Okay, here's our tentative plan.

[rivka]

We're going to take the Chinatown Bus (thanks, melebeth), leaving Baltimore at 7:30am and arriving in New York around 10:30 or 11.

We'll buy all-day transit passes and wander around viewing prominent landmarky things - the Empire State Building (from the outside only, since we don't want to waste half the day in line), the New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, Central Park (but where? What should we see?), Times Square. (More or fewer of these, as the spirit moves us and as the subway proves to be a hassle.)

We'll take the Staten Island Ferry, to see views of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline.

We'll spend a ludicrously inadequate couple of hours in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Perhaps we will meet some of our New York friends for a late-ish dinner. cattitude? redbird? melebeth? roadnotes and baldanders? jmhm? porcinea and alexanderjasper? filkerdave?

We'll get back on the Chinatown bus at 11pm, arriving back in Baltimore around 2:30 in the morning.

We will sleep in and skip church.

Looking over it, this sounds like waaaay too much. But there's a lot of flexibility for things to be left out, if that's what we want to do. I think that just being in New York will be exciting for Maria - she was so happy when we told her that we thought we could manage a trip - she's not going to need to see every famous New York landmark ever. Three or four things that she's seen in movies, and I'm betting she'll go home happy.

Comments

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fun. LIving in the northeast, I forget that New York is this mythic city because it's so close and I've been there exploring bunches of times. It's a marvellous place to explore, though. Have fun, take lots of pictures, and be sure to cram too much into your day! :)

[redbird]

If you're talking about skipping church, I infer Saturday. Which one? And yes, I'm almost certainly up for dinner, and maybe even other stuff. Do you need my phone numbers?

[melebeth]

I'd love to see you guys if I can. It totally depends on what weekend you're coming up, though. :)

Also, for central park... umm... hmmm... I love the whole park, and I can never find anything in it when I go to look for it, so I can't recommend any specific locales, but any wander there is a good wander.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

times square is *amazing*. and i really loved riding the subway around. *so* *cool*.

however, i did the statue of liberty when i was a kid, so i felt no need to do it or the other super touristy stuff when i've been back as an adult.

re: Central Park & the Met

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

try and combine these two. it's very easy to walk accross the park and hit the Met, or, go to the Met, and then take a leisurly stroll through the park from the East to the West side.

in terms of the Met: pick one, maybe two, exhibtions to go to. that way you won't get too badly artburned.

another thing to remember is that all day subway passes work well on the bus too. busses are a great way to travel through the city. you can see a lot that way. for example: you can take the 104 bus from Times Square, up Broadway to 86th street. then you walk east on 86th street, wandering thorugh the park. just make sure you keep heading due east and you'll end up on Central Park East. then you look at the numbers on the street corner. if you are below 84th street, take a left and walk alongside the park wall to the met. if you are above 86th st, take a right and walk downtown towards the Met :)

you can get some maps here. don't worry about the schedules. the busses come about every 2-7 minutes, same thing with trains :)

have fun! don't forget to take breaks to sit down and hydrate. one of my favorite things about NYC is that in the summer, there are lots of cafes that have outdoor seating, especially on the west side from about 70th to 110th street. it's a great way to have lunch and be part of NYC. you sit outside, drink some yummy liquid, eat some lovely food, and watch the people :)

take a break in Central park. buy some ice cream, and sit on a bench or by one of the ponds.

and have fun! i'm so excited for you :)

n.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Almost certainly it will be this coming Saturday, but I should know for sure in a day or two.

I think I may need your phone numbers, yes, if you don't mind e-mailing them again.

[cattitude.livejournal.com]

Your proposed itinerary fits together well, with one exception: the Staten Island ferry. How important is a view of the Statue of Liberty? Everything else is in a neat walk/subway route, but if you try to fit the ferry in, you probably won't have time.

Or you could ditch the Metropolitan, and fit Central Park into however much time you happen to have at the end of the day. Unless you're all marathon walkers I really don't think you can manage the whole thing.

A latish dinner would be delightful, though whether I'm available depends on just which day you're planning this for.

[geekchick]

That sounds like a fabulous day. I had totally forgotten about the Chinatown bus, thanks for the reminder!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I think seeing the Statue of Liberty is probably pretty damn important - it's one of the most American of American landmarks, after all. Also, I think probably she'll want to see the New York skyline from the water. We can leave out some of the other stuff.

We're probably looking at next Saturday, the 17th.

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

Uncle Procrustes and I would be pleased to play tourguide while you're here, if you're interested. We're old school.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

What day is this(I am not awake)?

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

I'm certainly hoping that I'll get into the city while you're here, but it kind of depends on what weekend you're coming in!

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a full itinerary. Stay flexible, and it'll be a fun time.

B

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

The Chintown bus is in the local Minneapolis news:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1513/4870501.html

B

[rivka.livejournal.com]

It should be this coming Saturday, the 17th.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

That would be great!

[jmhm.livejournal.com]

just tell me when and give me an idea of what you'd like to see (other than the statue) or we can just give you the pocket insider's tour of Manhattan...

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Bah. You're coming to NY this weekend, and I'm heading south to New Jersey (near Princeton; my nephew's 1st birthday).

Ah well...see you in Boston!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

We're coming up tomorrow. Might you be free for dinner? redbird is getting arrangements together.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

Object lesson in not letting LJ go unread for two weeks at a time. Damn. Since I'm still not caught up, I don't know if you had a good trip or not, but I hope you did.