1. FAO Schwarz
The location suits itself well to an accompanying afternoon in Central Park, and the Central Park Zoo. You could also use this opportunity to walk up Fifth Avenue, although most of the shops there are not kid friendly. It's also a hop skip and a jump from Rockefeller Centre.

2. Rockefeller Centre
Going up to the top you will find the best view in NY. Dean & Deluca makes the best coffee in NY, and around the holidays you can enjoy the lights and figure skating.

3. Times Square
Lots of tourists take their kids there, much to the chagrin of the locals, who are always asking themselves what kind of nut parents would take their kids to Times Square. But you have to go there to see the "naked" cowboy and...

4. Toys 'r' Us in Times Square
This shop kicks FAO Schwarz's butt. The Barbie section is a giant Barbie house you can walk into. It's absolutely incredible. However, it does not have the things that make FAO classic, like an antiques toy section, the walk-on piano and the high-end collectible dolls section. All in all, I think Toys 'r' Us is more for kids, FAO is more for grown ups.

 5. Battery Park
Great place to go with kids. DO NOT get suckered by the merchants there. It is all knock-off merchandise. If you decide to buy something, haggle! A friend of mine talked a guy down from $40 for a pair of "Chanel" sunglasses to $5.

 6. Statue of Liberty
Beautiful boat trip, nice to walk around. IT IS NOT WORTH IT TO WAIT IN LINE AND GO UP. For the first thing, once you are half way up (and it takes forever) there is no going back down, unlike other sites like the Empire State Building. The view is really overrated, I thought it was pretty bad actually. If you are claustrophobic, you will have a really hard time. Instead, enjoy the gardens and seeing NY from far away. The ferry ride is fun.

 7. Ground Zero
Of course, the kids won't get this, but you will. It's ultimately troubling and affecting, but it is an historic site, and I found it quite an experience to go. They are building there now. Watch out for the tacky vendors.

 8. Empire State Building
 It's expensive, but it's awesome. Up top is a tacky but fun souvenir shop. You can put money in the binoculars. I love going up. It's Sleepless in Seattle, it's An Affair to Remember, and it's now the tallest building in Manhattan.

 9. Carnegie Deli
 Right near Times Square. You have to eat it with a fork. Look, just do this. Go there, get seated (you will probably be sitting with strangers). Order a Club Sandwich and Pastrami on Rye. This will feed your whole family. Each sandwich is about 12$ US, but it's a real NY deli. The cheesecake is also a great deal, all
of you can split it. My piece had about 6 full strawberries on top.

 10. Broadway
 Fun to shop on, but very very crowded. Hold hands the whole way.

 11. Macy's
 Go in and ride the escalator all the way to the top and all the way down. The top floors have a wooden escalator, and that's why it is so cool.

 12. Strand Books (on Broadway)
The biggest used bookstore in the world. Awesome. It is also a couple of blocks from a huge costume shop, which is also really neat, just to the south.

 13. Museum of Natural History
 Awesome. This is the one from Night at the Museum. Avoid it on the holidays though, because it will be too busy to enjoy.

 14. Carriage ride in Cental Park
 Expect to pay about $40 for a decent ride. It's an experience. The carriage comfortably seats 4, and the driver will kindly use your camera to take your picture. Younger horses are less likely to fart.

 15. Marriot turning Restaurant
 For a romantic dinner away from the kids, go to the turning restaurant at the top of the Marriot near Times Square. Or, alternately, the nearest Japanese restaurant, which will be cheap and amazing!
 
 Other tips:
 
 * use hand sanitizer, especially after riding the subway. In this city, your finger nails get dirty just walking around.

 * don't wear shorts on the subway, and if you do, stand. Paris is cleaner.

 * wear good shoes.

 * if you need a cheap meal, get pizza. It's less likely to give you digestive problems than other street meat. NY pizza is great. You can get a variety like no where I've ever been, with several vegetarian options. It's usually the healthy choice.

 * for coffee, go to the deli instead of Starbucks. Cheaper and better.

 * Do not make eye contact with street people/panhandlers. Just don't. Once you start, it is heartbreaking and overwhelming.

 * stick to main streets. They are more crowded, but generally safer.

