Build-up to Our Five-day Stay in New York City
(scheduled for 7-12 April 2015)

Sights    Accommodations    Train Route/Map    HOME    INDEX
5 Days in NEW YORK!         Post-New York Trip
New York Skyline

    The build-up to this trip to New York in April started way back in November last year.  This trip is more exciting than most others because I am meeting up with my best friend in the whole world, Bron.  Or as we call her here, Bonnie.  I call her B for short.  We are going to one of the most incredible cities in the world and we only have five days to cram in as much as we can, which has been a challenge.  B has her list of things to see and do and I have mine, and when we meet up we'll pool our findings and go from there.  The best part is that the lists are not restrictive, merely guides and options to consider.

    Researching things to see and do is not difficult.  I used the beautiful Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Top Ten New York Guide which is just fabulous.  It's a small book that is easy to carry around with you, and there are maps and even a pullout map if you don't want to carry the book.  They list all sorts of things to consider seeing and doing, and I made quite a varied selection using this guide.  The other way is to search on the Internet.  On these three free museums (1) and free museums (2) and free museums (3) websites I found out all the names and addresses and admission fees (including their free days or reduced entrance fee days) from which we can choose what we would like to see.  I found these websites www.nycgo.com/, www.citypass.com/new-york/things-to-do-new-york, newyork.com and nyc.com quite interesting and informative.

    Getting around this enormous city will be easy with a Metro bus and subway 7-day unlimited pass for $30.

     

    Sights We Listed for Consideration

    The obvious sights come to mind, which we have listed, and finding more things to see and do isn't difficult.  A list of sights in certain areas (Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Midtown, etc.) certainly helps prioritize one's days and means we will be able to see each area in more detail, not wasting precious time rushing backwards and forwards.

    When reseaching this trip, I knew my budget was severely limited, so finding free or inexpensive things to do was a priority.  Many of the museums have days on which you can "pay what you will" which is fantastic for those of us with restricted budgets!  Visit this website (and see above links) for more information.

    Sights we hope to see:
    Fifth Avenue Apartments – Central Park – Metropolitan Museum of Art – Frick Collection – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – Strawberry Fields in Central Park (at 72nd St) – Dakota Building (72nd & Central Park West) – American Museum of Natural History – Tiffany's – St. Patrick's Cathedral – Saks Fifth Avenue – Grand Cental Station – Chrysler Building – 42nd Street – New York Public Library – Empire State Building – Times Square – Radio City Music Hall – Museum of Arts and Design – Museum of Modern Art – Broadway – Greenwich Village – Bleeker Street – Little Italy – Chinatown – Ground Zero Memorial – City Hall – The Brooklyn Bridge – South Street Seaport – Ellis Island – Statue of Liberty, and a ride on the Staten Island ferry, which is free to ride.  B added High Line and nighttime views from the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square!  We might also take a one-hour bike rental for a quick ride in Central Park.  Something different to do.

    The kazillions of restaurants and delis that are to be tried include Serendipity, the Russian Tea Room, 2nd Ave Deli, Locanda Verde (DeNiro's restaurant), Café Cortadito (Cuban), Brick Lane Curry House, and a ton more.  Remember, we only have five days!  We haven't decided whether or not a Broadway show is in the offing.  It will be interesting to see after the fact what we did indeed get to see and what we didn't.

    For more information on this fantastic city, do your own research by typing in "what to see in New York City" on google.com or any other search engine.

    I will be updating this page from time to time as our arrival date approaches and we find more things to see and do!

    Accommodations

    B arranged the accommodation for five nights at the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Avenue.  With that as our starting point each morning, getting to the next area to discover will mean either a walk, a bus ride or a subway ride. 

    As I am arriving the day before B, my first night will be at the fascinating and rather different Library Hotel.  I fell in love with this hotel when I discovered it when looking through both TripAdvisor.com and hotels.com for possible places to stay.  Their hotel floors and rooms are based on the Dewey Decimal System, and as I am a substitute librarian and a published author, this appealed to me no end.  Yes, there are books all over the hotel as well as gorgeous sitting places where one can plot and plan one's next novel, spend time working on your current book, or write some poetry on their beautiful highrise patio.

    We were both going to leave New York on Sunday the 12th of April but I decided to stay that night and take an early train home on a different route.  I was fortunate enough to find the Casablanca Hotel, a sister hotel of the Library Hotel, for that night. 

    Route

    B is flying from London's Heathrow to New York's JFK on British Airways.  My route was pretty much decided for me as I decided to take Amtrak instead of flying.  The cost of flying was comparable to an 8-segment 15-day rail pass.  The best part is that I will have two days and two nights on the train (there and back) where I can relax and prepare for this trip without the stress of preparing (and enduring) for a flight.  Because the rail pass is valid for 15 days, I decided to use it to almost its full extent and get more than I bargained for.  So I included stops on the way back in Philadelphia, Washington DC and Charlottesville, which may or may not change, depending on any number of things.  You couldn't do that with a plane ticket!

    Getting to New York from Colorado I had to take the Southwest Chief (or the California Zephyr, but then I would have had to get to Denver, and La Junta is closer and more convenient for me) from La Junta, CO to Chicago and then the Lake Shore Limited to New York.  For the return journey I had the option of taking either the Lake Shore Limited again, the Capitol Limited or the Cardinal & Hoosier State train.  I studied the Amtrak timetable and worked out times and routes which I thought would suit this trip.

    Check out your rail pass options on this Amtrak website.

    E-mail:  pettprojects@yahoo.com

    Travel Home Page     Road Trips     About Me     INDEX

    Photographs on this page were sourced from the Internet.  Website design © Adrienne Petterson 2015-2024.
    No  part  of  these  web  pages  may  be  used  without  prior  permission.