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<\/a>Next week I am off on an adventure – New York City<\/strong>!\u00a0 Yep – the Big Apple, Gotham, The City that Never Sleeps.\u00a0 I’ll be joining my niece Shelley and her two daughters, Katie and Abby,\u00a0in taking\u00a0the city by storm.\u00a0 Literally –\u00a0the projected forecast indicates it’s going to rain our entire trip.\u00a0 However, we remain undeterred and confident that we will have a great time.\u00a0 For you long-time subscribers, you may remember that two years ago we went to Washington DC<\/strong>.\u00a0 That was a fabulous trip not only for the historic sites we saw but because we found ourselves to be\u00a0very compatible travel companions.\u00a0 For me, it was not only the delight in spending time with such fun\u00a0people but I also lost five pounds in the process.\u00a0 Have I mentioned that the two girls are elite athletes<\/strong>?\u00a0 Katie will attend St. Mary’s College this fall on a track scholarship and Abby is the state\u00a0tennis champion in doubles.\u00a0 \u00a0 And then there’s me, their “old Aunt Sue”, the operative word in that name being “old”. I try not to be a “drag” on their ability to see all the sites so I make an attempt to keep pace, which on the face of it is utterly ridiculous.\u00a0 This trip I have already done my prep – I bought the giant size bottle of ibuprofen<\/strong> at Costco.<\/p>\nAs with any adventure, anticipation is half the fun so I have been studying what to see and where to go.\u00a0 I’ve been to NYC three times but always on business so my “play” time was somewhat limited.\u00a0 This trip is not about rate of return, it’s about the fun factor, so I’m reading loads of travel sites for\u00a0advice.\u00a0 Here’s\u00a0what I’ve learned so far:<\/p>\n
Don’t be afraid to wander<\/strong>.\u00a0 Usually it’s my mind that does the wandering but all of the travel writers suggest getting out of the tourist spots and venturing into unusual neighborhoods,\u00a0strolling the streets to gaze at the fascinating people.\u00a0 I worked in downtown San Francisco for over 20 years so I know about “fascinating” people.\u00a0 Many times they have purple hair or are urinating on the side of a building.\u00a0 Since we will be there during what is\u00a0Spring break for many schools, I have a feeling that I’m going to see a lot of families from Iowa with cameras around their necks taking pictures with the nude body artists in Times Square.\u00a0 But I know the secret to spotting the true New Yorkers – they’ll all be dressed in black.<\/p>\n Eat dinner early.\u00a0 <\/strong>New Yorkers apparently are a lot like Europeans – they prefer to dine between 8-10 pm.\u00a0 Thus, many of the guide books suggest\u00a0dining before 8.\u00a0 No problem!\u00a0 First of all, with the prices in New York I’m not sure we’re going to be “dining” anywhere.\u00a0 My goal is to find some out of the way joints where we can\u00a0enjoy real Italian food and maybe a good nosh.\u00a0 Secondly, on most nights,\u00a0when New Yorkers are chowing down on their escargot and Lobster Osso Bucco, I am happily ensconced in bed reading\u00a0a book.\u00a0 Sometimes I am even able to read three pages before falling asleep, which means I’ll be deep in slumber before New Yorkers have begun to dip into their cr\u00e8me Brule.\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 Read on.<\/p>\n Don’t crowd yourself<\/strong>.\u00a0 Of course, all of the experts suggest staying away from the usual tourist traps – Macy’s, Rockefeller Center, Times Square.\u00a0 Oops.\u00a0 We’re staying right near Times Square – 48th and 8th – so it’s going to hard to avoid. \u00a0I read that sleep in a hotel anywhere near\u00a0the lights and frivolity of Times Square is hard to come by.\u00a0 After all, it is the City That Never Sleeps for a reason.\u00a0 And, again, it is<\/em> Spring break so I anticipate lots of college kids whooping it up.\u00a0\u00a0I’m brining ear plugs and lots of Tylenol P.M.\u00a0 But I’m realistic enough to know that I will probably be awake at 2 a.m. most nights wondering how college kids can afford hotel rooms in NYC.<\/p>\n Mind your etiquette<\/strong>.\u00a0 My coffee blew out my nose when I read this piece of advice.\u00a0 The writers in each case went out of their way to talk about how NICE New Yorkers are.\u00a0 Perhaps they run in different circles, but my experience as a born and bred, laid back Californian is that a “typical” New Yorker will push you down a flight of escalators if you are not moving fast enough.\u00a0 In fact,\u00a0the guidelines for being a respectful tourist caution that we not take up the entire sidewalk so that other walkers can’t pass, don’t stop on the sidewalk to consult a map, or (I knew I was right about this) do not stand still\u00a0on an escalator.\u00a0 I’m planning on minding my manners but I’ll venture a guess that the nicest people we meet will be those tourists from Iowa.<\/p>\n With all that advice under my hat, I’m ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple. \u00a0We\u00a0only have two things planned so far – tickets to the 9\/11 Memorial<\/strong> and\u00a0An American in Paris<\/strong> – so we’ll be footloose and fancy-free.\u00a0 I take that back.\u00a0 Nothing is free<\/em> in New York except the experience of watching all those fascinating people.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Next week I am off on an adventure – New York City!\u00a0 Yep – the Big Apple, Gotham, The City that Never Sleeps.\u00a0 I’ll be joining my niece Shelley and her two daughters, Katie and Abby,\u00a0in … read more![\"an](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/an-open-letter-to-new-york-city-tourists-rude-new-yorkers-directions-statistics-millions-of-new-yorkers-site-seeing-opinion-150x150.jpg\")
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