8 Fun Things to Do in New York City

I just returned from a fabulous trip with my Sis.

{She's pretty much the best thing since sliced bread.}

We've been plotting planning this for years!

I thought I'd share a few tidbits with you . . .

If you're looking for

 an exciting {but not restful} vacation,

New York City

is a fabulous place to go!

Here are a few of my 

favorite things to do in NYC

and some tips I've learned along the way.

1 - Take a Carriage Ride Thru Central Park

It is pricey, but it's my favorite thing we did!

Central Park is 843 acres, so we just cut through the bottom

section from our hotel to the restaurant for dinner than night.

Source

The park is breathtakingly beautiful.

And if you're lucky, you'll get to feed your horsey a carrot.

2 - Visit the 9/11 Memorial Site

During our stay in NY, the new building, One World Trade Center,

became the tallest in the city at 1,271 ft high {100 floors}.

Two 30 foot waterfalls have been constructed in the

footprints of the buildings that fell. 

The nearly 3,000 victims name's are inscribed in bronze

around the perimeters of the waterfalls. 

{The arrangement is meaningful - families were able to request that names be placed alongside each other 

according to relationships shared. }

Make sure to see the Survivor Tree.

It has an amazing story!

TIP: Tickets are required, but they are free.

Your concierge can get them for you.

3 - Enjoy the Great Food

If you've heard it's expensive, you've heard right!

It's also some of the best food I've ever had.

One of our favorite places was called Sarabeth's.

{40 Central Park South, http://www.sarabethscps.com/}

DON'T MISS THE "FOUR FLOWERS" JUICE!

We also love a place called Pasha.

It is Turkish. 

We loved the "Tavuk Sis" chicken kabobs,

the "Beyaz  Peynir" appetizer & the fruit sorbet.

Other restaurants we tried:

The Palm Court at The Plaza {expensive & so delicious - we're pretty sure our waiter was really a mafia boss}

Carnegie Deli {crowded with people, huge portions, the cheesecake was great - see above photo}

Breakfast at Norma's {expensive, huge portions, great juice, 

we liked Sarabeth's even better}

Becco's {Italian, we had the pasta trio & a dessert sampler}

Del Frisco's {this was our big splurge meal. It was good, but I liked the food at Pasha better} 

TIP: Almost every restaurant takes reservations & most are so busy that you better have one!

4 - See Some Broadway Shows

This is my favorite thing to do in NY, so you can imagine

my dismay when I met many visitors from other countries 

who were skipping Broadway because "it's too expensive".

These are the plays we saw. 

We had orchestra - or floor - tickets for all

{Sis has balance issues & can't be in the balcony}.

Newsies - $92  - My fav! Extraordinary choreography!

Jersey Boys - $127 - Such great music, but LOTS of swearing.

Mary Poppins - $117 - Very well done, fun.

In the past, I've also LOVED Wicked, The Lion King, & Hairspray.

TIP: To save $ on tickets, call the number on the back of your American Express card to access the FREE concierge service. They can help you get blocked-out Broadway seats at a discount!

Also, there's a TKTS booth in Times Square that sells discounted seats. 

5 - Do the "Tourist Stuff"

Sis with the Statue of Liberty in the background

Stuff I love to see:

The New York Library

The Statue of Liberty {If you ferry over to the statue, it will take all day. You can ride the Staten Island Ferry free & see it from there - that takes about an hour round-trip.}

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rockefeller Center {You can go to the "Top-of-the-Rock" for $25, but don't go up on a cloudy day.}

Chinatown {It's crazy though!}

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Times Square

6 - Embrace the Crazy Transportation

The Subway is the cheapest way to get around

{Go ahead & buy a Metrocard to use all week.}

Cabs - Get in, buckle up, & shut up!

{Don't expect the driver to be friendly or to be happy with your 20% tip.}

Walking - No matter what, you'll do lots of it.

{Don't bring new shoes!}

7 - Enjoy the People

If you like people watching, you're about to get your eyes full!

I believe in keeping myself safe, 

but when I'm in NYC I love to talk to the people.

Sis & I talked to nearly everyone we could!

And it was FUN!

9. Shopping

You'll find things you don't see anywhere else & 

of course, everything is on-trend or even ahead of it's time.

---------------------------------

So that's my summary.

In my next post, I'll share 

my dream that came true while in New York . . .