September 27th is the big day!!!

For more than 10 years I've been paying to go on guided tours and making mental notes, saying to myself...."I can probably do this, if I had an area I knew inside out."

Earlier this year, a friend invited me to go on one of her NYC tours and I finally said, "If she gives me her contacts and a little guidance, I can DO THE SAME THING (that's an ELF song)."

It took me a day to make up this flyer and reserve the bus. If this my 1st trip is a success, I have a Brooklyn & Staten Island one I would like to do as well.

The point of these trips is to take people to places they would not normally go to, but might enjoy if somebody took them. 

#1 Best in U.S.

I live in eastern Pennsylvania, so it takes at least 90 minutes to get to the Newport PATH station in Jersey City. Add time for parking, waiting for the PATH & getting into Manhattan, and it's at least 2 hours to get into the city. Getting to Queens can take another 30 minutes or more. Is it worth it? I've been told no, but I disagree. Astoria, Jackson Heights, Corona & Flushing are must see neighborhoods. Parking is much easier in these areas as well.

On my most recent trip to Queens, I took the 7 train from Grand Central Station to 103rd St-Corona Plaza and walked to The Lemon Ice King of Corona. They do not mix flavors, so I got 4 different small cups at $1.50 each. 

From there, I wanted to check out Flushing. The Q58 bus stops almost right in front of The Lemon Ice King of Corona and gets you to the heart of Flushing in less than 20 minutes. I walked around for a bit and wanted to get a snack before heading back to Manhattan. I settled on Taipei Hong and then took the Long Island Railroad back to Penn Station. Although I'd been to dozens of Mets games before they got a new stadium, I'd only walked around Flushing once a few years ago. If you are not coming from Long Island, it may seem far out, but between the 7 train and the LIRR, it's very easy to get a train back to Manhattan. Unlike other trains, the 7 rarely gets crowded on weekends.

My 1st visit to any kind of amusement park in over 10 years

My last trip to an amusement park was a few hours at Hersheypark prior to a Van Hagar concert at Heysheypark Stadium in the summer of 2004. I had no plans to go to one again, until a friend invited me to Camelback Mountain Adventures. 

Although I didn't care if I went on any rides, I did manage to go on the Mountain Coaster. It's interesting how so many people from New York City come to PA to escape the chaos of the big city, while I go to New York to escape the boredom of small town life.

This time, I'm not in charge!

Earlier this month, I was invited to go to NYC on an overnight trip for a friend's birthday. I'm used to being in charge, but this time, we followed her itinerary. We rode from the Sand Casino in Bethlehem, PA to Chinatown, Manhattan in a limo and I only knew my friend and her employee. The ride went extremely quick and before I knew it, we were passing the Newport Mall, where I normally park my car and get the PATH train into Manhattan. I hadn't driven under the Holland Tunnel in years and the last couple times I did, I could have gotten through the tunnel faster on foot. This time was different. Before too long, we were at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant in Chinatown. 

All I knew about Dim Sum was that it was Chinese snacks/appetizers. Although I skipped the chicken feet, pork dishes and anything spicy, I really enjoyed it. I was enjoying not having to come up with a plan. I was VERY full by the time we got the bill. I was expecting my friend to ask me for $40 or $50, but she said "$14 please" and at first I thought it was a joke. We were in probably the most expensive city in America and I had a pretty amazing lunch for $14! This trip was off to a good start.

Since my friend runs bus trips into Chinatown from Bethlehem, PA a couple times every year, she knows the area. We went on a bit of a walking tour and she did some shopping. Hey, this is what I do when I'm showing people around..........."hey I need to go get some of this, some of that!"

Since none of us could eat anymore, everyone wanted to shop. I couldn't eat anymore, so with my hour of free time, I walked to the Lower East Side and got some macarons from Bisous Ciao. One box for me, one for my friend's birthday. If I had to choose 1 favorite macaron, it's the salted caramel from Bisous Ciao.

My next destination was the East Village, which is probably my favorite neighborhood since my cousin in law gave me a walking tour last year. Macaron Parlour was my destination. I got a box for me and a box for the birthday girl (lady).

I had to walk quickly back to Little Italy, where everyone had to meet the limo to take us up to Harlem. There were a total of 8 people in the limo and I was the only one familiar with Harlem. 

My friend wanted to have dinner at a "soul food" restaurant and her friend suggested Amy Ruth's. 

Although it was not my birthday and the only thing anyone wanted my help with was the subway, I insisted that if they are going to visit Harlem, they have to at least see one historical site. Nobody disagreed and we ended up spending a couple hours at the Apollo Theater.

Michael Kimmel was there signing books and I ended up leaving with a signed copy of Angry White Men. The Women of the World Festival was also wrapping up there and we watched Michelle Williams speak about depression. It was a very moving speech from someone I knew very little about.

After dinner at Amy Ruth's, we took the 2 train to Penn Station and walked to our hotels in Chelsea.

The next morning, my friends wanted to go to Bleecker Street. I made different plans to meet my cousin at Norma's inside the Le Parker Meriden hotel. I never heard of this place, but my cousin (who I rarely see, but appreciates some of the same things I do) lives nearby and wanted to meet there. 

I had some TIME TO KILL (that's a Deep Purple song) before meeting my cousin and I had not been to Astoria in a while. I boarded the N train and took it out to 30 Av. I picked up some of my favorite seafood salad at Titan Foods and then got some baklava at Artopolis bakery. With the little bit of extra time I have, I walked up to Ditmars Blvd and made a left towards Astoria Park. After walking around a bit and taking some pictures, I needed to get the train back to Manhattan. Feeling too tired to walk to the Astoria-Ditmars stop, I got on the Q69 bus.

