After a 3-hour weather delay (spent sitting on the plane), we arrived at LGA at 6:20. We were able to get our luggage and get into a taxi by 6:50 and arrived at our hotel, the Michelangelo, at 7:10. Beautiful hotel, great location. They upgraded us to a suite (I had called to confirm several times, reminding them that it is our wedding anniversary- seemed to pay off). Big room, big bathroom, comfy bed. Free breakfast pastries every morning (croissants and muffins, enough to get you started. OJ is $6....). Few minor hotel complaints- the concierge never seemed to be there when we needed him and the A/C turned on and off loudly through the night. Others have complained of street noise but our room faced an airshaft so it was very quiet. If this is a concern, you should request an interior room.
We dropped off our luggage and went to dinner at Gotham Bar and Grill. Wonderful meal- nice combination of pretty presentation with great tasting food. We sat close to other couples, which gave us a nice opportunity to chat with other patrons. Back to hotel to sleep.
Day 2: Subway to Central Park- started at Dakota, past Strawberry Fields and through the park. Ended up at the Met and spend afternoon there. Went to a matinee of Spelling Bee at 3 (hilarious), back to hotel to rest then dinner at Spice Market, another great restaurant. Tasty drinks and interesting Thai fusion dishes, meant for sharing. Met friends for dessert after. Ended the night with a trip to the Top of the Rock. Beautiful 360藲 views of city. It was neat to see the large black rectangle that represented Central Park amongst the city lights.
Day 3: Woke early, subway to Battery Park. SOL and Ellis Island. The website said plan for 2 hour lines- we arrived around 10 and only waited in security line, on boat within 10 minutes. Try to rush to top of boat and sit on outside part of bench on right side of boat for best view. We quickly walked around Liberty Island. Ellis Island was a moving experience. I recommend you go on a tour with one of the park rangers- we did and he gave fascinating insight. We started with the audio tour but went with ranger instead and were happy. There are lines to get onto inter-island boats, usually around 20 min. Walked through Wall Street and over to WTC. Back to hotel to rest. I applied for Letterman tickets 4 months before trip, got a call 3 days before trip saying we got them. Had to go at 4:30 to pick up tickets and be back at 6:00 for line (line placement is reserved). Sat in 2nd row, guest Al Gore- cool experience. Dinner with friends at Matsuri at the Maritime hotel- good sushi and hip crowd. Drinks after at Budakon, ultra-hip bar. Long day.
Day 4: Slept in, Subway to Lower East Side. Started with pastrami on rye at Katz%26#39;s deli- I highly recommend. Best sandwich I have ever had. Meat is so tender and delicious and fries are perfectly crisp. Wife had a potato knish with kraut and mustard. Mmmmm. Walked to Eldridge Street Synagogue, 1st synagogue built buy European immigrants, currently being restored. Beautiful inside and out. Went to Tenement Museum and stayed for kitchen conversation after- highly recommend both. Back to hotel to rest. Early dinner at 44 %26amp; X in Hell%26#39;s Kitchen, saw Ave Q- hilarious. Walked around Times Square a bit after then back to hotel.
Day 5: Walked up 5th Ave and did some shopping. Trump Tower, Bergdorf- new Apple store is neat if you like Apple products, bought gifts at FAO Schwartz for kids. Checked out of hotel and took a cab to friends apartment in W Village. My wife rested while I took a subway to Canal Street to get a fake watch. Got a Rolex for $40 (how many ';x%26#39;s'; are there supposed to be in rollexx?). Had to walk away and guy chased me down to get price lowered from $150. I am now realizing the date doesn%26#39;t work but that%26#39;s the gamble you take. Lots of fake purses and watches around. Dinner with friends at Bread Bar, a modern Indian restaurant that is the casual offshoot of a finer restaurant upstairs called Tabla. Across from Madison Square Park, Interesting little vegetarian dishes to share, some larger meat entrees (we stuck to the veggies), different kinds of naan and chutney, good cocktails. Dessert 鈥?ice cream at Tasti Delight.
Day 6: Our plane was at 5pm. Wife is done sightseeing, so we grab a bagel, I leave her to fill in some of the blanks I didn鈥檛 get to see,. Subway to Grand Central Station, walked to Chrysler Bldg, NYC Library, ESB (didn鈥檛 go up), subway back to W Village, had a snack at Cosi- sandwich chain that serves interesting flatbread sandwiches. Cab to airport.
Overall, trip was great. I feel like we hit the major attractions- may have pushed a bit hard but we saw and did a lot and were able to rest in-between. Meals were expensive (dinners were all $100-$180) but I planned for that. Everything we ate was delicious, but my favorite meal was pastrami at Katz鈥檚. Wish we had time for Greenwich Village and Brooklyn, next time.
NYC Trip Report- June 2006
Very nice report, great choices!
NYC Trip Report- June 2006
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful trip. Sounds like it was a full and interesting time.
You really did cover a lot of ground, great meals %26amp; shows, and a lot of sites. Glad it worked out so well!
What/how did you apply for Letterman tickets? Did you send in a postcard or call 4 months in advance?
Any recommendations to get tickets would be appreciated!
Fantastic trip. Very chic, glad you got to hit the Meatpacking District. And you picked a couple of wonderful shows.
I love that you preferred the pastrami over Gotham B%26amp;G and Spice Market.
I applied for Letterman tickets on the CBS website.
Sounds like you had a great trip - hit a lot of the ';must sees'; and thoroughly enjoyed yourselves ... just have to come back to see some of those you missed. Thanks for posting, it was an interesting read. Ta. MMM!
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