Over the summer I hosted my cousin’s first trip to NYC. She is fourteen and we wanted to do all the touristy stuff we could do in a weekend. One of the main attractions was the Top of the Empire State Building. We were hoping for a really clear day or night, but the weather was not cooperating. She was really excited to see all the lights of the city from the top.

We got there around 8 pm on a Sunday night. The lines were certainly there, but they were not at their worst, since you could see (and walk through) the rows and rows of rope that often herded people through the giant building. I can’t imagine how long the wait would be during a heavy traffic day during peak tourist season. We stood in line for about thirty minutes before we took the first elevator up. You take the first elevator up to about floor 80 something and then they make you take a second elevator the final six flights. I am not really sure why they do this, unless the higher flights can’t handle larger elevators, but it makes the experience that much more exhausting. You think you are there and it turns out you have to wait in yet another line.

Once we made it up both elevators, the crowd on the observation deck was a little overwhelming. Again, we weren’t there at a peak time, but we still had trouble walking around to see all four sides. We were underwhelmed, to say the least and I think it was one of the few disappointments on her trip. It could have been the weather, or the time of day, but NYC did not deliver a stellar experience that night. Next time, I think we may head over to the Top of the Rock and see if the view is better from over there. Similar Posts:

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1. Central Park. They cleared out the prime real estate in Manhattan and made a giant playground!
2. Bumping into celebrities. Where else can you sit next to Britney Spears at a movie one night and eat next to Nicole Kidman the next?
3. The Happy Ending Music and Reading Series. I love books. I love music. I love that they can be combined into one fabulous show.
4. Time Out New York. This magazine is the mother of all lists and it comes out EVERY WEEK!
5. Diners. I can have pancakes at any hour.
6. Being able to see what everyone else is reading on your subway ride.
7. The view. Because walking around the countryside is just plain boring.
8. Broadway shows.
9. It is JetBlue’s hub. I heart JetBlue.
10. Seeing my block on Law & Order and Gossip Girl.
11. The pigeons nesting on my fire escape every spring.
12. The Strand Bookstore. 18 Miles of books.
13. I never have to parallel park. Ever.
14. Getting most of the Sunday NY Times delivered on Saturday.
15. The frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3.
16. The bathrooms at Vynl, especially Cher.
17. That I can get from the subway to my apartment mostly under scaffolding for the days when I forget an umbrella.
18. Shopping at 3 a.m. in the Apple store on 5th Avenue.
19. My bedroom has a view of a giant brick wall and a little sliver of Alvin Ailey dancers.
20. That I can get anything delivered up my three flights of stairs.
21. Pat Kiernan.
22. Pierogies at Veselka.
23. Walking through upscale neighborhoods and peeking into the windows to see the fancy apartment decorations.
24. Stumbling across a film set accidentally.
25. David Letterman films here and he is so much cooler than Leno.
26. Street fairs and the $5 Pashmina.
27. Being able to go on the internet in a public park.
28. It is home to multiple dessert trucks.
29. Nellie McKay.
30. The Staten Island Ferry. It is free and gives a great view of the Statue of Liberty!
31. Ricky’s Beauty Supply Store.
32. All the white trees that pop up on the streets in the springtime.
33. It takes three weekly magazines, New York, Time Out and the New Yorker, to cover all the events.
34. Movies get early release here.
35. You can buy anything on the street. Food, clothes, writing materials, anything.
36. The sculpture garden at MoMA.
37. The store windows on 5th Avenue at Christmas time.
38. That I can see SNL stars at the UCB Theater for free.
39. It is where Dance Dance Party Party originated.
40. The Law & Order stairs (which isn’t really the criminal court).
41. Seeing big names at Joe’s Pub.
42. The playgrounds that spray water in the summer.
43. Watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from my couch even though it is going on a few blocks away.
44. I am not the only one who knows the names of Broadway stars.
45. Bubby’s sourdough pancakes.
46. There never has to be a designated driver because there are always taxis.
47. A different kind of food for everyday of the week.
48. Radio City Music Hall.
49. Vintage Martini Bar. I can read the menu there for hours.
50. 311 is the best non-emergency information hotline.

