Trip report - September 15-23 - 5 50-ish women in New York

It seems that each time I go to New York, I enjoy it more and more. Each trip has been longer than the last, and each time I think I鈥檒l run out of things to do, or get tired of the city, but just the opposite is true. I get more familiar with the city, take fewer rides on the subways going the opposite way I intended, and find more secret surprises, parks, or areas that I want to visit and explore. Each time, I go home before I鈥檓 ready and vow to return to see more, do more, and stay yet even longer. This is the travelogue of my 4th trip to New York 鈥?from September 15th through September 23rd 2006.

Trip report - September 15-23 - 5 50-ish women in New York

This year, I met (other 50-something) friends from Portland, OR and San Diego, as well as a cousin and her friend from Houston, TX who were first-time visitors. Based on the fact that I love the Upper Westside, and it is the only place I鈥檝e ever stayed, with help from Daisiegee, I chose Jack %26amp; Judy鈥檚 B%26amp;B, and I was so happy we stayed there. I love the residential feel of the area, as well as all the shops and restaurants just outside the door, and I love to go where I want in the city, and then return to a nice, relaxing, quiet area for the evening. We had rooms 8 and 5 鈥?Room 8 is on the back of the building, and has a wonderful patio overlooking many other wonderful balconies, where you can enjoy morning coffee or evening drinks in a wonderful, quiet location. Room 5 is on the front of the building, where you can look down and watch people walk by on their daily routes, and feel like you live right there with them.

There鈥檚 something so wonderful and fun about going to New York with people who are seeing the city for the first time. It reminds you of how exciting it is to see so many things that you鈥檝e only seen in movies or heard. Of course, I鈥檓 still not used to how awesome all the sights are, so I continue to have the excitement of a first-time visitor, but I do know how to get to most places without looking at a map. That doesn鈥檛 mean we don鈥檛 all keep maps and subway maps with us at all times, mind you!

Arrived on Jet Blue red-eye arriving Friday the 15th at 6AM. My theory was that I am always way too excited when I arrive in New York, and can never sleep the first night because I can鈥檛 wait to get up and going, it worked great, and I plan to do the same thing next year. Got my luggage, and headed to the Air Train, to the LIRR to Penn 鈥?I had planned to then take a subway to 72nd (elevator) and walk from there to Jack鈥檚 - but I managed to get my suitcase stuck in the subway turnstile at Penn, and was way too humiliated to try it again, so took the elevator up to the street and stood in the rain (of course my umbrella and rain jacket were in the bottom of the suitcase, but I enjoyed the light rain helping me to re-energize after the flight) and finally got a cab. Met up with my friend, Anne, who had arrived the night before from Portland, took a quick shower, and we headed up to 86th Street to the wonderful Popover Caf茅, for awesome, huge omelettes and the biggest, best popovers you can imagine, and wonderful strawberry butter 鈥?yum!!

We then decided to head over to Bryant Park to see if we could catch the end of Fashion Week. I鈥檝e been following Project Runway on TV, and wanted to catch the people at their runway show. Since it was a really nice day, despite the rain, we decided to walk a ways before we got on the subway. As it turned out, the walk was so interesting, that we ended up walking all the way to Bryant Park. It was a great walk, and I enjoyed being back in the city, with all the energy and excitement. After a few minutes it was apparent that we wouldn鈥檛 find out who won Project Runway, so we headed over to Macy鈥檚 for some shopping until early afternoon when, we bought subway passes 鈥?best deal in the world - $24 for a whole week 鈥?and headed back to Jack鈥檚.

We walked around the neighborhood for a while, and then decided to go out and find a place to eat dinner. With literally hundreds of restaurants within blocks, it鈥檚 never an easy choice. We

Chose Caf茅 Frida, an interesting Spanish/Mexican fusion restaurant 鈥?the food was interesting, good but not exceptional, but definitely enjoyable. We took a nice walk after dinner, and went back to our room rather early. I think we were home and asleep by 9PM that night, the earliest turn-in of our entire stay.

9/16

I love waking up in Manhattan - my first thoughts are of all the possibilities of what I can do and see that day, and I thrive on the energy and excitement that seems to just exist within the very air of the city. At Jack鈥檚 , you couldn鈥檛 hear much of anything in the way of street noise as in some areas of the city 鈥?once in a while, you could hear sirens far in the distance, but mostly it was completely silent. Because we slept with the windows open (we were, after all, on the third floor!), what woke me up was the sound of a cat meowing somewhere in the green area behind or below our patio.

