The Big Apple in June

This was a wonderful trip. It was the first time the kids had been to New York, so we played tourist. It was fun to see the sights through the eyes of a first visitor and a child.

We did a Grayline tour from a double-decker bus, which was fun and a great vantage point of the city. You see the city at a height you miss in the backseat of a taxicab. We ate in Little Italy, the Meatpacking District and had a great French dinner on Restaurant Row before the theater. We also had a great meal at Katz's Deli. I can eat my way through New York!

We toured Ellis Island, which gave me goose bumps knowing my great-grandparents walked those steps when they arrived to this country for the first time. You could feel the souls of all those who passed through these doors to make a new life in this great country.

Our hotel was a super find. It was the Avalon and was well located and our room had plenty of space for four bodies.

We saw WICKED on Broadway and fell in love with the story and the music. We took part in the Puerto Rican Pride parade and had a ball meeting the thousands of Puerto Ricans who have such pride in their island. We took a handsome cab and played in Central Park. We spent some time at ground zero, remembering the day so many Americans lost their lives for no reason.

The whole week was magic and made me fall in love with New York all over again. The weather was great and even with being very crowded we had a blast. The kids now understand why everyone LOVES NEW YORK!!!

Quick Tips:

We did enjoy the Grayline Tour bus as it allows you to hop on and off whenever you wish. It's a great view to see the city from the top of a double-decker bus. The crowds were pretty bad and we did have to wait at some popular stops for a few buses to run by.

The tour also includes admission into the Empire State Building, Ellis Island and Liberty Island.

It was our first time being in town for the Puerto Rican Pride Parade. What fun! Even if you are not from the islands, you can't help but feel the pride. The music, the food and the smiles all make this one of the best national pride events in the country.

Best Way To Get Around:

We took a limo in from the airport. The limo driver got very lost coming into the city and it took us an extra half hour for him to find our hotel. This was not fun at 1:00am with two kids under ten years old! Normally the limos from JFK are pretty good and worth the price over a cab. However our luck was not with us this night!

We mostly used cabs, but on Puerto Rican Pride Day they were hard to hail. Usually this is not the case and cabs can be found within seconds.

We also used the subway, which is safe clean and quick and the kids loved riding it! It's the fastest way to get anywhere in the city, but you do miss the sights traveling underground.

In times long ago, BC (Before Children), we would search for a hotel that had a good location and lots of amenities. Now the number-one feature we search for is space, space and space! We know we will have four bodies in a room and we want all the space a hotel can offer us!

I went on the internet to research nice hotels, at a good rate that offered a lot of space. I found one hotel called the Avalon that offered suites for just $199.00 a night. The hotel was two blocks from The Empire State Building. In the old days this would not have been my first choice because of location, however the price and space overshadowed other hotels on this trip. The hotel looked good on the internet, so we booked it.

I was nervous about booking a hotel I knew so little about. However we lucked out - the Avalon was GREAT!

We arrived very late in the night (about 1:00am). The front desk staff was friendly and welcoming and a bellman was even on duty at that late hour. The lobby was small but elegant with lots of wood, marble and mirrors. The public areas were very neat and clean.

When we got to our room we were very pleased. It had a huge bathroom, a large bedroom with two queen beds and a small second room with a pull out couch. The small room was cozy and had a great view of the Empire State Building. It was exactly what we had hoped to find.

The rooms are spacious and well decorated. The staff is friendly and welcoming. They have a great small bistro and bar. The bar staff was outgoing and eager to please. We spent a few nights in the bar.

The price is right at only $199.00 per night, which does include breakfast. The breakfast is served in the Avalon Bar and Grill and has lots of choices and nice fresh fruit and baked goods. However the seats do go quickly and you may find it easier to take your breakfast up to your room.

The hotel only has 100 rooms and most of the rooms are suites. The hotel never seemed crowded and the staff seemed relaxed. It felt like just the right sized hotel for our family. They do have two small elevators and at times they run full and you do have to wait, especially during busy morning and early evening hours.

The hotel is a block away from a subway stop and is one block from 5th Ave, which made getting cabs a breeze. It's also within walking distance of Macy's for those of us who like to shop.

When driving up the hotel does not look very impressive. Once inside you will be pleased. We didn't have one complaint the entire time we stayed here. I would stay here again. Here is their web site Avalon Hotel.

