New York or Orlando?? Heck, let`s do both.....12 nights NYC & Sapphire Falls...July 18 Trip Report

[schumigirl]

I am a huge fan of the "Dark Side" as you call but I have to say, I LOVE your trip reports. I was excited to see that you had started your most recent report. I'm reading along and vicariously eating and drinking with you

kimmyg26........you sound like my kinda gal!!!

I’ll eat and drink along vicariously too........even though I was there.......... sounds fun!

The Darkside is the best.........and I truly hope you enjoy this one too........I need to get a wiggle on though......planned to do more by now but..........real life!

 

[schumigirl]

Agree with you kimmy26!

Schumi is good with the pictures and words in her trippies she shares with the Dis

And thank you again!!!

Your compliments will make me blush..........but don’t stop them........

 

[schumigirl]

Yeah another trip report! Can't wait to hear more!

back jeanelle..........lovely to see you post for this one too.........

Always nice to see you post here.........more coming up soon!!!

 

[iona]

I swore I was going to keep an eye out for this one and read it "real-time" rather than not spotting it until after it was well underway. I failed and am 4 pages behind already! Time to catch up...

 

[schumigirl]

I swore I was going to keep an eye out for this one and read it "real-time" rather than not spotting it until after it was well underway. I failed and am 4 pages behind already! Time to catch up...

Lol........ along iona.........

Nice to have you along..........and only 4 pages to catch up on .......I am a little behind as I had planned to be further on, this should be a quick trip report really.........

But, hope you enjoy it and lovely to see you post.........

 

[iona]

I am a little behind as I had planned to be further on, this should be a quick trip report really.........

I'm glad you're not as it's allowed me to catch up!

The executive level at the airport hotel looks lovely. We normally fly out of Gatwick and book an executive room at the Sofitel there when we can - it always makes for a nice start to the holiday, enjoying a glass of wine (or two!) whilst looking out over the airport.

How sweet of the cabin crew to bring you that extra champagne. I think you might have had to carry me off the plane though - my tolerance for alcohol seems to decrease rapidly at altitude...

 

[keishashadow]

A few days late & a dollar short, but I’ve found my way .

Not sure if it was the smell of bubbly or of that ‘fresh’ leather bag on the bed but something called me

The entrance to the NYC hotel is intriguing. it screams old money, trust fund babies & the sort lol. must see more pics

 

[schumigirl]

I'm glad you're not as it's allowed me to catch up!

The executive level at the airport hotel looks lovely. We normally fly out of Gatwick and book an executive room at the Sofitel there when we can - it always makes for a nice start to the holiday, enjoying a glass of wine (or two!) whilst looking out over the airport.

How sweet of the cabin crew to bring you that extra champagne. I think you might have had to carry me off the plane though - my tolerance for alcohol seems to decrease rapidly at altitude...

lol...….sometimes being slow is helpful...…..

It really is nice......but funny you mention the Sofitel.....I think the Sofitel at Heathrow is probably the nicest airport hotel ever. Sofitel is such a lovely brand.....we haven't flown from Gatwick for years and never to America from there.....

Well I did manage 40 winks after the sparkly it helped!!! I think as it was quite spread out it wasn't so bad, and we did drink a lot of water too which helps I suppose...….but it was so nice of them and we really did enjoy it...…..

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

Hooray! So glad you're back with another trip report! I have to admit - I've been "casing" the boards looking out for your newest report for a while!

I just love your reports and style of writing!

 

[schumigirl]

A few days late & a dollar short, but I’ve found my way .

Not sure if it was the smell of bubbly or of that ‘fresh’ leather bag on the bed but something called me

The entrance to the NYC hotel is intriguing. it screams old money, trust fund babies & the sort lol. must see more pics

OK we can start the party...……

along Keisha...…...late or not always welcome...…..

lol......yes the bubbly when we arrived was extra nice...…..have to admit though it was soft drinks with dinner!!!!!

It is a stunning hotel and the lobby does scream old money, you`re right...….the history of it is quite fascinating. They had a beautiful book by the bed with pictures and the story of the hotel...….have to admit, I did glance at it and meant to read it...…...but never got round to it...…..

More pics on way...……...

 

[schumigirl]

Hooray! So glad you're back with another trip report! I have to admit - I've been "casing" the boards looking out for your newest report for a while!

