New York City > Reviews > New York, New York!!

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Good
Shopping	Excellent
Nightlife	Good
Family Friendly	Good

Advantages:	Fantastic city, great sights and landmarks, shops !
Disadvantages:	You may emigrate !  !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I was rummaging through the closets of my brain this morning trying to think what my next review would be about and it struck me that even though I have New York in my username, because I love the city with a passion, I have yet to write a review about it. So here it is!

I have wanted to go to New York for as long as I can possibly remember. I think it may stem from watching lots of American films when I was a youngster (such as Home Alone) that centred around New York, particularly at Christmas time when it showed the big Christmas tree at Times Square etc.

I was lucky enough as a child to be taken on lots of family holidays, and while they were lovely holidays, New York, or America for that fact, was never on the cards as a destination as nobody else in my family wanted to go there. So, it was always a case of 'when you're old enough you can go!'.

However, then when I was 'old enough' I didn't have the money as New York can be quite expensive (if done properly!).

Then, one rainy, cold day, just before Christmas, my boyfriend of almost two years, told me he wanted to go to New York for his 21st birthday (yes he is a few years younger than me!) as he had been on his 18th and loved it. He wanted me to go and told me that he would pay for me (yes, he does have quite a lot of money too!) so we booked to leave on the 18th Feb. I couldn't wait!

The flight from Heathrow was bearable (considering I hate flying!) and we flew with British Airways and I would definitely use them again as they were fantastic.

We landed at JFK Airport in New York and it was absolutely freezing cold! We went the week after that big blizzard that was on the news that stopped flights, so we were lucky to be there at all! We arrived at about 5 in the evening and it was already getting dark. My boyfriend, having been there before, said he knew exactly where he wanted to get to and how to get there and that we wouldn't need a taxi. However, after getting the shuttle to Queens, then an underground, then a train, he finally gave up and we got a taxi the rest of the way to the Roosevelt Hotel on Madisson Avenue.

The Hotel was very nice and very central to most sights etc but as I'm not doing a hotel review, I wont go into too much detail, but instead talk about all the sights and landmarks and the history of the great city, known as the Big Apple.

***Macy's***

Although, Macy's Department Store is clearly not a famous landmark, it is a well known place to shop and just as famous as Bloomingdales (see below). You can find it at Herald Square on 34th Street and Broadway. It is a huge Department Store, a bit like Selfridges in London, and it is a women's paradise. With whole floors devoted to handbags, designer and high street clothes, jewellery. Perfume, shoes and much more, spread out over 7 floors! Men, don't be discouraged though, if you like shopping then there's plenty for you too! My boyfriend loves buying clothes and as it was his birthday, he had been given lots of money to spend!

If you do decide to go to Macy's then make sure you stop at the Visitors desk before buying anything! I was just about to purchase a lovely pair of jeans when one of the very friendly store clerks informed me that I should go and get my visitors pass. If you go to the visitors desk and hand over proof that you are a visitor from another country, such as driving license or passport, then they will give you a card that you hand over with your purchases to get 11% discount (on top of any other discounts they may have in store!). Also, in February they have massive sales throughout the store giving 60% off in some cases!

***Bloomingdale's***

Found on 3rd Avenue, between 59th and 60th streets, Bloomingdale's, also known as Bloomies, is another huge Department Store occupying an entire block. Bloomingdale's is probably a bit more like a huge Debenhams than a Selfridges but is famous for it's 'brown bags' of varying sizes of which you get paper ones with each purchase but can also buy the proper ones in store. The same fantastic mix of clothing, perfume, home, beauty, handbags etc means you have to call into the shop if you visit New York, even if you don't intend to buy anything!

***Empire State Building***

Of course, no trip to New York is complete without a visit to the Empire State Building, which is the most famous building in New York, if not the world. It rises up more than a quarter of a mile high and has become famous even more so over the past few decades with films such as King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle, using it as part of their backdrop/set.

We had to queue outside for about half an hour, which wasn't too bad as I have heard that sometimes you can have a wait of about an hour and a half! Tickets cost about $20 (I can't remember the exact amount as my boyfriend paid) to take us up to the 86th floor. The lift zoomed up and took only a few seconds and then we stepped out onto the Observatory.