The minute I realized I was awake and in New York, I was ready to get up and get going 鈥?so much to do, so little time. I wandered out to the balcony/patio in my pj鈥檚 and checked out the neighborhood and the neighbors on their balconies - some reading the paper, some drinking coffee, some eating breakfast 鈥?ahh, life in the city!!

Sat on the balcony and drank some juice, then took a shower, headed out to Starbucks, had promised to meet my cousin Karen and friend Nikki from Houston at LaGuardia because they were worried about coming into the city on their own. Anne headed to a museum, and I headed out to the subway to 125th Street and then the M-60 bus to La Guardia. Needed to ask directions as to where to catch the bus, but as usual, the locals were very helpful, and I found the M60 sign. Several buses arrived before mine, and I found it interesting that a couple people asked me if this was where to wait for the M60 bus. I guess since I stood out a bit in the area 鈥?I鈥檓 very pale and blond - they must have figured I knew where I was going, or wouldn鈥檛 have been standing there. Since I鈥檇 never ridden a bus in New York before (but many subways) the driver had to show me how to insert the metro pass into the reader.

After meeting up with Karen and Nikki and getting their luggage, I called Carmel, our limo company, and the driver was there within just a couple minutes. The drive into the city isn鈥檛 far, but because of traffic 鈥?parade on Fifth - it took about an hour. We put their luggage in Room 5, then met up with Anne, and headed out for the 3-hour Circle Line cruise. After the subway to 42nd and a short walk, we had just enough time to buy our tickets and get in line for the 3:30 cruise, which was pretty and interesting for the most part, but the tour guide was not nearly as informative or entertaining as the one I had on my first trip.

Arrived back at the pier at about sunset, so we could see the sun setting behind the George Washington Bridge and the lights were starting to come on around the city. We then walked back to 42nd Street, and then through part of Times Square so that we could see the theatre lights and news banners starting to come on, and the busy activity there. Then we headed back to the subway for our trip back uptown. We got off on 72nd so that we could stop at the Fairway Market for some snacks, drinks, and other supplies.

Karen and Nikki took a few minutes to get organized and look at their apartment, and then they joined Anne and me on our balcony. Since the weather was just beautiful, we decided to choose a restaurant with outdoor seating, and ended up going to Isabella鈥檚, right on the corner of Columbus and 77th. Wonderful atmosphere watching the city walk by, great food, and then we walked a few blocks up to 83rd to our favorite dessert place, the wonderful Caf茅 Lalo. After dessert, we walked back to our apartment, and Teri (San Diego friend) called saying that she had just arrived at JFK, and was sharing a cab with a woman and her dog who she had met on the plane. I helped her carry her luggage up to our room, and we all turned in around midnight.

End day 2....

Trip report - September 15-23 - 5 50-ish women in New York

I am so pleased you liked Jacks. it%26#39;s always a worry that what one person finds nice someone else might not. We tried to get room 8 for our visit as I loved the idea of the balcony and had stayed in room 6 at New Year and it was lovely and quiet at the back of the building(we%26#39;ve also been in room 5 ) . It wasn%26#39;t to be and we had to ';settle'; for room 7 which was lovely! Loved reading about the start of your trip and eagerly waiting for more.

Great detailled report :o) Thanks for sharing and can%26#39;t wait to read some more. :o)

Yes, looking forward to more %26amp; what the first-timers thought.

Your report reminds me of why I love showing first-time visitors around the city. Since I was born here, I can never have that excitement of seeing it for the first time, and watching someone else%26#39;s face light up when they recognize a familiar landmark almost makes up for it.

I passed Isabella%26#39;s this afternoon, there were a couple dozen people standing outside waiting for tables.

I still haven%26#39;t been to Popover Cafe, gotta put it on my list.

Looking forward to more...

Oh, how I would love to be walking past Isabella%26#39;s today, instead of working on taxes for procrastinator clients - such is life. The Texas girls, particularly my cousin, loved New York. I asked Karen what her opinion was, and she said she felt safer than she thought she would, she loved the speed and ease of the subways, and she couldn%26#39;t believe how beautiful the city was. Nikki, on the other hand, spent much of her time, day and night, on the phone with her husband and grown kids in Texas, so didn%26#39;t really have an opportunity to enjoy it as much as the rest of us. She said she had a wonderful time and loved being there, but I don%26#39;t really know how you can truly enjoy a trip if you%26#39;re always on the phone.

Loved your report!!! Thanks so much for sharing.

I visited your lovely city back in June.....wonderful!!!!

LOL, I can related to your experience with the friend on the phone with her family. I had a similar experience last month with a group of pals....we finally had to tell her to get off the phone so we could go to bed!