This was my first impression of the City. It was Fourth of July weekend, and this huge flag hanging in the middle of the bridge was so beautiful! To be honest I was scared to death driving in the middle of this  but it was accelerating to say the least.

This is me, with the city scape in the back ground. I was so excited just to cross the ferry and see the inside of this majestic place. Thoughts flooded my head of what I would see and do here. Excitement!

Ground Zero was our first stop once we arrived. I must say it was the saddest place I have ever visited. Thinking of everyone this tragedy had affected. Not only the victims but all of America. I was a bit disappointed that they have not erected a memorial to visit, but I guess this will come with time. Tears flowed the entire time I was here. As close as all the buildings are in this city I am kind of surprised more buildings were not taken. God must have been holding onto her that day in some sort of strange way.

We did find the make shift cross erected in front of the church. How emotional and sad it was to look at this. As with most of us, I still have a hard time when I think about all that took place on 911. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on that tragic day. I am sure we all do.

Ahh...Wall Street was next. It was weird standing in front of this building knowing how much money passes through this place on a daily basis. Honestly I expected it to be much larger, but I guess lots can be done in small places...lol...With all that is going on there now, Who knows what the outcome of the New York stock exchange will be now.

Yahoo...Time Square.  I have always wanted to make the trip New Years to this place where so many wait for that ball to fall, but I never have. I loved it here, so busy, so much to see. It is smaller then I thought too. I expected to see but I was not disappointed. We had lunch here. It was raining this day and it was so funny seeing all the umbrellas walking down the street. I was so wet by the end of this adventure, because I like the rain and didn't stay under the monster umbrella most of the time...lol

Our final stop was of course the Lady that watches over the bay, The Statue of Liberty. This was an emotional time for me also. With my son being in boot camp, this fourth of July was a very special one. Liberty and freedom took on a much different light. I cried when I saw her, but I am nothing but an motional wreck all the time. Emotional, thats me. I have tons more pictures but these are my highlights of our trip to the big city. I would reccommend every one to visit this place at least once. I know I will make this trip again, maybe it will become one of my places to visit at least once a year. I was thrilled by the enormity of this place. So much happens here and for a few days I was a part of it. It is instilled in my memories of a life time.

New York City has quite a colorful history that actually can trace back its original roots to the Lenape inhabitants prior to the arrival of Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524, however then the city had not been named “New York City”. Under Dutch rule in 1625, the city was named “New Amsterdam” and later renamed “New York” in 1664, after the English took control of the area. Interestingly, New York City experienced a major leap forward in 1898 after the city consolidated the “Five Boroughs” that once divided the landscape and the peoples living there.

Quick Fact: Number One

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New York City once served as the first capitol of the United States from September 13, 1788 to 1790.

Quick Fact: Number Two

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General George Washington was inaugurated at the Federal Hall on Wall Street on April 30, 1789 to become the first President of the United States.

Quick Fact: Number Three

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It is illegal to forage for food in New York City parks without having a permit.

Quick Fact: Number Four

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In 1853, the City of New York purchased 768 acres of land that once contained old sheds left behind by colonists, pig farms, quarries and swamps. This land was added to the land that the city had already owned to create an 843-acre city oasis that was named “Central Park”.

Quick Fact: Number Five

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In 1876, the French Government gave America the Statue of Liberty in honor of America's 100th birthday celebrating the country's independence. The Statue of Liberty was designed by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, which her face was modeled after his mother and the body modeled after a prostitute as the story is told. Gustave Eiffel, who is most famous for building the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built the steel framework of the Statue of Liberty and the completed 305-foot statue with pedestal was fully erected in 1886 on Liberty Island outside of New York City.

Quick Fact: Number Six

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Chinatown located in the lower part of Manhattan was established in the 1870s by Chinese immigrants who decided to settle in New York City and brought their ancient traditions creating one of the largest Chinatowns in the United States. Visitors can shop until they drop at one of the hundreds of shops or stores scattered throughout the city within a city. Chinatown is chalk full of historical landmarks including a statue of Lin Ze Xu and The Church of the Transfiguration, the oldest Catholic Church building in New York City built in 1801.