I don't expect a lot from airport hotels. I use them for the night prior to an early flight. What I want is a clean, safe room with a reasonable service level. I don't think that is a lot to ask for. Even with these low expectations, the Radisson at JFK let us down.

When we got to the hotel we could see the big green Radisson from the highway and pulled off at our exit. Finding the hotel was a hunt from this point. The hotel is on the highway, but at the end of a maze of one-way streets and dead ends. We finally found our way by following a Radisson shuttle bus that was heading home. The hotel had poor signage.

The lobby was businesslike, clean and modern. It seems most of the money for this hotel was pumped into a nice lobby. The staff was rather cold, but did their jobs.

When we got to our floor, the halls were a mess, with workmen and construction garbage and leftover room service trays. We had a nonsmoking room, but the room stunk from cigarette smoke. The bathroom was tiny. The rooms have small balconies, but the doors are bolted shut, so you are unable to use them. The room was okay, but nothing to write home about.

We decided to leave the hotel for dinner and went over to Coney Island. When we got back, it was dark, and all around the hotel seemed to be folks just hanging out. It seems that next door the Salvation Army runs a halfway home and the spillage runs over to the Radisson parking lot. It was not a very safe feeling.

They advertise an indoor parking garage, but it was dark and creepy. Trash was piled up and people were just hanging in the darkness down there. We opted to park outside.

However, my real disappointment came the next morning when we did not get a wake up call that we had requested. I was lucky I woke up, as we had a flight we would have missed. Also, the ordered room service breakfast never showed up. However, on our bill we were charged for the breakfast we never got and had to fight to get the breakfasts removed.

Overall, the hotel did not feel very safe, the rooms were okay, but the service level of missed wake up calls and being charged for meals that never arrived made the Radisson one hotel I have crossed off my list.

"Sexy" is the first word that comes to mind in this authentic Cuban eatery. Havana is one of my favorite cities, and this place not only captures the Cuban cuisine, but it also reproduces the sights and sounds of this magical city.

Son Cubano is in the old Meatpacking District and in the heart of what is fast becoming the most fun section of New York's nightlife.

The building is colorful from the outside with bright Cuban tiles spelling out the restaurant's name. Inside you are greeted with big smiles from the Cuban staff, who are all gorgeous. The Cuban band is playing great music and a few tables may be on the small dance floor dancing. Everyone seems to be laughing and having a great time. The staff and the patrons seem to share the spirit of great food, good music and laughter.

The waitstaff is friendly and charming. We ordered mojitos to start the evening and they were perfect. They tasted like the ones I had in Havana. We went the tapas route, not ordering a main entree, but lots of small dishes to share. My favorite was the coconut shrimp and the small Cuban ham sandwiches.

The night was fun, we loved the band, and the food was very good. The service was outstanding. Even the faux Havana interior did not seem corny. The exposed brick walls and ornate chandeliers seemed authentic.

If you can't make a trip to Havana, this is the next best thing.

I always have buyer’s remorse when I pick a place in Little Italy. I make my pick and then there is always another place I walk by later, that I think would have been a better choice. There are just too many good selections in Little Italy to be satisfied with just your pick. Maybe that is what happened on this night.

I did my homework and got a lot of great recommendations on Il Palazzo - the Zagat Guide gave it a very high rating and several friends seemed to agree. So Il Palazzo it was.

It's on Mulberry Street in the heart of Little Italy. There are a few tables out front and on a nice summer day, these are the tables to request. You go in and the first room is lively, the next room is pretty with a bright garden setting and the third and final room is dark and plain and cramped. This is the room we were seated in. It had no charm and lacked everything the other two rooms had going on.

The waitstaff was good, not over friendly, but they were professional and knew their menu.

I ordered a bread and mozzarella salad for a starter. What it was, was a mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich. A meal in itself and not what I expected. For the main course I had a lobster and pasta dish that was good, but very heavy. Breana picked the winner dish, which was a Tuscan cooked steak that was tender and full of flavor. We all wished we had ordered what she picked.

The meal was good, not great. I have a hard time remembering anything overly special about the food, service or the atmosphere. It was all good, but not something I will remember years from now as a great dinner.

