Generally if you're doing a one stop at Heathrow it's pretty much the same price going from any of the Scottish airports indirect.

[paul wright scores]

Has anyone done a tour of the Madison Square Gardens?

If so is it worth doing/seeing?

[MSU]

19 hours ago, paul wright scores said:

Has anyone done a tour of the Madison Square Gardens?

If so is it worth doing/seeing?

I did, but it was about 20 years ago. It was a great tour, tho, we had a really entertaining guide, we got to walk around the corporate boxes and the Knicks changing room, got down on the court and stuff. I assume it would've been more NYR themed if we'd gone in the winter. I thought it was worth the time/money but again, 20 years ago.