Visiting NYC just for fun

Parent Cafe
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<p>for MaryTN

</p>

<p>You ask an important question. You can’t be much worse than me on that. My S was moving into an apartment on 125th St. and I promised I’d bring him chicken soup. So I bought him some, take-out, then boarded a subway. Oh did I mention it was 5 p.m. weekday and 95 degrees outside (unmeasureably hot inside the station) </p>

<p>I knew I’d done wrong when everybody glared at me. </p>

<p>But aside from that massive mistake, the best advice is to remind your kids to stay calm and not comment on people around them. Save their observations for a later moment. </p>

<p>Generally, I’ve found only helpful people whenever I’ve been lost. Get a good subway map. In many stations there’s someone selling tokens who can give you verbal advice on the route, which you can then check on your map. Most subway cars also have a map of just that line. Each station has the name of that station written out in tile along the walls, so you can read for it and not count on understanding the broadcast system. </p>

<p>Before you board, know these things;

  1. are you going Uptown or Downtown?
  2. Which line do you want (green, red, blue, 1, 2 , 3, L, etc)?
  3. What’s the name of your stop? (Washington Square, Times Square, etc)?
    3a. What’ the name of the stop BEFORE your stop (so you can get ready)?
  4. Do you need to switch trains to get to your destination? If so, don’t leave
    the subway station, just pick the station that has both lines coming into
    that station. Follow signs and maneuver to the other line, all without
    leaving the station.</p>

<p>Advanced quesitons:<br>

  1. can you take an Express Stop or do you need to stick with the Local?
    (sometimes you can get quite a distance by express, disembark,then just walk across the platform to catch a local for your last few stops).
    Local trains are more frequent, but the express can really be a blessing, so sometimes people wait a bit longer for an express.
    IF UNSURE, BETTER TO TAKE A LOCAL so you don’t go past the stop you wanted.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Does the train you need run late at night?</p></li>
<li><p>Can you go part of the way by bus, or use the bus instead? (Carry change
for the bus, especially quarters; the drivers can’t give you change).</p></li>
<li><p>BUY A METROCARD. Each ride costs $2. The cards have different deals, although you won’t get a discount; still it’s easier to have this to swipe than to buy a token for each individual ride. Saves you time.
WHen I’m in town for a few days, I buy a card for around 10 rides, and another card for each of my kids. When we’re near the end of the card, I buy one more and we share it. If there’s any leftover, I just save it for my next trip in, or if it’s just got a ride or two left, hand it over to someone who looks like they need it.</p></li>
<li><p>Carry a subway map, so you can plan your route away from the commotion of the station.</p></li>
<li><p>IF YOU HAVE MANY PASSENGERS, and a short trip, sometimes it’s almost equal in cost to all get into a taxi together. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Final advice:</p>

<p>If you’re really concerned, read up on the NYMTA website now.</p>

<p>Be sure your kids stand near you; if it’s crowded, you can sit but remind them to stay near you so you can all exit together and not get separated. </p>

<p>Don’t be uptight. Subway crimes, like I just saw last night on The Brave One with Jodie Foster (omigosh), are not going to happen in the popular tourist routes you’re considering and at those times of day. No need for excessive anxiety. If you remember NYC from the 1970’s or 1980’s, well, it’s nothing like that anymore. You can really enjoy a great time together. Have fun. </p>

<p>Oh a final comment: native New YOrkers will always tell you how to take a subway. which is great BUT sometimes they advise 3 subways with 2 changes, when the actual walking distnace is just 8 blocks. They can DO that because they’re so used to the changes, but if you hear some route that seems too complicated for just a short distance, find out if you can walk a few blocks and save yourself a train change. It’s up to you, but I never mind a bit of walking. If it is your daily commute, as for a native, they’d want to know how to get RIIIIIGHT to the doorstep, but you don’t have to.</p>

<p>For me, the hardest thing is not the subways, but once I get up onto the street again, kinowing which way to walk the block. I found I had to walk a block to know which block I was on. After a while, I began to ask right as soon as I got onto the street, for example, on 43rd st, “which way is 42nd street” to avoid walking to 44th street and having to backtrack. </p>

<p>If you don’t know about the grid system on the streets themselves, post again and we’ll explain. That’s a huge help.</p>