I would love to hear what everyone else likes about New York!Similar Posts:

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She had made an appointment for a Tuesday afternoon. I believe that shopping there is by appointment only. I walked in and was greeted by signs that there was filming of the TLC show “Say Yes to the Dress” and if I didn’t want to be on television I should inform my sales assistant. I didn’t see any cameras throughout our time there, however. My friend was running a little late and she asked if I would check in for her but they told me only the bride can check in, no one else. Good to know. Luckily she made it in time for most of her hour and a half appointment. After she checked in we took a seat and she showed me her “Top 5″ dresses from the Kleinfeld website. I don’t know if they ask the bride to bring this in or if this was just a fabulous idea of my well-prepared friend but it made shopping later much easier.

My friend’s sales assistant, Blanca, came out and introduced herself a few minutes later. The bride-to-be showed her pictures of what she was looking for, gave her a top price point, and then we sat and waited as the Blanca came back with one dress. Blanca told us the dress was one hundred dollars more than the top price but because my friend’s wedding was quickly approaching, nothing but this and samples would be ready by her wedding date. She then escorted us to the sample room where we attempted to pick dresses that looked like what the bride was looking for. As a side note, the sample room is much less glamorous than the rest of the store.

My friend tried on all the sample gowns first and finally tried on the single non-sample dress Blanca had brought back. The non-sample dress was hands down her favorite dress and she looked fabulous in it. The sales director, who my friend says makes frequent appearances on the TLC show, came out and told my friend that if she ordered today they could guarantee the dress would be in 10 days before her wedding date. Alterations would cost extra because of the rushed deadline. There was no haggling, although I am told she haggles on the show. Joan told us to go have some coffee and think about the dress and come back in an hour if we wanted it.

We left and had a slice of pizza while my friend made frantic calls to her sister and her fiance. We didn’t have pictures because Kleinfeld’s doesn’t let you take pictures until after you buy the dress. So we were left describing and trying to convince everyone that this was THE dress with our words. In the end, we went back, my friend tried the dress on one more time, and committed with her credit card. All in all it was an interesting experience, but I am surprised that people fly from all over the world to shop there!Similar Posts:

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Holey Cream is a spot in Hell’s Kitchen that specializes in donuts and ice cream. I love donuts and I love ice cream, so I figured mashing them together would be a great way to pretend like it was sunny and seventy-five. I think the donuts are made on the premises and they had two flavors yesterday, vanilla and apple spice. I wanted to go all out and get the ice cream and donut sandwich and I was so glad I tried it.

First you pick your flavor of donut. They split the donut in half like a bagel. On the bottom half they pile on your favorite kind of ice cream (up to three flavors if you want, I chose Birthday Cake ice cream). Then they dip the top half into your choice of chocolate or caramel. Finally they dip the top into your choice of topping from sprinkles to cookie crumbs to Reese’s Pieces. It was delicious and just what I needed to forget about all that rain!

UPDATE: I went to Holey Cream yesterday for another donut sandwich (I might have a problem) and learned that on Mondays they have buy one get one free! We got two donut sandwiches for $5.75! That is a great deal!Similar Posts:

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The store is a fantasy land for anyone with a sweet spot for sugar. It has recently been remodeled and now has three levels. The top floor is for ice cream and also contains a party room. The middle floor has bulk candy of all kinds as well as a chocolate fountain and other seasonal treats. The bottom floor has every kind of packaged candy you could ever hope to find including retro candy like Pop Rocks and Razzles. This floor also has fudge and cupcakes and a giant tub filled with bubblegum!

The experience is made even more complete by the smell of chocolate that engulfs you from the moment you step in the doors. Music plays loudly overhead and if you listen closely you will notice that every song is about candy or sugar. In short, every detail about this store was carefully considered and planned out. It is really a unique place that is definitely worth dropping in on. This is a candy store, though, so be prepared to see a lot of children and then overdose on sugar!Similar Posts:

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The eclectic lineup and the interactions between the guests made the show thoroughly entertaining. After Leo and Tony did a little opening schtick (with some odd bartender person whose name I can’t remember) Paul Rudd came out to chat. You could tell that the majority of the crowd was there to see Paul as the crowd finally quieted down when he came on stage. He told some amusing stories and pretended to play songs on the Casio they had set up for him, but his true talent came out when he interacted with the other guests of the show. The dreamidian was the oddest of the three guests. But it was really interesting to see how Paul used the dreamidian’s act to make great jokes later on in the show.