Quick Fact: Number Seven

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Grand Central Station was designed by John B. Snook a world famous architect that Cornelius Vanderbilt commissioned to design the railway station in 1869. In 1902, a horrific accident occurred in the Park Avenue tunnel taking the lives of seventeen people, because the smoke from the increased steam engines traveling through created poor visibility that led to the accident. In 1910, the use of steam engine trains were outlawed and replaced with electrified railway system that is still in use today.

Quick Fact: Number Eight

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Ellis Island was originally built just off the southern tip of Manhattan on 27 ½ acres of land, just prior to the War of 1812. Later in the island's history it was used as the gateway to freedom and a new life in the United States, where more than 12 million people from around the world immigrated into the US. Now, Ellis Island is an Immigration Museum that is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument and hosts an enormous archive of documents, photos and artifacts that tells the story of new beginnings of the men, women and children that passed through its gates, so to obtain the promise of freedom that America has offered to millions of people then and since.

Quick Fact: Number Nine

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The Empire State Building is a towering 1253 foot skyscraper that has 73 elevators and took only one year and forty-five days to build from bottom to top. The classic film King Kong made in 1933, immortalize the Empire State Building in movie icon history and since then it has been featured in dozens of films and movies that only further cements its legacy in architectural history.

Quick Fact: Number Ten

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The United Nations Headquarters is located on Manhattan's eastern border on an eighteen acre plot of land that was purchased and later donated to the United Nations by billionaire John D. Rockefeller Jr. The entire area was eventually used to build the International meeting center and is actually considered International territory that does not officially belong to the United States and is governed by the International body of the UN.

Personal Space and Mass Transit

What's silver and shiny and holds lots of people as they move? Poles! Poles inside the subway cars and buses are not for holding up the ceiling, and certainly not for dancing. A couple hundred people can fit in one subway car, and since there are only about 40 seats, this means most people in crowded cars are standing. Buses are more or less the same, but their ride is much more bumpy, so it's extra important to be careful.

Blocking hand space on the support poles is a terrible offense. If you've ever had a ride where someone monopolized the pole by leaning back against it, you know how it feels. Poles give us support, comfort, and a little slice of territory inside this big, noisy, metal box. When you hold on, take care to notice that your hand isn't sliding down into someone else's space. Accidental hand-touching is just plain awkward and creepy.

In addition, if you have been blessed/cursed with an abundance of waist, please do not try to squeeze onto the open seat between two happily seated riders. Search for a corner, an edge, or an empty row.

When you stand, make sure you take into account how much room is available around you for other passengers. If you have a lot of space, center yourself within it so as to provide the oncoming passengers their choice of room in which to stand. If you are a sardine in a can, keep your wandering hands to yourself (creepy guy on the #5 train, you know who you are) and don't cop a feel “accidentally.”

Sardined cars are both the best and worst cars to ride in. On the one hand, you are surrounded by human buttresses so it's unlikely that you will fall if you can't hold on to the pole. On the other hand, you might be face-to-armpit with a construction worker. When in a packed car, remember the following:

1. Take your purse or bag off your shoulder and place it in between your legs
2. Fix your hair up in a way that doesn't cause someone else to eat a mouthful of frizz
3. Breathe to yourself, not down someone else's neck or back.

Heidelberg Restaurant

The Heidelberg restaurant has been in business since 1936. They offer excellent German food and great beer. Enjoy Octoberfest specials such as Filet Stroganoff with rice and red cabbage or Sauerkraut Goulash, all year long.

Brunch is served between 12 and 4pm with Potato pancake and smoked Salmon-sour cream and capers as one of the choices. Lunch specials, soup and sandwiches and entrees are available Monday thru Saturday 11:30am to 3:30 pm. For dinner enjoy an appetizer of baked Camembert cheese, the soup of the day, followed by a delicious entrée of Bratwurst, Potato pancakes or Schweineshaxe (roasted pork shank with sauerkraut and boiled potato), to name a few.

Finish off with a desert and your favorite non alcoholic beverage or German beer. Expect to spend between $10 to $20 dollars per entrée. Take out is also available.

Heidelberg Restaurant is located at 1648 2 nd Ave., New York, NY. 10028. (212) 628-2332.

