City Slickers- A few traveling tips

We've been married for 2 months on Friday February 28! Evan had the weekend off, nothing better then leaving home for a short stay-cation. We headed to Manhattan for the weekend for some fun. We've been to Manhattan several times so this weekend was just a weekend with no timelines or pressure. Just time to relax 

The Long Island Railroad is our preferred mode of transportation into the City. No toll bridges, traffic, or hunting for parking lots. We just have one transfer and we arrive in mid-town Manhattan at Madison Square Garden in Penn Station. Easy as PIE! 

If you are coming in from the JFK airport there are a couple of options a taxi flat fee into the city is $52. If you don't want to spend that kind of money then the air tram is the way to go. Its about $16 and connects in Jamaica station of the Long Island Railroad and will take you right to Penn Station. 

Where to stay is the next question. I tried Priceline, I even named my own price but they wouldn't accept my requests... Nothing was better than Groupon. In fact I found us a steal at the Hilton Garden Inn off of Broadway and 35th Street!  We got a King Room with a City View for $110. Pretty good if you ask me :) Not only did we get a view we had a corner room! That's a view! 

We went to the temple for an Evening Session where I saw the Temple President, President Bennion who was the former president of Southern Utah University. GO T-BIRDS! 

Saturday was MARCH 1. 

The beginning of Birthday Month! I firmly believe in celebrating the entire month. 

We took the subway to Wall Street and walked from Wall Street to Battery Park. The Financial District is awesome! Sadly enough because stocks aren't trading it was pretty quiet. 

The only thing open were few cafes and The American Museum of Finance that has free tours on Saturdays- if that is something that interests you. 

Taxi vs. Subway: the Subway is $2.50 per ride where ever you are going with a metro card. If you are going about 1-13 blocks and there are only 2 of you the Subway is the way to go. If there are 3-5 of you then take a taxi it will cost about $7-$9.  If you are going further, then the subway is going to be more cost efficient no matter how many are in your party. 

There was no line to see Lady Liberty considering it was an extremely chilly day. Reservations were sold out for the pedestal and crown for the next month- but I've never seen the beautiful green lady up close. My mom and I once went to Ellis Island, but because it was so busy we skipped her! 

It was a BEAUTIFUL clear day, but it was absolutely freezing. I was Dying. The wind made it bone chilling. In fact it was hard to smile normal because it was so incredibly, horribly miserable. 

We made our way to get a late lunch in West Village but ran into a rather delightful GEM. 

Phillip Marie- an American Cuisine serving Brunch all day. I'll take brunch at 3:30pm. It was a rather hip joint- packed with young people, the latest music and delicious food. We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, while waiting I chatted with the Manager and he ensured we would get the best seat in the house in the front of the main window. 

 

It was a fun and delicious place to eat in such a cute little area with old brick buildings, colorful doors  tree lined streets, and old rusty fire escapes. 

Our next destination was Magnolia Bakery to kick off Birthday Month with cupcakes.

 This place was packed. The line went out the door and wrapped around the corner of the building with people axioms for the delicious varieties of cupcakes, puddings, and other pastries. 

We were in line for cupcakes and the guy behind us was talking to his girlfriend about the banana pudding. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation as we were tightly packed int he bakery. Within a matter of seconds over 10 containers of the banana pudding was purchased. I turned around and asked the guy if I really needed to try the banana pudding. He confirmed it was the best thing on the menu. Without a doubt it was absolutely incredible. I should have bought a large. 

It was the perfect way to kick off Birthday Month and Celebrate 2 months of being married to Evan! I love being married and being able to do so many fun things with him. 

Here's to 2 months and many more to come.

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Activities we have done on past weekend trips to Manhattan: 

Walking Across the Brooklyn Bridge! The view is fantastic. We took a subway into Brooklyn and walked toward the City. It takes you right into the Financial District. 

The Museum of Metropolitan Art (MOMA). First of all they have student discounts. If you are a student take advantage of it. $25 was the suggested donation to enter. 

If you are buying the Full City Tour that gives you admission into 6 different attractions for $120 know they are charging you the full price into everything. However the "hop on and off" city tour bus is about $50 and will take you to all the hot tourist sites. Pretty good deal, and you don't have to deal with the subway, taxi, and trying to make your way around. 

If you are hungry while at the MOMA, don't eat in the cafeteria- It's SO Expensive. Step outside to one of the food carts. Those carts are delicious and #1 in the City. 

Cart food is good. That's all I have to say! I love the Gyros at the Halal Food stands. 

Rockefeller Center is amazing! There is ice skating from October-April. It's fun to watch. If you are interested in ice skating and you don't want to pay the Rockefeller price, then go to Bryant Park. While you are at Rockefeller Center- there are a few things that are fun to see! One is the NBC tour. If you try to get tickets online and it says its booked, go anyway! They will have tickets! NBC tour is so fun. We really liked it. 

Jacques Torres has delicious chocolate, and delicious hot chocolate. The shop is on the lower level of Rockefeller. 

KOREATOWN! There are Karaoke rooms for you and your friends! It's always a good time. Paris Baguette is our favorite place to go for pastries and cool summer treats. Also there are many options for Korean food on 32nd Street. If you haven't had Korean food before TRY IT! It's totally worth trying. 

We rented City Bikes and took a tour through Central Park. There will be guys that try to sell you on a bike rental, but they are over priced. With a City Bike you can use it all day through the City. 

Grand Central Station. There are great shops and its an absolutely historic place. 

Lincoln Center is on the Upper West Side across from the beautiful LDS Temple and the Juilliard School of Music. Lincoln Center has some interesting art outside and music students practicing on the grounds. They have some fantastic show they play on the streets and in the Lincoln Center theater. The annual high fashion designers also have a fashion show in the Fall. 

Off Broadway shows are fun and there is a variety. We found tickets for a Magic Show for $14 on Goldstar.com.

Broadway Shows! You are in the presence of some of the world's greatest shows. We saw Wicked on Broadway. It was absolutely fabulous. We purchased our tickets online by comparing prices on different sites. There is a discount ticket sales booth in Times Square for day of tickets. 

Times Square is an exciting place. If you are trying to save money, eat outside of Times Square. 

Spend your day shopping at Macy's on 34th Street. It's huge! There is also fun shopping on 5th avenue 

World Trade Center is great to see near the financial district! It's a beautiful sight to see. 

NYC is a lot of fun. Don't be afraid to walk around and explore. We love our weekend Stay-cations