After brunch with my cousin, I met up with my friends at Port Authority. Although it was not my birthday, my friend got me a box of Royce Chocolates, while they were on Bleecker Street. We took a bus back to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA. As I was explaining to my cousin over a $27 crepe at  Norma's, I'm usually the one making all the plans and this weekend was the total opposite. With the exception of my trips to the East Village and Astoria, I was following someone else's plan. It was not better or worse, just totally different. Like Indian restaurants, I have a nice time when someone takes me, but I would not likely go for Dim Sum by myself.

Walking in the FOOTSTEPS (that's a Pearl Jam song) of THE RAMONES!

For years, I've been wanting to visit the neighborhood that gave us THE RAMONES. Today, I took the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station to Forest Hills and walked around, while listening to Soundgarden's King Animal. Around the station, there is the shopping area of Austin Street, but if you walk south on 71st Ave, you will see one million dollar home after the next.

My next destination was The Lemon Ice King of Corona. The Q23 bus got me there in 15 minutes. I can't think of ever having had better Italian ice. I tried 4 different flavors. They don't mix them, so that was my only choice.

From there, it was about a 10 minute walk to The Queens Night Market near the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. I was really glad I went. The market was very International and I would certainly go again.

After leaving the night market, it was about a 10 minute walk to the 111th St train station. The 7 train had me back to Bryant Park in 30 minutes. The walk & the subway ride gave me enough time to listen to my 2nd favorite U2 album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Walking from state to state

Over the past 2 years, I've walked over the the BMW (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg) bridges. Today I decided to walk over the George Washington. I drove to Fort Lee Historic Park  and parked my car there. After spending about an hour in the visitor center, I started my walk to New York.

A walk like this is not nearly as fun without music. I chose Soundgarden's King Animal. When I think of their latest album, I think of my 1st night staying with a Thai family in Songkhla province (Southern Thailand) the night before my 34th birthday.

After crossing the bridge, I made the not so easy trip to Fort Washington Park with the intention of arriving at Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse.

It was only mid afternoon and I had seen what I came to see, BUT for the past couple years, no trip to NYC is complete without getting some french macarons. Macaron Parlour on the Upper West Side is the closest place to Washington Heights that I'm aware of, so I took the A train to 168th Street, where I transferred to the C train.  I exited at 86th street, along Central Park West. Macaron Parlour is between the 1 line and the BC line, but 86th street is not an express stop on either line.

After buying a dozen macarons, I listened to U2's War on my iPhone and took the 1 train back to 181st Street. I wanted to get something to eat and as I was getting close to the pedestrian entrance to the GWB, I spotted Bangkok Heights. Washington Heights is not known for Thai food, but besides Los Angeles, Thai people do not have their own areas, so their restaurants tend to be scattered about. I had a bowl of Thom Kha, put on the Rolling Stones Tattoo You and started what seemed to be a much longer walk across the GWB. While King Animal reminds me of Songkhla Provice in Southern Thailand and maybe NYC, Tattoo You makes me think of Cancun (March 2002), Berlin (November 2006) and Songkhla Province (February 2014). Although I like some songs more than others, I listened from start to finish this time. Half the time I might skip SLAVE, BLACK LIMOUSINE, HEAVEN and NO USE IN CRYING).

When I finally made it back to my car, I was happy to be done walking. As much as I take pride in being an urban explorer, that was a lot of walking. I still had the energy to buy a few things at Hmart before taking the long ride back to Pennsylvania. The Henry & Heidi podcast made the long, boring drive on Interstate 80 go quicker.

Macaron class

An expensive addiction! I thought I would learn how to make french macarons in a 210 minute class, but not so easy. The funny thing is that I didn't get into macarons until the year after my most recent trip to France.

East Harlem

Today I had a chance to introduce my cousin to East Harlem. We drove in from PA & of course I suggested we eat at Patsy's (cash only!). 1 block north on 1st Ave., you can also get excellent red velvet cake at Evelyn's Kitchen. I've used the subway to get here (only nearby subway stop is the local 6 train which can get very crowded), but I've also never had trouble finding a parking spot when I drove.

My favorite restaurant

L & B Spumoni Gardens is my favorite restaurant in the world. There is no close 2nd. My favorite pizza places are mostly in NYC. I like this place because you have the option of parking (for free) or using public transportation. A walk along 86th street under the D train is always nice too. I'm always thinking about the future, but when I'm eating their Sicilian pie, I am really in the moment.

My favorite neighborhood in NYC

If there was one band I wish I could have seen live, it's THE CLASH. LONDON CALLING is one of my favorite albums. The East Village is one of my favorite neighborhoods in NYC as well. I love taking the L train to 1st Ave. and walking south. Luzzo's (in the picture) is probably my favorite pizza after L & B Spumoni Gardens.

The Real Little Italy?

Michaelangelo's Little Italy on Arthur Ave.

Randazzo's Seafood on Arthur Ave.

Randazzo's Seafood on Arthur Ave.

Blue Moon Pizzeria on Arthur Ave.

Randazzo's Seafood on Arthur Ave.

This means laughter in THAI

In 2000, I read about the "real little Italy" on Arthur Ave in the US Airways magazine, during that awkward period where all electronic devices must be turned off. I really waned to see it, but it took me another 13 years! Alexandra was a great guide that has lived in the Bronx for a long time. Unlike the more famous Little Italy in Manhattan, you can drive in (there is cheap municipal parking and some restaurants have valet) or take the Metro North to Fordham and walk 5 minutes.

http://www.bronxhistoricaltours.com/bronx-sightseeing-tours.html