New York: It’s a helluva town!

June 7, 2012 in People, Travel

Just in case you haven’t heard, I went to America for a holiday a little while ago. You might have forgotten. It’s ok, I forgive you. To remind you of your insane jealousy for my special trip, I thought I’d write some little posts for you, city by city about my trip around America. My first stop: NEW YORK CITY!

I must say, to all you New York lovers, it was a let down. See, I had never been overseas before, and New York City as my first stop was probably not the best idea. It was crowded, dirty and noisy. The food was also the worst I experienced in the USA.

The Flight

Our hotel - Metro Apartments (mind the mess on the bed!)

We flew directly to Los Angeles from Brisbane and had a lot of trouble sleeping on the plane. You know that dozing type of sleep that you have where you aren’t really sleeping? Yes, I had that, even though I took 3/4 of a sleeping tablet. I must say, despite my absolute fear of flying, the flight over was amazingly smooth. Almost zero turbulence. Plus the TV screens in the economy seats were amazing and I watched lots of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and some movies. We left Brisbane at 10:30am, and arrived in LA at about 6:00am (yes, we’d traveled back in time).

The Arrival

We cleared customs very quickly and had a three hour wait until our flight to NYC. Let me tell you, Terminal 4 in LAX is not the nicest place to first experience all that America has to offer. The shops were terrible and security was terrifying. They make you take your shoes off and scan your passport and boarding pass with the scrutiny of an FBI agent! I went into a newsagent once through security and thought I might pick up a magazine or two. Ummm, more like 5. Magazines, like everything else in America are unbelievably cheap. As in, Marie Claire? $4.00. All the tabloids? $3.00. I went berserk, slightly forgetting the fact that the Americans ADD tax to everything.

We got on our flight to NYC and the sheer fatigue set in. We had to keep waking each other up because we were nodding off, and wanted to get our body clocks onto NYC time. We were arriving at 6:00pm, and we had to stay awake to fall asleep at bedtime to minimise jetlag.

Statue of Liberty shot from the Staten Island Ferry. Note the construction going on around it!

Finally, we arrived in NYC at JFK airport. It was so surreal. The walk to baggage claim was so long, it went for kilometres. It was the biggest airport I’ve ever seen. We had decided to save money and catch public transport into Manhattan instead of shelling out $50.00 for a cab. That involved catching an airport train/shuttle thing to the nearest subway station to catch the E line into Manhattan. We got to the E line, got our tickets, annnnd then I got stuck trying to get through the turnstiles. It was so embarrassing and I was jetlagged and shell shocked, so the natural solution was to scream at Mr W “OMGGGG I’M STUCK GET ME OUT GET ME OUTTTT”. Yeah. That went well.

We got confused on the subway ride about our stop even though I knew we were supposed to get off at the Port Authority. A friendly man pointed out to us that stop 42 (on the “next stop” display screens) was the Port Authority and we should get off there. So we did. It probably wasn’t the best way to be seeing NYC for the first time. Exiting the Port Authority we were greeted with travellers and people hanging out at the Irish pub there. Then we headed in the wrong direction down West 41st street. It was cold and I was a bit scared of all the people so I yelled at Mr W. Good times.

The Hotel

WTC Memorial. People leaving flowers on their loved ones names.

We then started walking in the right direction towards our hotel, which was the Metro Apartment Hotel. This is in mid-town Manhattan, aka the touristy area. Unfortunately, there is a lot of construction going on in the Lincoln Tunnel and thereby near our hotel, so it was a bit of a navigational challenge. It isn’t a very nice area, and there are lots of homeless people, which is confronting. We arrived at the hotel and couldn’t enter the lobby, and instead had to go in through a side entrance which was not very nice. Originally, we were supposed to be sharing a one bedroom apartment with Mr W’s brother, who had met us in NYC, but we were put in separate rooms. Our rooms were on the 5th floor and ours was directly facing a construction site across the street. Mr W’s brother’s backed onto an overpass from the Port Authority. It was a little noisy as construction doesn’t stop at 5.00pm in NYC. However, it was clean, and very spacious and we had a kitchenette which we thought we might use, but we didn’t. If I could go back, I probably would have taken the deal the travel agent offered us for $200.00 more – a Hilton hotel in SoHo.

