Trip Report - March 16-21

I%26#39;m mostly a lurker here but I%26#39;ve used so many of the tips and ideas found here to make my New York trips memorable so I tought I%26#39;d give back a little ..

Basics - me (4th trip) and my mom (1st trip) to celebrate my mom%26#39;s 50th birthday. It was a spur of the moment trip to take advantage of some great hotel prices!

Hotel - Hotel 57 (57th and Lex) - we enjoyed our stay. The room was the biggest I%26#39;ve had in NYC, the tub was awesome for soaking tired legs and feet. There is still so construction happening in the lobby and the check-in desk is on the second floor so it%26#39;s a little confusing but the doorman is very helpful. The staff were all pleasant and quick to reply to any requests we had. We got a superior room for a rate of $119/night through Travelzoo.

March 16th - we flew Air Canada/American Airlines connecting in Toronto, where AC managed to cause our luggage to miss our connecting flight. Luckily AA was very helpful and our luggage was delivered to our hotel during the night and waiting for us when we woke up Tuesday. Flights were on time and uneventful. Landed at La Guardia and ignored the gypsy cab drivers and got in line for a yellow cab. I was so happy to be back, my last trip was in September %26#39;08. Got to the hotel and checked in and since we had nothing to unpack we headed right back out to explore around our hotel. It was in a great location, lots of shops and food around and a subway stop 2 blocks away. We walked up to Bloomingdale%26#39;s and shopped around, checked out Dylan%26#39;s Candy Bar then hopped the subway to Macy%26#39;s for some more shopping. Back to the hotel, we grabbed some supper from the deli around the corner (Sherwood Foods) and turned in, looking forward to the next day.

March 17th - YAY, our luggage made it. Out of the hotel by 8:30, breakfast at the deli and then the subway to Lower Manhattan. We walked up to Ground Zero and over to the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center. Then back down to the WTC Tribute Museum where we walked through the exhibits and shed some tears for those who lost their lives. Then we went over to St. Paul%26#39;s chapel and listened to a high school choir.

Time to head back to the hotel to meet with our Big Apple Greeter. I was so happy to learn would had gotten a BAG for the trip. Our BAG (Lester) met us at our hotel. This was the highlight of the trip for both my mother and I. He was so informative and you could truly tell he loves his city. It was a pleasure to meet him and experience some of hidden NYC with him. We spent some time on 57th street walking to Columbus Circle then down to Greenwich Village. I highly recommend this free service to anyone, even if you%26#39;ve been to NYC before.

The streets were quite lively with it being St. Patrick%26#39;s Day and we did have to sidestep a few piles of vomit =) We spent 4 hours with our BAG and then back to the hotel to rest our weary feet. Then we headed out to Rockefeller Center and to TOTR to see the Empire State Building lit up all green. We really enjoyed TOTR, no lines and the views are awesome.

March 18th - Got up early, breakfast at the deli again (this was a recurring theme). Took the subway to Battery Park and got in line for tickets for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island. We got there at about 8 am and once the ticket office opened the line moved very quickly. We got on the first ferry and didn%26#39;t get off at the Statue, staying on and going to Ellis Island instead. My mom is very interested in family history and our ancestors immigrated through Ellis Island. We spent about 6 hours here and it was so nice early in the day with barely anybody there. We signed up for the tour of the Ferry building which was interesting. We also had purchased the audio tour and wandered at our own pace through the exhibits.

Once we were finished at Ellis Island, we headed to Herald Square and walked over to the Empire State Building. There were no lines (it was about 3:30) and we purchased tickets and went straight to the top. The views are great up here too.

Back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. I purchased tickets to Mamma Mia on broadwaybox.com. I had seen the show on my previous trip and loved it and thought my mom would too. I was right. The audience had great energy and we had a blast! We walked over to Times Square after the show so my mom could gape at the lights and we stumbled across an amazing spraypaint artist. Wow, I can%26#39;t even write my name in spray paint and the pictures he makes are amazing!

March 19th - Today was a shopping day. We started out at Century 21, then headed up to Union Square and Filene%26#39;s Basement/DSW. Back to the hotel and poked around some of the shops there, like Sephora and Victoria%26#39;s Secret. Discovered the Container Store, which I now find out delivers to Canada which is dangerous for my addiction to all things storage related!

Walked up to Serendipity 3 for an early supper/late lunch. We aren%26#39;t foodies at all and I really wanted a frozen hot chocolate!

Back to the hotel and shopped around some more at Daffy%26#39;s. Then decided we needed pedicures and found a nail place right beside the hotel and got the most fabolous spa pedicure ever!

March 20th - last full day =( Woke up to snow but we%26#39;re used to that so it didn%26#39;t deter us at all. Went to the UWS and entered Central Park at 72nd. Walked over to Strawberry Fields and had a moment of reflection for my cousin who was supposed to make the trip with me but passed away in Novemeber. We then just strolled around Central Park checking out the things we came upon, like the carousel and The Dairy. Exited onto 5th avenue and strolled down to Tiffany%26#39;s, bought a little something of course and then checked out Trump Tower next door.

We then caught the subway over to Brooklyn and wandered around DUMBO, checking out the amazing photo ops and little shops. Got in line for Grimaldi%26#39;s around 2 pm .. waited about 45 minutes. Worth the wait in my opinion. The pizza was good and the atmosphere was so much different than anything we have here.

Back to Manhattan and the hotel for a long soak in the tub to defrost. It was a pretty chilly day! Spent our evening buying souvenirs and picking up odds and ends and coming to terms with the fact the we were leaving in the am.

Another fantastic trip to NYC. That%26#39;s 4 times in 2 years now for me. I think I need to find a support group =) Can%26#39;t wait to return again soon!

Trip Report - March 16-21

Nice report - and what a splendid birthday present for your mom! I was especially interested in your comments about Hotel 57 since it doesn%26#39;t get much ';air play'; on the forum; hope you%26#39;ll also consider posting a formal review of it here :-)

tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60763-d575732-鈥?/a>

Trip Report - March 16-21

Hey Cowgirl! I really enjoyed your trip report. My husband %26amp; I are visiting NYC for the first time with my parents this summer. We are so excited!!! :D Reading interesting trip reports like yours makes the waiting more bearable and gives me lots of great info. Thanks for writing!! :D

And a happy belated birthday to your mom!! It seems like NYC is a popular 50th birthday destination!!

Very nice report. I see you found out how ';dangerous'; the Container Store is....I cant even go in there to use the bathroom without buying SOMETHING. You can ALWAYS use plastic hangars....

Great information- thanks for sharing.

Loved your trip report, my daugher and I were last in NYC for her 16th birthday in 2006, this year we are back the first week of May to celebrate my 50th, can%26#39;t wait!!!!!!

Thanks for the trip report. I%26#39;m taking my mom to NY one month from today for her 70th birthday and you gave me some good ideas. How was the frozen hot chocolate?

frozen hot chocolate = dang good =)