As with all the retro review, I typed it up several years ago. I’m finally getting around to posting it along with some other new stuff on trip planning.
We left on a Thursday morning and flew Jet Blue non-stop to NYC. Alyce and I both really liked flying Jet Blue; you get to check one bag free, each person gets their own Direct TV free of charge, and you get unlimited free drinks and snacks. Also, this was the first time I had flown anywhere non-stop in a long time, and it was very nice – especially on the way home. I think from here on out, I’ll search for direct flights and pay the difference as long as it is not too much more expensive than the cheapest option.
We flew into JFK and had no trouble catching a cab to the city (which cost about $50 and took about 45 minutes). We stayed at the Hampton Inn – Times Square North. The hotel itself was nice enough and reasonably priced for its location. If you’re looking for over the top luxury, look elsewhere; but the location could not be beat for what we did on the trip. Almost everything we did was within close walking distance.
We got around in the city mostly by walking and subways with the occasional cab ride mixed in. Finding your way is pretty easy as the streets are numbered from South to North and the avenues from East to West, so you can always get your bearings straight by walking a block if you get mixed up. The subways were not confusing either – as long as you have your route planned out. Also, neither of us felt unsafe at any point of the trip (riding the subways or walking around at night)…though we did stay in the more populated areas of Manhattan.
On the timing…We went a week before Christmas, and I think it is a cool time to visit NYC. There were Christmas decorations everywhere, and we saw the big Christmas tree and skating rink outside Rockefeller Center (we went on our first day, Thursday, and it was infinitely less crowded than it was on the weekend). NYC at Christmas is definitely something to see, especially if you are big into Christmas (which Alyce is). Having said that, next time we go back it will probably be in the Spring/Early Summer. It was very cold (20’s and windy), and we luckily missed out on the massive snowstorm that hit NYC a week later and screwed up flights/local transportation/seemingly everything in that area. So that is obviously a risk you take going to the Northeast in the winter.
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