We didn't enjoy the room and the night was gorgeous, so we agreed to take a walk down Mulberry Street. We got our dessert from the Italian bakery and walked down Mulberry Street munching on cannoli and Italian ice cream. Mulberry Street was full of life and laughter, and yes, as I walked by, several other choices with smiling waiters and wonderful smells gave me that old buyer’s remorse. There were too many good choices - I am not sure we picked the right choice.

We were having such a grand time at the Puerto Rican Pride Parade that we forgot to look at our watches. Without knowing it, it was 2:30pm and we hadn't had our lunch or even a nosh in hours. Our stomachs reminded us it was time to find a meal.

We were all hungry and getting crabby, so we grabbed the first half decent place we found. It was a deli on Time Square called Maxie's and had a large Time Square style, well lighted sign.

We entered and it looked more like a TGIF or Applebee’s than a New York deli. We were seated and looked over their long menu. The entire place seemed a little dirty.

I ordered a hot dog (a pretty safe bet) and matzo ball soup. The kids ordered burgers and Chris ordered a pastrami sandwich. Our waiter seemed flustered and just couldn't get the order right and repeated it back to us several times, completely incorrect.

Finally the order came – well, at least part of the order, as he never turned my son's order in at all. Several items were wrong, but we accepted this, as it just wasn't worth the effort. We did ask the waiter to place our son's order and he started to argue that it was our fault and we just weren't clear enough. All we wanted was for him to resubmit the order.

My hotdog was okay, but the fries were mushy and soggy. My matzo ball soup was watery. Our drinks were never refilled and the kids never did get the hot chocolates that they ordered. They meal was one big flop.

To Maxie's, it's all about location and they have a good one. They have great signage and I am sure they lure a lot of first-time travelers through the doors. I doubt many locals eat here, and they don't care about repeat customers.

In doing my research later I found several bad reviews that sound a lot like our experience. This is by no means a REAL New York deli. It's a bad imitation that uses the word "deli" to attract tourists. The prices are out of line and everything about this lunch was not up to our expectations. I suggest walking a few more blocks and eating at a real New York deli like the Carnegie Deli.

Most "Best Pizza" polls in New York will name GRIMALDI'S as the BEST pizza in the city. There is a lot of hype around polls and BEST OF lists, and I usually leave a bit disappointed. This was not the case at Grimaldi's where I am a believer and cast my vote for them as well!

Grimaldi's is located directly under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brookyln side of the river. We took a subway to the bridge and walked across the bridge on our hunt for New York's best pizza. The walk was great and the view of the New York was outstanding. Grimaldi's is located in the Dumbo area of Brookyln.

There is always a line in front of Grimaldi's as this popular eatery is very small. The line does move quickly. You will note a lot of "NOs" on the door, like NO CREDIT CARDS, NO DELIVERY, NO SLICES, NO RESERVATIONS, NO PUBLIC BATHROOM, NO STROLLERS. I guess when you are so popular you can say NO and the flocks will still come. Rumor has it the only person they would deliver to, was Frank Sinatra.

Grmimaldi's has a coal oven and several secrets like no shredded cheese. They onlyl put the cheese on in chunks. All the toppings are fresh. A small pizza costs $14 and a large pizza which is 18 inches costs $14. They have wonderful toppings like Roasted peppers, fresh mushrooms and first class meats and sausage. All pizzas come with fresh basil. They also serve calzones. You can get wine, beer or an antipasto salad, but not much more.

The service is brusk and effiecent, but not friendly. They get you in and out quickly.

Once you take the first bite of this pizza you will agree. This is for sure New York's best pizza, or probably the best pizza in the world. We fell in love with it.

The history of Grimaldi's goes back to 1933 and Patsy's. They opened here in 1990 as Patsy's but a family fight insisted the Fulton location not be called Patsy's. Patsy's Pizzas are good, but Grimaldi Pizza is great. It looks like Grimaldi didn't need the Patsy's name afterall.

I am not sure what the other secrets are over the coal oven or chunks of cheese, but whatever it is, it works. I get what all the hype and lines are about. This pizza wins hands down and I can't wait to go back to New York for another taste.

In days gone by the ladies would enjoy their afternoon tea at the Plaza and the men would be safely hidden away behind the dark walls of what is today The Oyster Bar at The Plaza Hotel. This room was strictly off limits to all women. Thankfully, times change and we can longer imagine restaurants that are for "men only," yet the feel of masculinity dominate this room.