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<p>The way to learn is to start by taking a ride outside of rush hour.</p>

<p>Another beginner’s tip is to take one train from start to finish–say the #1 from 50th and Broadway down to South Ferry --where you can get off and hop on the Staten Island Ferry for an amazing ride in the harbour–past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.</p>

<p>Try to avoid changing trains at 42nd street–unless you really get the hang of it!</p>

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<p>What about the MET??? So good and great Egyptian stuff.
If you’re taking a laptop with internet, I highly suggest using hopstop.com to map out your first journey of the day. It’s like mapquest, but can use the subways as well. It’s really handy for figuring out which subway to take etc.</p>

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<p>We had a lovely afternoon in the city. Lunch at Cafe Boulud (They have a prix fixe menu which is nice,) followed by seeing the Age of Rembrandt Show at the Met. Both fabulous.</p>

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<p>Haha mathmom. You were serious about those fancy restaurants! Sounds perfect. </p>

<p>OP: Hard as it may be to believe, NYC ranked #1 in a world wide poll of the world’s friendliest city. It’s okay to ask.</p>

<p>I take my NY friendliness with me. When I’m in Paris all the American tourists ask me for help. I readily give it, but I am wicked. I see how many I can get with my phony French accented English. So far, no one has caught me out. They do walk away saying French people are really nice and helpful!</p>

<p>The subway is actually easy. The crazy part is the way the lines are layed out, but a subway map explains it all. You can also take a bus, particularly to cross town, but it is slow. With four, you may also find a cab cost effective, depending on your distance.</p>

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<p>Mary,</p>

<p>You’re in for a fun visit, given all the interesting information shared here. :slight_smile:
A few suggestions for eating in the theatre district are:</p>

<p>Barbetta 321 W. 46th.</p>

<p>Latanzi 361 W. 46th. </p>

<p>Fiorentina 317 W. 46th.</p>

<p>La Rivista 313 W. 46th. All on Restaurant Row and all a short walk to the Broadhurst Theatre which is on W. 44th.</p>

<p><a href=“http://restaurantrownyc.com/media/restaurantrow.html[/url]”>http://restaurantrownyc.com/media/restaurantrow.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Some inexpensive things to do in midtown, where you can walk to everything: Skating at Rockefeller Center; walk up Fifth Avenue and windowshop at Henri Bendel’s, Bergdorf’s, Tiffany, Cartier; go into FAO Schwartz and have fun looking at the toys and watching the employees put on a performance on the “BIG” floor piano; go into Central Park and visit the zoo (pretty inexpensive, I think around $7.00) and the cafe next to it is a great place to grab a bite to eat (delicious sandwiches, fresh fruit, and friendly employees); if you still feel like walking, continue up Fifth to the Metropolitan Museum of Art which has a pay what you can policy. Even a couple of hours there is fun, see the Egyptian exhibit. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.metmuseum.org/[/url]”>http://www.metmuseum.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Head back to the theatre district in plenty of time for your dinner (make a reservation!) and be sure to visit the stage door if you and your kids would like to meet the actors after the show.</p>

<p>The bus tours (jump on and off) are an excellent way to see a lot of the city fairly easily. The Gray Line offers tours which leave right from the Times Square area on Broadway at 47th. A downtown loop one day ticket is $39/each. The entire loop takes between 2-3 hours, depending on traffic. You can get on and off at about 20 different stops, but realistically, you wouldn’t have time to do even half of them in one day. The tour guides vary in quality, and talent!, but most are pretty interesting, with different anecdotes for much of what you’ll see on the tour. If you have a good one, keep a couple of dollars handy when you get off, because they do expect a tip.</p>

<p>If you do decide on a tour, the downtown loop is the most interesting. Two areas I would highly recommend that you get off the bus would be Ground Zero and South St. Seaport (lots of fun with street performers, shopping, good restaurants and an excellent view of the Brooklyn Bridge). After you see the TT site, go across the street to St. Paul’s and see their exhibit in tribute to 9/11 and the rescue workers who rested there for months during the search.</p>

<p>Madame Tussaud’s is fun but very expensive for an hour’s entertainment. If you’re interested in seeing more than just Wicked, I can highly recommend Spelling Bee, Legally Blonde, Jersey Boys (probably difficult to get tickets at this late date), Rent, Xanadu. Altar Boyz, off-Broadway, is also a very entertaining evening. Spring Awakening is a very good show but is not everyone’s cup of tea, although a large percentage of the audience at every show is made up of teenagers.</p>