We went straight to Times Square, which is where I had an immediate freak out. THE PEOPLE. SO MANY PEOPLE! I couldn’t believe it and not in a good way. Mr W calmed me down and we went and had something to eat. We were so tired by this stage, we went back to our hotel and straight to bed.

Statue of Liberty

On our first day in NYC, we tried to go to the Statue of Liberty. We hadn’t thought of the fact that every major tourist attraction in NYC has airport style security. So the wait to get on the ferry that takes you to the Statue (which was also closed for renovations, so you could only walk around the island) was TWO HOURS. We gave up and headed over to the Staten Island Ferry, which is free and passes right by the statute. Unless you get to the ferry that takes you to the Statue early (like 8.00am), I would strongly recommend just catching the Staten Island Ferry and going past the Statue and taking photos from there.

Me on the Brooklyn Bridge!

World Trade Centre Memorial

The World Trade Centre Memorial was crazy with security, and also, it was a long walk to get in. You’re supposed to pre-book your tickets online and you’re given an entry time, but we just went to the visitors centre and they gave us an entry time upon making a donation. It was quite an emotional place. The museum is still being constructed at the memorial site, but it should be finished by September 2012.

Brooklyn Bridge

Another thing recommended to us was to catch the subway to Brooklyn and then walk over the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan. It was worth it. Initially when coming out of the subway, we were a little confused, but a really lovely couple asked us if we needed help, then asked us where we were from “Australia“, we said, “OH WOW AUS-TRAAAA-YLA” was the response. Anyway, this was so worth it. Even though my feet were horrendously sore.

Broadway

We also went to see a Broadway show. Broadway theatres are speckled all around Times Square. Hence why it is the theatre district. We went to one called Memphis, which won a Tony award. It was FREAKING AMAZING. We were too tired to line up for half price tickets, so we just paid full price ($100.00 a ticket), but it was worth every cent. It was so good, I was exhausted, but I was standing up and clapping through it. Amazing.

Top of the Rock

Me and Central Park. From the Top of the Rock

Top of the Rock is the observatory above the Rockefeller Centre. Mr W and I had just had a huge fight, as I had gone off to go shopping on 5th Avenue and he was supposed to be doing an NBC tour. He rang me while I was in the Gap and said the tour had been cancelled. I was starting to feel sick by this stage (American food is awful, just saying), and got grumpy at him. Then I ran to the bathroom and made good friends with the toilets in the Gap. Good times. We calmed down and made it to Rockefeller Centre, where we were given an entry time. We then went and had Ben & Jerry’s while we waited. Up we went soon after. It was amazing. We went late afternoon and it was beautiful. I loved it.

Empire State Building

This was one of my worst NYC experiences. We went at night and the line was huge. We had a New York Pass (pre-paid, discounted card for NYC tourist passes) and that didn’t give us express entry like it did in most other places. We had to wait TWO HOURS to get to the top. In that two hours, there was a security breach and I shit myself, thinking that a plane was coming for the building. Turns out, some idiot had accidentally pressed the emergency button in the lifts. The top of the Empire State Building was absolutely FREEZING. I was outside for about 2 minutes. We also went up to the 102nd floor, which was all covered in and was probably worth the extra $15.00. However, if I had to choose between the two, I would go to the Top of the Rock over the Empire State Building.

Little Italy!

SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown

One afternoon, we went to SoHo, mainly so I could go to the Kardashian shop, Dash. I went there, and Mr W and his brother went off elsewhere. SoHo is GREAT. I only went down one street really, and wish I had more time there. I then met up with them and we walked through Mott Street in Chinatown. It was absolutely disgusting and I wish I could undo my memory of it. They had raw seafood out on the street for sale. It stank so badly, ewwww it was disgusting. We quickly took off to Little Italy. It was AMAZING. We had my first decent meal since leaving Australia at a little Italian restaurant (There are many to choose from).

Museums

Sadly, we only made it to the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art. I so badly wish we had made it to the Met, which Mr W’s brother ended up going to after we left – apparently, absolutely amazing. The Guggenheim was ok, but there was lots of modern art, which was basically coloured iron which was in all different shapes. Mr W’s brother got stuck in a stairwell as the three of us tried to race each other out, and ended up on the roof. That was pretty hilarious. We lasted about 10 minutes at the Museum of Modern Art – the three of us hated it and thought it deathly boring.

Central Park

Amazing. I loved it. Didn’t make it to the zoo, because we didn’t have time, but it was beautiful.

