ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-02-20 15:22:00 UTC
i'll be with the GF and will no doubt stay on Manhattan the entire time (4 nights).
Anybody got any tips for fun stuff to do/see? Ive got a full diary already...all the usual tourist stuff that we wanna do....mostly revolving around taking pictures (I loves me camera) of my fave buildings (Chrysler, Rockerfeller, flatIron, Brooklyn bridge etc). Have found some nice places to dine based on recent friends trips too, but always looking for better.
I'm a bit of a Scorcese fan so any sites that offer a nod to locations and such will be cool. Think also: Sopranos, Godfather etc. I did look into trying to book some time at a firing range to have a go at shooting a handgun but it looks like thats impossible as we are not residents.
I am also planning on taking the missus to the Waldorf for brunch or something as it will be her Birthday on the day we come home.
Are the any good bike dealers/shops in NYC? I searched for a KTM dealer but found none close by....
fuel
2011-02-20 15:27:00 UTC
MADDOG53
2011-02-20 17:39:00 UTC
http://www.gourmet.com/restaurants/2008 ... momofukuko.
Museum of Modern Art (MOMO) is good too, there was a Tim Burton exhibition on when we where there last year, we spent the whole day there.
Just wandering round the streets looking at all the places you've seen on TV and film is mesmerising and free too!
Be prepared to walk a lot!
ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-02-20 17:48:00 UTC
motoronin
2011-02-20 18:25:00 UTC
Ive heard little Italy is a bit disappointing but we'll take a look anyway. Deffo on the list of 'must do' is a bagel; smoked salmon n cream cheese of course!
Anyone got anything bike related...even just a good shop?
ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-02-20 18:28:00 UTC
fuel
2011-02-20 18:44:00 UTC
motoronin
2011-02-20 18:59:00 UTC
Stupid Luke
2011-02-20 19:12:00 UTC
Post missing.
Schnauzer
2011-02-20 19:16:00 UTC
Twin towers have gone for a start so no trip to the roof. Actually the roof was closed more often than not but you could take the express elevator up to the 40 something floor and look out the window. Be glad you didnt have to jump out of it.
Trouble with New York is you walk with deja vue as you have seen everything so often on tv.
Empire State Building isnt that tall. It isnt even as tall as the office blocks surrounding it. Best tip is go up it at night for the city lights. You be Tom Hanks, she be Meg Ryan call it Sleepless in Southend.
FAO Schwartz by Centre Park is the top shop where they filmed BIG. You be Tom Hanks, she be an inflatable sex doll - you will get thrown out.
Got into Radio City Music Hall on year for the X Mas show, lucky as a guy was returning tickets for that night as I walked in. Never managed to get in again, those Rockettes would get it. Never bothered with Letterman, dont bother to watch him here either.
Dont waste you time with Maceys it may be the worlds largest dept store but it is just a lot of ajoining department store badly knocked into one. Think of a tatty Harrods with mismatched floor levels. Bloomingdales for the essential naff paper bag.
Statue of Liberty is smaller than you would think too. You will see it on the plane landing if you go to JFK. Best tip here is to take the helicopter tour as the ferry / walk up is just a pointless shuffle up a narrow spiral staircase with your head up some other tourist's arse.
I used to stay in the Renaissance on Times Sq. Times Sq is good for photos at night and pretty good to hangout. They used to get aggressive beggars when I went 'HEY MAN GIMME 5 DOLLARS i GOT AIDS MUTHERFUKKA'
fuel
2011-02-20 19:18:00 UTC
BASH69
2011-02-20 19:38:00 UTC
Post missing.
bic_bicknell
2011-02-20 19:57:00 UTC
http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/index.php
Im going for a friends 40th in the next 2 years and he loves Sopranos etc so hes keen to see Jersey Boys, not sure of the connection myself?
Because of my love of Hip Hop etc i wanted to go ghetto and took a cab round all the ruff areas, just out of interest to see if was just like my favourite old pictures of Grand Master Flash etc, that was pretty cool
Superdan
2011-02-20 20:20:00 UTC
I think the hype about the "Big Apple" is a case of the Emperor's New Clothes.
