New York City – hot days, hot dogs and hot spots!

by | Nov 24, 2008 | Travel

Nine days in New York: When we weren’t eating and drinking our way through Manhattan, we did the mandatory touristy things: went to the Top of the Rock for an unobstructed 360 degree view of the city at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, toured the Guggenheim Museum, strolled through Central
Park, had a New York hot dog, went to Carnegie Deli, shopped at Zabar’s, spent a day at the Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of Natural History, took a boat tour of the harbour and saw the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Brooklyn Bridge; went down to Ground Zero and witnessed gut-wrenching emotion at the small memorial museum; attended one of the last Yankee games at Yankee Stadium, shopped at Grand Central Station, took in a few Broadway plays and dined of course, at Gordon Ramsey’s NYC restaurant.
The first four days were spent at the Michelangelo Hotel at 152 W 51st St. This boutique hotel with its newly renovated, uncluttered rooms is immaculate and outfitted with the finest linens and ultra comfortable beds. Only blocks from Times Square and all the major Broadway productions, it was a great location to call home base as we got our feet wet in the Big Apple.

For those of you who think Vegas is the ultimate in sensory stimuli, spend a few days around Time Square in NYC and you might think differently. In New York, everything moves. Nothing stops, and if you do, you stand a very good chance of being run over by a taxi cab, a limo or other pedestrians. It is a city where you can have anything you want, get anything you desire, experience the sordid, the spectacular and the extraordinarily strange all in the same block.

The last three nights we moved a little further away from Times Square and stayed at the Waldorf Astoria. We were in New York, how could we not? Unfortunately, the city was in the middle of a heat wave and the Waldorf was experiencing AC problems. To make matters worse, the hotel was full and we couldn’t be moved to a room with working AC so we spent as much time as possible out of the hotel, only returning at night when the heat wasn’t so bad. Fortunately, the martinis at the Peacock Alley bar in the hotel alleviated some of our woes. And we couldn’t pass up ordering a Grand Platinum Margarita made with Platinum Patron tequila and Grand Marnier 150. These aren’t your beach blanket margaritas though…this particular Peacocktail costs $50. Sip it slow!

Highlight of the trip was taking in a taping of the Daily Show with John Stewart. We were definitely cooking as we waited in line for over an hour outside his studio in Hell’s Kitchen. It was over 100 degrees F that day, and I would do it again. John Stewart rocks.

Another “must do” IMHO is taking in an evening at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade  in the Chelsea district on West 26th street. It’s an improv theatre featuring guests from SNL, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and other comedy troupes in the city. You never know who’s going to be there and that’s half the fun. Tickets are super cheap and the night we went, Rob Riggle from the Daily Show–along with six other wickedly funny comedians–performed.

My New York tips: Go when its cool, learn the subway system, do your homework and plan to spend money. New York ain’t cheap, but its definitely entertaining.