Vacation In New York

In New York City, New York there are endless things to do. Our team has been there a couple times already and still have things on their to do list to check off. For now we can tell you about what we have seen and done on our most recent trip when we were there for 4 nights.

We saw two NHL (National Hockey League) games. The New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils in their home arenas. The Rangers play in Madison Square Garden (MSG) which is located in Manhattan on Seventh Avenue between 31^st and 33^rd Streets. MSG is also the home of NBA team the New York Knicks, the WNBA team the New York Liberty and ofcourse many other sporting and non sporting events. You can really feel the history when you come into the areana.

The New Jersey Devils are moving into their new arena in 2007. It is called Prudential Center and is located in Newark, New Jersey on Mulberry Street between Lafayette Street and Edison Street. Prudential Center is also home to the New Jersey Ironmen who play will play in the MISL (professional indoor soccer league) and Seton Hall University who compete in six different sports. The arena will also host other sporting and non sporting events such as concerts.

We visited the Empire State Building and going to the main visitors deck. The views from there were nothing less than spectacular. The Empire State Building is located in Manhattan on 350 5^th Avenue.

When we were finished there we walked to the American Museum of Natural History. We were there several hours and didn’t even see half of the displays. We had planned in advance want we really wanted to see and if we had more time we would have seen more. It was great. Everything from dinosaurs to gems to old artifacts. The museum is located in Manhattan on Central Park West and 79^th Street.

After the museum we took a stroll through Central Park. Its was during the fall so all the amazing fall colours were out. The leaves on the trees were coloured red, yellow, green, and orange. It was just like a painting.

For a good free view of the Statue of Liberty we took the Staten Island ferry which runs from Whitehall Street in Manhattan and from St. George on Staten Island. A one way trip takes about 25min. If you want to go back right away you must get off the boat and go thru the terminal and then reboard. Next time we will do this around sunset so we can see the New York skyline at night.

We were at Rockefeller Center. That is where they have the big Christmas tree every year and an outdoor skating rink, which was already fuctional when we were there. Just outside of the building you could be part of the NBC morning news in their outdoor audience. In the main building you can go up to the observation deck ‘On Top of the Rock.’ Rockafeller Center stretches from 5^th avenue to 7^th avenue and from 47^th to 51^st street in Manhatten.

We made sure to take in the sights of the famous ‘Time Square’ during the evening hours. The signs lit the way for what seemed like forever. The electronic advertising signs are huge, covering the sides of buildings. Many well known stores are in this area and are open late in the evening. Broadway, famous for its shows and musicals runs right through Time Square. With the longest running show being the famed ‘Phantom of the Opera’, playing in the Magestic Theater since January 1988. The Time Square area is located from West 42^nd to West 47^th Streets. It cosists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenue and from West 40^th and West 53^rd Street, with the most popular juntion being Broadway and Seventh Avenue. 

We ate amazing Italien food in Little Italy and walked around there and in China Town. It was strange seeing signs in both English and Chinese on well known business. Was definitely unexpected. They had more to see than you would expect in all the little shops. Everything from fresh fish to suveniors.

We walked around Wall Street and over to where the World Trade Center was before 9/11-2001. The feeling there is very hard to explain. Firetrucks, from the firestation right beside ‘Ground Zero’, were driving around. They had memorials painted on the side of the trucks. We had the chance to see inside the firestation as they were backing in one of the trucks and saw a memorial there too. Just a block from there was a great shopping place called Century 21. Which claims to be New Yorks best kept secret when it comes to discount, designer shopping. We found lots of great deals there.

It was definitely a fully packed schedual of things to do. We would still like to visit the United Nations, see a baseball game (hopefully the Yankees), a basketball game (probably the Knicks), see the Giants in a NFL game, see more of the American Museum of Natural History, and revisit other favorits. Maybe even take in a Broadway show.

New York city is definately a favorit destination and will be visited many more times. The people there were so friendly and helpful. When we were looking at a map we were approached by people asking if we needed help finding something. That was a great surprise especially for me. You may also be surprised by the lack of English spoken for example on the subway. There are so many people with many different cultural histories that are still alive.

New York – What an experience!

By Corina@journeyreport.com