It's just a big, ugly, dirty, very, very, very expensive city full of people who can't speak properly. A load of bollox is what NYC is, and I've been there loads of times. You'll get absolutely knackered walking about the boring grid of streets, the excitement will wear off in three hours and then you'll just feel ripped off by everyone. It's a nightmare of retail hell, posers, wankers and users. God I hate NYC.
But Shade, you'll have a great time. You and the GF will love it. You'll believe the hype because it's a very well thought out con, they've spent decades perfecting the spin, the hype, the myth. It takes a very strong case of will power to see through the facade.
ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-02-20 20:50:00 UTC
Ice skating in central park was fun.
I paid for most stuff in advance, if you do the Empire State pay extra for the "express pass" otherwise you will be waiting hours.
Take a look online and see if you can get tickets for Ice hockey or basketball, good for a laugh.
And find the address of your hotel so you can get all those GOPRO goodies sent to your room
Gordon Ramsey has a really nice place there but you have to book 3 months to the day, AMAZING food.
Statue of liberty was fun, gave statton island a miss though.
The only place I wanted to go but did not was a sandwich place where they filmed the famous "orgasm" scene from When Harry Met Sally, just never got round to it.
Bit German but best was to get the most of it in a few days is have an itinerary.
motoronin
2011-02-20 21:11:00 UTC
Post missing.
ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-02-20 21:46:00 UTC
Schnauzer
2011-02-20 22:02:00 UTC
I am still super excited about going!
Stupid Luke
2011-02-20 22:14:00 UTC
motoronin
2011-02-20 22:24:00 UTC
Did anyone see the Empire State or the Staue of Liberty and think they were grander than you imagined from the t.v?
Bollox, America is the film media and they do a bang up publicity job on themselves. I have been many times east and west coast and it is never what they portray in the movies.
It always seems smaller somehow, and tackier. And I include LA, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Florida Keys, Grand Canyon and Disneyland in that.
For a first holiday it is amazing, after a dozen holidays you will still find things to enjoy but FFS dont tell me you fall for the bullshit they spin.
Millar
2011-02-20 22:39:00 UTC
Post missing.
MADDOG53
2011-02-20 23:07:00 UTC
I rather liked going up the Statue of Liberty... It is smaller than you expect but interesting to see her from the inside!
BTW it takes longer than you think to walk from the south of Manhattan to Central Park.
motoronin
2011-02-20 23:30:00 UTC
DribbleDuke
2011-02-20 23:52:00 UTC
motoronin
2011-02-21 03:33:00 UTC
Post missing.
ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-02-21 07:06:00 UTC
Im not worried about negative comments on here....there would prolly be similar ones if someone was coming to London. There may be bettere things to go see in the US than NYC but thats where we are going. I cant visit everywhere in one trip can I??
So getting back on thread.....if anyone has some recommendations of nice cafes, cinemas to see (a professional and personal interest) and specific shops to find (spesh bike related) I'd love to hear it.
I did find a DUCATI CAFE link online....looks nice but not sure I'd get as much out of it as others would.
bic_bicknell
2011-02-21 07:17:00 UTC
I'm a pretty positive person mainly and see the good in most things. Can see it in NY if I'm actually there, I have had a lot of friends there and had good times too - but that's the people, not the place. But generally I don't like it. I don't like London either for all the same reasons. And before anyone has a go - I'm moving out as soon as it's practically possible. I'm not a city person, never have been even though I've lived in them for most of my life.
lc4
2011-02-21 07:33:00 UTC
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Dutch
2011-02-21 11:15:00 UTC
I used to go every July for two weeks on easy business, and spent ages hanging around the Meatpacking District (around the Gansvoort, 13th & 9th) and wandering around the West Village and then into Soho. The people are funky, the girls are pretty, it's like a movie cliche on every street corner, and it's nice to be somewhere that actually lives up to the hype. (...unlike LA,or London for that matter).
Have breakfast at the River Cafe "down under the Manhatten Bridge Overpass" (DUMBO for short) if you wanna impress the missus, for amazing food, old school service and greeat views.