I just love your reports and style of writing!

And another back AprilDreamsOfDisney

Now that made me laugh...…..lol...……..casing is such a fabulous word!!!! I like it...….

Thank you so much!!! I appreciate that a lot...….and again, hope this is as good a read for you...….it`s no nice to see you post here again......

 

[schumigirl]

TRAVEL DAY CONTINUED...…….


So the last 25 minutes or so were interminable...…...just when we thought we were turning in to land at JFK, we circled again over LI and I swear I saw my cousins swimming pool...…..well, roughly......there was obviously a reason for the circling...…...but, a few minutes later the very calm and smooth sounding Captain told CC to take seats for landing....always a good sign when we hear that. The landing into JFK is fairly slow and steady and a bit like Orlando, we very rarely come in the same route twice...…...this was an unusual one I thought, but I had only come into JFK 5 times, so this may be perfectly normal but all too soon I could see the City in the misty distance...….I thought we would have been on the wrong side of the plane to see it, but there it was...…..in all its somewhat misty glory today.

It really is one of the most impressive cities in the world. The skyline is unmistakable from any other...…..and to bring a little sadness into the report, I still have so many regrets I never saw The Twin Towers in all their resplendence in real life...…..what they have done in their place is truly stunning, but there will always be something missing in many folks eyes.

We then experience the smoothest landing ever...….I swear we barely noticed wheels down...…...always a feeling of relief when you land......any safe landing is a good landing I suppose. We taxi quite a while, I think then we may have landed in Boston and were driving the rest of the way!!! But, then we realized the reason we circled so many times......we had no gate. This happens quite a few times with Virgin Atlantic at Manchester, but had never happened here......so we parked...….do planes park????? Or is there another word...….lol......and we waited for the buses to take us to the terminal. It really was only a few minutes before the steps appeared and we were soon exiting the plane. We did hold back a little to say a very sincere thank you to the two members of the CC who had been extra special to us...….they said no problem they were glad to do it.

Premium were still going off first so we joined the line to exit as CC held back Economy passengers and we got on the bus to the terminal. It really did take a few minutes, and then we were going into the building of which we could see huge lines...….huge!!!

We didn't immediately see the Global Entry sign, so I asked the first man I saw and he kinda pointed to the sign, right above me......oops!!!! I do that a lot......like the time I asked where The Empire State Building was......yes, we really couldn't see it......to be fair we were right below it and those buildings are high!!!! Yes, I know that sounds stupid...….this guy kinda pointed and said uh its right there...…..thank you so much!!!! It was our first trip and I never felt so much like a tourist in all my life...…….

Anyway back to Global Entry...…...so we quite smilingly checked out the massive line forming to the left of us, and there was around maybe 6 machines, maybe more for us to do it with...…….this was really our first time as when it was done in Orlando back in May the lady did most of it for us as part of the process......so we asked the guy on the desk if we used the machines...…..stupid question number 2. Of course we did. So we followed the instructions and by some miracle we managed it correctly...…..and we were issued our two pieces of paper...…..now we just walked past the man who was doing GE interviews...….all of a sudden he was yelling for another guy to come out and stop us...….I stopped on the spot and almost put my hands up!!!!! I watch too many airport real life tv shows ...…...I shouted Tom to stop and he turned and came back...…..the guy was laughing at my alarmed face......turns out he just needed to check the one slip of paper and asked what food I had declared...….told him it was chocolate...…….he said oh that's it...….yep, you`re good to go...…..handed us the passports back and we were on our way...…….easy as pie!!!! Albeit a scary moment when the guy shouted us to stop...…….we`ll know next time we still have to talk to someone.

That took less than 5 minutes.

Now we went through to pick up luggage...….this was where we thought we may have to wait a long time for luggage......coming off so early may mean a long wait. Or so we thought...…...we had priority labels on the cases so they were due off first, and they really were......we saw around 10 cases and then both of ours came out practically together...…..lucky!!! We grabbed them and headed out and went for a bathroom visit before heading for a cab into the city.

As we approached the designated cab people, we were stopped by a man asking if we wanted transport...….of course we ignored him as we knew better......got a genuine cab straight away. They give you a receipt with the cost (without tip) and the number of the cab we got into...….and we were off. From getting off the plane to getting into a cab it was 35 minutes. Not bad at all.

