New York City
 

Well it looks like me and Mr. AOX81 are heading off to NYC tomorrow morning. My cousin and his wife live in Yonkers but they will be working so we will pretty much be on our own. I'm not really into site-seeing but I'm trying to figure out stuff for us to do. Any suggestions??

GO SEE A SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Broadway is probably one of the GREATEST things about the city.
I'm not sure if your into museams, but if you don't consider them site seeing (which I don't; I go to them constantly, mainly because they are always changing) head over to your pick- modern art, natural history, city of new york.
plus, there is always the beach, this is the summer after all- either from new york, or personally, i like jersey beaches. eithey way, they are just a short drive away (unless it is a saturday, or at 3-5pm on a weekday, then i would aviod driving all together)

Let me know if you need anymore ideas!!!!

edited to say: there are TONS of ways to get quality seats for cheap...just ask if you are interested

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum on 42nd St is fantastic. I always recommend it to people.

Go to the Empire State Building for the view. It's beautiful on a clear day.

Take the Staten Island Ferry (free) past the Statue of Liberty from South Street Seaport.

Go to Chinatown, Little Italy or the Village for lunch. You're sure to find a cute little themed restaurant that you won't find anywhere else.

If you're into museums---Museum of Natural History and the Met are outstanding. Both will take hours to go to. Also, the Cloisters (medieval history museum) is very different and weird to see in Manhattan. You get a nice view of Manhattan on the way up since it's so far north.

Go to 5th Ave and window shop for all the clothes and things you could never afford in this lifetime ;)

Hope some of these help. If you have anything specific in mind, let us know and i'll try to think of something. have fun!

Great idea, but aren't the theatres closed on Monday?

In any event, there is so much to do anytime.

Definitely check out the Cloisters. It is beautiful musem with medieval art. Also go to the Museum of Natural Art, but don't miss their Rose Center for Earth and Space (they have a planetarium and the famous Scales of the Universe). Don't miss the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they have lots of art from various eras and from around the world. I have provided the websites below for further info.

American Museum of Natural History:
www.amnh.org

Metropolitan Museum of Art (information about the Cloisters is included):
www.metmuseum.org

I hope this is useful and have fun!

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cheap tickets
 

right in the middle of broadway literally, there is a cheap tickets booth. highly recommended. you can get into a lot of stuff cheaper than you would imagine.
ditto on everything the others have said.
yeah i know i'm texas, but i lived on manhattan as a girl and have gone back several times to indulge.....

No no no baby.

NY is not about running through a museum with little time to take things in. NY is not about going up into tall buildings to look down on the city. NY is not about going to Broadway shows that have been playing for almost a year just because you got cheaper tickets and want to tell people you "went to a Broadway show".

Try small pizza places, get lost in our parks, spoil yourself with frozen hot chocolate at Serendipities, have a Peter Luger steak, eat a Junior's cheese cake, grab a fun off-broadway show, etc.

-Rudey
--And here's a tip for when you're in NY, if it costs more than $1.50 per slice, it's not pizza.

DeltAlum is correct. Broadway shows as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art are closed on Monday. Since you are staying in Yonkers, I recommend going to the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. You won't regret it. :)

Try not to get "Lost in Yonkers."

Oh, that was sad. But I couldn't help myself.

Do you like Irish culture? There are some really good places to have the traditional Irish Breakfast (trust me, you won't need to eat for the rest of the day after one of those!) in Yonkers and New Rochelle.

Instead of being a tourist, I'd suggest you be a flaneur. If there's something you've always wanted to do, do it. But I wouldn't try to cram a lifetime's worth of memories in a few days.

Once again Rudey, you have never been more correct.

Also come up to Harlem and check out some of our historic sites such as the Hotel Theresa and Langston Hughes' house.

Oh HELLZ yes Serendipity's!!!! You can go there and gorge for hours on sweet, sweet desserts - don't get dinner there though, only dessert!

Go to Washington Square Park in the early evening - do some people watching and listen to the random happy guitar people playing songs around the fountain. Alas, the Arch is under construction, but you should still be able to see it through the covering.


I have a pizza place to suggest: Mike's Pizza, on 23(about) and 3rd ave. Sooooo good, especially with extra cheese!

Check out the nightlife! There are a billion bars, lounges, clubs, and hole-in-the-walls to explore!

I'm so mad that no one mentioned Shakespeare in the Park---now THAT is something you should check out. Always a great production, and sometimes celebrities are cast. Held in Central Park, in an outdoor theater. Henry V this summer, and as always it's FREE(did I mention FREE???). Go to Union Square from 12-3 to get tickets(two per person), and you can find their website online, I believe it's thepublictheater.org, but of not search google for The Public Theater and click on the Shakespeare in Central Park link.

Go to a street fair! They're all over the place in summer, usually on the weekends, the ones I'm aquainted with are usually found in the village - the exact location shifts, there's prolly a website you could check out to see exactly where the site is on a particular day(help me out other NY'ers?)

