New York City Trip (Blog)

[Steve Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

New York City Trip

[Angela]

That sounds like a fun adventure. It's very generous of you to allow folks to participate by contributing ideas or their presence. Have a great time, and let me know when you're doing the same thing in a more westerly direction!

Love
Angela

[jfno]

I'm not a New Yorker, but when I visit (as much as I can) I find that walking in NYC is very nice. When you are too tired you just take a cab to go back to the hotel.

My must see are the Met (Metropolitan museum of art), Central Park and Guggenheim. If you are there for Columbus Day then the little Italy is a sure place to find action. If you love crowds, then you'll love spending the evening of Columbus Day there.

Also New York is a much safer city than Las Vegas, statistic wise at least. I know you knew that, but I couldn't help myself.

Also I would be interested to meet you, in the unlikely event I'm in town at the same time as you.

[Marina]

I grew up in CT, so I'm not a native New Yorker but I've spent an awful lot of time there.

Vegan food is easier to find than you'd think. Definitely check out the raw food restaurant Pure Food and Wine (http://purefoodandwine.com/). I constantly hear about the vegan cupcake bakery Babycakes (Babycakes NYC™ : Bakery & Mail Order) but haven't tried it myself.

Subway, subway, subway. Cabs are okay for late-night rides home from the bar, but otherwise it's much faster to take the subway around. There are seven-day unlimited Metrocard passes you can buy (MTA Home Page) for $24/each that will cover your stay. Of course walking beats all but I certainly wouldn't walk from Midtown to Flushing or anything like that.

Check out Strand, the used bookstore, which used to be one of my favorites before I discovered Powell's in Portland. Still a good place to find hard-to-find books.

My main advice is just to wander. That's where you find the most interesting places to eat / things to see /etc. (The MOMA is worth checking out, though.)

[Alex]

Steve,

I'm very excited that you're coming to NYC. I live in New Jersey, just 40 minutes outside of NYC, so I've been there many many times over the years. I'll be happy to help you find accommodations, great places to visit, and best places to arm yourself

I'm going to drop my contact info into your contact form box (under feedback).

[theshot92]

Steve,
A great place for a meetup would be a restaurant in Grand Central Station. The subways go there as well as trains from the suburbs.

When Hugh Macleod came through NYC earlier this year we had a "Geek dinner" on a Saturday night with a bunch of bloggers. It was held at "Two Boots" which is in the basement of Grand Central. It was a great location... not alot of customers on a Saturday night so we were able to almost "take it over"!

On another topic ... I'm not sure if it will fit into your travel schedule, but we are having our Fall Toastmasters District conference on Nov.3rd in Fishkill, NY. I would be happy to arrange transportation from NYC for you & Erin if it worked into your plans and you wanted to attend!

Looking forward to meeting you and Erin !

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Div.A Governor, District 53, 2006-8
Div.A blog: The Div.A Toastmasters blog !

P.S. I would recommend MOMA too!

[Hari.c]

I live in New Jersey. I am very exited to meet Steve and Erin.

[madgeylou]

wow you're coming to my town! way cool!

when people come to visit me, i usually take them to a mixture of tourist-y things and local-y things.

fun touristy things:
* chinatown! it's bizarre and awesome!
* metropolitan museum of art. unparalleled. read "from the mixed up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler" with the kids first and they will love it even more.
* american museum of natural history, especially the life sized blue whale model and the gem room.
* the ferris wheel inside toys'r'us, times square.
* times square in general. although, coming from vegas it might not be so impressive
* the staten island ferry. it's free and you get an awesome view of the city and of the statue of liberty.
* walk over the brooklyn bridge.
* carriage ride through central park at dusk. it's both cheesy and classic!

fun not-so-touristy things:
* jackson heights, queens = little india. sari shops, immense gold jewelry, and amazing indian food. i think there is a vegan place up there? not sure ...
* west side highway. great fun to rent bikes and ride all the way down the island
* brooklyn! home of the greatest rappers, artists, and hipsters on the planet. williamsburg is trendy and full of galleries and funky shops. park slope (where i live) has the most gorgeous brownstones and was the richest neighborhood in the US in 1890 -- has an unusual family-oriented/hippie/yuppie vibe and great food including an amazing vegan restaurant called the v-spot. brooklyn heights has more amazing architecture. prospect park rivals central park and is usually much less crowded. coney island is an american institution but not long for this world -- being "developed" very soon. sigh.
* take a pedicab down broadway. terrifying in a wonderful way!!
* wandering. the best things in new york are found by wandering. one of the best wanders can be had by starting at union square (try to make it to the saturday greenmarket), then wandering down broadway till you hit little italy and then chinatown. when you get to canal street, don't be alarmed by the madness -- just keep going south. chinatown gets better the further away from canal street you get. great fun!
* any girly girls in the party might appreciate a trip bergdorf's to ogle the pretty ($2,000) shoes, henri bendel's to ogle the pretty (expensive) everything else. it's a lot of fun to go into the fancy places like prada and gucci and touch things and see the salespeople glaring at you.