Someone was very happy to be back in NYC......well almost...……

Friday afternoon traffic wasn't too bad at all...…...we took less than an hour to get there...….and of course got very excited when we began to see familiar landmarks from the cab...…...and with the roads and their many potholes it wasn't easy catching anything on camera...…….

It is so exciting to be so close to such a fabulous place...…..and it was glorious weather too...…..thankfully our cab driver was decent, he was very friendly and kept the air con on high so it was a pleasant journey. And good to know it`s a set fair so you now you aren't going to get ripped off by dodgy conmen.

I asked him to drop us on the 51st entrance. the guy last year had dropped us off in front of the fancy entrance......so it was awkward with luggage...…..and he did. He was nice and was thankful of the tip we gave him. The valet men at The Palace are very nice......we, well I must have looked like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards ...…..but they treat you like a princess regardless.

He took us in and said oh I`m sorry there`s quite a line to check in, the regular check in was incredibly busy...…..so, we must not have looked like we were staying in the exclusive Towers......lol...…...I said to him actually we are in The Towers...….he immediately smiled and said oh well no line for you...…..

We entered the very elegant doors and were greeted warmly by concierge check in. Very nice. The lady who`s name I have sadly forgotten told us we had been given our request of facing Rockefeller Centre and highest floor possible...…..52nd floor. There are only 54. Check in was flawless as expected, and we met the Maitre D`etage who offered us he champagne...…..of course, it would really be rude to turn it down...…..and it was lovely...….our luggage was taken up ahead of us and we completed check in then headed up in the nice elevator...….we loved this. Although it did make our ears pop as we don't stop at any of the bottom 41 floors......and it was fast. Our ears weren't bad from this flight but this really made them pop!!!!

We didn't have the larger corner room this time but, we liked this room a lot...…..

The room was pristine. And had the freshest smell ever!!! They should sell that...…..the room had everything.....including the all important ironing board!!!!! I needed that...….room safe, umberella and the usual stuff...…...they don't however have any tea or coffee making facilities in the room. Some folks complain about that, but we can manage without it...….there is a small bakery/coffee place downstairs that opens at 6.30am. It had been closed for refurb on our last stay. But, there was nothing in the room. It was also all controlled by a thing like an ipad……..I gave up...….Tom however managed in a few seconds...…...those blinds and blackout blinds were fabulous though just operating them by buttons...….. But the lights and aircon were all remote controlled too.


The bathroom is very classic...…..

Again, it wasn't a lightswitch on the wall...….it was a small control panel...….I very quickly remembered the top click put the light on...….


And then there`s the view...…...jeez it was high...…..really high...….I couldn't take a picture without holding on to the wall as my legs just wibbled and wobbled as I looked out...….or down ...…...but the view was amazing and I couldn't wait to see it after dark...….the lights of NYC are stupendous!!!!

Now we were ready to head out into the City...…...but first I had sent my cousin an email telling her the phone we purchased in Orlando to use here......didn't work...….I had told my aunt I would call her when we arrived...….so I asked my cousin to let her know we arrived safe and would see them all tomorrow....

We unpacked just enough for the next day or so and would unpack more as we needed to...….I had been very organized and had brought laundry bags for what we used in NY.....just so it didn't get mixed up with clean stuff...…..very sad I knowso everything for laundry when we arrived at Sapphire was ready to go...…….I need to get out more!!!!

A quick freshen up and drank the 2 bottles of iced water left in the room, we did feel thirsty......I wonder why...……

The classic feel is all through the hotel...….the carpets are like soft sponge and again, everything was so fresh...…..and it felt very elegant...….

I couldn't take a picture in the elevator as there was a couple of very well dressed and highly jeweled people already in it...…..Tom joked later we must have looked like the Clampetts from the Beverly Hillbillies to them ……...but they were very pleasant...……..


Out in the City again...….coming up!!!!

 

[iona]

Wow that view!!! The room looks lovely too (as does the shower).

 

[macraven]

You know the room meets all your standards if it has an ironing board in it

 

[Cara]

Your room!!!!! Ahhh!!!!!

 

[schumigirl]

Wow that view!!! The room looks lovely too (as does the shower).