We were lucky that on the day we decided to go, there were very clear skies and there was a sign saying that we could see for 20 miles in every direction! I wouldn't recommend going on a cloudy day as I have heard that sometimes you can get to the top and can't see very much. If you're not too keen on heights but want to go anyway, you can still go up and have a look from behind glass in the observatory which probably isn't too bad. You can, however, step out onto a wide platform that surrounds the whole building and is protected with fencing so now chance of falling off! This is ideal for taking photos etc.

The 86th floor isn't the top of the building however, it is only about 3 quarters of the way up! If you want to go right to the top you can but you have to pay more and we didn't really see the point on spending the money as we would only be able to see exactly the same things but further away!

***Central Park***

Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States. It stretches from 59th Street to 110th Street and covers 843 acres. It is well worth a visit and especially in the winter time, as a lot of the park was still covered in snow. We had a horse-drawn carriage ride through the park which cost us $50 for 20 minutes (that includes a tip for the driver) which was very beautiful as it took us through the park, past the zoo and past the famous skating rink (which my boyfriend wouldn't let me go on as he didn't want me to embarrass him!). We also went past the 'Friends' fountain, which is in the opening credits of the TV show (if you're a friends fan then it will mean something - otherwise It's just a big fountain!) and past John Lennon's house and the place where he was shot. We also went past the building in which Ghostbusters was filmed.

***Central Park Zoo***

This is another must see place, especially if you are an animal lover! The zoo is divided into different sections such as the tropic zone and the polar zone and has a range of animals including polar bears, penguins, monkeys, lizards and loads more. It's also the zoo that appears in the film 'Madagascar' (even though it's a cartoon!) and my boyfriend had to keep reminding me that we probably weren't going to see Alex the Lion from the film! It is quite a small zoo but there is still plenty to see and we still spent over an hour there. It only costs $8 a ticket, which I thought was very reasonable.

***Applebees***

Applebees is a self confessed 'Neighborhood Grill and Bar. 'Ok great, why are you telling me about this' I hear you thinking. Well, the reason is, because it is so great! We had breakfast at the Applebees near Times Square every morning because it was close to our hotel but it was also really tasty and not too pricey. It has a very American feel inside, with signed photos of movie stars on the walls and huge posters from the Broadway shows etc. I don't know what the lunch/dinner menu's are like I'm afraid as we never ate here at these times and we also didn't go upstairs to the bar so I cannot talk you through that. The choice of breakfasts was varied and I loved the warm Blueberry muffins and the pancakes with maple syrup. And breakfasts starting at $1.99 I thought was very fair. You certainly have more choice than at a UK restaurant!

***Ground Zero***

For those of you who aren't aware, Ground Zero is the site in which the twin towers used to stand before they were blown up on September 11th. I didn't particularly want to go there as I thought it would be a bit depressing, but we came across it purely by accident as we were in the area and I'm really glad we did now. It is basically a big fence surrounding the area where it used to be but there is a huge plaque running along the fence with the names of everybody they found and it was very overwhelming to see all those names and think of all those poor people who lost their lives on that horrific day.
I can't imagine how tall the towers must have been but the Empire State building was huge and the towers were much bigger than that. There was a building to the left of the fencing and it still had scaffolding up the entire side of the building where the windows had been blown in during the blast, some 4 and a half years later! It had a picture of the towers showing the building I just mentioned and the towers were about twice the size of that building. You just can't imagine, unless you actually saw the towers before they were destroyed, just how vast they would have been.

***Overall***

There is so many more things I could talk about as it is such an amazing city and it really is the city that never sleeps. Coffee shops and bars stay open all through the night and there is a hustle and bustle of city life. I think it is so much nicer than London as the whole city just feels a lot cleaner and the streets/pavements are wider so even though there is a lot more people populating the area, it doesn't feel crowded.

I would love to go at Christmas time, just to see the huge Christmas Tree at Times Square and to be there when it is actually snowing as I can imagine it is beautiful.

I am so pleased that I finally got the chance to see the city, even if it was only for 5 days. I would definitely go back and me and my boyfriend are even considering moving there when we are older.

Everybody is so friendly and everyone says hello, unlike the sometimes hostile English.

Walking around is a little scary as there seem to be cars everywhere but it doesn't take long to get used to it!

Overall, I think this is a fantastic place to be. If you don't like city life then this may not be for you but I think it is at least worth a visit if you are in America, just to say you've had the New York Experience.

I know it's one I will never forget!

Thanks for reading and happy travelling!

Ciao for now.