Well it's way off the beaten path but one of my favourite days when visiting NYC was a side trip to West Point. It's just a short train ride from the city.

I absolutely loved every inch of it. Scenery, history and fabulous eye candy.....that's all I'll say ;)

Cougar heaven, eh?

DARFC!!!!!

(fwiw I too love that kind of eye candy...)

May, congrats, mazel tov, major nachas! What's his next move?

Hey Sharon, that might be pretty cool. I'll see if the younger members of our party are interested in that.

Thank you Jessy!! He is graduationg Cum Laude and I am bursting with pride. He has lined up a job in Houston and will be moving home as of the weekend after graduation. He's gotta find an apartment, buy a car and buy furniture. Wheeee!!!

Although it is probably a tourist thing, the Cloisters Museum is on my "to do" list for NYC. Their herb garden is fairly well known. I have not been yet though.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Cloisters Museum

I don't know if you can get tickets, because they are the hottest new shows, but I've been reading about "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "Book of Mormon" from the guys who brought you South Park.

Have a GREAT time!

Here is a link that might be useful: Priscilla review

Make a reservation at :

Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Great eating experience.

Take a trip to Jackson Heights, Queens and buy all the Indian spices.

Then drive to New World Mall, Flushing Queens, a 250,000 s.f. Chinese food, store shop mall. It will be open very soon.

Eataly of course.

dcarch

Sushi, I JUST watched that movie about 3 weeks ago! It's an old movie but it just looked like it was going to be entertaining and it was! Now, if I can just talk my kids into seeing a play about drag queens driving a bus across the outback....

Eataly is definitely on the list. Blue Hill sounds great. The shopping sounds great too... to me. I'll have to convince the others since we're already doing Eataly and OF COURSE Trader Joe's. Plus we won't have a car so everything has to be accessible by subway/train. But I'll definitely map it all out and see what will work. I'm lovin the ideas!!

I gotta watch Priscilla again, if anything to see a young Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith in 'The Matrix').

Jessy, I had you pegged for a Guy Pearce type gal.

The movie might be "old" but it will never age! We watch it every couple of months, and it never fails to entertain.

If you go to Stone Barns, go early. You can get a tour of their farm.

dcarch

We'll probably have to go to the one in the city if we go. No car.

Lpink, I forgot to reply to you. I tried to get Nathan to go to the Cloisters but he won't have any of it. He wouldn't even go with a friend who visited him. Oh well!

I also was going to suggest the Cloisters.
Have you done all the museums? Moma, natural History, the met? have you toured Lincoln Center....have you been to the roof garden at the metropolitan Museum of art? have you wandered around the Village...fun in the spring! have you spent any time in SoHo? Sutton Place? Fraunces Tavern? The Bowrey?
What do you like? History? Shopping? Art? Music?
Linda C

OK, no touristy stuff.

1/2 day - Coney Island Aquarium, then Coney Island amusement park, then take Nathan to Nathan's famous Coney Island original hot dog.

One day - Early in the day, visit the new Planetarium, then walk to Zabar's (2245 Broadway) spend about an hour in this amazing food shop and buy lots of food, then walk a few blocks to Central Park and enjoy your food there for lunch. After your enjoyable lunch, walk to the Met Museum. Do visit the Astor court in the Met. There are many more museums on 5th Ave. After the museums, walk back to Central park and celebrate the graduation in the Boathouse restaurant in the Park. Tavern On The Green is not there anymore.

There was a sushi restaurant called Minado, but too bad the midtown location was closed. If you happened to be in Carl Place L.I., there is one there. Amazing big sushi place. All- you-can-eat for a reasonable price. Incredible selections of high quality food. I love the little reminder they have on their tables, "Dear customers, we want you to enjoy our food, one price all you can eat. Please do not waste food. We will have no choice but to charge you more money if you do."

dcarch

If the weather is good, a Circle Line Boat tour around Manhattan Island is fun. You definitely get a different perspective of NYC

I love the Cloisters, but if Nathan isn't interested ...

