Manhattan, Briefly

It is impossible to do an adequate overview of Manhattan, even in 400 words. You can find everything there, even nature and a little peace and quiet (though if those are your primary requirements, don't go to Manhattan).

Quick Tips:

If you are not familiar with New York, a good travel agent or a lot of experience with Internet travel sites are essential tools for finding deals and making your plans. But the best thing of all is to contact a friend (or several) who lives there. For theater lovers, the TKTS booths (at Duffy Square and the South Street Seaport) are worth the wait in line for half-priced tickets.

Best Way To Get Around:

Subways and buses are certainly the most cost-effective methods of transport, but unless you are already familiar with them, this is only for the adventurous and highly mobile visitors. If you have any limitations on mobility (including things like strollers or even a lot of shopping bags) and you cannot walk to you destination, a taxi is your best bet. Don't forget to get a receipt every time.

This new Embassy Suite Hotel in lower Manhattan was beautiful, with a huge, open lobby and sweeping views. The suites were large, bigger than the Embassy Suites in Portland, Maine. Two very comforable rooms.

The most amazing things was the view from my room directly into Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Center. It was truly awesome to open my curtain to that.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel is a self-proclaimed "boutique hotel" in the SoHo area of downtown Manhattan. The location is great if you want to be in the SoHo or Tribeca neighborhoods on the cheap.

It is clean and generally comfortable for a quick overnight stay and may be a good budget option for a longer trip. The bathroom was small, but updated. The hallway from the elevator was like a labyrinth and unexpectedly required that I maneuver my suitcase down a half flight of stairs. The rooms have high ceilings, but are otherwise very small (my double was so small; in fact, I had to crawl across the bed rather than squeeze through the 12-inch space between the end and the wall) and surprisingly stuffy (I had to run the overhead fan all night). It also turned out that ALL of the rooms permit smoking. While there was no odor or other evidence of smoking in my room (other than the ashtrays and matches), upon leaving in the morning, I was shocked by the smell of smoke in the hallway, which made the long trip back to the elevator extremely unpleasant.

My colleague and I were looking for a dinner recommendation with the concierge at our hotel. We overheard him describe a new restaurant in lower Manhattan in a decidedly questionable neighborhood, in a "garage" in fact, but that had received an amazingly good review from Zagat's and was dirt cheap. We decided this was our place. We found it after our cab wound its way around the labarynth of one-way streets near Little Italy.

Inside the "garage" was a bright, clean, and modern restaurant. Very small but with a bar and open kitchen in the back. We went for meat entrees instead of pasta and they were wonderful. My chicken breast with fontina cheese and proscuito was excellent--a sizable portion lightly accompanied (and not overwhelmed) by tender veggies and potatoes. My companion's steak was equally enjoyed. The dinner was served very quickly. We were out in less than an hour, though we could have lingered over capuccino and dessert if the spirit had moved us.