Steven Schirripa, known for his role in the Sopranos, was the other big name. He told some great stories about his time in Vegas (including an anecdote about meeting Frank Sinatra there). The show ended with a performance by the band Supercute. The stage was small and none of the guests left the stage after first being introduced. By the time the three girls came out the stage was crowded but all of the men cleared to the side to watch them perform. It was an odd and humorous end to the show. Watching six grown men who had just been acting manly by swearing and one-upping each other share the stare with three adolescent girls singing about Candy City and a boy they were fighting over was truly a unique experience. Do you think Paul and Steven bought a copy of the band’s hand painted CD?

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It is set in modern day New York City and is told by an eighteen-year-old boy the summer before he is supposed to leave for college. I thought this book was very similar to The Catcher in the Rye. If Holden had been alive in modern day New York, I think this a what he would have sounded like. I was reading Cameron’s book when I learned that J.D. Salinger died, and this might have made me draw more comparisons that I otherwise would have normally. But, that being said, the main character has a very unique voice.

This book has some great descriptions of our fair city. New York is described in numerous ways. I particularly liked a description of a corner of LaGuardia Place and Houston Street. Cameron writes, the area “has been fenced in and allowed to return to its primordial state, before the Dutch bought Manhattan from the Indians for $24.” Does anyone know if a fenced in park like this is there? I imagine it is, because the book seems pretty accurate, but I still want to head out there and check the description for myself. Especially because it leads the character to other interesting descriptions. Trust me, if you pick up the book, you will be hard pressed to put it down.

Later in the novel the author has some great comments on how quickly the city changes. The main character doesn’t want to go to Brown because he recognizes that the city will move on without him. He says, “Everything is always changing so quickly in New York City; if you go away for even a week you realize it: the Greek restaurant becomes an Ethiopian restaurant. The bakery has been transformed into yet another nail salon. I would be one of those people who emerged from the subway and looked around confusedly, having lost their sense of east and west, uptown and downtown. I’d start walking the wrong way, and have to stop and orient myself, like a tourist.”

It is great that the same island can stay like it was hundreds of years ago and change in a week. This is one of the reasons to love New York. Peter Cameron captures the city as seen through the eyes of a young man who is trying to figure out where in the world he belongs.Similar Posts:

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Warning: this show is not for the weak at heart. If you have never seen a show with Bridget Everett, make sure you ask to be seated in the back of the room. Bridget has an amazing stage presence and it is impossible to look away when she is on the stage. You might want to look away though, because the girl is freaking crazy. You may know her from the Sex and the City movie, where she played the drunk assistant interviewee. I have seen her in several shows, mostly at Ars Nova, and in all of those shows she interacts with the audience. And by interacts I mean she shoves her boobs in the faces of members along with other similar behavior. She almost always shows some part of her anatomy. Our Hit Parade was no exception. She called the row of couches the “rape den” and before the show was over she threw her panties at an audience member… I have totally started following her on Twitter, she is so funny.

Kenny Mellman and Neal Medlyn have equally crazy ideas, however they seem less dangerous than Bridget. The guests stars usually have amazing voices. This month they included Molly Pope, who is one of my new favorite singers in Cabaret shows. It was a fun show, but as it got later in the evening the show got odder and odder. If you go, plan on seeing something totally crazy.Similar Posts:

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I recently re-read The Catcher in the Rye. Read what I had to say about it here. Similar Posts:

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I got nosebleed seats for only $10 from Ticketmaster. Come on, that is cheaper than the cost of a movie. And just because the Knicks don’t beat the really good teams doesn’t mean that the games aren’t entertaining. Sometimes, like last night, the Knicks even win!

Even if you aren’t a big basketball fan, there are still activities to keep you entertained. During timeouts the Knicks City Dancers come out and swing their long locks around. You usually get to see some minor celebrities on the big screen who are also watching the game. (Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child was in attendance last night). The half-time show is usually hit or miss. Last night there was an interesting game of wheelchair basketball although I have seen Child Idol contests that weren’t so fabulous. It is really an interesting way to spend an evening and at only $10 bucks a ticket, what do you really have to lose?Similar Posts:

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