Lisash
Knows all the words to 'It's
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2005
- Messages
- 1,994
Lisas Mini New York Trippie
Cast Members
Lisa & Michael (both 40 something and enjoying their first kid free holiday in years)
Day 1 Tuesday 18th March up up and away
We flew VA from Heathrow to Newark and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn (Times Square) on 8th & 48th Street. This is located just a block down from the Hershey Shop on Times Square. The journey was somewhat eventful. After ensuring my parents were all geared up for picking DS up from school, we set off for Heathrow. The perimeter was full of bobble hatted anoracks waiting for the first view of the new Superjumbo. Rather them than me it was freezing. Our first adventure was arriving at the car park we had pre-booked to be told we had been upgraded to business parking as they were re-surfacing ours. As we were only told this as we arrived by some slightly scruffy guy at the entrance you can imagine DH thought we were being scammed. Anyway after a few words with his manager we were off to bag drop (didnt find this any quicker than normal check in) and off for a quick lunch before boarding. Our next adventure was a delay of over an hour on the plane as they had to manually start the left engine. Thankfully the rest of the flight was uneventful and for once the immigration guy was quite pleasant. Good news was as USA had already gone over to daylight saving there was only a four hour difference from UK time. We got a yellow cab to the hotel, this was our most exciting adventure of the day as our driver seemed intent on breaking the land speed record. I practically kissed the pavement as we got out of the taxi. Both DH & I were petrified! We did Newark to our hotel in 15 minutes flat! After a quick unpack it was off to Bubba Gump for a late dinner of Popcorn Shrimp.
Day 2 Wednesday 19th March - Rain Rain go away
Boy oh boy when in rains in NYC it doesnt stop and it didnt ALL DAY. First stop was Duane Reade (New York Walgreens equivalent) for matching his & hers umberellas. Then off for a quick Starbucks breakfast and to buy some hop on/off bus tickets so we could head off for our Statue of Liberty booking. We would never have bothered normally but we had got tickets on line to actually go into the Statue for a look inside. Thankfully there was no queue whatsoever (maybe a rainy day is not such a bad idea on good days the queue is hours long.) The security was painful as ever, and, as we had Statue access we had to go through the whole process twice. (This involves airport like x-ray machines before you get the ferry then the same again and a scanner that puffs air at your body for the statue) Having passed we were off up the 152 steps to see what Miss Liberty wears under those robes. I have to say it was an enormous disappointment as when you get to the top of the stairs you look through up through a small glass floor above you the see nothing really but more stairs!
(I climbed 152 steps for this!!!!)
Even Lady Liberty seemed fed up of all the rain
We skipped across for a quick look at the Ellis Island Museum before a quick walk to the South Street Seaport for late lunch and to get the bus back to Times Square. Now very cold and damp we decided to have dry off at the hotel and chill out in front of the TV for a while as it was still pouring down by dinner time we ate in Pigalle the restaurant attached to the Hotel. DH had the lamb & I had scallops both delicious
Day 3 Thursday 20th March - Shopping
Was awake and up bright and early again, in fact we never really adjusted to USA time all this trip. As there was just the four hour time difference we just got up and went to bed early so it was like doing a series of late nights and lie ins.
We took a stroll to the fabulous Grand Central Station and had a delicious toasted ham & swiss panini in their dining concourse. Then it was onto 5th Avenue for some shopping. As ever it was more of the window variety on 5th even though I dropped several broad hints outside Jimmy Choo & Gucci. We had a quick look in FAO Schwarz where I bought a Steiff bear and some baby clothes for a good friend whos due any day soon and then went across to Macys where DH got himself a nice watch. We lunched at Lindys Deli just off Times Square. We had the Lindys special Corned Beef, Pastrami, Turkey & swiss cheese their sandwiches are HUGE so we shared.