Silver Swan

The Silver Swan is open daily between 12pm and 11pm. Appetizers include Ochsenmaul salad, Mushroom toast and duck plate with truffles, each for a price of $8.95. Enjoy a warm soup bowl of lentil, Pea or Barley soup, Goulash or Chicken Consomme with dumplings. Each priced between $4 and $7 dollars a bowl.

Cucumber, German potato and pickled red beets, are a few of the available salads. Sausages include Jagerwurst and Weisswurst, among others. Have Muscoy duck or roast chicken or turkey.

There are many entrée's to choose from including Roast pork, German meatloaf, Sauerbraten and much more. Entrée's range between $14 and $25 dollars each. Enjoy a Schnitzel plate of Paprika Schnitzel or Rahmschnitzel to name a few. Apple Strudel, cheesecake and Rote Grutze with vanilla sauce are a few desserts to pick from. Don't forget about the old world bar and very large beer selection.

The Silver Swan is located at 41 E. 20 th Street, New York, NY. 10003. (212) 254-3611

Hallo Berlin

Hallo Berlin has a full at of imported German draft and bottled beers and special imported beer such as Schneider Weiss beer and October Fest beer. Along with beer, all kinds of soda and beverages are available.

Enjoy appetizers such as Roll mops (stuffed marinated herring), cucumber and string bean salad and a jumbo German pretzel. Have fresh soup of Split Pea, Lentil, Deal potato, White bean, Cauliflower and chicken vegetable. All soups are made daily.

There are many choices of sausages, sandwiches, lunch specials, German fish dishes and lunch and dinner plates, as well as dessert. Try a plate of Two Roll Mops (vegetable stuffed marinated herring), Koenigsberge Klopse (white meatballs with mashed potatoes, caper sauce, red cabbage and wine sauerkraut or Jaeger schnitzel (huntersteak with spaetzle). For desert have a slice of German cheesecake, Black Forest cake or Apfelstrudel with a scoop of ice cream. Expect to spend around $20 dollars per entrée.

Hallo Berlin is located at 626 Tenth Ave., New York, NY. 10036. (212) 977-1944

In 5 days, we had a fabulous time and here are the highlights the things we did them.

Food Memories

• Wonton Garden on Mott St:
  
  They don't have an official website, but this link will help you find it. As far as inexpensive Chinese food goes, this is pretty good. If you like soupy noodles, regardless of whether it's ho-fun, vermicelli, or chow mein, this is definitely a place to hit. The food is flavourful and the portions are substantial. It's your typical Chinese fast food venue, so it's got the sticky floors and condensate dripping HVAC ducts, but for $6 you can totally stuff yourself full.
• Balthazar really *is* worth the wait (luckily for us, we didn't have to wait). The food was delicious. The service was fantastic. And if you like the hubbub of a French bistro, you will love this place.
• What does it mean to go to Dim Sum with my Uncle? It means eating dim sum in rounds.
  • Round 1: Dim Sum dishes
  • Round 2: Fried dishes (noodles, rice, etc...)
  • Round 3: Dessert

So although I don't recommend that you gorge, I will say that no trip to New York City is complete without going for Dim Sum in one of New York City's many Chinatowns (side note: it's easier to find parking if you go to the Chinatown in Brooklyn).

• Dale & Thomas Kettlecorn is the best popcorn ever! I brought this stuff home and my mom was instantly addicted to it. That is only a significant tidbit of information because prior to trying Dale & Thomas, my mother has always hated popcorn.
• The Chinese bakery at 59th St. & 4th Ave in Brooklyn makes the best yuan yang (served in a Dunkin' Donuts cup).
• Whole Foods at Union Square is *way* better than Whole Foods in Yorkville. If the salad/food bar was *that* good at the Yorkville location, I'd eat lunch there every single day! Eating lunch here was fabulous. It's quick, it's healthy, and incredibly convenient if you're shoe shopping at DSW.
• Bubba Gump Shrimp... that's not real scampi! But it still tastes great.