foodwise ...
* red bamboo is good. in the west village just off of the W4th subway stop. just ate there last night in fact. get the creole soul (fake) chicken.
* there's a vegetarian dim sum place in chinatown that's great (i think it's just called "vegetarian dim sum.")
* better burger on 44th and 8th ave (i think?) is good for veg*ns and omnis to eat at together.
* s'nice on 8th avenue has great sandwiches, soups, salads, cupcakes, and milkshakes
* i haven't eaten at many of the fancy veg*n places, but i hear that candle cafe is the best of the bunch.
* i've heard mixed reviews of zen palate
* falafel from the guy on the street is typically delicious and totally vegan if they hold the white sauce.

if i think of anything else i'll pop in and add it. i'd totally be up for meeting up too!

[dahliaz]

Hi Steve,

Fairly new reader to your blog...I've been enjoying it. I live in PA (visit NYC a least a couple times a year) and wanted to recommend something for your trip.

It's a walking/food tasting tour through Greenwich Village. I took my niece for her 16th birthday a few years ago! We both loved it! The guide was entertaining...the food was great! (I think there was meat served at only one stop...but their website says they can accommodate vegetarians).


Here is the link:
Greenwich Village Food Tasting and Culture Tour - Food Tasting Cultural Walking Tours New York City Manhattan - Foods of New York Tours, Inc.

Hope that helps!

[llong]

I live in Manhattan. If you have any questions about the city, feel free to ask. I hope you enjoy yourself.

[hijinksensue]

Things you need:

1) A simple one page subway map. NY City is a grid and the trans go within a few blocks of everywhere. Stay away from taxis, and DO NOT DRIVE. Traffic in NYC is worse that they make it out to be on TV and movies and the cabbies drive with no regard for human life. Take a train and walk everywhere.

2) A simple Tourist guide. I got one and Barnes and noble that had a subway map built in. We mapped out the city ahead of time and hit the different areas and their attractions on a per day basis. One day in Uptown, one day in midtown, one day in Soho, etc. Stay in one area each day. dont try to jaunt from top to bottom or you will spend all day on the train. there is plenty to see in each area.

3) A good bag. Big enough to carry your stuff (books, map, ipod, etc) and whatever you buy. You dont want to be carrying shopping bags all over town.

Some tips:

1) I reiterate - take the trains and walk
2) You wont be at your hotel that much so as long as its clean, in a good location (uptown is pretty central from a train standpoint), and has a nice bed, dont worry too much about it. Read reviews and make sure its clean. It will be VERY small. Like 9X10 or 8X8. As long as you have a shower and a bed and no rats/roaches its good. I stayed at the Metro on 35th(?) street and it was clean and easy to access.
3) Times Square is overwhelming. Only go once and you will get the idea. No need to check it out 4 or 4 times unless you are going to a show or some other event. In times square people will run up to you and offer you discount tickets for a show. Usually a comedy show. This is not a scam. it was a pretty good deal for a funny showcase at the improv. All of the street artists in times square haggle, but more so than youd think. We had a very talented mad draw a portrait of us (its beautiful). He wanted $65 but we got it for $30. took him maybe 20 min.

4) dont waste time in China Town. It was a majot dissapointment. It was filthy and pointless. Trash in the street, and store after store after store of the same useless jewelry, fake electronics and other crap. Other areas have really cool street artists but China town is an easy skip.

5) DO THE MUSEUMS! but dont plan to see them all. Natural history was enormous. impossible to see in one day. Pick your fav areas and check those out. dont even try to see it all. Modern art was great and can be seen in a few hours no problem.

6) Stay gaurded but dont be paranoid. Dont pull out your tour guide on the subway or street. Hold on to your bag, dont put down your camera, etc. Common sense stuff will keep you from being a likely target.

7) If you see something that seems interesting but you arent sure, ask yourself "would this be interesting at home, or is it just because I am in New York?" we found ourselves going into malls, etc. Major waste of time.

8) Plan. Plan. Plan. Plan. Dont go out with no idea what to do. Youll get lost or waste a valuable day wandering. (probably dont have to tell you that).

9) Eat every kind of food you can. NYC has 400 of everything. The food was a major part of the trip.

10) If its hot when you go, plan your day so that you are back by the hotel by mid afternoon for a quick shower, change and recharge.

Hope that helps, Steve!

[alexander.kharlamov]

Hey Steve,

Good to know you'll be coming into this part of the world :-) I would love to attend some kind of a get-together if time allows.