(was nicer than it looks on picture)
We got a taxi to the new Magnolia Bakery on Columbus Street, where we stocked up on their infamous yummy cupcakes, (as seen on Sex in the City),
then we enjoyed a stroll back to the hotel in the afternoon sunshine to walk off lunch, stopping at a bar for a beer on the way. After a quick rest of the old feet we went back into Times Square for dinner at the Hard Rock Café.
Day 4 Friday 21st March - A day at the museum
After a quick cupcake and coffee breakfast we were off to the Natural History Museum. You pay general admission then extra for any of the special exhibitions you want to see. We decided to do them all (The Butterfly Conservatory, Water=Life, The Imax Dinosaur film and Cosmic Collisions at the Hayden Planetarium) and let the ticket seller choose the times for our admissions to the various exhibits. It was a bit strange looking around the main hall as it is just as it is in Night at the Museum. I kept expecting to see Ben Stiller pop up somewhere.
First stop was the Butterfly Conservatory, which we were lucky to see as it is only open seasonally. The butterflies were beautiful of all shapes sizes and colours. There were lots of staff on hand to talk about them carrying orange slices to attract the butterflies so you could get a better look. We were behind a group of small children on a school outing it was lovely to here their excited chatter. From there it was on to see the famous Dioramas. Sadly no Pocahontas or Robin Williams on a horse! It is truly a fabulous place to spend a day. The Water=Life exhibition was not so special but the Imax Dinosaur film was very good and I loved Cosmic Collisions in the Planetarium although it was one of those things that gave you brain ache as you thought about the universe and our place in it etc. We finished with the dinosaurs then took a taxi back to the hotel to change for our dinner at The View. Just a short stroll from our hotel The View is the revolving restaurant, which is located in the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square. I went there last year with friends and knew DH would love it. We settled in to our window table and enjoyed one of their delicious cocktails whilst enjoying the sights. We had scallops with lime & grapefruit dressing, DH had rack of lamb, I had chicken and we both had cheesecake for desert. The food and wine were delicious and the service was excellent. The bill was a not so good $310 so not the cheapest place in the world to eat but we knew that when we booked and I still think it was worth every penny.
(about the best picture I got from the View - you are moving and it's taken through two sets of windows)
Day 5 - Saturday 22nd March Shop till you drop
As we had to leave the hotel at 6am on Sunday I was up early and started to do a little packing.
Me wearing so many jumpers I look like a weeble
DH warming up on a Starbucks
We headed towards Macys again stopping off for breakfast on the way. We picked up bits and pieces for the kids at American Eagle, Old Navy, Elements, Abercrombie & Fitch and had a stroll around the Disney Store (lovely but not as nice as WDW). We spent ages in the Vigrin Megastore as usual, finishing at the Hershey Shop on Times Square where we stocked up on Milk Duds, Twizzlers & Caramel Kisses. We had the best burgers ever at Ruby Tuesday for lunch then stuffed and feet throbbing we went back to the hotel for a nap! (its official we are a couple of oldies!) After a quick snooze we took a stroll through Central Park stopping off at the ice rink and zoo before heading back to Times Square for a drink or two.
The infamous Naked Cowboy
Ice Skating in Central Park
DH was quite keen to try the Hawaiian Tropic Restaurant (I have no idea why? But think the bikini clad waitresses might have something to do with it Looks like Hooters has competition) In the end we opted for drinks then take out pizza and cheesecake slices as we were still quite full from lunch. Then after a last stroll round Times Square it was back to the hotel.
Day 6- Sunday 23rd March Be it ever so humble
Sadly all good things must come to an end and while my head wasnt ready my feet were. Up at 5am and in the taxi by 6am we were quickly at Newark and eating our McBagels (they do a sausage & egg breakfast McBurrito yuuuuukkkkk). Weve never done a early flight home before but Id recommend it as we had no jetlag when we got home at all. The flight back was slightly delayed as they appeared to have too many passengers for seats but otherwise uneventful and we were soon picking up DS from my folks and back home. Only 257 days to our next American adventure.
