The Inside NYC scoop- (last NY post)

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I think this will be my last NY blog- and I wanted to answer some questions and pass along some things I learned.

1) I did not know it only takes 55 minutes to get to NY from RDU airport! WOW!

2) LaGuardia was a very easy airport to get around in- It's not as big as I expected.

3) We stayed at the Paramount hotel- I would give it a 3 out of 5 score.
Next time I go I will look for a hotel that either has a complimentary breakfast- or at least a coffee pot in each room. I love to drink tea and actually brought my hotwater electric kettle, tea, and mugs. It was a lifesaver for me.

4) If you want to see museums and tourist attractions- look into getting a "City Pass" booklet of tickets. It covers 6 or 7 attractions for half of what you would pay if you went individually- and the pass is sold at each of the attractions, such as the Empire State building, the Circle Line cruise, MoMa, American Museum of Natural History, the Intrepid (closed for now though), the Met, and the Guggenheim.

The restaurants worth mentioning were
A) Mandoo Bar (Korean- AWESOME) Near the Empire State building
B) John Allen (Classic American- 46th street)
C) The Amish Deli (Had everything- from subs to sushi, no beer)
D) Pizza place- right next to the Paramount. (I forgot the name- and it was sooo good- sorry!) They had wonderful ravioli- pizza looked tasty- but the guy who works there made it a lovely experience. He was 100% New York- and I just loved him. He treated me like a queen. I saved the take-out menu- I just have to find it!

Personal stuff~

X is a fairly private person and I didn't take a pic of him- he asked me not to.
He is a super guy. He is very tall (6'3?) He is as intelligent and well spoken in person as he is on his blog. My son liked him right away and they both connected, I think, in the Nintendo store! :)

While in the city we happened upon one of X's former students- and what I found remarkable was X's ability to recall the students name- even though he had not seen him in few years! Also, it was obvious that this student respected and liked his former teacher. It was a nice encounter.

X has a wealth of information about the city of New York- and it was great fun to hear him say, "That building used to be so and so", Or "They filmed part of such and such movie in this spot". He even showed me where the "Soup Nazi" restaurant used to be from Seinfeld- one of my favorite TV shows.

Overall- I know Timothy and I would have found our way around NYC- but it was such a pleasure to be with someone who knew their way- and had so much to share with us.
Meeting X was a real treat- and he honored us with his time, insight, and friendship.
I hope one day he will come south and let us show him around.

What I learned~

Keep walking- and double check the traffic before you cross the street!

Have a plan, but if you are overtaken by the need to take a nap- take a nap!

Eat dinner early. Real NY bagels are wonderful.

If you have to eat at a McDonalds...the one in Time Square is pretty cool.

A picnic in Central park at 4:30 pm was the highlight of our trip.

Face value has no real value. The contents of a persons heart can not be seen, only experienced.


If you ever have the chance to meet one of your favorite bloggers- do it!
Drop all expectations of how you think they will look- even if you've seen a photo. (this definitely includes me! :)

I've discovered that the person you read- is pretty close to the person you will meet.
One of the coolest things I experienced was having a kind of past experience (from reading his blog and vice versa) with a person I had not met before. That was fun.

Thanks to each of you for sharing in this journey with Timothy and me. I appreciate your encouragement in our going, and your interest upon our return.
As I look back on this trip- I realize it would have been sorely lacking without the blogging component...so thank you again :)