Some veg*n restaurants to check out:

Angelica's kitchen - great, mid-price veg place in downtown Manhattan

The Organic Grill - everything's organic and vegan, great place - a little on the small side, but worth it.

Caravan of Dreams - right next to the Organic Grill, they have a very good vegan raw menu

Wild Ginger - in the middle of Chinatown, Asian vegan food, GREAT prices. Highly recommended.

Blossom - a more high-class, pricier option in Midtown. Food is great!

Mint - also pricier establishment, it's not strictly veg*n, but I'd say about half of their menu is veg*n. It's high-class Indian food.

I also recommend the above-mentioned V-Spot in Brooklyn's park slope.

As far as what to see, everybody already gave a lot of advice on that, so I'll just throw in my two cents: don't go to Empire State Building, it's overrated and too many people anyway. Instead, go to "Top of the Rock" observation platform on top of Rockfeller center

[hijinksensue]

Ohhhh, forgot to mention the Empire State Building. We thought we would check it out, turns out its a 3 hours wait up the stairs or pay like $50 each to ride the elevators. Pass.

[Steve Pavlina]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've received even more via email.

Some of what I've heard so far is...

Strong yes:

• Use the subway and walking to get around
• See the art museums (Met and/or MOMA)
• Skip the bus tours
• See other parts of the city beyond Manhattan
• Eat like a pig, then walk it off
• A sharp wit should be an adequate defensive weapon
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Ground zero

Mixed:

• Times Square
• Chinatown
• Central Park

Strong no:

• Empire State Building
• Statue of Liberty

Erin and I are looking into doing a trip longer than 3 days. If we can't secure extra childcare, then we may fly out together, and I'll hang out longer in the city (maybe for 7 days), while she returns early. Erin doesn't handle long walks well, since she currently has a foot condition known as a stone bruise. So I can do all the walking stuff after she leaves. I love long walks.

[Jesse E]

Uh oh Steve, looks like you just attracted yourself a mugging using the law of attraction .

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Jesse E

Uh oh Steve, looks like you just attracted yourself a mugging using the law of attraction .

No reason I can't beat someone up who walks up and asks for it.

[Millbyff]

Im from Indianapolis and visited New York a few years ago. The Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History is a must see! the show is amazing and really opens your eyes to how little we are on this tiny planet in this huge galaxy. As a tourist to New York, this was the highlight for me outside of the whole New York Experience.

[seeker5]

When I went to visit New York, pre-9/11, we did a helicopter tour. The helicopter took off from one side of Manhattan, and we went around the island of Manhattan. It was quite spectacular to see all of those high-rise coming out of the island from the air. The helicopter also went around the Statue of Liberty. I highly recommend it if they still offer it.

I wished I lived in New York City to meet you!

[cathrynyc]

I would definitely not recommend the Empire State building, but if you would still like to check out a great view of the city, I highly recommend going to the "Top of the Rock", ie. the observation deck of the Rockefeller Center. There's rarely a line, which is a definite plus in this city!

[Catlover]

Please put me on your contact list. I live in the D.C. area but if I'm not busy, I would make a day trip. I lived in NY awhile back and traveled there a lot in recent years. I would recommend, if the weather's nice, Central Park (both in the park and along Central Park South) and Lincoln Center. Times Square is not to be missed, but I agree that one trip is sufficient. One time I was there, I unexpectedly got to see Sheryl Crow perform live at Virgin Records. In the evening, I enjoy the "non-touristy" theatre such as the Manhattan Theatre Club (I attended a performance there with Meryl Streep in the audience), cabaret and classical music events. My family unit consists of actors and musicians, so we always make trips to theatre bookstores and music stores, but for any special interest, you'll find a store in Manhattan.

It's hard to find a casual place to meet up that doesn't involve eating--things like Barnes & Noble are smaller and not quite as conducive to hanging around as they are in other cities--so you might want to pick one of the vegan restaurants. However, there is a Starbucks at NYU near the square that is larger than most I've seen in the city.

[Steve Pavlina]

Would anyone recommend a meet-up in a park if the weather is nice? I'm concerned that if we do a meet-up in a place like a restaurant, then it might be harder to move around and get a chance to talk to everyone one-on-one, especially if more than 10 people show up.

At our Vegas meet-up in May, we met in a hallway in the Sands Convention Center. At first we all talked in a circle, then broke off into smaller groups that kept shifting. That worked out pretty well.

A few weeks ago I had a dream that we had a meet-up in Central Park. We all sat on the grass, some people brought picnic lunches, and we just talked about person development stuff for a few hours. All the dream attendees seemed to enjoy it. It was very casual and gave everyone a chance to meet everyone else, being free to leave whenever they wanted.