<p>Eat lunch at a NY deli, Carnegie Deli and Stage Deli near Times Square are both good. And if you want to visit the true diner where Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld conceived the Seinfeld show, visit the Westway Diner at 614 9th Ave. between 43rd and 44th. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions because we’ve lived in Manhattan and now that we’ve left, we visit many times a year. In fact, I’ll be there at the end of the month! :)</p>

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<p>Bond 45 in theater district is great for dinner.</p>

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<p>btm: I have stayed at the (boutique hotel) The Madison!! Very chic with the most charming staff. Highly recommend it but my rooms have always been pretty small. (I think it was once a gentlemen’s rooming house) AND for those who love the historic part of NY, it’s across the street from The Algonquin and the Oak Room.</p>

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<p>I am totally serious about fancy restaurants, it’s our favorite splurge. We’ll spend the night in a dump and eat at a three star restaurant. Cafe Boulud for a weekend lunch is very nice. Most men wore jackets (no ties), but many just had polo shirts and several were wearing jeans. Not at all stuffy, but the food was scrumptious.</p>

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<p>I don’t know if it has been mentioned, but my kids always loved the small museum in the lobby of the Forbes Building. Unless his kids sold everything off when he passed, ole’ Malcolm had a wonderful eclectic collection of Faberge eggs, historical documents, antique toys, etc. It was small, interesting, and different. <a href=“http://www.forbesgalleries.com/[/url]”>http://www.forbesgalleries.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>We spend a lot of time in NYC. I second and third all the suggestions for walking tours – Big Onion, Central Park Conservancy (they also have special tours for teens led by teens), foodie tours. You could take a tour of Chelsea and then go to Chelsea Market. Or walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and eat in Brooklyn Heights.</p>

<p>If it’s not too cold, take a boat ride – there are lots of them – around Manhattan. There are also lots of on-off bus tours for tourists. My sister and her family enjoyed these during the summer.</p>

<p>My S lived on St. Mark’s Place for 2 summers and it’s a great people watching place. Also there are plenty of good restaurants there --ethnic ones too. I think there are tours of the neighborhood as well.</p>

<p>Other neighborhoods to explore are Chinatown and Little Italy – you can combine these with eathing. </p>

<p>If you are in the theatre district, another standby restaurant besides Ollie’s is John’s Pizzeria (housed in an old church). More expensive options might be
Roberto Passon or Marseille.</p>

<p>HAVE FUN.</p>

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<p>The original John’s Pizzeria is on Bleecker Street in the West Village - and speaking of pizza, there are many excellent choices besides John’s - Patsy’s, Grimaldi’s (same family as Patsy’s except in Brooklyn), Otto’s, etc.</p>

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<p>Just found out we wil be in NYC early Nov- I am CRAVING DELI !! Where is the BEST CORNED BEEF or Pastrami sandwich???</p>

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<p>I want to hear what other New Yorkers say for the main course, but here are the world’s greatest pickles (down on the Lower East Side):</p>

<p><a href=“http://nymag.com/listings/stores/guss_pickles/[/url]”>http://nymag.com/listings/stores/guss_pickles/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p><a href=“http://www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork[/url]”>http://www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Try Katz’s (Lower East Side), Carnegie or Stage.</p>

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<p>Carnegie deli for a hundred year old waiters who want you to know how terribly boring you are. It’s all part of NY.</p>

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<p>I second Katz’s deli for the best corned beef sandwich you will ever have! Just make sure not to order mayo with that sandwich or risk getting quite a “you’re not from here, are you?” look from the person behind the counter. Deli mustard and rye bread all the way!</p>

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<p>I agree with Katz’s–it’s the kind of experience that I fear will disappear forever.</p>

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<p>my grandfather was oneof those 100 year old waiters/countermen at a deli.He worked almost till the day he died,after “retiring” from owning a deli in Brooklyn(on Pitkin Ave if anybody here is an old time Brooklynite)… he just kept working at other deli’s. If someone would ask for their pastrami or corn beef “lean” he would stick the fat in because he said the “fat was good for you”! The old Jewish guy counterman is surely a dying breed…</p>