The Oyster Bar is tucked away in the back hall of the Plaza Hotel. You may have to ask for help from a hotel employee as the pub is tucked away at the end of a bit of a maze.

The room is dark and has great dark wood paneling. You can imagine the captains of industry making deals between these walls. The room is dominated by a large bar in the center of the room.

The menu offers a variety of fresh oysters from around the world. I always ask the waiter for his pick, as I don't know oysters as well as I would like. I am never disappointed with his suggestions. This bar also makes the BEST Bloody Marys on earth. I am in heaven, a plate of fresh oysters and a great Bloody Mary. Does an afternoon get any better than this?

The Oyster Bar does offer full meals with seafood as their main deal. I have to admit I have never eaten here, as I love to pop in for the oyster and a few Bloody Mary. However I have been told the dinners are good (a wee bit on the pricey side). They do offer a good Prefixed dinner for theatergoers.

This year the kids went with us. They also found a favorite on the menu - THE HOME ALONE SUNDAE. This was the sundae that supposedly McCauley Culkin ordered at the Plaza in Home Alone 2. The kids gave the sundae two thumbs up!

I love the Oyster Bar. I can think of no place better to be stuck during a New York blizzard. When you need a pick me up, duck in and let the waiter pick your oysters and you pick the best Bloody Mary on earth. You will make it a New York tradition like we have!

We picked a Sunday night to see WICKED on Broadway. We wanted to find a special place to eat with a great theater menu. I was surprised to find so many theater-area restaurants closed on Sunday evenings. Finally a friend made a suggestion for Le Madeleine on 43rd Street in Restaurant Row. The bistro is near the theater district. It sounded good and we checked out the web page and then decide to give it a shot.

When you arrive you feel like you have pulled up to a small bistro somewhere in Paris. It's very authentic in look and feel. The restaurant has a small little garden in the back that is lovely. The garden was full, but we got the next best thing. We were offered a table with a large open window to the garden at one end of our table. To me, it was the best of both worlds!

Le Madeleine offers a Prix Fixe pre-theater dinner for only $28 per person. My choices were a rich, fresh tomato soup, salmon and the Crème Brulée. You could also have a chicken breast or pasta.

The waiter was great. He was handsome and friendly and made some good wine suggestions. The meal was served pronto (to help keep on time for our curtain call), but the service was never rushed. It was attentive, but never overbearing. We enjoyed our waiter and he seemed to enjoy his job.

My salmon was outstanding and Chris's chicken breast was also top rate. The tomato soup was worth writing home (or at least in IGOUGO) about. It was a fresh tomato soup with Middle Eastern spices. The salmon was cooked just the way I like it.

I almost hated that we had to leave for our show. This is one pre-theater place I would love to come back to when we could linger and try more of the menu. We will be back. I can see why Le Cafe Madeleine is a favorite for so many theatergoers.

There are several Cucina & Co in Manhattan. The one we chose was located in the lobby of The Met Life Building. We entered from Grand Central Station. It was easy to find the restaurant by taking the escalator up from the main lobby of the station.

Cucina & Co is bright and clean. The entire wait staff wears crisp orange uniforms. The wood is light and the whole place has a clean, crisp feeling.

We ate slightly after the usual lunch rush hour and there were plenty of tables to pick from. However I can imagine the place being pretty crowded at lunch.

Next-door Cucina & Co has a take-out area. The sandwiches and salads all look fresh and yummy. If I worked in this area, it would be the place I would definitely come for my lunch.

Our waitress was friendly and peppy. She was happy to make some suggestions and we were happy to listen to her.

I ordered a pea soup. It was the most vibrant color of green I had ever seen. It was almost fluorescent. The soup was beyond outstanding. It was probably the best soup I had ever tasted. It was fresh and had a fresh pea taste that was not complicated. I still remember it. I also had a risotto that was very good, however the soup was SO good, I have a hard time remembering much about the risotto.

We followed our server's suggestion and got the hot chocolate cake. We ordered one with four forks and we all got a nice sample. We all dove in and then fought for the very last crumbs. It was out of this world and we each wished we had ordered our own piece!

Cucina & Co is perfect. I know they have an outlet in Macy's as well. This may be a turn off to some people. However if it were half as good as the one in the Met Life Building, I would be a regular customer. The food is fresh, the place is bright and clean, and the wait staff friendly. What more can you ask for?

