Tag: New York City

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New York City USA

Ask Baratunde: Off the beaten path NYC restaurants

Oh, Twitter, you are so much fun!

Tonight I noticed that tech-savvy comedian and raconteur Baratunde Thurston as @Baratunde was holding an “open question session” on Twitter (where I’m @SheilaS) ….for about an hour you could ask him a question about anything, using the hashtag #AskBaratunde, and he’d try to answer.

So, since he’s based in New York City, I asked, “In the NYC area, what are 2 restaurants visitors don’t know about, and should?”

He responded in the requisite 140 characters: “Two off-the-map NYC restaurants: Mamajuana in #inwood and No. 7 in #FortGreene (Brooklyn)”

Here are their Web sites: Mamajuana is a unique combination of Spanish/Nuevo Latino/Dominican cuisine, and No. 7 is, well, pretty upscale, but it sounds delicious and might work with a teenager.

I then asked if they were family-friendly, and Baratunde responded, “i think they are. No 7 is pricey but brunch at Mamajuana is very reasonable. best in warm weather to eat outside.”

There you have it for your next NYC visit, hot off of the Twitter press….

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50 State Series New York City

Family travel in New York

My daughter with the cast for the Statue of Liberty's toe, New York City (photo by Sheila Scarborough)Every week until we run out of states, I plan to post about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me; that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin, West Virginia,  Washington,  Virginia,  Vermont,  Utah, Texas,  Tennessee,  South Dakota,  South Carolina,  Rhode Island,  Pennsylvania,  Oregon, Oklahoma,  Ohio, North Dakota,  North Carolina and now we’re moving on to….New York!

Their state tourism organization is on Twitter at @I_LOVE_NY (New York City is @nycgo.) I found a New York economic development page on Facebook, but not an official state-sponsored one for travel/tourism (there are bunch of unofficial ones.) (Update – yay! – there is now an official New York State tourism Facebook Page.)

No blogs, nothing on Flickr, YouTube, etc. Frankly, I was surprised by this in such a hugely popular travel destination, but the person tweeting for New York is trying really hard, so it’s a start.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for New York

***  From the Kelly Rabideau in New York State’s tourism office (she’s currently my fave @I_LOVE_NY tweeter)  —  We came up with a few hidden gems across the State and have listed them below.  If you were looking for just one…we would have to go with The Strong National Museum of Play [in Rochester.]  It is 100% kid/family friendly….100% fun…and considered a gem to all of New York State.

Others:   Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead, the [world famous] Bronx Zoo,  Howe Caverns in Howes Cave and The Wild Center in Tupper Lake.  More travel ideas just for you right from the heart of New York State on our Web site’s Family Fun page.

***  From @decillis on Twitter  —  Uncle Sam’s Boat Tours in the 1000 Islands. Can’t go there w/o seeing Boldt Castle!

***  From Janet DeVito via @girlsgetaways on Twitter  —  Madame Tussauds (the wax museum – my kids always loved that; they get a kick out of taking photos)  How about a cruise sailing out of NYC – that is a great family trip!

***  From Anna Fader via @mommypoppins on Twitter  —  Family travel tip for NYC:  The Sony Wonder Technology Lab. Just re-opened with extremely cool exhibits, and it’s free!

***  From the Rochester NY tourism folks via @VisitRochester on Twitter  —  The Strong National Museum of Play just acquired Videotopia; now adults & kids can enjoy exploring play. With corn mazes, new exhibits at family museums, zoos & parks, fall is especially family-friendly in Rochester.  For more see this list of ideas.

***  From Sally Berry via @sallykberry on Twitter  —  I was at Videotopia at Strong Museum w/my college age kids last weekend – they LOVED it!

***  From Marci Diehl (and here’s her golf blog) via @writerdiehl on Twitter  —  My 4yr old grandson loves the Seneca Park Zoo’s play “medical center” in Rochester NY.  The Erie Canal Discovery Center in Lockport NY has one of the best interactive programs for all ages +VERY kid-friendly. For the best family-friendly + educational activities/ places in New York State visit the Erie Canal area.

Continue reading “Family travel in New York”

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Book Reviews New York City Tips USA

We have a NYC guidebook winner!

The winning comment for my copy of the Pauline Frommer New York City guidebook (chosen by a Random.org application) is….Heather from HeatherOnHerTravels!

She lives in Bristol, UK, but I certainly appreciate my international readers so of course I’ll ship prizes like this anywhere in the world.

Thanks to all for reading the post; the next one will be for Pauline Frommer’s guidebook to Hawaii.

I’m also going to review/give away Pauline’s Italy guidebook on the Perceptive Travel blog next week. Woo-hoo!

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New York City USA

New York City discovery: Bryant Park Reading Room

I love stumbling upon unexpected discoveries.