Most of all, you must fight with all your soul and essence not to fall in love with the greatest city in the world(yes, my opinion is so modest hahaha) - you may never want to go home!

Just got home from NYC...had a great time. :) When I get done unpacking and doing laundry I'll fill everyone in on what we ending up doing. :)

I'm glad that you had a great time. I can't wait to read the details.

Ferraro's for desserts, great cannolis there, and the gelati isn't too bad. It's right near Canal St. in Little Italy if you are familiar with the area.

Monday started out very interesting...as we are sitting in line at a toll booth we got rear ended by a Dodge Caravan. Thank God our car was not damaged...her license plate is pretty f*cked up. We rolled into Yonkers around noon, dropped our stuff off, and headed down the street to catch the train. We took the train to GCS and we did a lot of hiking for the next six hours. We walked up towards Central Park and walked up and down just about every street. We then hiked it over to Times Square to find out show times for Movin' Out. Then we walked back over to GCS and took the train back to Yonkers to meet my cousin and his wife to go out to dinner.

Tuesday we hit the train to GCS and then hit the shuttle over to Times Square because I wanted to go to the wax museum. After that we walked down by the Ed Sullivan theater. Then we hit the subway and went down to Battery Park. We walked up to the Trade Center site and then took the subway up to Canal Street. We walked through Chinatown, SoHo, and part of the Village, and then took the subway back to GCS so we could catch the train back to Yonkers.

We pretty much hit every store on every street that we walked down because it was so damn hot that we had to get in the AC. We didn't really do anything really exciting but now we know what things we want to do when we go back. :)

You should take a few days and do the things that you want to do. Go see a play, visit a museum, dine at a few restaurants, walk around the city. There are tons of things to do. Maybe you can motivate your family to join you. :)

Aren't there any Command busses that can take you into Manhattan from Bensonhurst? That's how I used to get to work into Manhattan from Mill Basin. If I remember correctly, it was $4.00 one way and it runs from early in the morning until almost midnight.

There is a lot of affordable public transportation in NYC. It's more affordable than taking taxis or car service everywhere. When are you coming to NYC? I'll be away from 7/13 to 7/20 so if it is after that I can try to think of options for you. Brooklyn has a lot to offer with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Museum, and Peter Luger Steakhouse . Do an internet search and see all the great things that you can do. People commute from Bensonheart to Manhattan everyday so it is possible. I forgot to suggest this to AOX81, but the Circle Line (boat tour around Manhattan) is a fun way to spend the day. :)

My best friend and I just got back from NYC. Had a BLAST.. I love how the clubs up there don't close until daylight... why can't it be like that everywhere??
We stayed at the Marquis.. totally lucked out, her dad's business associate got us some hot room for like nothing.. only payed $112 RT to fly out, used Orbitz, so basically.. we shopped the whole time and went out.
Has anyone been to club Cheetah there?? We really liked that place and this one lounge, I think it was called Madam X or something.

Tri-delt - Been to both, like both. Cheetah if I'm in a dancy mood and Madame X...well...had a nice night there once but it involved a stange Brit, his BMW convertible, and being locked out of my apt....Ain't NY grand?! ;) :p

PM Mama - Shame on you! Michiganders are braver than that. Girl, take the subway. You can do it! Go in the morning with the commuters and just get on the same train they are. Then get out wherever. Walk around. Sit on a bench and people watch. Then follow the commuters home! Seriously, look for a nice looking lady and ask for help. People ask me ALL the time and I'm glad to help.

AOX - What the heck is GCS???? It's GCT!!!! We'll have to work on the lingo with ya! :D (Just kidding!) I am impressed that you called it the "shuttle" and not the "S train"!!!!!

xo_kathy, sorry, I will always refer to it as Station instead of Terminal...kind of like the Rho Chi thing, lol.

PM Mama, take the subway!! It's not difficult to figure out. I'm originally from Michigan too and I had absolutely no problems!! :)

I'm just kidding anyway, AOX!!!

Funny thing is, when talking about it I usually just say "Grand Central" but occasionally will actually say "Grand Central Station" (which is what most NY folks do - Rudey, Cream feel free to correct me!) BUT when we type out the 'nickname' it's always GCT. So you are 50% authentic! ;) :D

No you're right.

-Rudey
--You hang out at some weird ass clubs though. ;)

I say Grand Central Station. It looks good since the renovation. :)

Grand Central Terminal/Station is a beautiful building and the ceiling where you can purchase Metro-North tix is stunning!

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anyone else remember grand central back in the day! before the "cleaned up" ny?
it is so gorgeous now and good food, but it used to be mad nasty when i was a kid.
I LOVE MY CITY!

I remember that it was pretty bad. Grand Central is one of the most beautiful public spaces now. I also remember a seedy Times Square. Now it looks like Disney and Warner Brothers cartoon characters are taking over.

And a most impressive NYPD presence. Even though the mini-station has been there for years, the police just seem more visible since 9-11.

The police are everywhere, especially the bridges and tunnels.