Posted by Caren Crane Jun 16 2012, 11:36 am in Broadway, Caren Crane, Central Park, Metro, musicals, New York City, subway system, Times Square, TKTS, tourists
Lashings of apologies for the super-late post today, but I have a big old travel hangover this morning! The youngest daughter and I got back from NYC late last night. Can you think of a better reason to have a travel hangover? I love NYC!
I know some of you live in NYC and, therefore, have unique perspectives on the city and its environs. However, here are some of my personal, touristy (possibly nerdy) favorite things about NYC:
1. Central Park – I’ve been all over Manhattan on a number of previous trips, but had only dipped my walking shoes into the Park before this trip. The youngest, however, is a huge fan of Shakespeare and statuary. As you might guess, she dragged me ALL OVER Central Park on our four-day trip. Twice! We didn’t have a camera (gasp!) the first day, so when we bought one the second day we realized we would have to retrace our steps so she could get the pictures she needed – for her blog. Are there any pictures of me with the Alice in Wonderland statue or with Robert Burns? Why no, there aren’t. What we do for our kids!
2. Times Square – Times Square is a big old hot mess. It is packed at all times of the day and night, teeming with tourists (like me) and people trying hard to sell things to tourists. It is also, I’m, sorry to say, home to the most common restaurants in New York. We were appalled to note there is an Olive Garden right across from the TKTS booth. Gag! Of course, there are also some extra fun, extra touristy things like the M&M store (where you can mix your own bag of colors) and Hershey World (with the world’s biggest Hershey Kiss). I also saw more people dressed as Elmo than I ever thought possible. A couple of them were even pretending to have a fistfight. Fun!
3. TKTS – Almost as much fun as going to shows in NYC is buying tickets to see shows in NYC. While standing in line, you get to hear other people talk about their favorite shows, listen to the TKTS employees talk about all the shows and listen to random people who are pimping restaurants, shows and religion talk about their favorite shows. We saw Phantom of the Opera (second time for me, but the daughter wanted to see it) and also saw the Off-Broadway play Potted Potter. I felt like an insider when I got home and saw that Potted Potter made the Must List this week in Entertainment Weekly. 
4. Street Food – I steer clear of hot dogs, but I am a fan of a good food cart. When I was in NYC for the RWA conference years ago, I got this amazingly good gyro platter from this cart near the midtown Hilton. I kept telling people how awesome it was, much to their horror (since most declared they would never eat street food). Turns out the Halal Guys have the best street cart in NYC! I was able to find them again and we went and had gyros there this week. My daughter loved it, too, and we ate ours under the sheltered drive at the Hilton because it was pouring rain. Awesome!
5. The New York Public Library – The architecture is beautiful, the aura is amazing and everything about it bespeaks generations of people with a love for learning and literature. Yes, we went inside and we spent money in the gift shop. What other library has a gift shop?? We could have stayed all day, except we had to run away to catch a plane. We did enjoy a few quality minutes in Bryant Park (right next door), as well.
I don’t have time to post about the Lego store or Nintendo World or any of the other cool stuff. I could wax rhapsodic about the 5 hours we spent in the Metropolitan Museum of Art or even about the subway system. It was really a magical trip!
So what are your favorite things about New York City? If you haven’t been, what is on your Must See list if you get to go? For you guys who live there, what is your favorite thing tourists don’t know about? I can’t wait to hear!
Meanwhile, I need more coffee for my travel hangover…
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