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| View north from the One World Trade Centre building |
We AirBNB’d it in an apartment in Brooklyn for 13 nights. It was a 2-storey townhouse with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a washer/dryer, so it pretty much felt as comfortable as home. We ate breakfast there each day and had the occasional dinner there at night. Living with the locals was exactly the experience we were after.
Transport
We bought Metro Cards and topped them up for the 13 days of travelling. The subway is easy to navigate with a little bit of research before you arrive in New York. It’s also cheap, regular and reliable. Our advice would be to avoid the peak hour commute as it can get very busy. We also took taxis to and from the airport and on evenings when it was raining and we couldn’t face catching the subway and walking through the often flooded streets. Taxis were cheap and plentiful. We walked pretty much everywhere else we could and clocked up an average of 13 kilometres a day. Good comfy shoes are a must.
Sights you must see
In order of preference:
1. National September 11 Memorial & Museum – it was an overcast rainy day when we visited but I’m sure you will still feel sombre when viewing the site whatever the weather, we spent hours inside the Museum (which is ironically beneath the World Trade Centre footings), a truly tasteful tribute to those that lost their lives
2. Brooklyn Bridge – walking across it felt like such a New York thing to do, the vistas are incredible, you won’t be able to put the camera down
3. Broadway Show – any show but if Wicked is on go and see that
4. Rockefeller Building – the best observation deck by far because of the better view of Central Park, purchase the Sun and Stars ticket so you can ascend twice in one day
5. Times Square – trashy, tacky but just gotta be done, sit on the red steps above the TKTS Booth and just take it all in, a great spot for people watching and trust me, you’ll see it all
6. Wall Street – a must to take a shot of the Stock Exchange, Federal Building, Trinity Church and the Charging Bull
7. Flatiron Building – such an iconic New York building
8. Grand Central Terminal – again you just must do it, I just wished there was a flash mob in there when we visited
9. Radio City Music Hall – because it such a great spot to photograph and the buildings opposite are spookily like the former World Trade Centre buildings
10. Central Park – massive but the best spots are the Loeb Boathouse, Conservatory Water, Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, Mall and Fountain (the backdrop for countless movies)
11. Mulberry Street’s Little Italy district – for your fill of cannoli, pasta and gelato, they also have an amazing Christmas shop
12. Harbour Cruise, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour – it was a last minute decision to go but a good choice, I wouldn’t however spend the money and visit the crown again (perhaps I have issues with claustrophobia) but the rest of it was fabulous, gorgeous views of lower Manhattan to be had
13. The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) 5th Avenue – extensive museum that has to be seen to be believed, we enjoyed the Greek and Roman galleries, the Egyptian wing, the Astor Court and painting collections, expect to spend a few hours here, great views of the New York skyline and Central Park from the Roof Garden
14. Plaza Hotel Fifth Avenue – because it’s opulent and is worth a walk through
15. The High Line – refurbished elevated railway tracks that have been transformed into a grassy promenade, amazing river and city views, a great spot for photography
16. Chelsea Market – if you walk The High Line you might as well visit the markets and grab a super lunch there, the gelato at L’Arte Del Gelato is superb
17. Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop at 66 Perry Street – fans of Sex in the City should walk the beautiful streets of this part of New York and check out the external location used
18. One World Trade Centre – the observation deck took a bit of getting used to (felt a bit eerie to us) but well worth it for the views
19. Empire State Building – even though Rockefeller is better it’s still worth visiting a building built in 1930 and just marvelling at the engineering feat that it is
20. Shopping in SoHo – Spring Street is an amazing street filled with boutiques and cafes and certainly a spot that I’d love to live in New York if given half a chance
Supermarkets/Pharmacy
1. Wholefoods Supermarket – we simply loved this place and on a few occasions got some great stuff that was enough for dinner at home
2. CVS – a brilliant pharmacy were I discovered my favourite Vichy serum, they have such an extraordinary array of drugstore makeup and skincare
3. Walgreens – because it’s almost as good as CVS
Dining Out
In order of preference again:
1. Carmine’s, 200 West 44th St – just off Times Square, enormous portions (share size) of delectable Italian food, if you’re Sicilian the stuffed artichokes are just like Mumma used to make, reservations are a must
2. Shake Shack – despite me trying to be as healthy as possible, if I’m going to have a blow-out this is the place to do it, the buns may be overly sweet but the burgers are fabulous and you just have to try to the frozen custard – it tastes way better than it sounds, it’s a chain of burger places so there are plenty to choose from in the City
3. Eataly NYC Restaurant near the Flatiron Building – a gelataria, a butcher, a bakery, a patisserie, a bottle shop, a café, a bar, a restaurant, you really just have to see it to believe it, heaps of food options here, we ate at Birerria which is a rooftop beer garden with pasta that is to die for
4. Pasticceria Rocco, 7 Carmine Street – a must whilst in the Meatpacking district, this really reminded us of a pasticceria that we visited in Sorrento Italy, I suggest you try the lobster tails and cannoli
5. Veniero Pasticceria, 342 East 11th Street – another incredible pastry shop reminiscent of Italy, good if you’re in the East Village district, pastries as good as No. 4
6. Magnolia Bakery (in the Meatpacking district or inside Bloomingdales) – our hot tip is to try the red velvet cupcakes
7. Burger Joint – hidden inside the Le Parker Meridian hotel and when I mean hidden you will need to ask the hotel staff where it is, inside is an incredible burger hut with graffiti scrawled walls, retro booths and burgers to delight
8. Rubirosa Ristorante, 235 Mulberry Street – great pizzas and pasta at the northern end of Little Italy
9. Joe’s Shanghai, 9 Pell Street – cheap as chips dumplings in the heart of Chinatown, you will need to queue for this restaurant but it’s worth the wait
10. Kefi, 505 Columbus Ave – if you’re up on the Upper West Side and feel like Greek food this is the place for you, bring a jumper the air con is freezing
11. Ippudo, 65 4th Ave – if you like ramen you will love this joint, hidden behind a timber façade
12. Katz’s Delicatessen – featured in the movie When Harry Met Sally, unfortunately we didn’t have room in our bellies to eat here but I’m pretty sure if would be worth experiencing a jumbo pastrami sandwich
13. Vapiano – just like Australia if you want something easy and quick that you know, I think it actually tasted better in the US
Shopping
1. Tiffany & Co – if you don’t know why, you must watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s
2. Sephora – just my favourite place in the world, so much better than Australia because the brand range is broader, check the prices before you leave because you might be surprised to find that some brands are cheaper in Australia when you factor in US State taxes and the exchange rate
3. MAC – any New York MAC store as the prices are to die for, you will realise how much we are slugged here in Australia
4. Zara – because it’s my favourite shop in the world, why else?
5. Bergdorf Goodman – because they stock Charlotte Tilbury makeup, again why else?
Look up you'll be surprised what you see
Weather
I had read that if it rains in New York, it rains! Well that advice was correct. Don’t go anywhere without an umbrella because when the heavens open they pretty much downpour and flood the streets.
Until next time xx
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