• Going to brunch/lunch with my aunt means eating until you enter a food coma (recall, ice cream tempura)
• Garrett Popcorn is only good in Chicago. It just didn't taste the same in New York. The popcorn was harder
• I paid $3 for "the best hot dog" in the city (more details to follow in the Memories of New Yorkers section below)
• Ciro makes great pizza, but next time, we'll have it at the beginning of the trip instead of the end. Our particular favourite at Ciro is their Chicken Salad Pizza.
  It's basically an entire Chicken Salad spread over a pizza crust and baked. It sounds strange, but it tastes amazing! If you're ever out on Staten Island, this is definitely a place to stop for a meal.
• When we couldn't find Corner Bakery, we settled for the first Philly Cheesesteak place we could find. Big mistake. We should've went for *real* Philly Cheesesteak.
• Corner Bakery... it was just at 17th and JFK... our hotel was at 17th and Locust... and we wandered all over the place in the wrong directions because we didn't check the map before we left the hotel. bah... we'll know better for next time. Corner Bakery is good... but still better in Chicago.
• The complimentary spring water in our hotel room was opened. Ewww! Gross! But the hotel did send us unopened bottles of water when we mentioned it at the front desk.


• Just how much Starbucks did we drink on this trip anyways? Too much!

Memories of New Yorkers

• You don't need to search for knock-offs when standing on Canal St. If you wait long enough (i.e. less than 2 minutes) someone will ask you if you're interested in knock-offs or bootleg videos. How many times did we get approached? 6?
• Not only do the waiters at Balthazar's speak with a French accent... they actually speak French.
• Who says New Yorkers aren't friendly?! While waiting for a subway, we encountered a screenwriting professor from NYU. He overheard us talking about museums and then kindly informed us that The Met is closed on Mondays (rats!). But, he did tell us that The Museum of Modern Art was open, and he would've given us free passes if he hadn't left them in his office. He also helped out by directing us on what trains we could take to get there since there were many route changes due to summer maintenance. Amazing, the people you meet on the subway in Brooklyn.
• The security guard at the front door of the NBA store:
  • My Best Friend: Do you know what they're filming out there?
  • Security Guard: No
  • Me: You should kick them out. They're blocking the store front.
  • SG: lol
• The Egyptian hot dog vendor:
  • Me: I'd like a hot dog
  • Hot Dog Vendor: Just one?
  • Me: Yes. The best one you've got.
  • HDV: I've got the best in the city
  • Me: laughs
  • HDV: Where are you from?
  • Me: Toronto
  • HDV's friend: Have you ever been to Montreal?
  • Me: I was born there
  • HDV's friend: I'm from Egypt. Very far from Montreal.
  • Me: Uh... yeah.
  • HDV: So have you ever been to an Arabic cafe?
  • Me: No
  • HDV: Then you must go. We can go. We have two pairs. You two and us two.
  • Me: Maybe some other time
  • HDV: When?
  • Me: We'll come find you

Shopping Memories

• How many pairs of shoes did we try on in DSW? My best friend should've bought the Jimmy Choo's. They were only $400; marked down from $1300.
• How many times did we go back into DSW and Filene's Basement just to use the restroom? I guess that happens when you spend all morning shopping and eating lunch at Union Square.
• And we finally found Balducci's.
  I love gourmet grocery stores. I could live there. The closes thing we've got in Toronto is Pusateri's, but Balducci's is much better.
• Remember what happened when we stumbled upon Dale and Thomas? We both exclaimed "Popcorn!" And then, two days later, when we saw Garrett, we did the same thing. We're such geeks.
• How much Bath & Body Works stuff did we (ahem... I) buy?
• How many long distance calls did we make on the iPhone at the Apple Store on 5th Ave?
  • Me: Hi, hunny! I'm calling you on an iPhone at the Apple Store
  • Boyfriend: You called just to torment me?
  • Me: Now you can tell people you talked on the iPhone... sort of.
  • Boyfriend: Argh!
    side note: the boy is dying for an iPhone to use in Canada

Show Memories

• Avenue Q was so funny. It was worth the wait in that long tkts line. It's too bad we had to deal with that scary usher at the John Golden Theatre when your camera flash went off... and the jerk who snitched on you.
• The Michael Bublé concert was the whole purpose of this trip. The perfect end to a perfect holiday. Although it was insanely hot, and despite the fact that this was an outdoor venue (the Mann Center), I think it was a sensational concert and I'm glad I was able to share this trip with my best friend.