In a recent poll by Lonely Planet, destination Germany came up quite a few times as one of the top 10 places to visit. In the end though, it did not make it into the official top ten list. There are too many other interesting sites to see and experience!

In the past couple of days, I have caught myself daydreaming about  New York. The first and only time to visit New York was last year November and since then I have been hooked.

My photo up on Times Square

Thanks for the photo to wishafriend

Right now I would love to stroll up 5th Avenue with the icy wind blowing at me. I would buy another scarf from a sidewalk vendor and when things got too cold, I would sneak into one of the many cafés. Quietly I would enter every church I pass on my way and step out again to breathe in the lively sound of New York City. Christmas time in New York is something very special.

Having visited 39 States of the United States, I had always declared San Francisco to be my favorite city, until the day I got to New York.

And this is where I would love to be right now. If you had the choice, where would you rather be right now?

For my most recent trip to New York I had gotten a copy of the Lonely Planet New York Encounter. This book was most useful as it is not only small and handy, but full of interesting tidbits about New York City. Its small format made it easy to carry around and whenever I had a break I enjoyed reading about where we had been, where we were at present and where we would like to go next. We had to skip most of the sights (next time…), but its pull-out map was used often and I appreciated the book’s insider information.

Monday morning I was able to sleep a bit longer – until 7:30. This could have been due to getting adjusted to the new time frame, but I also believe Sunday night’s dinner (red wine only) partially helped to keep my spirits lingering in slumber.

After a hearty breakfast of coffee, bagels and cream cheese, we set off for our final stroll through the streets of New York. We finally noticed the Empire State Building after having passed it numerous times already.

Empire State Building entrance

Empire State Building

Margo caught me being goofy...

We stopped at various gift shops again, had to count our money to buy some last-minute souvenirs, took some more photos including the one above.

Another observation we made was the absence of dogs in New York City. In those two and a half days we saw dogs on three occasions and they all happened to belong to bag ladies.

A rare breed to find in New York City

We returned to our hotel shortly before noon to gather our suitcases and settle the bill before leaving for our late afternoon flight from JFK Airport. By then we had gotten used to the American way of advertising the net price with the sales tax being added on later at the cash register. We had gotten used to one extra charge in sales tax…

But my bill read as follows:

* Room charge (TX)                  XX

* State Room Tax               $  33.08

* City Room Tax                 $  19.75

* Occupancy Room Tax      $    2.00

* State Occupancy Tax       $    1.50

Four different types of taxes were added on to each room charge. You well-traveled N.Y.C. hotel residents probably already know about that, but we didn’t.

And we definitely enjoyed our stay at the Stanford Hotel in Manhattan. The location (between Broadway and 5th Avenue) can’t be beat and service was excellent and often beyond. The rooms were spacious, the furniture was outdated and well worn (my goodness, the sofa had me almost sitting on the floor…), but the beds were comfortable.

In an earlier post I had mentioned the things I planned to do while in N.Y.C, which were:

* taking interesting photos

* buying lunch for some homeless

* talking to some interesting people, besides the homeless

* taking a peak into Tiffany’s

Conclusion: I took some photos, I bought breakfast for a homeless guy, I talked to many interesting people and I took a peak into Tiffany’s (through secured bars though).

We love New York and I have already gotten my first “inquiry to join the next N.Y.C. tour”. Would anybody else like to tag along? Then please sign up under comments.

We woke up very early again Sunday morning. I was up and about by 5:00 and spent a good part of the morning writing downstairs in the lobby and stepping outside to do some people watching.

After breakfast we left for our second round of Macy’s. This time we also made it to the top floor.

Wooden escalators at Macy's Department Store - please note the shopping bags (not ours...)

This time around we also noticed a camera crew interviewing a window display designer just outside Macy’s with N.Y.P.D. observing. The article Macy’s aims for biggest and best holiday windows came out the day after we had observed this while passing by.

N.Y.P.D. on guard in front of Macy's

After a quick lunch, we headed toward 5th Ave again. Margo wanted to go ice-skating at the Rockefeller Plaza and we got there just in time for the 4:30 session (they are always 90 minutes). She had not been on the ice for ages, but seemed to be progressing at a fairly good pace. In the meantime, my sister and I went for a cup of coffee at a nearby place which was packed. If it had not been, I would have gotten myself some New York cheese cake. As it was, there was no place to sit down though.

Tempting goodies in a New York bakery/deli

Rockefeller Plaza ice-skating rink

The construction behind the blue sign on the left is the famous Rockefeller Plaza Christmas Tree to be finished by Dec 3, 2008.

Margo had such a good time skating and it was fun to watch everyone else have a good time, too.

