Tuesday, January 25, 2011

new york recommendations, please!

i have been negligent in my trip planning, which is rather unlike me as i typically spend more time planning for a trip than actually on a trip.  call it a hobby, if you will. 

and now i am need of a) a place to stay in about the ~$100/night range that offers a fantastic location, good atmosphere, the opportunity to meet people, and enough space that my 5'2" frame can sleep comfortably.  b) ideas on places to eat that are absolutely delicious, not particularly fancy or expensive, but just tasty.  c) your thoughts on what attractions/sights/museums/events that are not worth my time/money/energy.

for instance, if you were going to travel to san francisco on your own i would offer you the following advice:

a) stay at the mosser where you might have to share a bathroom, but the rates are completely manageable, and the location is ideal. 

b) i would insist that you go to the ferry building martketplace and sample the delicious fish tacos at taylor's automatic refresher (which, a google search tells me has been rebranded as gott's roadside, but i would still insist you eat there because its owners are the same), have a pannacotta at miette, and a cup of coffee at blue bottle coffee.  i would also suggest grabbing a newspaper and hitting the neighbourhood of north beach to savour something on a cafe's brunch menu while you people watch. and i would also suggest going to knob hill for a cappuccino and to poke around the boutiques.  eat anything mexican, mexican sounding or otherwise latino in mission and make a stop at tropisueno for more authentic mexican food. 

c) i would suggest that you make fisherman's wharf your last stop and fit it in only if you need to kill some time, do alcatraz if you really love prisons, self guided tours, or really chilly boat rides, and give the bridge a miss unless you need to see the thing up close.

how do you feel about new york city?  i have 5 days to bust a move about town after spending a week on long island holed up in a conference facility, no where to stay, no itinerary as yet, and a whole lot of scarves to wear to keep warm during february.

5 comments:

Heather said...

On our honeymoon we dined at "pure food and wine" (which has a website if you google it) which is a raw food restaurant. It was a little expensive, but 100% worth every penny. I think we spent about 180$, but we had one appetizer, two entrees, two desserts and a bottle of wine. the food and atmosphere were amazing. They also have a take out store around the corner from the restaurant (and another one in chelsea market) and although the goods are expensive, again, worth it.

I could write for days and days on how delicious every restaurant was (that we went to), so I'd be happy to share those deets with you if you'd like via e-mail or something!

We stayed at a hotel in brooklyn, which was moderately priced but in a cool spot. Williamsburg and Park Slope are the "trendy" bits of brooklyn (so I've heard) and there are plenty of B&B's if that's your style. We found the subway quick and easy into town.

OK I"ll stop now. I'll give you more if you want it!

kristen said...

Must sees:
-Chelsea Market
-view from the empire state building by night
-brooklyn bridge (if it isn't too cold)

Must eats:
- a doughnut from The Doughnut Plant (especially the coconut one)
- some sort of treat from from Babycakes
-Pizza- I'll find the name of the pizza place we sent to, it was very worth it!

Not worth it: The museum of natural history. I think I'd choose a different museum.

Anonymous said...

You can do pretty well with Hotwire. It doesn't give you the hotel name, but you know the approximate location and get some reviews. Good deals, and you won't have to stay in Brooklyn if you don't want to.

lu said...

thanks! and yes, heather if you have the chance to send an email my way (or facebook), that would be awesome!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely loved the design museum and the opera (and I am not generally an opera lover). NY Opera beat Italy, from my perspective. Fabulous voices, costumes, even made me laugh...

A xxxx