Go shopping in the big department stors, make sure you check China Town, Little Italy, Soho and Nolita. Go to small cafes and weird shops, breakfast is alway,s the best meal of the day. I thought the East Village was less good than the West (less walkable), ...Ground Zero is kind of interesing as is the rest of "downtown". Times Square is a bit shyte to be honest. You can ignore 42nd Street, etc, but Central Park is beautiful for when you head uptwon. The Empire State (midtown, not downtown) is cool but the Chrysler building is cooler, gatecrash a few hotel bars for evening drinks, try to get invited up the roof of Soho House (you'll need to meet a member), use the Subway and cabs, forget buses - or walk when you're between the Village and Soho/Nolita/Chinatown.
e.g. Hang Out on the corner of 13th & 9th in the meatpacking District then walk through the Village down Bleeker Street into Soho. Then shop, nibble and coffee around Broadway, Mercer, Wooster and Greene Street Between Prince Street and Broome in Soho, before heading over Broadway into Nolita or toward downtown into Chinatown. ...or maybe do that backwarsd and Finish around 13th & Ninth for drinks and food in the early evening. I think there's some kinda biker bar up in the area as loadsa Harleys seemed to cruise in the area. It's also where all the late night bars and clubs are.
You can also head up Broadway from Union Square, for a bigger city vibe than Soho, etc, and the further up you go, the posher it gets. Broadway is a good street to reference the rest of new york city from, as it cuts diagonally across the huge wide grid from South East to North West, as is W Houston, which divides the large gridded streets of midtown upwards from the more London-like random streets of the Village and Soho below.
I did one find an amazing antiques market in Midtwon west, which was outdoor and huge, where there was some amazing Asian stuff that you'd never find in Europe. I came back with Chinese swords. LOL.
Try also drinking at the roof of the Thompson Hotel (Soho, near Prince Street), which they say is a members club, but you can usually blag your way in if you're a Brit. Regarding boat trips, it's a great city to see from the rive, so def incorporate that into your trip.
OldTLSDoug
2011-02-21 11:23:00 UTC
Dutch
2011-02-21 11:32:00 UTC
easygee
2011-02-22 14:06:00 UTC
I would not recommend spending too much time in line for the Empire State building and all that. Go bar hopping in the east village area, walk in central park. If you (or most likely your girlfriend) want to go shopping take the bus from Penn Station to Woodbury Common. http://www.premiumoutlets.com/woodburycommon/ its a huge factory outlet area for brands like North Face, Oakley ,NIKE it's huge and each brand has its own store, not the flee marked feeling. Since the dollar is so weak and it's about half off it's basically free for Europeans.
If you guys wanna see the United Nations while you are here, just PM me and I'll show you guys around.
Enjoy
Duke4Dirk
2011-02-22 18:06:00 UTC
No. 47
2011-02-22 20:11:00 UTC
motoronin
2011-04-07 00:43:00 UTC
ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-04-07 09:21:00 UTC
Rockefella, Empire State, Chrysler, Flat Iron, Central park, Statton Island Ferry, cafes, restaurants.....all great.
Highlights were; Chrysler building, Rockefellar at night, pizza in the most amazing place near Soho which was like a scene from Sopranos or something, seeing Taxi Driver on a brand new 35mm print in an arthouse cinema near Soho and seeing David Byrne in the foyer (legend!), walking over Manhattan bridge from the Dumbo district.
Treated myself to a new lens as soon as we got there which i used for most of the trip....it was so perfect for all the architectural vistas i love to snap......and i also grabbed a GoProHD too
We lucked out with the weather too, i even got a little bit tanned!
Next time i go it will be more chilled out, less sight seeing and more relaxing and soaking up the atmos.
ShadeTheChangingMan
2011-04-07 09:23:00 UTC
nickprice
2011-04-07 09:37:00 UTC
fuel
2011-04-07 15:44:00 UTC
Post missing.
rocketchick
2011-04-07 15:53:00 UTC
Ducati Pete
2011-04-08 03:47:00 UTC
If you want to see an amazing show go watch the Lion King on Broadway...This show will give you chills...
As far as a ktm dealer there IS or WAS Corsa Motorsports on the Ave of Americas..I"m not sure if they are still open.
Enjoy yourself whatever you choose to do, and remember to root for the Yankees
Just remember while you there....There's nothing you can't do now yr in NY !!!!!!