Life on the Wet Coast of Canada

So we decided to show the kids NYC and did ten days during the heavy heat wave of June/July 2012. Wife and I have been there before but the 8 year old and 16 year old have only seen the city portrayed in movies and tv... so let's check it out.....

We took to red-eye on Cathay Pacific and landed at JFK at the crack of dawn. (btw: Cathay had great entertainment built into the seat in front of you. Tons of movies, tv, music, etc. even had on-board cameras under the fuselage so you can watch the landing and takeoff. The entertainment system was so good that I only said one word to the guy next to me the entire 5 hours; the kids loved the movies; in-flight food was also very decent).

We made arrangements with Call-7, the limo service, to get a ride into Manhattan. It was $10-$15 more than a cab but a little nicer (just a mini van there and a big SUV on the way back). The driver on the way to town was crazy and I swear he clipped cars but I guess it's just me...this is the way you have to drive in New York - agressively or be stepped on.

We get to the Park Central hotel at 55th & 7th, a few blocks from Central Park and Times Square. Ideal location. Hotel was kind of dated but it was decent and we had no complaints. See my TripAdvisor write up for more on the hotel

We had a whole list of attractions and activities. Here's a sample of what we did:

SIGHTS:

- check out the infamous underground Oyster Bar restaurant at Grand Central Station. They have fresh seafood at decent prices. It wasn't crowded when we were there and it's a nice taste of authentic New Yawk. Try the massive and tasty raw clams; I've never had nicer ones anywhere.

- South Street Seaport: a nice tourist attraction along the East River near Ground Zero. Try "Simply Seafood" in the food court which has fresh shellfish. Beautiful views of the other boroughs and Wall Street.

- Shopping: If you have money, 5th Ave is all the high-end shops. For funky small shops, go to Soho (South of Houston Street....New Yorkers pronounce it "house-dan").

- Ground Zero: Long line-ups and hot as a furnace so we skipped it.

- Skyscrapers: overwhelming if you're from a small city like me. There are so many famous buildings in Manhattan.

- Open-Air bus tours: This is a great way to see the city even if you've been there several times like me. I got to see places I've never ventured before (ie: Harlem) and much nicer views of the skyscrapers then if you're in a closed bus. But remember to never stand up when it's moving because the street signs and traffic lights will decapitate you...they are that close. Some tree branches sliced us a few times. Below is a photo of John Lennon's residence "The Dakota" and where he was shot in 1980)

- Kids love the TLC reality show "Cake Boss" so we had to go check out Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken. It was one subway from 34th St. and a block away from Hoboken station. Seemed to be a couple of other families on the train with us going there too. But when we got to the bakery, it was a 2 hour line up! Just to get into the bakery...not even to meet the "stars". This must be the most popular attraction in Hoboken if not New Jersey. It's just an ordinary small bakery but it was packed and hundreds of people waiting in line. We spotted Mauro but no other people from the show.

- the Late Show (Letterman) was not taping this week so nothing going on there but we walked by the Ed Sullivan theatre anyways and met one of the stars on the show who was sitting outside reading his newspaper. Got a photo with him...can't recall his name but he's in a number of skits and a hilarious straightman.

- Also met SNL alumni Colin Quinn at a sushi restaurant. He was eating his rols and diet Coke. I approached him and he was really nice.

- I took a day trip out to Connecticut to see my old friend. Went to his lakehouse and canoed around. Connecticut is quaint and quiet. Just like it's portrayed in the movies. Easy one train out there but you'd need car or a friend with a car once you get there.

- Central Park: it was really nice to get away from the crowds and traffic and just hang out in the park.

- Museums: we did MOMA and Natural History and they were both ok. Got to see Dali's paintings (suprisingly, his most famous painting, The Persistance of Memory, is only 9.5" x 13" - see photo below ), Warhol's, Pollack's, VanGogh's, etc. We're not much into art but it was nice seeing famous works of art.

- Halal: it's those food carts serving chicken or beef on rice for $5. Some were more popular than others. It was good street food.

- UNIQLO: it's the japanese-owned clothing store similar to H&M or The Gap and soon to become as big. The only US stores are all in Manhattan (3 of them) and they have nice clothes that are cheap and stylish. The stores are bright and easy to shop. Look for them taking over the world soon.

- Theatre: the girls saw Mary Poppins, Chicago, Once. - all good.

- Concert: Norah Jones at Rumsey Field in Central Park - super mellow; had to sit on the astroturf field in blistering heat but it was ok.

TIPS:

- Empire State Building was high security and crowded. Line ups were over a hour in some cases. View is so-so. I guess you have to go if you're a first timer but the view and crowds were way better at the "Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center) plus they have glass "fences" and three levels so there's no obstructions. Also much wider observation platforms so there's no crowds pushing to get a good spot. Much more civilized.

- City Pass: best way to get a deal on seeing many sights and by-passing the lineup in most cases.

- Metro Card pass: best way to ride transit for the week. $30 and unlimited rides on subways and buses. We didn't ride in a cab the whole trip. Subway takes a while to understand but eventually it was easy to use and very fast & convenient.

- Statue Of Liberty: We couldn't get on the tour to visit the island but turned out ok as the line-ups were too big and instead we took the 75-minute boat cruise which goes close to the statue and that was good enough.

- Jaywalking and crossing at lights. The first day we only crossed streets when legally ready, but after that, you just cross whenever it's safe. Just make sure to look both ways (even though they're mostly one way streets) and look out for motorcycles splitting the lanes.

- there are some blocks where a number of small restaurants are all located next to each other. One such spot is 53rd St between 2nd and 3rd Ave in Midtown East. Lots of little japanese izakayas, bars and restaurants. Even a tiny japanese food store called Tomiya open to 4AM every night.

- Japanese Restaurants: Katsuhama Izakaya, 43-45 West 55th - food was good but service was poor. The lady server especially rude. There's lots of little japanese restaurants around this block.

- Tomiya food store. 239 E 53rd - tiny little japanese food store open til 4AM!

- Yakitori Totto, 251 West 55th Ave: izakaya-style. reasonable prices.

- Safety: NYC is pretty safe as there's always people around. Just avoid dark empty streets at night. There were tons of cops in Times Square and surveillance cameras on almost every corner in Manhattan. I walked the streets at midnight with no problems. The few homeless folks we saw were not agressive.