It really was. And the view is amazing.......I even braved opening the window slightly, it opens an inch or so, but that set my wobbly legs off even more......so I didn’t do that again! I strangely, don’t like heights.......lol.......

Shower was fabulous! One couldn’t get the other out once we were in.......... The quality of everything was very obvious.........sheets were like sleeping on butter. Very silky. But not too silky........iykwim!!!

 

[schumigirl]

You know the room meets all your standards if it has an ironing board in it

I’m a person of quite simple requests really.........

Our clothes had been crushed up since late Wednesday night/Thursday morning.....so some were very creased.......Tom wants a safe in a room, I look for an ironing board.........

 

[schumigirl]

Your room!!!!! Ahhh!!!!!

Yep, it was gorgeous.........it wasn’t just as big as the room from last years trip, but it was plenty spacious for just the two of us............we loved it

 

[schumigirl]

Stepping out into the 87F temperatures was glorious...…..NYC can be brash, loud, busy and occasionally a little smelly if you stand too close to one of the drains......but it is fabulous!!! There really is nowhere quite like it. London is somewhere we pop into occasionally, but there is no comparison to New York. I think part of it is my generation grew up watching these glamorous and not so glamorous places on TV shows...…..looking back Kojak and Cagney and Lacey didn't exactly glamorize the city very well .....but it is a trillion miles away from what it was back then.

The heat envelops us immediately and we walk down towards Times Square area as Tom`s one request was we ate an early dinner at Juniors again tonight.

First however we walk past the Rockefeller Centre...………..I like this building...…….the history of it is very interesting.

And you still can`t see the top!! The streets here aren't too busy...…...it makes it pleasant to walk in the City when it`s like this...…..

I love this water feature...…..but...….that plastic mould in the middle looks a little out of place...……not quite sure what it`s for as we didn't ask...….but, it`s a no from us...…...take it out...…...we had a look over at the Magnolia Bakery, but there was a long line outside, so we didn't go buy a cupcake this time either. My niece is a huge S&TC fan, and would have loved to get something from there.

We always said we would have loved to have seen The Rockettes...…..although Christmas time is not the time of year I think I`d like...…..I think it would be beautiful of course, but a wee bit too cold for this heat loving lizard like person!!!! Heck, I`ve had to go outside of Mythos to warm up......I swear I was actually shivering...…….

But for now we would just look and enjoy the sunshine...……..

Times Square. We don't spend a lot of time in Times Square as there really isn't much to do, once you have seen the lights and crowds that's about it. There are a few shops you may want to go in, but they do have the usual tourist stores that when you look in the windows, are incredibly busy. But, it is a place you have to see. This is where the crowds are...…..not a lot of fun hanging around here...….although they do have an unusual display this visit, and I don't mean the half naked women!!!

They have the usual grubby looking characters that will approach you to have your picture taken with them...….I have to say, they are awful.....the suits some of them wear are disgusting...….and not very realistic, it`s like they`re not even trying. But, some still enjoy it. We saw a lot of them sitting with their "heads" off......and Minnie, Mickey and a very dodgy looking Minion look remarkably unfriendly sitting trying to cool down.

Beside them are the ladies that seem to be of Eastern European descent according to the Officers we spoke to tonight...…...I wasn't sure but I didn't remember these painted ladies approach people as much as they did tonight. They appear to have bottoms on, barely......but the top half is painted usually in American Flag styles. I may sound like I`m 184......I`m not a prude in any way, but where families are this just doesn't seem appropriate. A few men looked very uncomfortable to be approached for a picture when they were holding hands with their children. I really think those are my only negative comments about the City...…..

But, we walk through past the thronging crowds and cross under the entrance to The Marriott Marquis...….Juniors is just the other side.

It looks busy of course, around 6pm on a Friday evening...…...we wait around 5 minutes for a table and are seated in the rather tight tables for two. You are very close to your neighbor on these tables...……

We ask for pink lemonades...…..we are done with alcohol today...…..and we peruse the rather large menu...…...it is extensive and we have quite the decision on what to have...…...I think we chose around 8 dishes each before finally selecting the open roast beef sandwich for Tom and I chose the Brisket melt.....no onions...….when it came, we of course realized we should have just shared the beef sandwich...………

Mine looked quite paltry next to Toms!!!