New York Public Library

I loved it. It is beautiful and the gift store has some great stuff. I just walked around staring at all the pretty books. I also made friends with Patience and Fortitude, the lions that guard the front of it.

Kourtney Kardashian - look how close I got GUYS!

Kourtney Kardashian

Made an appearance in Bryant Park which I happened to see on Twitter when eating breakfast one morning. Plans were changed and I waited there for her for an hour. She was there for about 5 minutes and the press were like lions. Still, I SAW A KARDASHIAN!

Food

One thing we didn’t do in NYC was plan places to eat, other than Blue Smoke (an American ribs restaurant), which Mr W really wanted to go to. This was a huge mistake. We had a lot of trouble finding food to eat when we were hungry (I refused to eat street cart food, the diner food made me sick enough), especially when we were in the financial district (where the boats are to the Statue of Liberty and where the WTC site is). We thought we would find great food on every corner in NYC and this was not the case. The coffee was terrible. It was terrible most places in America, but NYC was particularly bad. Starbucks was the only drinkable coffee I could find. We had planned food for most other cities, which was good. We should have planned NYC food better.

MMMM Ben & Jerry's. In the concourse of Rockefeller Centre waiting to go up to Top of the Rock

Transport

We caught the subway everywhere. Looking at the maps of Manhattan, we thought that everything would be so close in terms of walking distance but it wasn’t. With traffic, pedestrian traffic and you know, all those buildings, it was quicker to catch the subway. We mastered it pretty quickly and we were fine.

I have to say, New York was my least favourite stop in America. The food was awful and the city was crowded and dirty. Many of my expectations were too high because New York is a city shoved down our throat in popular culture, so I expected it to be completely magic. However, cities that I didn’t know much about (like Chicago and New Orleans) were wonderful, because I had no expectations. I will definitely go back there though, there is a lot we didn’t get to, and I want to give it a second chance.

What about you? Have you been to NYC? Did you like it or were your expectations too high? Is it the best city in the world?

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Whippersnapper has written 37 posts.

15 Comments »

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Kel

This was great! Like you, I’ve always wanted to go to NY.

What do you wish you’d seen that you didn’t and what was Dash like? Oh and was the whole city dirty? Even places like Soho and 5th ave? And is the traffic really intense?

X
- Whippersnapper
  
  Ummm, Dash was OK because I really wanted to see it. But the staff were incredibly rude and the clothes were sort of like Zimmerman prices – expensive and really fashiony.
  
  Most of the city was dirty, other than the upper east and upper west side. 5th Avenue is uptown so it wasn’t too bad.
  
  I seriously wish we hadn’t wasted time at the Empire State Building, and I wish I had more time in Central Park. Didn’t really like Macy’s either. I would have NOT gone down Mott Street in Chinatown (with all the disgusting smelling seafood on display).
  
  Also, wish I’d spent more time on 5th Avenue and gone to the Met. Would have liked to spend a day exploring Brooklyn too and had more time in SoHo + actually made it to Greenwich Village.
  
  I didn’t find the traffic that intense at all. Certainly no worse than the traffic you experience in capital city Australia in peak hour. Except in NYC, it’s usually all day, not just in peak hour!
Mandi Aylmore

I went to New York when I was 18 and I LOVED IT!

The atmosphere was just incredible. Mind you, this was years before 9/11 so I’m not sure what the atmosphere is like now.

Central Park is beautiful, so is 5th Ave. Loved the Empire State Building (in the photos from the top you can see the Twin Towers! Freaky)

We were staying in the hotel right next door to where David Letterman films his show. So the area was always a buzz. My aunty and I would hang out the window and watch the world go by.

Greenwich Village is really cool too. I want to go back!!
Melissa Savage

I completely understand the issues you had Whipper, but somehow I had the opposite experience.

