Posted by Miffy (Dubai based crew) 04-10-07

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NEW YORK as seen by Miffy....

If you want a city experience that is filled with nightlife, sights and sounds, history, art, theatre, parks, horse and carriage…………..then New York is where you want to be. It truly is a city that never sleeps. And mid town Manhattan is where you want your hotel to be. I stayed at The Wellington, on the corner of 7th Avenue and 55th Street. It couldn’t have been more perfectly located.

If you have only a short time in NYC and you want to see the well known sights such as Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre, etc, that up until this point you have only seen in movies and television, then a helpful, time-saver is to buy tickets for these places in Manhattan. You can buy them from the numerous tour bus companies operating out of the city, whose representatives are all over the place. You can’t miss them. This will save you have to queue to buy tickets at the sight itself. A word of warning, go early……..the wait for these sights can be as long as 3 hours. However if you get there by about 9am the wait is about 30-45 mins. The bus tours are also good. They give you a good idea of landmarks and a quick visual that you can later explore at your leisure. They are also hop on hop off, so only one ticket needed for the day.

Ellis Island, where Lady Liberty resides is actually very interesting. In addition to viewing her, you can visit the museum that is very educational about the early immigrants to the United States. Standing in the Registry Hall gave me goose bumps. It is easy to picture hundreds of people coming in from Europe with literally the clothes on their back, excited and terrified at the prospect of their new life in the New World. It was a very moving experience.

If you are an art and culture buff then the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Metropolitan Museum (the MET), the Guggenheim, to name a few, are all fabulous. Be prepared to spend a whole day in each. MOMA and the MET are cool because the entry ticket is for the whole day; however you can come and go as you please as many times in a day.

To add to the cultural experience, the theatres offer the latest in Broadway shows. Ticket prices vary, depending on the show, however if you have the time to queue the Box Office in Times Square sells cheaper tickets a few hours before the show. I saw The Colour Purple starring Fantasia Barrino (American Idol Season 3 winner). It was fantastic. I laughed, cried, sniggered, and shouted in outrage depending on the scene being acted out. Brilliant!

For the ladies, I highly recommend the Sex and the City tour. If you like the sitcom and feel like the characters are your best friends, the tour is definitely your cup of tea or should I say your glass of Cosmopolitan!!! The ticket is about $175 (prices do change so check on line before hand) and lasts about 4 hours. You get to visit most of the famous locations that the sitcom mentions, e.g. Aidan’s bar, the Plaza hotel where lots of Carrie and Mr. Big scenes play out, The Pleasure Chest where Charlotte bought her “bunny”, Carries stoop……the list is quite long. A great, fun, sexy trip!!

Central Park is pretty. Great to sit and people watch, catch up on your reading, listen to your favourite music on the IPOD or just be. And the best part is, it’s free!! The shopping is fantastic. From designer labels to little boutiques with tiny treasures you could easily bypass………its shopping heaven. I had loads of fun trying out Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahnik, knowing full well that I couldn’t afford them. But the best part was when I tried on a beautiful Ralph Lauren jean jacket, expecting it to be too expensive, and found out it was on sale, Hoorah!! Century 21 is a “must go to” store. You find designer labels el cheapo here. It’s right next to Ground Zero. So after a visit to the famous site, retail therapy is needed to take away the sadness. Century 21 is exactly what the shrink recommends. I walked out with bags of stuff for myself and others. Great for Christmas shopping.
I spent a week in the Big Apple and I could have spent a month more and still not got to do everything. That’s the catch about NYC……….it leaves you hungering for more!!

Enjoy