While in New York to cover a Condé Nast Traveler event, I spent a little time in Bryant Park, near Times Square and just behind the New York Public Library. After picking up sandwich from the ‘wichcraft food concessionaire, I walked over to find a spot to sit and eat, and found this outdoor library under the trees.

Sponsored by HSBC Bank and supported by the New York library system, there are both adult and children’s reading areas, with magazine racks and books to page through while you enjoy pleasant park surroundings.

It is near the 42nd Street/Avenue of the Americas corner and is open 11 am – 7 pm daily, weather permitting. You don’t need a card; the only requirement is to stay within the designated reading area to use the materials.

Apparently this “open air library” (or some form of one) has historic origins. From the Bryant Park Web site:

“The original Reading Room began in August of 1935 as a public response to the Depression Era job losses in New York. Many people did not have anywhere to go during the day, and no prospects for jobs. The New York Public Library opened the ‘Open Air Library’ to give these out-of-work businessmen and intellectuals a place to go where they did not need money, a valid address, a library card, or any identification to enjoy the reading materials.”

What a nice discovery in an already impressive park, and what a break it would provide harried families traveling with kids who would like to get away from the Times Square cacophony.

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New York City USA

More than NYC: family travel in New York

Fort Ticonderoga reenactors (courtesy Slabcity Gang at Flickr CC)

While researching 20 different educational and family-friendly New York attractions for a recent article on Education.com, my toughest challenge was ensuring that I cast a wide net beyond New York City.

Here are three highlights from outside the five boroughs:

  • Women’s Rights National Historic Park – In Seneca Falls, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (who also raised seven children) and four other women organized the first women’s rights convention in July 1848, using Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence as a model for their Declaration of Sentiments. Convention Days special events are held each July. The organizers were also abolitionists and one of their houses was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Visit the National Women’s Hall of Fame in downtown Seneca Falls; it celebrates a wide variety of accomplished women throughout history.
  • Rochester – Trade, industry and the opening of the Erie Canal put Rochester on the map. Frederick Douglass is buried here; George Eastman of the Eastman Kodak Company and Susan B. Anthony both lived in the city and their homes are National Historic Landmarks. The Eastman House is also a museum of photography and film. The Genesee Country Village and living history museum bring the 19th century to life, and kids love the place that celebrates them: the Strong National Museum of Play, which features interactive games, a massive collection of historic toys and a Butterfly Garden.
  • Chautauqua Institution – Long recognized as a wonderful opportunity for adult summer education, renewal, recreation and fine arts in a lakeside setting, the Chautauqua also offers an activity-packed Children’s School (ages 3-5,) Group One for rising first graders, the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs for ages 7-15 and a Youth Activity Center for preteens and teens. Family entertainment and a Young Reader’s book club patterned after the venerable Institution adult book club round out the offerings, so that no one is bored.

Take a look at the rest of the article right here:  Family Fun and Learning in New York.

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Tips USA

Cool U.S. museums you’ve never heard of

One quick look at your average guidebook will tell you about the “museum biggies” like the Field Museum in Chicago or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but what about those smaller places that might be less overwhelming for kids?

I have an educational travel article up on Education.com that gives a brief description of some low-key U.S. museums that are family-friendly, including these gems:

** The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California.

** The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City.

Check out the article for more info.

As long as we’re at it, here are two museum-related roundups from the Family Travel archives:

** 7 museums where history lives: Bunratty Castle & Folk Park in Ireland, Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo, Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, Bokrijk in Hasselt, Belgium, Indian City USA in Anadarko, Oklahoma and the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo, Norway.

** 8 cool European museums you’ve never heard of: the Chocolate Museum (or Schokoladenmuseum) in Köln, Germany, the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, the Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris, the Thermenmuseum (of Roman baths) in Heerlen, the Netherlands, the In Flanders Fields Museum (of WWI) in Ypres, Belgium, the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory in Greenwich, UK, the Foynes Flying Boat Museum in Ireland and the Eyeglasses Museum in Amsterdam.

Of course, if you have a teen as I do, you’ll hear, “Oh, why do we have to go to another dumb museum?”

Just forge onward — they’ll thank you someday!

Technorati tags: travel, family travel tips, family friendly museums

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New York City USA

Top 10 tips for a NYC holiday visit with kids

This is a guest post by Mommy Poppins, a great blog for family-friendly info about the New York City area.

New York City Christmas lights on Wall Street (courtesy wallyg at flickr's CC)Christmas is a wonderful time to visit New York City; the city is alive with wonderful special events, it’s beautifully decorated and lighted and there is a wonderful energy humming through the streets.

If you are lucky enough to get some flurries of snow while on the streets of New York during the holidays, you can dream that you are in your favorite Christmas movie.

