# NYC...12/18-21...ideas from the locals please



## NTHC (Dec 6, 2007)

I grabbed a few nights at the Manhattan Club and have invited a friend and her daughter along.  We have done the tourist attractions many times and always enjoy the trip, but this time I want to see some things that only the locals know about.  We may grab a show but it isn't a must.  

What can you guys suggest?  I am sure there are wonderful things going on for Xmas.

Thanks in advance as always!

Cindy


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## wackymother (Dec 6, 2007)

Uhhhh. I'm a local but we stay home! We're losers, what can I say. Let's see. We do go to see the holiday lights at the Bronx Zoo. 

http://bronxzoo.com/bz-whatshappening/holiday_lights/46633422

And they have a big toy-train display at the New York Botanical Garden, across the street.

http://www.nybg.org/

And every year we go see the Big Apple Circus. 

http://theshow.bigapplecircus.org/

And you could go to services at St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

http://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/service_schedule.html

Or at St. John the Divine.
http://www.stjohndivine.org/index.html

You can go see the tree at Rockefeller Center, and go ice-skating there. 

You could go to see the Cloisters...or the Met. 

I'll keep thinking!


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## Holly (Dec 7, 2007)

*Brooklyn*

Check out Prospect Park, the Zoo, and the Brooklyn Museum.  Go to the art galleries in DUMBO and have a pizza at Grimaldies under the Brooklyn Bridge.


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## 3kids4me (Dec 7, 2007)

This isn't Christmas related, but when I would bring friends home from college, I would always take them to the following:

--Mott Street in Chinatown...for a good Chinese meal and also to see the dancing chicken (I have no idea if the dancing chicken is still there!).

--The observation deck on the RCA building.  (Most people go to the Empire State Building, but of course you can't see the Empire State Building that way!  Also, at the time, of course, you could get a pic of the Empire State Building and the Twin Towers together...sigh....)

--St. Patrick's Cathedral  (I'm not Catholic but still think it's beautiful.)

I'm sure you will also go see the tree at Rockefeller Center...and perhaps you can ice skate as well.

Have fun!

Sharon

P.S.  I also happen to love the Rose Center (planetarium) at the Museum of Natural History.


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## wackymother (Dec 7, 2007)

3kids4me said:


> --Mott Street in Chinatown...for a good Chinese meal and also to see the dancing chicken (I have no idea if the dancing chicken is still there!).



There also used to be a chicken that played tic-tac-toe. All the Equity-card chickens seem to hang out in Chinatown.


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## johnmfaeth (Dec 7, 2007)

For the record, The Dancing Chicken was next door to the Peking Duck House which is one of Ed Koch's favorite restaurants. Ran into him and the mayor of Paris (NYC's sister city) having lunch there one day in the early 80's.

Other fun things:

1) Take SI Ferry (free at sunset with takout chinese food for a cheap "dinner cruise" and great views of Lasy Liberty and lower Manhattan).

2) The Cloisters - Way upper west side

3) Queens Museum + Ice Skating at site of 2 worlds fairs in Queens

4) Teddy Roosevelt Birthplace (22nd st? or thereabouts) - old brownstone - architecture + history lesson in one

5) Museum of the City of NY

6) Hotdogs at the original Nathan's in Coney Island/NY Aquarium

7) Walk through Soho checking out art galleries. Food at Soho Kitchen and Bar

8) Mohamans Falafels (sic) on McDougal Street - Feeding NYU students on the cheap for 40 years. 

9) Bowling/minigolf/golf driving/skating at the Chelsea Piers

10) Brunch (including 1/2 a lobster to start) at the UN Plaza Hotel on Sunday's

11) Food in Tribeca

12) Discover your own. Pick a direction and walk (stay below 96th street for safety)


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## wackymother (Dec 7, 2007)

Yeah, I met Ed Koch back in the day, too. I covered a press conference at Gracie Mansion when it was redecorated. He was a total ham. Very charismatic.


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## brother coony (Dec 7, 2007)

11) Food in Tribeca

12) Discover your own. Pick a direction and walk (stay below 96th street for safety)[/QUOTE]

Here I was going to suggest you take a tour of Harlem 125 street see the Appolo the bill clinton libuary and have dinner at Amy Ruths on 116 street 
great soul food resturant, 

you can take the # 2 train up  from columbus circle and get off at 116 street Amy Ruth is on your right, the number 7m bus stop right infront of the Resturant,ride it back down, great sight riding the bus back down as it make several turns arounds  central park, it is great just siting by a window and looking at the lites in central park and drives right by Lincoln center and the lincoln center xmas tree, circle's Columbus circle and get off at 57 street and 7th Ave 1/2 block from the Manhattan Club, no Problem its as safe as 42th street


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## IreneLF (Dec 7, 2007)

http://gonyc.about.com/b/2007/11/26/new-york-city-holiday-windows.htm

Cindy,
Just got an email newsletter with NY holiday tips - here's a link to the holiday store windows. You can probably get into the other things in the newsletter from this page, but if not, feel free to PM your email addy and I'll send you the email in its entirety.
Irene


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## bigrick (Dec 8, 2007)

Go ice skating for *free* at Bryant Park.


