Category Archive: New York

How to Celebrate New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Five Boroughs

Ringing in the New Year in New York City is a bucket list item for many people. The annual ball drop in Times Square, as well as other celebrations throughout Manhattan, plus events in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, makes New York City an ideal spot to ring in 2015. For a visitor, however, the thought of researching and putting together all the details of a New Year’s getaway may be overwhelming. NYC & Company, the official marketing and tourism organization for the City of New York, has put together some tips and ideas to make New Year’s Eve planning just a little bit easier. (If it’s too late to make your plans for this year, start making your plans today for next year.) In Times Square The Ball Drop:  The iconic ball drop (and yes, in this […]

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Artfully Displayed at New York’s Museum of Modern Art

In a city filled with wonderful museums, New York’s MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) stands out as a real gem – and my personal favorite.  From an initial gift of eight prints and one drawing, the collection has grown to include over 150,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architectural models and drawings, and design objects, along with over 22,000 films and over four million still photos, making it one of the most influential museums of modern art in the world. The exhibitions maintain a nice balance of subject, style, mediums, and time periods.  It’s the kind of place you can spend a few hours or the entire day, depending on what your schedule will allow.  It’s  a great place to spend a cold wintry day, warming up with the art as well as a stop off in the cafe.  With […]

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History Lesson at Women’s Rights National Park

Turning on the news these days inundates us with struggles for democracy around the world.  Even here at home, there are reminders to be ever vigilant about our civil liberties and individual rights, and I cannot even imagine a life in which women couldn’t vote or didn’t  have individual freedoms.  But the history is not all that distant.  To honor the continual struggle for equal rights, and to celebrate National Park Week, why not take the family to the Women’s Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, New York. The first Woman’s Right Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 when five women organized a meeting to protest the laws and customs that discriminated against women.  While those determined, courageous women are long gone, a visit to Seneca Falls today will allow you to “meet” the women via […]

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New York City Airport Transportation

If a visit to New York City is in your plans, you’ll enjoy today’s guest post outlining your options from getting into the city from the area’s three major airports.  One method not mentioned, and I think worth exploring, in the train/subway connection.  Do your homework and you’ll save time and money. —- Whether flying for business or leisure, planning transportation can often bet the most challenging part of a trip. Not only that, but if there is something that travelers typically forget to plan for, transportation and parking is often that one thing. Thus, many travelers have to settle for the most convenient transportation and parking options, which aren’t always the most economical. This couldn’t more so be the case than in NYC, which has multiple airports, including the big three, LaGuardia, JFK and Newark. As one of the […]

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Standing Guard at the New York Public Library

In a city that never sleeps, it’s nice to find a quiet oasis, and that’s just how I think of the New York Public Library.  On your next visit, take some time away from the sightseeing, shopping, and the frenzied pace of Manhattan and check out the library. The New York Public Library was founded by the 1886 estate of Samuel J. Tilden, who bequeathed money to “establish and maintain a free library and reading room in the city of New York.”   Although there were two other libraries in New York at that time, both were experiencing serious financial hardships.  The trustee of Tilden’s estate saw the perfect opportunity to fulfill his vision, and the libraries were combined to form what became the New York Public Library.   A number of years later, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated money to […]

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Sex and the City’s Magnolia Bakery

With Sex and the City 2 set to premiere May 27th, there’s plenty of talk about those four glamorous women from New York City:  Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte. Entering our lives with a television debut on June 6th, 1998, these four glamorous women drew us into their lives of angst and glamour.  They tried to make us feel as if their loves were our loves, that their hangouts were our hangouts, and their heartbreaks were our heartbreaks. Many of the locations seen in the television show, and the first movie, are real-life Manhattan locations.  Although there are several tour companies offering SATC location tours, most of the locations are places that you can discover on your own.  And while a restaurant reservation might be hard to come by, one place that anyone can get into is Magnolia Bakery in […]

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Shopping: C.O. Bigelow’s in NYC

One of my favorite parts of traveling is finding a new discovery.  Sometimes that’s a quirky little restaurant, a fabulous museum, a neighborhood hang out, or some place fun for a little shopping.  Sometimes the spots is something everyone knows about, and I’m late to the discovery, and sometimes it’s something special all for me. One of my favorite NYC discoveries was C.O. Bigelow in Greenwich Village.  Oh sure, I’d seen their products sold in other stores across the country, but there’s nothing like visiting the original store. Founded in 1838, C.O.Bigelow’s is the oldest continually operating apothecary-pharmacy in the country.  That’s 170 years!  The store still fills prescriptions at the back of the store, but as you work you way back there you’ll pass through goodies galore.  There’s a focus on homeopathic products and remedies, along with hard-to-find and […]

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192 Countries in New York City: Visiting the United Nations Headquarters

Visiting the United Nations Headquarters is a little like visiting 192 countries all in one locations.  Located along the East River, at 760 United Nations Plaza, on First Avenue between 42nd & 48th in New York City, the  complex consists of the Secretariat Building, the domed General Assembly Building, the Conference Building and the Hammarskjold Library.  Although located well with the city limits, the complex is considered international territory, and, exception by agreement, is subject to the laws and jurisdiction of the United States, the state of New York, and local laws. Guided public tours of the complex are offered.  Visitors enter the headquarters building at First Avenue & 46th, and start the tour with a brief familiarization of the Organization and its structure.  A guide then takes you through a visit to the chambers of the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council, and […]

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Julia Child’s Paris

During the holiday season it seems like I watch lots of movies.  Whether it’s catching up on television, renting videos, or indulging in pay-per-view, it’s an enjoyable way to spend some lazy winter days.  Assuming you like the movie, of course. I like a variety of movies, but the ones at the top of my list are those that give me a sense of time and place.  Movies that make me want to be where the movie is, and sometimes even when the movie takes place. Earlier this week I watched Julie & Julia, a great movie, and one that made me long for a return trip to Paris soon. Julie & Julia was written and directed by Nora Ephron, and stars Meryl Streep as the famous chef Julia Child and Amy Adams as Julie Powell, a young, and somewhat […]

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