New York

Category Archives: New York

Fabulous Fun for the Little Ones in NYC

If you’re looking for great off the wall fun things to do with your children while visiting New York, there are a great many ways to enjoy your visit that you won’t read about in most guidebooks. These are things that are a little off the beaten path but a great deal of fun for you and your child.

Baby Loves Disco is offered in Cielo and Southpaw once a month at each club allows a chance for parents and kids to enjoy a ‘night on the town’ of disco dancing, bubble making, juice boxing, and having a great time dancing the night away. You’ll need to check with the clubs to find out when they are offered and plan to get there early as the popularity of this event is growing and there is generally a long line waiting to get in. Moms and dads love this almost as much as babies and it’s a new enough concept that it is not something you’ll see in just any large city. It is still a fairly new idea that is beginning to grow around the country.

Finding Bargain Basement Accommodations

One of the things I’ve noticed through my many travels is that people often give up on the possibility of a good deal before even trying to get one. The art of bartering seems to be a lost art as is the art of comparison-shopping. When it comes to travel and vacation, every penny that you save on accommodations, food, and transportation is one more penny you have to spend on entertainment and adventure.

There are certainly plenty of both to be had in the wonderful city of New York and a vacation here is much like Alice’s adventures in wonderland. There is just so much to do and see that it is almost impossible to know where to begin. I recommend making arrangements to save money before ever arriving in the city. One of the ways you can do that is by investing a little time each evening and making copious notes about whom you’ve talked to where and what they’ve had to offer you as far as price and perks for accommodations.

New York City is a Gold Mine for the Nature Lover

You probably don’t realize that New York City is in fact the greenest city in America. Of nearly 200,000 total acres, more than 50,000 of those acres are of park or open space. While Central Park is the most famous of green spaces in New York City it is only number five of the top 10 largest parks in the city.

For those who love nature, New York City may not seem to be the oasis for wildlife that it actually is. There is plenty to do in New York City that will enhance your appreciation of nature and/or allow you opportunities to educate yourself about nature or simply be out and about enjoying it.

New York City is a Shopper’s Paradise

New York is a treasure trove of so many things that it is quite difficult to select one thing to mention when discussing this wonderful city. If you are a natural born shopper and bargain hunter though you would be remiss not to head out to New York with the idea of finding some fabulous bargains in mind.

I can’t imagine many places in the world that have quite the number of shopping options that are available to New Yorkers on a daily basis. It’s hard to imagine that there are people who actually have never felt the thrill of getting that little extra percent off or finding a perfectly good second hand piece for less than a quarter of what that item would have cost new. At the same time, there are very few things that I can mentally justify paying full price for.

New York Dining on a Dime

Dining on the cheap in New York City isn’t nearly as hard as you may thing it is. New York is a city of many nations in that there are probably more nations represented in the dining options of New York than any other city in the world. You can find wonderful food options that represent these many nations and won’t break your wallet. What a wonderful way to literally enjoy the flavors of the world while on vacation!

Rainbow Falafel is the first place I recommend. This may very well be the best falafel shop (if you can call it that) in New York City. If you’ve never tried falafel you are definitely in for a tasty treat. Falafel is essentially a ball of veggies and spices (chick peas, onions, garlic, and other goodies) that has been fried and placed into a pita along with tomato, hummus, lettuce, and yogurt. Getting hungry? We’ve only just begun.

New York Nightlife and Changing Directions

The nightlife is a big part of the New York culture, there’s no reason if you are able, willing, and have no children to keep you in the room at night that you are your date for your New York City vacation can’t get out and hit the town while checking out some of the wonders of New York nights.

The problem is that there is no one size fits all when it comes to nightclubs, bars, and lounges. Each of these is well represented in almost any New York neighborhood and it really is up to each individual to find the bar or club that works best for them. The best recommendation I can give anyone is to check out the acts that are headlining and find an act that you think will suit your style and tastes.

New York Sports

New York City is most definitely a city that loves its sports and cheers for the home team. New York is probably the best represented city and state in this country when it comes to major league teams. I’ve never quite seen anything like it but I honestly can’t imagine a night when there isn’t some sort of major sporting event taking place somewhere in this great city.

The National Hockey League that almost wasn’t is back and going strong. New York is represented well by the Ranger’s who have made a wonderful deal this year to woo Shanahan away from the Red Wings. They play their home games at Madison Square Garden and have some of the most loyal fans. Even if you’re say from Detroit and visiting, and if the Rangers are playing at home then it’s the perfect opportunity (assuming you can get a ticket) to drop in and see how Shanahan is adjusting to life in the Big Apple and if he misses life back at the Joe.

New York Wildlife

New York City might be a jungle according to many but the animals can be found in its many zoos. If you’d like to check out one or more of the many zoos in New York City I highly recommend purchasing a city pass that will allow you free admission to many of the area zoos. Keep in mind that some of the attractions inside the zoo will cost extra so you should expect to pay something for your day at the zoo(s) but every little bit you can save along the way helps and you will be surprised at how quickly you can recover the cost of your pass.

NYC National Parks Offer Glimpse of History

If you are considering a vacation in New York, planning ahead is the only way to go. There are simply so many things to see and do that you must have at least a general idea of how you want to spend your days before you can even begin to get started. New York is one of the greatest cities in the world, it didn’t get that way without a reason and it has a long history that is part of its greatness.

If I were to choose how to spend my time in New York and what wonderful things about New York City to introduce my children to, I would choose to introduce them to those things that bore the most historical significance first in order for that to really sink in and not be competing with the Nintendo Store or the really cool keyboard at FAO Schwarz. I would want my children to understand the history of our country good and bad and I want them to someday instill in their own children the importance of that history.

Teens in the City

New York City offers a virtual treasure chest of fun things to do for teenagers. This age group is generally the most difficult to please and appease while vacationing. They are too old for the kid stuff and too young to appreciate some of the more ‘grown up’ entertainment and of course, they don’t want to look like they’re having too much fun. From amusement parks to cyber cafes, from bookstores to malls and video arcades, to sporting events and sporting complexes New York City is a city that was almost made for teens to enjoy.

The trick to enjoying your New York City vacation while ensuring that your teen enjoys his or her time in the city is compromise. Agree to go watch the skateboarding in the park if he or she will suffer through a museum with you. You just might find that you each find something to enjoy about the other’s activities. There are so many wonderful things to do and see in New York. You don’t have to pay a lot of money in order to have a good time as many of these wonderful events are offered free or for very little cost. You can also purchase passes that allow free entrance to certain city attractions for one low fee. You will find that of the freebie offerings there is usually something that will appeal to various members of your family including your teens.