Margo on ice

After the ice-skating session, we dragged a very tired girl up to 55th street to do some shopping for a friend at Abercrombie & Fitch, but it had closed its doors at 6:00. We went across the street and could only take a peak at Tiffany’s through its security bars. We watched cleaning personal scrounging the floor… finders, keepers?

We walked down to Saks Fifth Avenue to buy  something for my husband, but had to “park” Margo on the first cosmetic counter stool available – she could not take another step.

When we left, I had a choice of either trying to carry her or to haul a cab. But then — there was a bike rickshaw at the corner and the three of us got a ride for $ 20 (almost 20 blocks to go back to 32nd Street). This was the ride of my life!!! This guy was whizzing in and out of traffic, changing lanes, pretending to tip us over, and he had us all screaming. I screamed for joy, but my sister later admitted she had been screaming for fear. It was so wonderful! Had I seen it beforehand though, I would not have gone on it. This guy did some dangerous tricks, but it was worth it.

Our rickshaw driver in New York City

We got off still laughing ourselves silly. That was the ride of my life!!!

After the ride...

We had laughed so much, we gave him a fairly good tip for this little thrill.

By then we were close to being broke and had to settle for a bottle of red wine as the main dish in place of an evening meal. Margo passed out as soon as we got to the hotel room. No, she did not have any wine. She passed out from New York City exhaustion.

We arrived at John F. Kennedy airport Friday night. Our first encounter with a New Yorker – our taxi driver – was an unpleasant one as he cheated me out of my change. He insisted I had given him a $5 bill instead of a $50, which could not have been the case as I only carried $20s and $50s on me…. When I told him he must be wrong, he answered: “Ma’am, you must be very tired.” In hindsight, I think I should have gotten out of the cab and yelled for the police across the street to set the matter straight. In this respect he was right: I was too tired to pursue it. Lesson learned: Count out your money with your companions witnessing the transaction. At the hotel I called 311 to report this fraud to the New York City “complaint” department. The fraud charge could not be pursued as I did not have enough information on the guy. But at least I got it off my chest. Oh well, we had a rough beginning, but the rest of our time was excellent!

The New Yorkers are such a chatty bunch of people. No matter where we went, people would always strike up a conversation and have some pleasant things to say. Wherever we walked – not including very crowded Times Square – there was a sense of village atmosphere, where people knew each other and treated strangers kindly. This was the biggest surprise.

Friday night we had dinner next door at a Korean restaurant and got to bed by midnight.

Early Saturday morning I stepped outside in front of the hotel to listen for the sounds of the city that never sleeps. It was still dark at 5:30. The trash pick-up stopped near the door, and dressed-up people walked by, which made me wonder if they were coming home from a late night out or going to work….

Then a homeless person, whose friends call him Charlie, came by and approached me for money for a cup of coffee. Instead of fishing out some change, I invited Charlie out for breakfast. I followed this stranger around the block to Dunkin’ Donuts where we chatted a bit. I saw his hands were gloved in hygienic wrap, he added a gum to his apple juice for his dental hygiene. I knew his brain was a bit fried as he posed some questions repeatedly and he could not have been any older than me.  Then he showed me his cell phone (I assume this classifies him as middle-class bum) and asked me for my cell phone number, which I could not give, because I have no cell phone. Then I asked whether I could take his picture and he declined. Nevertheless, it was an interesting meeting.

Later on, still in the early morning we hit the department store Macy’s first.

My sister in front of Macy’s -  and this guy appeared out of nowhere!

All foreign tourists were offered a special coupon of 11% off on any purchases. Combine this with most everything being on sale 50% off, and we were in a real shoppers’ paradise.

Sale signs galore!!

We bought lots of clothing for my daughter at the world’s biggest department store. That morning we only worked our way up to the 7th floor and then had to take a break…

Daughter Margo in shoppers’ delight at Macy’s first floor

In the afternoon we shopped on Broadway and took in almost every accessory/gift shop along the way. My goodness, there was no end to it!!! But it was nice to get in from out of the cold as Saturday was very cold and windy with iced-over sidewalks in the early morning.

Walking to Times Square

Times Square

We reached Times Square, which is a very buzzing place. By then we were loaded down with shopping bags, and an empty stomach is no good companion,either.

We walked through the Diamond District, looking for a restaurant in one of its side streets. We found an excellent Turkish restaurant: Akdeniz on 46th Street, between 5th and 6th Ave.  This restaurant serves marvelous food and the best wine. I had “Sultan’s Delight”, an Ottoman dish of chicken and carrots served on a bed of eggplant puree. This was an unforgettable meal.

We worked our way home with heavy feet, heavy bags and a light head from this Turkish wine. I think my head hit the pillow at 8:30 that night.

At the end of our shopping day # 1