Katz's may well be the true New York deli. This New York institution has been around for years and let’s hope it will never change!

When you enter, the place looks kind of bleak. The lighting is much too strong and everything looks like it was put in during the 1950s. You are given a number when you pass the door. Be careful not to lose it! You have a choice of either using the counter service or taking a seat against the wall, where a waitress will take your order.

We picked the waitress route. It wasn't long before an older, unhappy waitress shuffled up to our table. "Yeah, what do you want?" was her growl in a one too many cigarette-style voice. We loved it! We later noticed her photos on the wall with every major star you can imagine. She has served them all!

We ordered pastrami sandwiches, New York egg creams and matzo-ball soups. It was all-supreme. We had no room for cheesecake. The food tasted just like it should have, the waitress was perfectly crusty and the lighting was way too bright. We were are at Katz's for sure!

Probably Katz's big claim to fame was the scene in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY and Meg Ryan moans and groans. The table is so famous it has an arrow from the ceiling pointing it out.

When you pay you MUST have your ticket that was given to you on arrival. We never did get what this number was for. But we did as we were told and handed it back in prior to paying.

Katz's has been around forever and we only hope they don't change a thing!

I see myself as way too cool for city tours, so I usually talk myself out of taking them. However truth be told I have found some city tours to be very helpful in getting to know a new city on the first day and helping me get the lay of the land. Chris found this Grayline Tour on-line and suggested we take it with the kids, as it was their first visit to New York City.

In theory, the concept sounded great. You buy a two-day pass for $49.00 and are able to use the pass anytime in the two-day period to hop on and off the double-decker buses anywhere on the loop they run. The bonus was they also provide you with a ferry ticket to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty, plus a ticket to the top of the Empire State Building. I had to admit the price could not be beat! Plus the loop really did cover most of Manhattan and some of Brooklyn.

We got our vouchers and headed over to Times Square to catch our bus. It was a very busy Saturday in June and the whole city was crowded. We turned the corner and saw the line was wrapped up and down the block three times! Yikes! So we got in line. We waited almost 50 minutes to board our first bus. Few buses came and those that came were already doing the loop and only had room for a handful of new passengers. The wait was a big waste of valuable vacation time.

I did love the upper deck view of the city. The perspective was great. It really was a whole new way to look at New York. Some guides were good, some a little silly, some seemed bored and some gave conflicting information. So like most anything, it was all on who you were lucky enough to get as a guide.

When we went to Ellis Island our ride to the ferry was fine. We got to the island and had an enjoyable and very educational day. However, coming back it was 5:00pm and the line again to catch a tour bus was endless. We got in line, but soon learned some people had been in line for over an hour. Buses came by but they only would take one or two people each time, as they were already full. We scrapped the tour bus home and hailed our own cab.

In theory I like the on and off loop idea. It was a good way to see New York, was cheap and seemed to be the right thing to do. However on the Saturday we took the tour the city was packed and the system seemed to overwhelm itself and just not work correctly. I may try it again on a weekday, during the school year, but never again on a Saturday in June!

This is a huge museum and one that you should not expect to see in one day. You will need to start by getting a map of the museum and plot your course for the day. You can learn about birds, mammals, gems and minerals, dinosaurs, or study the universe. It's all here under one roof.

The museum is located across from Central Park is majestic. When you enter, you will be greeted by large dinosaur bones. It's overwhelming to say the least.

The museum is from 10am until 5:45pm each day except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This summer there was an excellent exhibit on FROGS. The special exhibit cost an extra $19 and reservations were required. It was well worth it.

We saw 25 species of frogs from around the globe - we saw the Mantella frog that is less than an inch long and others, all the way up to the huge African bullfrog. It was an interesting exhibit for both kids and adults. Although we did find the space part, a little crowded.

We loved this museum and knew right away we couldn't see the whole thing. The museum is massive. We spent a lot of time with dinosaurs.

I am a fool for a good museum gift shop. They are great sources for learning tools for kids. This shop is one of the best. It's three floors and has books and models on just about anything you can imagine. We spent a lot of time in the museum shop.

This is one museum that you will want to see over and over as it changes each season. It's not just for kids, everyone will learn and grow at the AMNH.