Cast Members
Lisa & Michael (both 40 something and enjoying their first kid free holiday in years)
Day 1 Tuesday 18th March up up and away
We flew VA from Heathrow to Newark and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn (Times Square) on 8th & 48th Street. This is located just a block down from the Hershey Shop on Times Square. The journey was somewhat eventful. After ensuring my parents were all geared up for picking DS up from school, we set off for Heathrow. The perimeter was full of bobble hatted anoracks waiting for the first view of the new Superjumbo. Rather them than me it was freezing. Our first adventure was arriving at the car park we had pre-booked to be told we had been upgraded to business parking as they were re-surfacing ours. As we were only told this as we arrived by some slightly scruffy guy at the entrance you can imagine DH thought we were being scammed. Anyway after a few words with his manager we were off to bag drop (didnt find this any quicker than normal check in) and off for a quick lunch before boarding. Our next adventure was a delay of over an hour on the plane as they had to manually start the left engine. Thankfully the rest of the flight was uneventful and for once the immigration guy was quite pleasant. Good news was as USA had already gone over to daylight saving there was only a four hour difference from UK time. We got a yellow cab to the hotel, this was our most exciting adventure of the day as our driver seemed intent on breaking the land speed record. I practically kissed the pavement as we got out of the taxi. Both DH & I were petrified! We did Newark to our hotel in 15 minutes flat! After a quick unpack it was off to Bubba Gump for a late dinner of Popcorn Shrimp.
Day 2 Wednesday 19th March - Rain Rain go away
Boy oh boy when in rains in NYC it doesnt stop and it didnt ALL DAY. First stop was Duane Reade (New York Walgreens equivalent) for matching his & hers umberellas. Then off for a quick Starbucks breakfast and to buy some hop on/off bus tickets so we could head off for our Statue of Liberty booking. We would never have bothered normally but we had got tickets on line to actually go into the Statue for a look inside. Thankfully there was no queue whatsoever (maybe a rainy day is not such a bad idea on good days the queue is hours long.) The security was painful as ever, and, as we had Statue access we had to go through the whole process twice. (This involves airport like x-ray machines before you get the ferry then the same again and a scanner that puffs air at your body for the statue) Having passed we were off up the 152 steps to see what Miss Liberty wears under those robes. I have to say it was an enormous disappointment as when you get to the top of the stairs you look through up through a small glass floor above you the see nothing really but more stairs!
(I climbed 152 steps for this!!!!)
Even Lady Liberty seemed fed up of all the rain
We skipped across for a quick look at the Ellis Island Museum before a quick walk to the South Street Seaport for late lunch and to get the bus back to Times Square. Now very cold and damp we decided to have dry off at the hotel and chill out in front of the TV for a while as it was still pouring down by dinner time we ate in Pigalle the restaurant attached to the Hotel. DH had the lamb & I had scallops both delicious
Day 3 Thursday 20th March - Shopping
Was awake and up bright and early again, in fact we never really adjusted to USA time all this trip. As there was just the four hour time difference we just got up and went to bed early so it was like doing a series of late nights and lie ins.
We took a stroll to the fabulous Grand Central Station and had a delicious toasted ham & swiss panini in their dining concourse. Then it was onto 5th Avenue for some shopping. As ever it was more of the window variety on 5th even though I dropped several broad hints outside Jimmy Choo & Gucci. We had a quick look in FAO Schwarz where I bought a Steiff bear and some baby clothes for a good friend whos due any day soon and then went across to Macys where DH got himself a nice watch. We lunched at Lindys Deli just off Times Square. We had the Lindys special Corned Beef, Pastrami, Turkey & swiss cheese their sandwiches are HUGE so we shared.
(was nicer than it looks on picture)
We got a taxi to the new Magnolia Bakery on Columbus Street, where we stocked up on their infamous yummy cupcakes, (as seen on Sex in the City),
then we enjoyed a stroll back to the hotel in the afternoon sunshine to walk off lunch, stopping at a bar for a beer on the way. After a quick rest of the old feet we went back into Times Square for dinner at the Hard Rock Café.