They were both however lovely...…...I had a slice of the beef from Tom and it was delicious...….quite rare, but he had told us that...….it was delicious. But such a massive portion, he with it although didn't touch the bread underneath...….but it was mostly meat. My sandwich was delicious...…..the brisket melted and the piquant peppers were a welcome addition...….

Another couple who were mother and daughter sat down beside us and asked what my dish was...…..she ended up ordering it. Her daughter ordered the hotdog...…..it was mahoosive when it came!!!!!! I wish we had taken a picture.....and it was one of the dishes Tom considered ordering!!!

We chatted while we ate and they were very nice......I think they came from out West somewhere, but we met so many people this trip I honestly forget. They were however very nice, and we took the obligatory picture of each other...……..

We never have room for dessert here. I think we missed out on so much cheesecake this trip as we were never hungry when we were close to Juniors. But for now we wanted to walk this huge meal off...…..

Although it was now just after 7 and we began to feel a little on the tired side. This was just after midnight to us, but we weren't planning to go to sleep at 7pm!!!

We did however wander around a Christmas store off the main Square area, I had missed it before. It wasn't brilliant to be honest, and we didn't buy anything at all. Unusual for me in a Christmas store!!!

We walked back towards the Rockefeller area as it was on the way to the hotel...…..and it was busy of course. Tom reminded me last time we had gone up and how tired we had become very quickly...….so we hadn't made any plans for tonight....actually as always with us, no real plans at all!!!

It is such a nice area here...….and they usually have some kind of display around this bit...…..I do remember over hearing the significance of this one.....but I have no memory of it...….it wasn't hugely interesting...…….

Now we were both fighting sleep with a vengeance...…..it is the weirdest feeling. I began to feel a little queasy...….but I knew to fight it a little longer......but felt like the biggest wimp in the world!!! And one of the pictures Tom took of me I look totally dreadful!!!! Like I`d been dug up dreadful...…..

So we headed over to where we knew it would be cool inside...…..St Patrick`s Cathedral.

We went inside and there was a cursory bag check......they needn't have bothered...….but in we went and the cool air in there was indeed welcome......and did manage to wake us up a little, albeit for a short time.

It really is a beautiful Cathedral. Doesn't matter what your faith is if you have one, it is an amazing building with a fascinating history of how it was built......we took about 50 pictures of architecture and design, but think that's a bit of overkill for a trip report!!

It is fairly busy with obvious tourists, but they do have their regular congregation who are here to pray and we are very conscious of not disturbing them. There are also about 10 young couples going through some kind of ceremony or instruction...…..the men went up first, then the very well dressed young ladies went up......I have no clue what it was. This area was sectioned off so you couldn't disturb what was going on.

Although it was busy there was a feeling of tranquility in here. I`m sure anyone would enjoy seeing it inside. No one is asked for donations but there are boxes as you exit. Beautiful building.

Tom took a couple of snaps as we came out......it wasn't feeling any cooler...….and now I was looking longingly at the 52nd floor of our hotel just behind the Cathedral and imagining me climbing into that lovely bed!!!! It really was only around 8.15 by now.

Two minutes later we were going into the private entrance to our elevators...….there was chilled bottles of water you could help yourself too set out at all times, although turndown would have left some we thought. We did however grab a couple as we were thirsty.

It did feel very personal in this little area...….check in on one side and the Tower Concierge at the other desk.

Turndown had indeed been. Water and two chocolates were left every evening...…..they also had pulled down the blinds. The room was incredibly cosy, but I wanted to see out......so up they came. They had dimmed the lights and left the tv on very low...…...Harry Potter weekend was on apparently...….how apt.

Meanwhile while I was fiddling with the controls...….Tom was already in the shower...…..long day and we both just wanted a shower. Although it didn't really waken us up, it certainly made us not feeling totally exhausted...…….and much fresher...……

We watched a little tv and couldn't believe at 9ish on a Friday evening in NYC......one of the most vibrant cities in the world...….we were ready to go to sleep...I did however catch a sunset before we did...……..

I think we were asleep before we actually reached the bed.

 

[iona]

Lovely photos, especially the ones of the cathedral - such a stunning building. Staying awake on the first night is such a challenge - I always consider making it to 9pm a resounding success!