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 The rooms were spacious, the furniture was outdated and well worn (my goodness, the sofa had me almost sitting on the floor…), but the beds were comfortable.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 have booked our hotel for the trip to New York City in late November. We will miss Macy’s Thanksgiving  Day Parade which is the week after, as well as the famous Christmas decorations of the city put up right after Thanksgiving. Oh well, we can’t have it all.

The Stanford Hotel is situated right in the center of Manhattan. It is located on 43 West 32nd street between Fifth and Broadway and just steps away from all the attractions & things to do in Midtown Manhattan. We will have immediate access to all the major midtown business and major tourist attractions. We are only a few minutes of a walk to Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, Jacob Javits Convention Center, the Empire State Building, the Broadway theater district, Fashion district, and the Manhattan Mall.

I had contemplated booking a lower-priced one out in New Jersey – which claims to have excellent bus service to and from Manhattan – but we want to see and stay in New York for the nights as well. We won’t be going out much at night as I will be traveling  with my by then eleven-year-old daughter. It will be nice just to stroll up and down the street, while staying near the hotel, to see the famous lights, hear the big-city sounds and do some serious people-watching. And November in New York City will be cold – another reason for getting a hotel nearby, therefore limiting the wait at a dark and drafty bus-station to get back into the cozy warmth of our hotel room. I wonder how cold it will get…

Another factor for staying in Manhattan is that I tire easily even after only three hours of shopping. It will be so nice to have the hotel in walking-distance to go back and take a rest – and unload some shopping bags, too.

Last, but not least. Our hotel is in Korea town as well, where I will have my favorite food – Korean cuisine – at hand. I was told I should try Sul Long Tang (beef soup) at the restaurant Gam Mee Ok, which serves supposedly the best Sul Long Tang in the whole world.