Very late trip report November 2004

This is very belated but anyway, better late than never!

Monday

We arrived in JFK early afternoon. The hour or so long drive into the city was cool, it is breathtaking when you first see all the skyscrapers! Checked into hotel - The Peninsula. We were anxious to explore so were out the door a few minutes later. We couldn锟斤拷锟絫 believe how close things were, such as the Rockefeller Centre and got a good laugh out of the fact that we could see Trump Tower out our hotel window! Back to the hotel to freshen up and then out. We walked through Times Square and surrounds to the Empire State Building. The queues were very short and we were in and out in just over an hour. The view was fantastic, it was really funny to see the dancers practising for the Thanksgiving Parade outside Macy锟斤拷锟絪, from that height! We went for dinner in Les Halles on Park Avenue. The food was delicious especially the desserts! We got back to the hotel at about 1am and slept SO well.

Tuesday

We got up late and had a bite to eat in Starbucks in Trump Tower. That place is so funny 锟斤拷锟?the gold, the waterfall, the tackiness! From there, we wandered up Park Avenue to Grand Central Station, which was so impressive. What a beautiful building, its hard to believe its a functioning train station. We had some lunch in the Grand Central diner and then walked to the fountain at Plaza Hotel to go on the S** and the City tour. It was really good. We saw lots of parts of the city and it was great to see so many locations from the show. We would recommend it! We spent our night split between cocktails in the Pen-Top Bar of the hotel and dinner in La Vineria on 55th. Then on to another great nights sleep!

Wednesday

It was a rainy day. We headed on the subway down to Wall St., got photos with the Bull etc. We walked over to Ground Zero to pay our respects. We spent an hour or two in Century 21 afterwards. It锟斤拷锟絪 a bit of a crazy place but great for shopaholics (which we are not). We made a few purchases in the Perfume and Bag sections all the same. We got the subway back to the hotel after that and got all dressed up for Phantom of the Opera. It was really good. We had booked our tickets through broadwaybox.com (thanks for the tip!), got them at a very good price and we were 7 rows from the stage. After the show, we were very brave and had dinner in Carmines, even though there was only 2 of us. Of course we didn锟斤拷锟絫 finish our salad and pasta but it was yummy!

Thursday

Thursday was Thanksgiving so we took it as an opportunity to have a good wander. We walked down to the United Nations, Sutton Place etc and then walked up to Central Park and into the Time Warner Centre. We got some gorgeous food for lunch in the Whole Foods Market in the basement and then walked back to the hotel through a very rainy Central Park. In the evening, we went to Madame Tussards for the craic! It was silly and all but good fun. We got a bite to eat in Ollie锟斤拷锟絪 Noodle Bar (cheap and tasty) afterwards and headed back to the hotel. We had a couple of drinks and then off to bed exhausted again!!

Friday

We did the 3-hour Circle Line Cruise in the afternoon. It was very enjoyable and informative but darn cold! We went back to the hotel afterwards, picking up a muffin and tea snack on the way. Despite the cold, we headed off down to Brooklyn on the subway in the evening. Our first stop was Jacques Torres Chocolate shop (mmm) and our second was Grimaldis for pizza (double mmm!). We walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge. The views are spectacular and it is a must when visiting New York IMO. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and went up to the Pen-Top for a couple of drinks. We finished our night in the bar in TAO. We didn锟斤拷锟絫 get a chance to eat there but I was dying to see the Buddha! The Tao-tini is a lovely drink!

Saturday

Retail therapy day! We spent our dollars in the Gap, Macy锟斤拷锟絪, Victoria锟斤拷锟絪 Secret, Henri Bendel, The Disney Store and Saks 5th Avenue amongst others. In the evening, we went for a gorgeous dinner in Salt on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village and for a drink afterwards in Puck Fair on Lafayette Street. Unfortunately we were too tired to do anything else with our Saturday night so that was it.

Sunday

Our last half day. We went for the chocolate-inspired brunch in Seppi锟斤拷锟絪 on 56th. The bread basket contained chocolate bread, I had hot chocolate, the main courses are chocolate-inspired and dessert is a huge chocolate confection buffet!! Heaven. The food was very tasty and kept us going for the long journey home to Dublin.

That锟斤拷锟絪 the synopsis of our trip of a lifetime to New York! I锟斤拷锟絤 sure I锟斤拷锟絭e forgotten loads of things but needless to say we had a fantastic time and I can锟斤拷锟絫 wait to go back!

Very late trip report November 2004

Better late than never!!! Sounds like you had a fabulous time. That chocolate brunch sounds excellent, I%26#39;ll have to try it one of these days.

Come back soon!

Very late trip report November 2004

Thanks Bettina. I would go back tomorrow if I could! I am offically addicted to this forum though because of NY, I love reading about what others get up to etc! :-)