I finally love New York

Maxmosbey

Maxmosbey

Final Approach
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
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5,247
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San Juan, PR/Ames, IA
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I need to get serious.
My son got a scholarship to college in New Rochelle, NY three years ago. Twice a year my wife goes to visit him. I go once a year. In the past, we have stayed up in New Rochelle, and taken the train to Manhattan every day, because there just isn't anything in New Rochelle. We would go to Grand Central Station, and strike out from there. I hated it. Twenty minutes on a crowded train to get to Grand Central. Standing on the subway with my nose in someone's arm pit to get to anywhere. I hated it. When my wife goes by herself, she either stays uptown, or she even once stayed in New Jersey, but I hate staying on the fortieth floor of an uptown hotel. We always went to Central Park. I don't like Central Park. We always had to eat at the Tavern on the Green. I don't like Tavern on the Green. We always went shopping on 5th Ave. I don't like shopping on 5th Ave. I hated it. This year I wanted to try something different and my son suggested that we stay in Greenwich Village. He said that he thought that I was the type of guy that would like Greenwich Village. So we stayed in the Washington Square Hotel. We went shopping in Soho. I found a bar called Wicked Willie's, and it became my watering hole. We jogged up the Hudson in the mornings. We went to nice, reasonably priced restaurants. We hung around Washington Square Park and watched people playing music, playing chess, juggling, or leaping over other people. We could walk wherever we wanted to go. We checked out NYU. We went to Chelsea Pier and watched boats come in and go out. People were very friendly, and were not in such a hurry. Our son has an internship in Chelsea, so he would come over and visit us when he got off work. We went to Brooklyn on Sunday. That is the only time we took the subway, and it was a short ride. I swear, it takes less time to go to Brooklyn than it does to go to Grand Central from where we were. It was a great time. I finally love New York.
 
Heck, Max, I have a spare room, and I'm maybe half an hour from New Rochelle (or three hours, depending on traffic). And the food is better in Queens -- and cheaper, too.

So stop by some time. The door's usually open; and when it's not, the back window is.

(Don't mind the dogs; we don't know whose they are, but they don't bite.)

-Rich
 
You are learning, Grasshopper... like any great city, New York only reveals its true self to those who get off the tourist treadmill and take a chance.
For doing this, you are entitled to one "insider tip":

Next time you're in the Village... definitely stop by here for a bite. Even if you don't like falafel, you'll like this falafel. :D

http://mamouns.com/
 
Yeah there are really nice parts of NYC, but SHHHHH, don't tell the tourists!

Come on out to Brooklyn next time, hipsters to hardened old Italians, and everything in between.

I'd hate this city If I had to do the things that the tourists do, Times Square, Fifth Ave, blech!
 
infotango said:
Yeah there are really nice parts of NYC, but SHHHHH, don't tell the tourists!

Come on out to Brooklyn next time, hipsters to hardened old Italians, and everything in between.

I'd hate this city If I had to do the things that the tourists do, Times Square, Fifth Ave, blech!
Click to expand...

My son likes Brooklyn. He says that is where he is going to live after he graduates. I don't think he is coming back to Iowa. We went over there on Sunday and walked around. We had supper there before we went back to Greenwich Village. Evidently my son has friends in Brooklyn because he drives his car there from New Rochelle, then catches the subway to his internship. I believe he has friends who live there, and that is where he leaves his car.
 
RJM62 said:
Heck, Max, I have a spare room, and I'm maybe half an hour from New Rochelle (or three hours, depending on traffic). And the food is better in Queens -- and cheaper, too.

So stop by some time. The door's usually open; and when it's not, the back window is.

(Don't mind the dogs; we don't know whose they are, but they don't bite.)

-Rich
Click to expand...

I'll let you know the next time we visit. We will probably come back in October. We can meet up somewhere and have a drink.
 
Maxmosbey said:
I'll let you know the next time we visit. We will probably come back in October. We can meet up somewhere and have a drink.
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Sounds like a plan. With a little notice, I can even scare up a decent home-cooked Italian meal and a couple of bottles of cheap (but good) red.

-Rich
 
My BIL lives in Brooklyn with wife and family. Nice place. Edgy in places, but on the whole a kinder, gentler Brooklyn than that of 20yrs ago. We enjoy visiting. We're country mice, though. No big city living for us any more. Been there, done that, sick of the noise and traffic.
 
Maxmosbey said:
My son got a scholarship to college in New Rochelle, NY three years ago. Twice a year my wife goes to visit him. I go once a year. In the past, we have stayed up in New Rochelle, and taken the train to Manhattan every day, because there just isn't anything in New Rochelle. We would go to Grand Central Station, and strike out from there. I hated it. Twenty minutes on a crowded train to get to Grand Central. Standing on the subway with my nose in someone's arm pit to get to anywhere. I hated it. When my wife goes by herself, she either stays uptown, or she even once stayed in New Jersey, but I hate staying on the fortieth floor of an uptown hotel. We always went to Central Park. I don't like Central Park. We always had to eat at the Tavern on the Green. I don't like Tavern on the Green. We always went shopping on 5th Ave. I don't like shopping on 5th Ave. I hated it. This year I wanted to try something different ..........
Click to expand...

You understand why, with a lead-in like that, I thought you were announcing your divorce?? :rofl:
 
When in a strange city try yelp.com as a way to find good places to eat (it is useful for other things too). So far I have never gotten a bum steer from the recommendations I've received using Yelp.
 
NC Pilot said:
When in a strange city try yelp.com as a way to find good places to eat (it is useful for other things too). So far I have never gotten a bum steer from the recommendations I've received using Yelp.
Click to expand...
I'm not much for eating as entertainment. Eating to me is something I do to keep going. My wife and son like to eat at fancy restaurants though, and I go along for the ride. As far as shopping, I'm OK with shopping, but I like little eclectic hole in the wall places to explore. I don't like three floors of The Gap. I like to run, so if there is a nice place to pick em up and put em down for three or four miles, that is good. I also like to watch street performers. I am always surprised by what talent is just there on a street corner or in a park. Then I like to just watch people. I also like to strike up conversations with whoever, and I find that some people are too busy for small talk and I'm very careful not to be one of those guys who tries to engage someone who has better things to do. I found a lot of all that where we were staying last week. It was a good trip.
 
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