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## shoney (Dec 9, 2007)

We loved the foods of ny walking tour of greenwich village.  We live close by but learned some history and visited some great restaurants in which we returned to.  The food samplings were great (and watching some really nice mid-westerners taste olives for the first time was priceless)...we had a ball and highly recommend the tour (and we aren't "tour people" by nature).


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## johnmfaeth (Dec 10, 2007)

Hi Brother Coony,

I agree 100% with your recommendation. Shouldn't be so general about NY...

John


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## NTHC (Dec 26, 2007)

Thanks to you all for your suggestions!  We had a wonderful trip. 

It was nice to see the city at Christmas, but a bit cold for me.  We have always gone in warmer months and I think I will do that in the future.

I did find the front desk staff at the Manhattan Club to be less helpful than most timeshares we have stayed.The housekeeping staff was great.  The unit was clean and refurbished(unit 2303), but extremely hot.  There was no way to regulate the heat....it was on the entire time and most guests had the windows open...seems a total waste.  We had free wireless internet in the room and the daily charge for the studio was only $15....I thought it was $25 per day no matter which condo you had so I was pleasantly surprised at check out.  I was offered two show tickets or a $100 gift card to take the tour, which I did not take advantage of.  We spoke with the concierge regarding show tickets to "Wicked" and he said he could get them for $110 each.  We went online and were able to get orchestra seating in the center row x for $56 each last minute!  One of the best shows I have seen EVER!

Cindy


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## DonM (Dec 31, 2007)

NTHC said:


> ...regarding show tickets to "Wicked"...We went online and were able to get orchestra seating in the center row x for $56 each last minute!  One of the best shows I have seen EVER!
> 
> Cindy



What was the site you got the tix from?? Ebay??

Thanks
Don


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## NTHC (Jan 2, 2008)

www.coasttocoasttickets.com


Good Luck!

Cindy


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## chris5 (Jan 3, 2008)

johnmfaeth said:


> .
> 
> Other fun things:
> 
> 4) Teddy Roosevelt Birthplace (22nd st? or thereabouts) - old brownstone - architecture + history lesson in one



This was a second grade class trip for me from PS 13 in Brooklyn (on Degraw Street between Hicks and Columbia), which was closed in 1962.  I was awestruck by this class trip. The birthplace is at East 20th Street: http://www.nps.gov/thrb/index.htm.


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## MULTIZ321 (Jan 3, 2008)

If you decide to visit Teddy Roosevelt's birthplace, another fun tour not too far away is the Merchant's House Museum on East 4th Street.

http://www.merchantshouse.com/

more info on the Merchant House Museum from Wikipedia


Richard


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## johnmfaeth (Jan 3, 2008)

*NYC - Spring TUG get together?*

Hi Chris,

You dredged up some great memories with you post...

Back when I was in 7th and 8th grades, my best friend and I took up what we called "exploring". We lived in Queens at the time and would lie to our mothers that we were going bike riding at a local park. Meanwhile, we rode our bikes a mile or so to the nearest subway station, locked them, and jumped on the subway train to some destination, usually in Manhattan. Our parents would have freaked and luckily never found out.

It was then that I first visited the Teddy Roosevelt birthplace. We also managed to get to many museums, the Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry, crabbing off the pier at Coney Island (I vividly remember returning through Manhattan in rush hour with our crab trap filed with bluie crabs - quite the scene in a subway cer filled with tired office workers) - gave those to another friend's dad who was "cool", and even went to the top of the twin towers for the first time (later spent years working there).

Back then, my travel budget was limited to a couple of tokens. Those days of old inspired a lifetime love of travel which eventually led me to timesharing and this site.

I checked out your link to the TR site and notice that they offer "special events" permits for groups. It struck me that this would be a great central location for a NY region get together for TUG members.

Spring in NY is a wonderful time. If anyone else is interested in such an event, please let me know. I would be happy to be part of a small group to put that together.

John Faeth


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## Holly (Jan 3, 2008)

John, that's an awesome idea.  Count me in too...I work on 23rd Street and can certainly help pull it together as well.



johnmfaeth said:


> Hi Chris,
> 
> You dredged up some great memories with you post...
> 
> ...


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## chris5 (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi John,

Your list and your post also brought up some great memories for me as well.   I did a lot of exploring myself, some of it on school time playing hooky! Some of my favoritie places to explore were Yankee Stadium, Coney Island (the old Cyclone, Steeplechase Park, Ferris Wheel and Parachute Jump), and a team of us once went to DC Comic headquarters  (where the printers kept asking us "shouldn't you be in school, now?) to see how they put together Superman Comic Books.

The class trip to TR's birthplace was my first class trip and on my first school bus. Next time I'm in the City, I might make a special trip to this birthplace.  Sounds like a great idea to have a Tug function around there.


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## wackymother (Jan 3, 2008)

Holly said:


> John, that's an awesome idea.  Count me in too...I work on 23rd Street and can certainly help pull it together as well.



I would love to come, too!


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