p New York, New York.
p In 2016 I was in New York. Roni was turning 40, and I thought about what I'd want most in the world. I mean, what he'd want.
p Anyway, never mind who wanted it; long story short, we ended up in New York.
p I'd been to New York before, but not on my own plan and not with Roni (except for one day).
p The moment we landed was like the Jews who kiss the ground when they arrive in Israel? Exactly like that. I'm not exaggerating. New York is my weakness.
p So this post is accurate as of May 2016. I was waiting to fly again, but until that happens, why should this post sit alone?
p You can definitely tell I was just starting out back then: I didn't have a good phone for photos, and so on and so on. That just goes to show I have to fly again.
p Yes, there's no choice.
p (Come enjoy London, the Seychelles, Greece, the Black Forest, Madrid or even a desert inn in the south with me too.)
p Shall we start? Tips for travelers in legendary New York!
q “New York is not a place, it's a feeling”
p Things to do
p 1. For former dancers, I recommend going to Broadway Dance Center. It's on 45th Street, close to Times Square. For me it was exciting to see the place I'd heard so much about. Not sure it would be for everyone.
p 2. Central Park, of course. We had a picnic here too. Go on a Sunday or Saturday, when there's lots of music and buzz.
p Before that we ate on the Upper West Side, and it was excellent. We combined it with the Metropolitan Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. We also got recommendations for the Whitney Museum of American Art and of course MoMA (next time).
p At the picnic we put on the obvious Alicia Keys song on YouTube, brought a sarong and counted our blessings to be here together.
p 3. SoHo is lovely!! A chic area with lots of lovely, hidden galleries. We walked and suddenly found a Jim Morrison gallery, for example, or modern art and more. There are lovely concept stores, and you can spend hours in each one. They also have the make-your-own Magnum ice cream bars, like at the Tel Aviv Port.
p Chelsea too: in Chelsea, don't miss Chelsea Market.
p 4. The High Line. A nice elevated park you can see New York neighborhoods from. It used to be a railway line. We weren't wowed, but it's definitely pleasant.
p 5. The 9/11 Memorial at the Twin Towers site. Ground Zero was hard, but it's stunning and worth a visit. They present the disaster interactively, and it's fascinating.
p 6. Staying connected: we bought a SIM card for our stay at a great price, including free incoming and outgoing calls to Israel and within the US, and unlimited internet of course, for 200 shekels. They only have packages for a week, or two weeks and more, and we needed 8 days, so on the last day we had no calls to Israel, but everything else worked. You buy it on the website, pick it up at one of the sales points, and put it in when you arrive in the US.
p 7. The NBC studios. Very nice. Book ahead here too. You see the studios of SNL, The Tonight Show and more.
p 8. The UN building: interesting! We loved it. Book ahead here too. When you arrive, you go across from the UN, pass a security check, and only then enter the building itself.
p 9. Strawberry Fields. In Central Park there's an area dedicated to the memory of John Lennon, who was murdered not far from there. The place is named after the song Strawberry Fields Forever.
p You can't be in New York without shopping
p 1. First and most important!! Plan (if you can) to visit during the sales.
p We happened to be there over Memorial Day, and on top of the usual outlet discounts, there are tons of crazy holiday sales. (It's bizarre that they celebrate their memorial day. There are parties, fun, shopping... weird. They wish each other a happy Memorial Day...)
p 2. The recommended shopping is at Jersey Gardens, a huge mall in New Jersey.
p There's a bus from Port Authority, which is very close to Times Square.
p Get there at nine in the morning so you're first in the mall! Every minute counts :) And of course, buy a round-trip ticket.
p 3. Take a huge empty suitcase with you! The smartest move.
p 4. At the mall entrance, show the guard your passport and you'll get a booklet with loads of extra discounts. (Don't forget to bring your passport!)
p 5. Prepare an organized list in advance of what you need and how much. There's a weight limit for the plane, so it's important to shop smart.
p It's very hard not to be tempted and buy loads of cheap stuff there. Write down all the stores and outlets you want in advance. There are even more discounts here. These Americans are crazy. At the Gap on Fifth Avenue we bought pants for $10, plus another 10% off because we showed a passport, so Fifth Avenue isn't just for the rich :)
p I hardly bought any kids' clothes, and preferred to buy them toys, or one really, really nice outfit, or swimwear (lots of it, ha).
p These days you can order online from so many sites. The abundance there is so huge, and it would be a shame to end up with a million $4 tank tops instead of an amazing, unique evening dress, or a really great toy like Lego, which is much cheaper there! They're not short of clothes, and those are easy to get cheaply anyway. Only buy things that are really worth it.
