Since this is the first "Are We There Yet?" post, let me explain how it rolls: Whenever our family goes on a big trip, we make a "gotta do" list. These are goals or things we think we want to do based on what we know about the place we're going to visit. We may wander from this list when we're actually there, but it gives us focus. So, we think it's important for you to know from the get-go what we were interested in from the beginning. Then we'll tell you what we actually did, where we ate and recommendations from the menu, where we stayed, and finally, what we should have done/could have done/would have done.
Original "Gotta Do" List
- Ground Zero
- Statue of Liberty
- FAO Schwarz
- Carlo's Bakery
- Ride a subway, taxi
- Eat in a basement Italian restaurant
What We Did
- Rockefeller Center: Top of the Rock
- Ground Zero
- Statue of Liberty by ferry
- Trinity Church & St. Paul's Chapel
- Yankee stadium
- Carlo's Bakery (Hoboken, NJ)
- Macy's & Aeropostale
- M&M and Hershey's stores
- FAO Schwarz
- Central Park
- The Subway!
- Da Marino's (49th St, midtown Theatre District): (Lunch) Kids- penne bolognese, Adults- pollo parmigiana
- Junior's Bakery (Times Square): Matzo ball soup, roast beef sandwich, yogurt parfait (beware of the blintzes...they are huge! Like eating fried cheesecake...yummy, but be ready!)
- Stone Street Tavern (Stone Street, Financial District): cheese plate, ahi tuna salad
- Heartland Brewery (6th Ave, midtown by Radio City Music Hall): Kids- mac-n-cheese, Adults Sashimi grade tuna burger
- The View @ The Marriott Marquis Times Square: filet mignon
- Magnolia Bakery (6th Ave, midtown by Rockefeller Center): red velvet cupcake
The Marriott Marquis Times Square
What We Coulda Shoulda Woulda
- American Museum of Natural History
- Hang out in Central Park/Bethesda Fountain
My family and our great family friends went to New York City for 3 1/2 days. We stayed at The Marriott Marquis in Times Square, which turned out to be the perfect place to stay, especially for a first time visit. While Times Square is VERY busy and crowded, it was very central to everything we wanted to do. After checking in, we headed straight for Rockefeller Center's Top of Rock to get an overview of the city. Holy mackerel is NYC busy, bustling and built-up! The buildings are incredible! The Empire State Building was right in front of us, as was the Chrysler Building (my mom's favorite!). It was great to see these buildings, because we pretty much knew we weren't going to see them up close on this trip. While the rooftop offered spectacular views, it was also sizzling hot that day, so we headed back down after awhile and moved on.
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| View of Empire State Building from Top of the Rock |
We strolled back to our hotel where we kids played 4 corners in the hallway while our parents hung out and planned the next day. We're not used to big city life, so I think we all needed a little time to decompress from all the sights and sounds!
The next day, the boys went to a Yankee game and the girls went to Carolo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ. First, however, we ate breakfast at Junior's right across from our hotel. The portions were huge, the food was fantastic. Make sure you go hungry!
From our hotel, we walked to the 33rd Street Path Station to catch the train to Hoboken. It was quite a walk from 45th St inTimes Square, but that's what New Yorkers do...they walk...so make sure you wear comfortable shoes! It was pretty cool, though, to see the change in districts...we went from the hustle and bustle of Times Square to the Garment District, where Macy's and other department stores are found. It was still busy, but had a different vibe to it.
The train from NYC to Hoboken didn't take too long. Once we got off the train though and up to street level, I instantly knew we weren't in the city anymore! It was so quiet! We were there on a Sunday, which could've made a difference. Anyway, we walked a few blocks and there was Carlo's...and a HUGE line. We had heard the wait could be hours long and, sure enough, it was true...2-3 hours! We waited about 45 minutes with little movement in the line and decided to ditch it, go back to the city and shop at Macy's! But, not before taking some pictures in front of the bakery, of course!
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| Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ |
The subway stop we took let us off a few blocks away, so while walking by Central Park we got to feed the horses that pull the horse drawn carriages. We also passed by The Plaza Hotel (for any of you Eloise fans, that's where she lives in the story). And then there it was. FAO Schwarz. Oh, boy did we have some fun there! We meandered through the maze of toys and everything playful you can imagine, bought a few things and headed back out. Cupcakes, anyone?
When ditching the line at Carlo's Bakery, our moms promised we stop in a Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes. We walked 10 blocks down to Magnolia Bakery at Rockefeller Center...and they were worth the walk! So moist and tasty...just the thing we needed to get us back to the hotel, which was still a few blocks away.
The boys were back from the game, so we re-grouped and decided to have just a little more fun while the dads hung out. Where did we go? Aeropostale, M&M store and Hershey store, all right there in Times Square and worth a visit. The only trouble at each of them have is deciding what to get!
Now it was time to get cleaned up and go to The View restaurant at our hotel. This is a rotating restaurant, way up at the top of building. It offers great views of all the major buildings in the area and the drink napkins tell you what you're looking at. The food is really pricey, but I'm glad we experienced it. There's a lounge right below the restaurant, so you can just go there for a drink instead.
Whew! That was a jam packed, but GREAT day! We were all over the place!
Our final full day was spent downtown. We visited Ground Zero, which was emotional for our parents. The kids were babies or very little when 9/11 happened, but we know the history. We walked all around that area and saw what we could, but the construction stuff kind of got in our way. We look forward to going back when it's all completed and taking a new picture.
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| The Fam at Ground Zero |
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| Construction at Ground Zero |
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| St. Paul's Chapel at Ground Zero |
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| My brother at the site George Washington became President |
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| New York Stock Exchange |
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| Downtown skyline, World Financial Centers |
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| Statue of Liberty |
Ah, time to rest our weary feet, right? Well, just long enough to clean up and head out for dinner. It's our last night in NY...the city that never sleeps! We step out of our hotel right onto Times Square and who's there to greet us? The "Naked Cowboy" and "Naked Cowgirl"! We'd seen them around before, but tonight they were in the same spot together! We mosied up Broadway awhile, just seeing what we could see. We were going to eat at Ellen's Stardust Diner, but after taking a peek inside, our parents decided they weren't in the mood for the volume level in there (it was pretty loud). It looked like a lot of fun, but we were pretty tired and some of us were a little cranky, so we kept looking. We decided on the Heartland Brewery over by Radio City Music Hall. It turned out to be perfect for all of us. Their mac-n-cheese was the bomb!
Before heading out of the city the next morning, we took a drive up and around Central Park and then down 5th Ave. I had a great first trip to NYC. The people were friendly and helpful, the weather was great (if not surprisingly hot), the food was terrific and the sights incredible. We want to come back and take more in, like the Natural History museum, hang out in Central Park, go to a play, etc. There is nothing like NYC and I understand why it never sleeps...there's too much to do!
Kins Kins