Unfortunately, you’re not the only one who knows this, and the incredible crowds that swarm upon the typical holiday sights can be so overwhelming that you could end up with a nightmare instead, especially when traveling with children.

But don’t let a few crowds put you off from visiting New York during the holidays. With some insider knowledge and some off-the-beaten-path destinations, you can get all the magic from a New York holiday, without all the pushing and shoving.

Here are the top ten tips and destinations for getting the most out of New York City with kids for Christmas:

1. Visit a Victorian Santa. Skip Santaland at Macy’s and the 3 hour line, and head straight for ABC Carpet & Home. They have a really beautiful Victorian Santa and virtually no lines. Weekends 12-5PM through December 22.

2. See a Nutcracker created just for kids. Many children can’t sit through the New York City Ballet Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, but there are several Nutcracker performances in New York that are created just for children and even toddlers. Most of them are only one hour long and adapted for children, including New York Theatre Ballet’s Nutcracker.

3. Go ice skating where New Yorkers go. Rather than fighting the crowds and waiting in line for an hour at Central Park or Bryant Park, head to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park ice skating rink. It’s a wonderful setting, and after skating you can go to the Brooklyn Museum or shopping in Park Slope.

4. Shop in Brooklyn. Park Slope is one of New York’s most child-friendly neighborhoods and Seventh Avenue is lined with wonderful little neighborhood shops rather than the chain stores that have taken over much of Manhattan. Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue is a hipster’s paradise that is becoming a hipster parent paradise. Check out the cool boutiques like Sam and Sebs.

5. The other amazing Holiday Train show. New York Botanical Garden has an amazing holiday train display, but it’s a pain to get to, can get pricey for a group and is mobbed on the weekends. Unknown to many, there’s an equally incredible train show right in midtown Manhattan that is free. In the basement of the Citigroup Center building on 53rd and Lexington is a phenomenal train display.

6. Go multicultural. You’re in New York, after all. Why not take advantage of some of the more unique ways to celebrate the holidays from different cultures? Solve the problem of what to do on Christmas Day in New York (when most of the city is closed) by learning about klezmer music and Jewish culture during “Klezmer for Kids” at the Eldridge Street Synagogue. On December 29th, there’s a big Kwanzaa celebration from 12-5 pm at the American Museum of Natural History.

7. Other beautiful trees. The famous tree in Rockefeller Center gets seriously mobbed; there are some other really great trees to see without crowds, or at least fewer crowds. The tree outside the New York Stock Exchange is almost as big and stands in front of the beautiful landmark NYSE building. No crowds will block your view here. The Museum of Natural History has a beautiful origami tree (decorated with origami, not made out of) and free origami workshops for kids.

8. Holiday Lights. You can find incredible holiday light displays all over the city. Some of the best are at Grand Central Station.

9. Good feelings. Kids will love the Operation Santa Claus at the main New York Post Office. You’ll find a room full of letters to Santa from children in need, and a gathering of good-hearted New Yorkers sharing stories and picking out wishes to fulfill. Pick your own letters and go shopping with your kids to fulfill the dreams of a child less fortunate.

10. Don’t skip the big stuff. Tourists have one big advantage over New Yorkers — you’re not working. Use your privileged status to your advantage, and visit the places that are going to be mobbed during the week. Go early. If you’re lucky, you could find yourself virtually alone.

Find out more about these and other ideas about what to do with kids
in New York in the Mommy Poppins Holiday Guide.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, New York City, NYC, holiday travel, Christmas

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New York City USA

You must take the A train in NYC

The A Train in motion (courtesy keithcarver at flickr CC)

Did you know that this year is the 75th anniversary of the world’s longest subway line and a New York City icon?

It’s the A train, and it takes you 31 miles from the northern part of Manhattan to Far Rockaway in Queens.

(I want us all to pause here and acknowledge that “Far Rockaway” is a really cool name for a place.)

Anyway, on one of my first trips to New York, I insisted on boarding the A train and humming a few bars of the Billy Strayhorn song made popular by jazz great Duke Ellington:

“You must take the A train, to go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem….”

There’s a lot of history right there; Sugar Hill Records was one of the first big rap labels.

Considering an NYC visit? Budget Travel has some great tips from an interview with Charlie Suisman of the ManhattanUsersGuide. There are also recent hotel and sightseeing tips for Brooklyn from the UK’s Observer.

Just remember to take a ride on the old gal and wish her a happy 75th birthday.

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New York City USA

New York City Update

Times Square NYC (courtesy Kaysha at Flickr Creative Commons)I’m sure that a lot of families are planning to travel with the kids to New York City this summer, although you might have a better time in the fall or around Christmas/New Years, when I think the city is at its most lively.

