New York City
April 16-19th, 2004
New York City, also known as The Big Apple, can be a
daunting place to visit but everyone should experience the thrill of such a
sprawling metropolis at least once in their life. We had put it off for far too
long, so in April of 2004 we decided to head for the city that never sleeps. It
would be a whirlwind weekend of touring all the great attractions, and to make
things easier Karabeener would be our local guide. Beener is currently attending
Hofstra University, so she is an expert at getting around the city.
We arranged for a hotel in Manhattan, The Comfort Inn
on 35th Street, for a reasonable rate ( $120/night ) , and based all
of our sight seeing from that location. From there we were only blocks away from
the Empire State Building and several other city highlights. The room was small,
but very clean and comfortable. We stayed in room 301 which had a double bed and
sleeper sofa, and the smallest little bathroom sink you will ever see…but it
worked just fine. We decided to fly into New Jersey and take a shuttle bus into
the city, this worked out great as the Jersey airport is less busy than JFK or
LaGuardia. Beener took the LIRR ( Long Island Rail Road ) into the city and met
us at the hotel on a Friday afternoon. Now it was time for some serious sight
seeing. First on our list of attractions was Times Square, so off we went.
Times Square was just as impressive as I pictured it
to be! Neon billboards, people, and yellow cabs were everywhere you looked…it
was amazing! We walked along the city streets and took in the sights and sounds.
That was enough to work up a good appetite so we headed for Little Italy.
Karabeener, our official cab hailer, flagged down a taxi and we were on our way
to a great selection of cafes and Trattoria. We feasted on pasta and bread
until we could eat no more, and then it was off to Beener’s favorite bakery,
Ferrara’s, for desert ( there is always room for desert ). We ordered a New York
style cheesecake that was to die for! Absolutely the best cheesecake I have ever
tasted, we even took one home with us before we left! Satiated and feeling
quite content we returned to the hotel to freshen up. We then decided to try and
tour the Empire State Building for some great night views of the city, but the
line was around the block! We decided it was best to save that for another day.
Saturday morning the sky was as blue as it could be
and we were so thankful for such a beautiful day, mainly because we were heading
for the Statue of Liberty, and we knew that blue sky would be a perfect
background in photographs. We caught a cab outside our hotel and headed for
Battery Park. Our cab driver was totally cool and she was nice enough to be a
tour guide as well, pointing out some interesting sights and offering advice on
where to go and what to see. Very nice!
The ferry to Liberty Island was a great place to get
some photos of the NYC skyline from the water, and as we got closer to Liberty
the statue became more and more impressive. Once on Liberty Island her full
grandeur is realized. Standing 305 feet tall she is a sight to behold and one
can only imagine what it must have been like for immigrants to see her for the
first time. Her crown has seven points representing the seven continents and
seven seas, and her tablet is engraved in Roman numerals with our date of
independence; July 4th, 1776. She is made of copper and has developed
a patina over the years, which gives her the green color we all know. We spent
several hours photographing Liberty and marveling at her prowess. She is a
monument to be proud of!
Once back on Manhattan we walked around Battery Park
and then headed for Seaport for some lunch. We ate at Heartland Brewery where we
enjoyed excellent hamburgers and fries. Our next undertaking was a walk across
the Brooklyn Bridge. It took some asking to find the entrance to the pedestrian
walkway, but once we found it the views were fantastic! We walked all the way
across to Brooklyn and down to Bridge Park, which offers great ground views of
the structure. On the other side of the bridge we sat on the dock and soaked in
the spring sunshine as we waited on a water taxi to take us back to Manhattan.
Later that day we made the somber trip to Ground Zero,
where the Twin Towers had once stood tall and proud. The site, mostly cleaned up
now from that terrible day of September 11th, 2001, is still
heartbreaking enough to bring tears to your eyes. We shall never forget.
That evening we ate at Tsampa, a Tibetan restaurant
with excellent cuisine. Beener had to give us instruction on the fine art of
eating with chopsticks, which was quite an experience. A comical one to those
watching I am sure, but we soon got the hang of it! Our next stop was Veniero’s,
an excellent pasticceria, near Greenwich Village. We had strawberry shortcake
that was out of this world, and tiramisu which was equally wonderful. On a side
note; an interesting thing happened on our way from Tsampa to Veniero’s; as we
were walking we came across a movie set. After asking around we found out that
the production was for a new movie called “The Interpreter”, directed by Sydney
Pollack and starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. Penn and his wife, Robin
Wright Penn, were on the set and Sydney Pollack was running around busily
creating an Oscar hopeful. It was amazing to watch the activity and to witness
the enormity of such a production. We can’t wait to see the movie on the big
screen so we can try and pick out the scene we saw being filmed.
Sunday morning we caught a cab to Central Park. There
was a marathon going on at the time and all of these young kids were just
running their hearts out! After watching the runners for awhile we moved on to
explore the park. The spring flowers were out in full bloom and everything was
fresh and colorful. It made for a soothing journey as we walked the paths in
search of “Strawberry Fields”, a tribute to John Lennon. The memorial is a
mosaic with the word IMAGINE dominating the scene. It evokes many emotions, but
most of all it stirs from the recess of your mind the lyrics to an amazing song,
“Imagine all the people living life in peace…”-John Lennon.
Next stop was Hofstra University and Jones Beach. We
hopped on the Long Island Rail Road and 20 minutes later we were in Hempstead.
Beener showed us around campus, which was small but beautifully landscaped, and
then it was off to Bertucci’s for lunch. Bertucci’s is famous for brick oven
pizzas and for good reason. After lunch we headed to Jones Beach. The Atlantic
Ocean was kicking up quite a breeze, making the temp on the beach about twenty
degrees cooler than inland where it was around 75. We walked in the sand until
we got too cold then it was back to the LIRR station.
Beener dropped us off and we made our way back to NYC.
We spent the evening dining in Little Italy, yes again, we can’t stay away! Then
we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at night for some great evening shots of
the bridge and the skyline. From Brooklyn we caught a cab back to the Empire
State Building for some night shots of the big city. The view was great from
the top, but the wait to get there was insane. The powers that be really need to
do some upgrading on how they get tourists through the lines. Obviously security
is an issue that slows things down, and that is fine, but they need to do
something about ventilation. There is just one tiny corridor where they shuffle
everyone through the line and there is no air circulation, except for one fan
mounted on the wall. It was pretty miserable, and this was in April at 9:00pm. I
can’t imagine the middle of the summer at prime time. But anyway, the view was
worth the smothering wait.
Our last excursion in NYC was Times Square at night.
The lights and billboards are even more eye-popping in the evening. If you visit
be sure to check it out when it gets dark, as well as during the day.
On Monday morning we caught our bus back to the Jersey
airport for our flight home. It had been a wonderful weekend in a wonderful
city. New Yorkers, despite their reputation, were kind, considerate, and
friendly. Everyone should visit at least once. All we can say is “WE LOVE NEW
YORK!!”