One place I've never been but wanted to go: the Museum of the City of New York. Seems like a fitting end to his college years there.

And in the Bronx, there's the wonderful Wave Hill garden. Some day I'll get there.

May, here's a website devoted to the culinary side of NYC.

Here is a link that might be useful: New York eats

A visit to the Cloisters is best when the lilacs are blooming in Ft. Tryon Park, anyway -- unless you are a big Gothic art fan (or just HAVE to see the unicorn tapestry).

There are some great Asian markets for cooking stuff. I stayed for hours at Pearl River!

You already know about the famous 5th Avenue shops and lower east side bargains. I love to shop at MXYPLYZK and Pylones for gifts, and best of all Rain or Shine for incredible, major-event-gift-worthy umbrellas (right by Grand Central Station).

If The Flying Karamazov Brothers are still performing off-Broadway, try to see their act. I saw them a couple of years ago and it may be the best act I've ever seen. I saw it with my own eyes, and I still don't believe it!

Tell Nathan I said mazal tov -- see if he remembers me -- and you can also tell him that Thing Two is in Israel for the semester to be near that guy she met at their camp last summer.

Have a great time! A NYC vacation, lucky you!

Take a hike on the High Line!

Here is a link that might be useful: High Line

Visit my sister-in-law (she's director of Science) at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden!

Any chance you're there the 1st of May? It's the last day of Hanami, the cherry blossom season. I haven't been there in the spring. Would love to go.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sakura Matsuri Festival April 30-May 1

I have been to both the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Both are FABULOUS, but I'm a plant weenie and it sounds like this is not Nathan's style. I would also go to the New York Museum of Natural History and check out the Biodiversity exhibit, but again, probably not your cup of tea. Someday I also want to take a boat tour of NY harbor. Oh, and now I have to add Wave Hill to my list, lol! My aunt and uncle live on Long Island and we like to go walk at Jones Beach State Park but again, I'm a nature weenie so I enjoy the beach even when I'm not swimming and it's cool weather.

You're probably right about the gardens, LPink, but that Cherry Blossom festival looked really cool!

One thing that's so corny, it's really fun, is to rent a rowboat in Central Park. DS and I did that on our last trip and had a blast.

A

Oh yes, they have an incredible Japanes garden at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens! One of my friends lived about four blocks from there back in the day.

Totally agree on the High Line -- it is really pretty incredible. I think wandering around the east village is really fun, not to mention loaded with good food. I'd say from 11th street to 7th street, 2nd avenue to Avenue B are some great blocks -- boutiques, good eats, etc. Pylos is a wonderful Greek restaurant on 7th street between 1st and Avenue A... There is a great seriously old-school jewish bakery -- Moishe's -- on 2nd avenue I believe between 6th and 7th streets...

Posted by fearlessem "-----I think wandering around the east village is really fun, not to mention loaded with good food. I'd say from 11th street to 7th street, 2nd avenue to Avenue B are some great blocks -- boutiques, good eats, etc. Pylos is a wonderful Greek restaurant on 7th street between 1st and Avenue A... There is a great seriously old-school jewish bakery -- Moishe's -- on 2nd avenue I believe between 6th and 7th streets... "

That's my old neighborhood. Great to walk around. Too bad Pete's Spice Store is not there anymore.

I used to get a lot of stuff from Moishe's. Rugelach, buttery hamantaschen ------.

Then stroll over to 14th St Union Square Farmer's market weekends and have a great vegetarian meal at Zen Palate near there.

dcarch

We'll be there too late for the festival. I do love the idea of the High Line and Moishe's! That might just work out perfectly! I'm going to finalize the itinerary tomorrow. Thanks y'all!!

I don't know if you want to take the time, but the Circle Line boat tour around Manhattan is really fun, especially if it's a hot day. I think Nathan would like it.