Things Are Almost Back To Normal
Written: Dec 03 '01 (Updated Dec 04 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Still a vibrant city with lots to see and do.
Cons: The city can't sleep because it's so noisy!
The Bottom Line: Bring lots of cash, and be prepared to come home broke, but extremely happy and excited for your next visit.
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| youngspeare's Full Review: New York City |
Back to New York again, this time for the "Canada loves New York" rally. What a difference a month or so can make. New York may never completely recover from the shock of September 11th, but it sure does feel like the New York before the terrorist attacks.
The streets are filled with people once again, and cars no longer stop for pedestrians. Usually I would complain about this, but in this case, I'm glad to see that New Yorkers are starting to pick up the pieces (just as long as no one hits me!).
As one taxi driver told me; "There is no rush hour in New York." Only traffic. No wonder it's the city that never sleeps. How could you with all the honking, the policeman's whistles and the lights everywhere?
But this is why I love New York. I'm a big city girl. I love action, and New York has plenty of it. Here's a general overview of the weekend.
Dining
I just want to emphasize again that I'm writing this from a Canadian perspective, and I'm not sure whether New York meal sizes are about the same as the rest of the United States, but MAN are the HUGE! For $16.00, I feasted like a King and had to be rolled out the front door. These were at the good restaurants that we lucked into.
Then there was the other side of dining.
never in my life have I had to pay $25.00 for a steak, and then an extra $8.00 for a side-dish. Yup, $25.00 and all you get was a slab of meat on a plate. For a city that has a reputation of being so up-scale, I never felt so barbaric. Dining in new York is hit and miss.
Which brings me to another point:
Don't rely on the hotel concierge for dining tips!
Twice we asked for recommendations, twice they showed us year-old menus. Twice we were disappointed. We found the New York city guides ("Where New York" ect.) to be helpful, and pretty accurate across the board.
Theatre
Definitely take in a broadway or off-Broadway show when you're in New York. If you didn't it would be like going to Paris, but not going to see the Eiffel Tower. We saw "The Full Monty" and it was absolutely hilarious. There is plenty of pre and post-dining nearby, and restaurants are very sensitive to curtain call times. You may not think you like the theatre, but I'm willing to bet you'll enjoy whatever might be playing on Broadway.
We were fortunate enough to have tickets reserved for us through cousins who live in New Jersey, but going to see a Broadway show doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. It may cost you a little time and effort. There is a special booth of sorts in Times Square that offers tickets as low as $20 for certain shows. Trust me, it is well worth the wait. I have yet to be disappointed by anything I have seen in New York (that's 4 shows so far).
Transportation
Thinking about doing your own driving? Forget it!!! Unless you're a New York native, you'll be hopelessly lost. Toronto has pretty crazy drivers, and even I wouldn't dare drive in New York.
The best (and probably the most fun) way to travel is by taxi. Hailing a cab can be hard. Especially at around 5pm which is "shift change" time. Although drivers aren't allowed to refuse you, if you're standing on the wrong side of the road, or facing the wrong direction of your destination, they might say no, so knowing where you're going is half the battle, which can be tough. The secret is to just get out there, stick your hand up and keep it there. The ride itself may feel more like a roller-coaster ride than anything else, but try and remember that these drivers have been doing this for awhile, and know the "unspoken" rules of the road. So just sit back, hang on to something and enjoy!
I wouldn't recommend the subway based on this one experience: I got on the subway thinking I was headed to Grand Central station. Apparently I wasn't. Thankfully, a rather tough-looking, but kind woman on the bus looked at me and said "Girl, you better get off cuz you goin' the wrong way."
I have no idea where I was heading, but apparently it was no place for an obvious tourist to be.
Hotels
All I can say about hotels is that our room came to $250 a night, and that was a discount rate. Otherwise, it was about the same as any other hotel. But when you're in New York, you don't want to spend you're time in a hotel room, you want to be out experiencing everything. it's the city that never sleeps, remember?
Bottom Line
New York is loud, bright, expensive and a little scary. In other words, it's an adventure city. Probably not the best place to go and spend a few weeks, but definitely a good destination for a few days. It's picked up the pace a bit since September 11th, and that's a good thing. As much as we all love to criticize New Yorkers about being cold and uncaring (or whatever the criticisms are), I still believe their caring attitudes I experienced a month ago have remained the same. I'm just glad that I can find that attitude in more 'normal' situations, and not at family relief centers.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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Epinions.com ID:
youngspeare
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Member: Erica Basnicki
Location: Toronto, Canada
Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
My life has been extraordinary blessed and cursed and won...
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