Although I can say that I don’t LOVE New York (didn’t buy a T-shirt or coffee mug to say so) and I can cross it off on my list of future places to live, but all in all, it was a good experience for a short getaway trip.

Some highlights included biking through Central Park, wandering down the busy shopping streets, time square at night, tasty food, and riding the slow but informative, hop off and on bus. Josh got to enjoy a night at the Madison Square Garden to watch the NY Rangers, while mom and I shopped until we nearly dropped at Macy’s on 34th.

I can see why some people love this city; its very international and culturally diverse, with its European charm and architecture, wide range of different languages, and mini cities (like China town and Little Italy). You can walk nearly everywhere, there’s density of people and buildings, and the subway is quite efficient as far as I could tell so you can easily explore all the city has to offer. It’s got the big city charm and the fast pace that many people crave.

We found some great places to eat, and I’ll name a few, most of which are near and around Time Square:

Majestic Deli, Via Italia, Duke’s cafe, Sapporo Japanese Noodles, Olive Garden, and by accident (but also very tasty) we ate next door to the most famous burger place HB burgers and unfortunately I can’t recall the name! It was a cute little pub just to the right. On the last morning we ate at Roxy’s deli, which was right on Time Square and had prices to show for it, but the portions were HUGE, and the food was really quite good.

Some of the stores we shopped at were near Soho and Broadway:

Mango, Banana Republic, Nine West, Kenneth Cole, David Z, Hollister, Aerosoles. I was successful at shopping for nice shoes after about 7 hours. And Josh only had to put up with half of it, as mom and I took off on a subway adventure sans the GPS man for a few hours in the early AM. And, you don’t have to shop for the expensive stuff in New York, there’s plenty of purchases to be made by the frugal shopper like myself.

I do have to say, if we went back to New York one day it would have to be in May or September when its warmer but not too close to peak season or summer. We would spend more time wandering around, and hanging out or walking through Central Park.