??- double decker bus vs metro & looking for doll stores

I%26#39;m planning a trip to NYC (our first) for Memorial Day weekend. There will be 3 of us: a 50 year old (me), a 22 year old (my neice), and a 16 year old (my daughter). I%26#39;m torn between buying the 48 hour double decker bus pass and buying the metro card. We want to take either the free ferry or a short harbor cruise to see the statue of Liberty one day and want to go to Chinatown area one day (is Chinatown worth the trip?). Of course we will spend time at Times Square area. I was thinking that the bus ';hop on, hop off'; thing might be safest and also best for sightseeing.

My daughter collects real life looking baby dolls (Ashton Drake, Lee Middleton, etc.) and would like to buy one as a souvenir. Do you know of any stores in the area that might carry these dolls? I%26#39;ve tried FAO Swarz and ToysRUs- they don%26#39;t. Thanks so much for your help. Pat

??- double decker bus vs metro %26amp; looking for doll stores

Whgile it is fine for sight seeing with commentary, the hop-on-hop-off bus is NOT a realistic method for travelling around the city -- it follows a set series of loops making highly limited stops, period. It is also NOT cheap. The NYC transit system MetroCard, on the other hand, lets you make free transfers between buses and subways anywhere in the city. NYC Transit buses and subways also go everywhere -- chances are that you will not be able to find anyplace that is not within two blocks of either a subway stop or a bus route. Furthermore, the buses and subways run 24 hours a day, while the tour buses certainly don%26#39;t do that.

As for ';safest';, the city%26#39;s buses and subway are perfectly safe; indeed it is vastly safer to be on the subway in NYC than it is to be on the street in any city in your home state.

The Lee Middleton website lists the following stores in Manhattan that carry their dolls:

F.A.O. SCHWARZ

767 FIFTH AVE

NEW YORK, NY 10153

(212) 644-9400

ZITTLES/ZITOMER

969 MADISON AVE

NEW YORK, NY 10021

(212) 737-2040

A BEAR%26#39;S PLACE LTD.

789 LEXINGTON AVE

NEW YORK, NY 10021

(212) 826-6465