NYC and the boroughs are pretty hot and muggy in summer, and lots of the “natives” take extended vacations or have weekend houses, so you may meet more tourists than New Yorkers during parts of June/July/August.

Still, I have some good links for whenever you go.

My first suggestion is that you see what the locals have to say about things to do with kids, and start with Mommy Poppins. She is full of great suggestions for New York’s most interesting and educational places for families (and you know what a museum geek I am) with an eagle eye kept on the budget as well. How about freebies at the Metropolitan Museum of Art? Or free summer sports; many of her ideas are camps, which are good for locals but maybe not travelers, but there are other single-day ideas listed including a fishing tournament sponsored by Macy’s department store. Who knew?

I rarely find many family-oriented items in the hip urban blog Gridskipper, but they have a great list of free summer festivals in NYC. You may need to stand in line for tickets (tricky with young kids, I know) but if everything goes to bleep in a handbasket and you have to leave early, you’re not out any money.

Checking out Central Park is free, and a nice place to cool off.

Fodor’s Travel Wire found some NYC surprises that even the locals may have missed — I didn’t know that the city has water taxis, for example.

Where to stay is always a quandary; the UK’s Telegraph newspaper has some good (but somewhat pricey) tips for staying right in the heart of the action in Times Square.

I also got to thinking that visitors might be interested in staying across the Hudson River from Manhattan, so that you can park your car and leave it, take the train into downtown, and also have views of the skyline. I haven’t tried this personally, but a quick surf of TripAdvisor gave me this list of Jersey City hotels, and several reviewers mentioned Manhattan skyline views and easy walking distance to public transport.

Anyone tried this on the Brooklyn side? I bet it’s more expensive.

Finally, want to tack on a road trip? I was impressed with the Perrin Post’s detailed itinerary for a New York State Thruway trip north of the city.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, New York, NYC

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New York City USA

Family Travel to New York City

Looking up at the Statue of Liberty (Scarborough photo)The Big Apple is one of my very favorite cities, and I’ve had a few good links laying around that I need to get out there for those who may be thinking of a trip to New York.

I’ve visited as a single person, as part of a couple and as a parent, and the place just never disappoints. It is truly an amazing town.

For a good overview of options, see Fodor’s 5 great itineraries for the city. If you just want the down-and-dirty:

** If you have time for one museum, take the kids to the Museum of Natural History (Ben Stiller’s fun new movie “Night at the Museum” is set there.) Want to throw in some art? My children liked the Guggenheim, mostly because of its cirucular ramps and neat architecture. Not sure they even remember the art works within!

Running around on Ellis Island (Scarborough photo)

** The Staten Island ferry gives great harbor views for 25 minutes for an unbeatable price: free.

** I think that for kids, the Statue of Liberty is actually more interesting when viewed from a distance out in the harbor, especially since you can’t climb up to the crown any more for security reasons (plus it can get really crowded.) Ellis Island is a worthwhile visit for older kids; my youngest mostly enjoyed running around on the grounds rather than looking at immigration exhibits.

** See a Broadway play. The spectacle is well worth the cost, especially if you luck into less expensive seats from the TKTS booth in Times Square or the lesser-known booth down at South Street Seaport. Frommer’s online has a comprehensive guide to maximizing the New York theater experience — click here. Try to see bustling, bright Times Square at night to complete your theater event.

Bronze casting of the Statue of Liberty's foot (Scarborough photo)

A new site on educational travel, Gifted Travel, has some unique ideas for avoiding New York tourist traps and finding alternatives to the “usual places.”

From a British perspective, here’s one father’s trip to NYC in the UK’s Times Online.

For some midwinter ideas about seeing the city without spending a fortune, here’s Newsweek’s “New York on the Cheap.”

How about something for kids who are budding foodies? Smarter Travel talks about a number of culinary destinations, but here is their take on New York for chowhounds.

Want to see something besides Manhattan? Cross over the iconic bridge into Brooklyn for all sorts of treats.

And finally, here’s Gotham with an 11-year-old, with all kinds of good ideas for those ‘tweens. Enjoy your visit!

Subway ride with toddler backpack (Scarborough photo)

Update 08 January 2007: Just came across some good hotel deals for families going to New York, courtesy of About.com Guide Teresa Plowright’s always-useful Travel with Kids site.

Update 23 January 2007: If you visit New York over the holidays, I have to absolutely agree with Wendy Perrin’s blog post on the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. My daughter and I loved it a few years back, but my son was too young to go. No problem; Dad gets to take now-old-enough son on our next NYC trip and it’s MY turn to ice skate at the Rockefeller Center rink under the giant tree!

Update 31 March 2007: Take a look at this fun video, 24 Hours in New York, from concierge.com (the umbrella Web site that includes Conde Nast Traveler magazine.)

Technorati tags: , travel, New York