New York
I'd only allowed myself two nights in NYC, one evening and one full day, then out to the airport by 7am. I had a couple of bucket list items to check off, so it was going to be busy.
My hotel was the Candlewood Suites on West 39th Street. Loved it. It's a long stay hotel, so no daily cleaning, but great rooms.
I'd done the Wotif, Expedia, TravelAdvisor thing and found that for my timing, rooms under US$200 were likely to be rented by the hour and a little name-brand luxury was going to be costing me 400+.
The Candlewood came in at $255 per night and I'd stay there again for sure.
Bucket List Item #7 Visit White Castle, the burger joint.
White Castle sell 'Sliders', small burgers that you can eat in about 4 bites. Simple little things, a bun, a patty, pickle and onion.
The burgers didn't really live up to the hype I'd given them, so perhaps a little disappointing, but then it is just a burger. On the plus side, I'd ticked another item off my list.
Bucket List Item #8 See an F4 Phantom in the flesh.
Bucket List Item #9 See a Concorde in the flesh.
Happily the Intrepid Museum in New York allowed me to do both these things and even walk inside the Concorde.
As a kid in the late 60's and early 70's I read about Concorde (and the 747) in the long stories at the back of my Dad's Reader's Digest magazines. A huge regret is that I never got to fly in one. Around that time, perhaps a little later, I was also building airplane kitsets flat out and the F4 Phantom was always my favourite.
The Intrepid people are trying to get one of the Shuttles for the displays. You can sign the petition at
Intrepid Space Shuttle Home
8th Avenue was closed off from 34th Street to about 55th Street for a market while I was there. Great fun. Many food stalls and loud music, with big crowds out.
I also found the Soup Man (Seinfeld's Soup naz_, closed on Sunday), walked in Central Park, visited Apple's 5th Ave store and also B&H Photo. I managed to eat my way through a blueberry Muffin, a Philly Cheesesteak, a slice of Pizza and some cheesecake, plus some other bits and pieces.
I booked a Dial 7 car to take me to JFK and will definitely do that again. My last US cash was a $20 note and so I decided to give it to the driver as a tip. He looked at me as if not sure what to say, so I guess a $20 tip is too much. Still, I wasn't going to use it and I had asked him to wait while I visited yet another Walgreens on the way.
All in all, a terrific stopover in NYC and I can't wait to go back.