Or if things had been different, New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam so good they named it twice!
Accommodation and Logistics
After the relaxed idyll of Hawaii, it was a complete shock to land in New York. We landed at 7:30 am in Newark airport and caught the bus to Grand Central Station. A couple of blocks walk later we were at our hotel, the City Club, next door to the more famous and historic Algonquin. The hotel was a good price on Expedia when we booked, and it's location is good, a very short walk to Times Square and the theatre district in one direction, the shops a short walk in the other. The rooms were small (but what can you expect for a hotel in a city stressed for real estate) but the rooms were very clean, with a really good bathroom tiled in chocolate marble. Even better, they let us check in early, so we could get out of our travelling clothes and into shorts and tshirts as the weather was very hot and humid.
On the first day we got 'all loops' passes for the Grey Line bus tour. This tour is split into 3 lines, downtown, uptown and Brooklyn. You hop and off as you see landmarks you'd like to visit and you get a narrative from the tour guide which depending on the interests of the guide could specialise in architecture, theatre, food. This was a great way to get to see a lot more of the city than you could on foot or from the subway, however, if you make the mistake of going during Fashion Week and the UN in session then the busride past these locations can take forever.
Food
New York was great for food! There was everything from a cafe selling only peanut butter sandwiches near the university, a traditional american style serving meatloaf, steaks etc. vietnamese and the best food that we had was at a french restaurant called Balthazar.
What was cool
Downtown Manhattan was building heaven for me as I love the optimism of Art Deco architecture. The Chrysler building looked fantastic glinting in the sunlight, the Empire State was great and there are so many other bits of art deco detailing on other buildings that I spent most of my time tripping over my toes.
Central Park was an oasis of calm within the bustle, and amazingly large. I would have loved to find the riding stables and take a trot around the park, but I didn't get chance.
Accidentally walking around Little Italy on the start of the festival of San Gennaro - there were street restaurants, amusements and more sausages in a bun than you could believe.
What I'd do different
Arrive later in the year! The weather was so hot and humid it was uncomfortable to be on the subway, and I felt uncomfortable about going into the trendy shops wearing rumpled shorts and tshirts.
Get a different guidebook! The Lonely Planet guide that we bought seemed to have been designed to confuse and annoy.
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