[carenkh]

My sons and I were in NY very briefly last summer - we just wandered. Besides some of the places mentioned here, we agreed one of the most memorable places was Battery Park - the globe from the WTC is there with an eternal flame, and we got a beautiful sunset view of the Statue of Liberty. A nice surprise.

[Michael Chui]

This post seemed exceptionally relevant:

A VC: Places I Like In My 'Hood

[robrosenbaum]

Queens is the most diverse county in the United States, and more languages are spoken there than in any equivalent land mass on Earth (except London). I used to live in Astoria (Greek), my friend lived in Jackson Heights (Indian), down the street was an Arab neighborhood (as in, I couldn't read the signs over the stores), in another direction was a Columbian neighborhood. The Poles are in Greenpoint, Koreans are in Flushing, etc. Just get on the 7 train and get off somewhere. I just moved back to New York for two reasons: the diverse population, and the energy. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you experience those two things.
As for having a meet-up, any of the larger parks in Manhattan would be ideal.

[Inventis]

Damn we really need to translate our site new-york | citytrips en stedentrips | Take a trip | allmost everytime a blogger goes an a citytrip they look for information, isn't there enough information in english available online?

[llong]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Would anyone recommend a meet-up in a park if the weather is nice? I'm concerned that if we do a meet-up in a place like a restaurant, then it might be harder to move around and get a chance to talk to everyone one-on-one, especially if more than 10 people show up.

A few weeks ago I had a dream that we had a meet-up in Central Park. We all sat on the grass, some people brought picnic lunches, and we just talked about person development stuff for a few hours. All the dream attendees seemed to enjoy it. It was very casual and gave everyone a chance to meet everyone else, being free to leave whenever they wanted.

Agreed....far smarter to meet up in Central Park: it's cheaper, it's easier to find others there, and it's in the center of Manhattan.

[ethicalsusan]

My additions to all the good suggestions you've already received:

Museums - The Cooper-Hewitt - the design branch of the Smithsonian - one thing I like about this museum is that you can see all of it in a bit over an hour. It's in an old mansion on 91st St off of 5th- part of the Museum Mile

also there is The Museum of the City of NY. I don't know how old your kids are, but they have exhibits that might be of interest to a variety of ages.

If you make it out to Brooklyn, the Botanic Gardens are quite nice.

A ride on the Staten Island Ferry is a nice, cheap way to take a "cruise." I rarely get off, just take the return trip.

If you do go up in tall buildings in Manhattan, I think a great time to do that is just before twilight - then you get to see all the lights coming on and I think that is an exciting site.

As far as a place to gather - if the weather is nice, the fountain at Lincoln Center could be a good place to gather and then there are tables and benches around usually. (And you can use the restrooms in Avery Fisher Hall. Always good to know where you can use the bathrooms in NY without having to be a customer.)

I'll proselytize a bit and mention the New York Society for Ethical Culture which is at 2 W. 64th St. They have excellent Sunday morning programs which focus on the worth and dignity of all people. They also have excellent programs there, lots of concerts in their hall with excellent acoustics, which are not directly related to the Society.

If you're looking for a super cheap place to stay, in a great location with a wonderful pool and gym, the Y on W.63rd St. is good if you're not looking for fancy. The top two floor have been redone and are nicer than the rest of the building.

Grabbing a free copy of the Village Voice will provide a good listing of events in the city.

But even if you don't "do" a lot of stuff and just "hang out," the whole city is a museum unto itself.

Have a great trip!

[Marina]

Steve, this just popped into my RSS feeder and I thought of you:

Best 10 Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurants in NYC
SuperVegan - New York City Vegan Restaurant Guide

[Velvet]

Um, yeah, what everybody else said. Skip the touristy crap, walk and take subways (they are very safe and they can get you anywhere you wanna go), and stay somewhere downtown--Tribeca Grand if you can afford it!

Either way, I would love to do a meet-up, so please keep us posted as to the details.

[Love]

Hmm....

I would see the Statue of Liberty. But instead of actually going there, like others have said, I'd take the 50 cent staten island ferry, which is fun. As you cross to Staten Island, you get a short view of the Lady.

Re: Museums... I think the Met is just like any other art museum, but that may be just my lack of knowledge in art history. I do enjoy the museum of natural history.... always loved that whale. Plus, they've added things, like the hall of biodiversity.

Maybe you might want to try to get to see the late show or the daily show--I think if you show at a specific time, you can see if there are any stand-by tickets. You can also always visit the morning news shows, too.

I think the UN is interesting, and I enjoyed the tour there.

Buy a pretzel from a pretzel vendor. *very* new york. Hmm--I don't know what's actually in pretzels, though. They may not be vegan.

Most people in NY are nice, and will help you if you get lost.