I went to New York about a year ago and I ADORED it. I’ve been trying to work out how I can get a job there so we can emigrate (Mr Mel actually interviewsed while we were there but because he doesn’t have a degree, visas are problematic, so It’s up to me). I could write the complete opposite article to this one.
- Whippersnapper
  
  You can live in NYC and we’ll live in Chicago and come visit. Chicago, I could DEFINITELY live in. It’s great. I loved it. Washington I could too, but I think it is very expensive.
http://tamsinhowse.com/blog Tamsin Howse

I am DYING to go to New York, actually! We’re planning on staying there for 10 days when we go overseas (if we have the time). Hopefully I love it.
Maya

My boy and I are wanting to go to NY early next year! Very excited, we mostly want to wander and explore, but I’m worried about my expectation killing the experience too. I totally would have expected great food on every corner as well though. Can I ask how you went about planning your food in other cities? Did you buy a foodies guide of some sort? Loved this review, Whippersnapper!
- Whippersnapper
  
  Thanks Maya. We didn’t buy any foodie guides per se, just purchased the food section of the Lonely Planet e-books delivered to Mr W’s tablet!
  
  New Orleans and Vegas we didn’t plan much food, as Mr W’s brother planned all the food for New Orleans. Vegas – food was just everywhere so it didn’t matter. Chicago and Washington I think we planned quite a bit. Mr W did all that because he is the foodie, really. I just planned dessert restaurants. LOL.
carohutchison

we went about five years ago for seven days and loved it. We sublet an apartment on 48th St and. like you, got the hang of the subway pretty quickly. We spent most of the time a galleries and eating out, we’d done lots of research on foodie places and loved it. We tried the American ribs place too and agree it was pretty much sugar and fat.
I found all the American retailers so so friendly and would definitely go back for longer. We didn’t get to Brooklyn or even Harlem and avoided Ground Zero.
Duncan

Actually just got back from NYC, and loved it, can’t wait to go back. I would definitely recommend Greenwich. We did a food tour around the Village, which was fantastic. In terms of food, we used some of the Lonely Planet recommendations.

It’s a shame you didn’t get to the Met. You could spend two days there, and still not see everything. I’d also recommend seeing the Frick Collection. We went to the Empire State Building at dusk and basically went straight up.

Like you, I loved the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan.
Naz Kovacs

Just read this post and it’s interesting the points you make. Yes I found New York to be way over crowded, noisy and smelly in parts and probably could never live there (unlike Chicago) but it does have it’s good points. Unsure of the food places you went to but when we were there the food we had was great, it’s just that there is soooo much to choose from!

We also did the Staten Island Ferry for the Statue of Liberty, couldn’t be bothered waiting in the line for the other one, even though the Staten Island one had a line as well. And I have to agree with you re Top of the Rock, we didn’t even bother going to Empire State.

Oh and the first biggest shock for me was when we took the cab from the airport to the hotel and the guy was driving like a maniac! I don’t know how people drive there
http://faybian-lifeothercatastrophes.blogspot.com.au Faybian

We wenttherelast year. I would love to go back and see more of the city and the rest of the state, including Niagra Falls.
We also saw Central Park, the Empire State Building,MOMA, the Statue of Liberty, the Top of the Rock, the 9/11 memorial, Chinatown, Little Italy and Soho as well as Broadway and Times Square. We also went to the museum of natural history, Harlem, Wall Street and the different districts (garment, jewellry etc).
The food in the US generally didn’t agree with us, because of the predominance of corn syrup/oil used in their cooking. We tried to eat a different theme of food each night. Eg:Russian/polish, Italian, Asian, American. So mostly, we were happy and often ate more than usual because we’d be eating our kids leftovers.
We got advised to try the department store Century21, close to the ferries and wall street and got some great bargains there. I loved the juicy couture shop on 5th avenue. Went in with a list from my daughter (and myself).
We also loved the subway. After living with Brisbane’s crqp public transport for years, it was great.
On the west coast, we also loved San Francisco, but not LA, so much (the kids loved Disneyland of course).
Amilia

Oh Whippersnapper, I’m so disappointed for you. I saw you post somewhere on Mamamia that you were heading over to NY and I thought about getting in touch with you to send you some tips for places to go (I’m a fellow Brisbane girl). I went in 2010 and I absolutely loved it (although also had a crappy Empire State Building experience, except we didn’t end up getting up there). I’m glad you enjoyed other parts of the US (I just visited San Fran and NY).
Rose Russo

Great post Jane! I’m doing a similar trip to this in 2013, it was going to be this year but decided against a US winter (I would’ve been travelling in December)

So I’m going to Thailand instead. But I would just love to go to NYC… I’ve heard mixed reviews – some people love it and some people hate it. The same can be said for Venice but I’m so glad I went there during my trip through Italy because I was completely blown away I almost cried on the Grand Canal.
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