Day 4 Friday 21st March - A day at the museum
After a quick cupcake and coffee breakfast we were off to the Natural History Museum. You pay general admission then extra for any of the special exhibitions you want to see. We decided to do them all (The Butterfly Conservatory, Water=Life, The Imax Dinosaur film and Cosmic Collisions at the Hayden Planetarium) and let the ticket seller choose the times for our admissions to the various exhibits. It was a bit strange looking around the main hall as it is just as it is in Night at the Museum. I kept expecting to see Ben Stiller pop up somewhere.
First stop was the Butterfly Conservatory, which we were lucky to see as it is only open seasonally. The butterflies were beautiful of all shapes sizes and colours. There were lots of staff on hand to talk about them carrying orange slices to attract the butterflies so you could get a better look. We were behind a group of small children on a school outing it was lovely to here their excited chatter. From there it was on to see the famous Dioramas. Sadly no Pocahontas or Robin Williams on a horse! It is truly a fabulous place to spend a day. The Water=Life exhibition was not so special but the Imax Dinosaur film was very good and I loved Cosmic Collisions in the Planetarium although it was one of those things that gave you brain ache as you thought about the universe and our place in it etc. We finished with the dinosaurs then took a taxi back to the hotel to change for our dinner at The View. Just a short stroll from our hotel The View is the revolving restaurant, which is located in the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square. I went there last year with friends and knew DH would love it. We settled in to our window table and enjoyed one of their delicious cocktails whilst enjoying the sights. We had scallops with lime & grapefruit dressing, DH had rack of lamb, I had chicken and we both had cheesecake for desert. The food and wine were delicious and the service was excellent. The bill was a not so good $310 so not the cheapest place in the world to eat but we knew that when we booked and I still think it was worth every penny.
(about the best picture I got from the View - you are moving and it's taken through two sets of windows)
Day 5 - Saturday 22nd March Shop till you drop
As we had to leave the hotel at 6am on Sunday I was up early and started to do a little packing.
Me wearing so many jumpers I look like a weeble
DH warming up on a Starbucks
We headed towards Macys again stopping off for breakfast on the way. We picked up bits and pieces for the kids at American Eagle, Old Navy, Elements, Abercrombie & Fitch and had a stroll around the Disney Store (lovely but not as nice as WDW). We spent ages in the Vigrin Megastore as usual, finishing at the Hershey Shop on Times Square where we stocked up on Milk Duds, Twizzlers & Caramel Kisses. We had the best burgers ever at Ruby Tuesday for lunch then stuffed and feet throbbing we went back to the hotel for a nap! (its official we are a couple of oldies!) After a quick snooze we took a stroll through Central Park stopping off at the ice rink and zoo before heading back to Times Square for a drink or two.
The infamous Naked Cowboy
Ice Skating in Central Park
DH was quite keen to try the Hawaiian Tropic Restaurant (I have no idea why? But think the bikini clad waitresses might have something to do with it Looks like Hooters has competition) In the end we opted for drinks then take out pizza and cheesecake slices as we were still quite full from lunch. Then after a last stroll round Times Square it was back to the hotel.
Day 6- Sunday 23rd March Be it ever so humble
Sadly all good things must come to an end and while my head wasnt ready my feet were. Up at 5am and in the taxi by 6am we were quickly at Newark and eating our McBagels (they do a sausage & egg breakfast McBurrito yuuuuukkkkk). Weve never done a early flight home before but Id recommend it as we had no jetlag when we got home at all. The flight back was slightly delayed as they appeared to have too many passengers for seats but otherwise uneventful and we were soon picking up DS from my folks and back home. Only 257 days to our next American adventure.
We didn't really see any rickshaws this time I think the weather put them off. I did go on one last year when I went with friends though. It was great fun 
.I'd love to know what that guy was asking him.x.