p You have to do a lot of psychological work on yourselves, and it's not easy! Keep asking: do I need this? Will they appreciate it? Can't I get it on AliExpress? In my case, that voice wasn't really in my head; it was more Roni asking me: do you need this? Will they appreciate it? It really helped.
p 6. Before you go, visit stores back home that they also have there, like Nine West, check what everything costs, and then compare. Empty the whole family's closets and see what's really missing.
p Back home I barely dare walk into that store, and there I found the exact same styles that cost 600 to 900 shekels at home for $20 and $30!!! I bought the whole store. That was most of my shopping.
p 7. There are no tax refunds in the US :( A moment of silence.
p 8. More shopping tips.
p 9. There are more malls in New Jersey (the Plaza, for example) that are amazing and big. We visited there too, because we were in the area. Nice!
p 10. And of course shopping all over Manhattan: DSW Shoes, Century 21, Uniqlo, TJ Maxx, Kmart, H&M,
p Victoria's Secret, Gap, SoHo, Loft
p 34th Street and Fifth Avenue (there are bargains), of course.
p Going out
p 1. An unforgettable restaurant called TAO. Amazing design. An experience. Asian food. A fine restaurant :) The better one is downtown, and you have to book ahead! We went on a Friday and it was excellent.
p 2. A gorgeous place called LAVO. It's a good restaurant that slowly turns into a crazy party! Every so often dancers get up, and slowly they clear away the tables and chairs, and it turns into a dance party. Like The Wolf of Wall Street, just without the drugs and sex :) At least not with us.
p Of course, book ahead! Find out which day is best there (not every day is). We went on a Sunday, but it was the Memorial Day "holiday", so maybe that's why.
p 3. Top-level stand-up comedy! Comedy Cellar
p The SNL writers, Chris Rock and many more. We understood everything and it was lovely. The whole Village area is fun and special.
p We got there early, wandered around and had a picnic in Washington Square. Before the show I got a massage at a cheap place right next to one of the Comedy Cellar rooms and came out like new :) And after the show you can go to a jazz or blues show, which is special!
p 4. In the Village: Cafe Wha?, just where Jimi Hendrix started out. No big deal.
p 5. Just get lost in the streets. You see everything there is, all kinds of people of every background. A real experience. There are also loooads of hotties.
p Shows!!
p 1. I've loved musicals since I was little, so for me it was a must. We saw School of Rock and Aladdin.
p It was perfect. A hundred exclamation marks. Very funny, high quality, moving, fun. I recommend buying only good seats, down in the orchestra.
p We'd heard The Book of Mormon is great too, but very expensive. (Later we'd see it in London, and it's just hilarious. We cried.) Of course, we bought half-price tickets in Times Square. The price was about $80 after the discount.
p 2. There are especially cheap sales (around $30) called lotteries. They happen about two and a half hours before the show at the theater itself, and you can win a pair of tickets for a ridiculous price! We entered and didn't win, but a friend of mine won twice, and I saw with my own eyes that it's real!
q “Hello New York. You're looking gorgeous today”
p Hotel
p We stayed at the Edison Hotel, on Times Square. It was great! You don't need more than that. We booked through Hotels.com at a great price. I highly recommend it, and the location too. We wanted to stay in the Village, but in hindsight I'm glad we stayed there. It's close to everything.
p Odds and ends
p 1. The subway app is a must.
p 2. They say Brooklyn is nice. We didn't get there.
p So as I said, this is an old post, from 2016. But I thought some of you might be interested. So go for it.
p Enjoy, because why enjoy alone?
p We came back from New York with these in our memory box:
p ✔️ A picnic in Central Park, on a sarong, listening to music
p ✔️ A musical (two)
p ✔️ Excellent restaurants
p ✔️ Starbucks
p ✔️ Getting lost in the streets
p ✔️ Street food
p ✔️ A hot date at a great dance bar
p ✔️ Shopping
p ✔️ Museums plus the UN building
p ✔️ Gazing into each other's eyes without remembering there's a pile of laundry. And dishes!!!
p ✔️ Top-notch stand-up
p ✔️ A childhood dream: being at Broadway Dance Center
p ✔️ Entering the lottery before the shows
p ✔️ Coming home with all the best chocolates for a "best snack in the world" contest with the kids!
p ✔️ Oh, and we also met Jonathan Pollard and talked to him for two hours. But that's not for the blog :)
p Come visit my new Instagram and my Facebook group, where you can share your own good times too, because why should you enjoy alone?